My dear brother in Christ left this post on 'comments' and I felt it was worth posting up front... so here is it...
Steven Garren has left a new comment on your post "Morning....":
Judy, if we as Christians are unoffensive and have no enemies in standing for the truth what good are we? All we should do is speak the truth in love and leave the results to God. Some of the stuff that goes on in "church" today is out of the pit of hell. I am not in position to judge whether of not TRUE tongues is manifested today in places where the gospel is virtually unknown. But in America where we are flooded with Bibles and the gospel tongues are totally unnecessary.
The Truth About Tongues ( this is a very biblically sound explanation)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nKJAM86WCk
The Blind and the Dead
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1kvm0oZWlc
Hope you check out his links..
Now with saying all of that I will post this for today...
Reading: Hosea 6:6
WHAT GOD DESIRES
We think of sacrifices as being noble, but God does not always agree with such a conclusion. God desires something of greater quality than sacrifices. He desires to see mercy that comes out of grace, along with compassion and benevolence rather than sacrifices that have no real meaning behind them.
God speaks of knowing us by our fruit. When people get away from
God in rebellion, they become indifferent to the people around them. Indifference translates into cruelty, hardness and superiority.
As these people become indifferent, the poor, the widows and the fatherless become more enslaved to their indifference.
For some, they find themselves at the unmerciful cruelty of these people. Since there is no real mercy present, needy people taste the cruelty of such indifference through being used and abused.
Concerning widows, they can find no compassion. In fact, they are neglected by such indifference. They feel the demands of life beginning to swallow them up as they go against the current of coldness. This indifference will not regard their plight, it will only see that they cannot serve its purpose; therefore, they are considered insignificant burdens.
For the fatherless, indifference meets them with contempt. It does not want to consider or regard such people. They are also a great burden that must be ignored, placated or put out of sight so the conscience can remain in its delusion.
God instructs His people to take care of the stranger, and those who are poor like the widows and the fatherless. We do have a responsibility, but all too often we are quick to offer sacrifices, while failing to show mercy towards those who are less fortunate.
Prayer: Lord, we praise Your name. You saved many of us when we were poor, and were without the proper care of others. You lifted us out of our despair and gave us a new identity, name and heritage. Amen.
©2008 Rayola Kelley, Gentle Shepherd Ministries. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.
www.gentleshepherd.com
Questions or comments welcome. Email: ministry@gentleshepherd.com
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Morning....
I think I will just write what is on my heart again today...
I am pretty sure I upset a few and they feel as if I stepped on their toes a few posts ago when I questioned and basically came against the so-called 'tongues' the religious Church's are teaching about.
I knew when I sat down to write that post that it would not set well with some of you. I might have even offended and lost a few readers. All I have to say is....oh well.
The only reason I have this blog is to expose the truth and write what is on my heart as well as get people to think for themselves instead of hanging onto old programing and doctrines.
I am always ready to stand corrected and repent if I am leading anyone astray. But one thing I am beginning to understand is.... that when a person encourages others to think for themselves and question their religious beliefs... it does make them popular. People are in love with their religious beliefs...more so then they are with truth.
Ouch! I bet I lost a few more readers with that statement.
I have been feeling kind of weary this past week. Mostly because I kind of feel as if I am floundering out here on my own much of the time.
I hear the old programs in my head saying 'Judy you are crazy, you are a liar, no one gives a rats *** about your testimony or anything you write about because you are nuts.' I am sure a few of you often hear a lot of the same junk in your head as well.
I have to say life on this planet is a constant battle. The biggest battle being with my family. That is the battle that hurts the most. It is hard to be separated from the people you love the most in this world... but sometimes it is safer.... it is necessary.... and it is just part of the price when you follow the narrow road.
Now with saying all of that I also have to say the while I have lost relationships with a lot of my family I have also gained new relationships with some amazing people/believers who have become like a new family.
I spent a lot of years trudging on alone, especially when I was dealing with my healing and such. It seems to me that now that I am coming out on the other side of all the horrible pain of remembering and healing I am beginning to be a person who is better capable of having healthy relationships for the first time in my life. I am saying all of this to encourage all of you out there who are still in the beginning or even the middle of your healing.
It is sooooo worth it! I promise you it is! Hang in there and never give up. The Father has so much for you and He really will not leave you or forsake you.
It is easy for me now? Heck no! I will not lie and tell you junk just to make you feel good. I do not want anyone blindsided in thinking life is a picnic even after you get this far in your deliverance. I am still hit with whammies... depression...doubts etc... but I have noticed that all of these things do not last as long, are not as intense and I bounce back much quicker.
I know better then most how much the enemy hates me and wants to take me down and out. Am I scared about that? Amazingly no...and I can say that with all honesty. The more I speak out with the truth the safer I feel and the more I can feel the Fathers protection and hand on me.
The more I speak out the more I can feel the Father's love for His people flowing through me and that is the most amazing feeling in the world. I can not describe it. I am beginning to get a small glimpse into how people can die for the Lord and have a peace and a smile to the end. I small glimpse mind you.... I have a ways to go before I totally get it. But the small glimpses He had allowed me to feel and see of the Love He has for His people is so overwhelming I can not even begin to put into words. But I can say I am honored He has even allowed me to glimpse this at all.
Well I am out of here for today...you all have a wonderful weekend and a blessed new week....Seek the Lord with all your hearts and never let go.
Love & Prayers,
Judy
The LORD will grant you abundant prosperity--in the fruit of your womb,the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground--in the land hevswore to your forefathers to give you. The LORD will open the heavens,the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. Deuteronomy 28:11-13 NIV
I am pretty sure I upset a few and they feel as if I stepped on their toes a few posts ago when I questioned and basically came against the so-called 'tongues' the religious Church's are teaching about.
I knew when I sat down to write that post that it would not set well with some of you. I might have even offended and lost a few readers. All I have to say is....oh well.
The only reason I have this blog is to expose the truth and write what is on my heart as well as get people to think for themselves instead of hanging onto old programing and doctrines.
I am always ready to stand corrected and repent if I am leading anyone astray. But one thing I am beginning to understand is.... that when a person encourages others to think for themselves and question their religious beliefs... it does make them popular. People are in love with their religious beliefs...more so then they are with truth.
Ouch! I bet I lost a few more readers with that statement.
I have been feeling kind of weary this past week. Mostly because I kind of feel as if I am floundering out here on my own much of the time.
I hear the old programs in my head saying 'Judy you are crazy, you are a liar, no one gives a rats *** about your testimony or anything you write about because you are nuts.' I am sure a few of you often hear a lot of the same junk in your head as well.
I have to say life on this planet is a constant battle. The biggest battle being with my family. That is the battle that hurts the most. It is hard to be separated from the people you love the most in this world... but sometimes it is safer.... it is necessary.... and it is just part of the price when you follow the narrow road.
Now with saying all of that I also have to say the while I have lost relationships with a lot of my family I have also gained new relationships with some amazing people/believers who have become like a new family.
I spent a lot of years trudging on alone, especially when I was dealing with my healing and such. It seems to me that now that I am coming out on the other side of all the horrible pain of remembering and healing I am beginning to be a person who is better capable of having healthy relationships for the first time in my life. I am saying all of this to encourage all of you out there who are still in the beginning or even the middle of your healing.
It is sooooo worth it! I promise you it is! Hang in there and never give up. The Father has so much for you and He really will not leave you or forsake you.
It is easy for me now? Heck no! I will not lie and tell you junk just to make you feel good. I do not want anyone blindsided in thinking life is a picnic even after you get this far in your deliverance. I am still hit with whammies... depression...doubts etc... but I have noticed that all of these things do not last as long, are not as intense and I bounce back much quicker.
I know better then most how much the enemy hates me and wants to take me down and out. Am I scared about that? Amazingly no...and I can say that with all honesty. The more I speak out with the truth the safer I feel and the more I can feel the Fathers protection and hand on me.
The more I speak out the more I can feel the Father's love for His people flowing through me and that is the most amazing feeling in the world. I can not describe it. I am beginning to get a small glimpse into how people can die for the Lord and have a peace and a smile to the end. I small glimpse mind you.... I have a ways to go before I totally get it. But the small glimpses He had allowed me to feel and see of the Love He has for His people is so overwhelming I can not even begin to put into words. But I can say I am honored He has even allowed me to glimpse this at all.
Well I am out of here for today...you all have a wonderful weekend and a blessed new week....Seek the Lord with all your hearts and never let go.
Love & Prayers,
Judy
The LORD will grant you abundant prosperity--in the fruit of your womb,the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground--in the land hevswore to your forefathers to give you. The LORD will open the heavens,the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. Deuteronomy 28:11-13 NIV
Thursday, September 17, 2009
something to ponder....
Reading: Isaiah 1:15-16
CEASE!
The Bible serves as a record of God’s heart towards His people. As we consider the different challenges of those who are at different spiritual levels, we can see that points of temptation can be different for different people.
For those who are new converts, the old life can constantly tempt them to not only look back, but also go back to certain ways or practices. For those who are mature in Christ, they must be aware of losing their spiritual edge. They can become too comfortable with their life in God. In such complacency, they can become dull, and lose their vision and discernment.
When it comes to the youth, their own strength can cause them to walk in a mixture of religious activity. This is where these young people begin with zeal, but they lack the knowledge or the experience to discern what is of God and what is of man’s religion. If they develop such a mixture, they begin to slide into idolatry in some way.
The people of Israel were at the place where they had taken many detours into the way of the pagans. They had strength as a nation, but they began to morally cave in due to idolatry. As a result, God was hiding His eyes from them. He refused to look on them, which meant He refused to hear them.
However, God will not leave His people to their wicked devices or His judgments without first contending with them. He will always call for them to cease from their wicked ways and repent.
The new convert must remember that he or she must experience death to the old life. The mature must remember to stir themselves up, but the youth must guard their lives to ensure that they do not pick up a mixture of idolatrous nonsense along the way.
Prayer: Lord, it is so easy to pick up a mixture. Help me to walk in sobriety about all that I expose myself to. Lord, I need an excellent spirit to guard my life in You. Amen.
©2008 Rayola Kelley, Gentle Shepherd Ministries. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.
www.gentleshepherd.com
Questions or comments welcome. Email: ministry@gentleshepherd.com
CEASE!
The Bible serves as a record of God’s heart towards His people. As we consider the different challenges of those who are at different spiritual levels, we can see that points of temptation can be different for different people.
For those who are new converts, the old life can constantly tempt them to not only look back, but also go back to certain ways or practices. For those who are mature in Christ, they must be aware of losing their spiritual edge. They can become too comfortable with their life in God. In such complacency, they can become dull, and lose their vision and discernment.
When it comes to the youth, their own strength can cause them to walk in a mixture of religious activity. This is where these young people begin with zeal, but they lack the knowledge or the experience to discern what is of God and what is of man’s religion. If they develop such a mixture, they begin to slide into idolatry in some way.
The people of Israel were at the place where they had taken many detours into the way of the pagans. They had strength as a nation, but they began to morally cave in due to idolatry. As a result, God was hiding His eyes from them. He refused to look on them, which meant He refused to hear them.
However, God will not leave His people to their wicked devices or His judgments without first contending with them. He will always call for them to cease from their wicked ways and repent.
The new convert must remember that he or she must experience death to the old life. The mature must remember to stir themselves up, but the youth must guard their lives to ensure that they do not pick up a mixture of idolatrous nonsense along the way.
Prayer: Lord, it is so easy to pick up a mixture. Help me to walk in sobriety about all that I expose myself to. Lord, I need an excellent spirit to guard my life in You. Amen.
©2008 Rayola Kelley, Gentle Shepherd Ministries. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.
www.gentleshepherd.com
Questions or comments welcome. Email: ministry@gentleshepherd.com
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