Dr. Virkler,
I just wanted to let you know that my e-book Intimacy with God through Journaling is on sale today and tomorrow for FREE at the following link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JU7X7CM.
Blessings,
Janet Gilham
In the beginning I told Adam that the ground was cursed for the sake of his disobedience and that he would have to toil to make it produce. You refer to this as the fall of man, and so you have to earn a living to this day. Do you see your job as an impediment to serving me? If you had more free time available would you use it for Christian ministry and service? For most people it is not the concept of work that bothers them, but the tasks available, the amount they pay, and who they work for. I want you to have a positive view of this rather than viewing it as an unpleasant necessity. You are working for me. Trust me to give you the right assignment and meet your needs.
Have you ever been defensive? In this condition you are ready to fight for something. You may think that being defensive is not as bad as being offensive, and that it is a normal reaction to offense, but it still closes you off to learning and growth. What do you have to defend? I am well prepared to defend the truth, and I can defend you better than you can defend yourself. In following my call to die to yourself you should release personal opinions and not defend them either. Are you amazed at my commandment that you resist not evil, but turn the other cheek? Those who do find that they have a strong defender, and position themselves to learn and grow.
I love testimonies that break down the walls formulas attempt to build around our hearts. Formulas bring turmoil and anxiety with them as we try and fit everything into neat little boxes. I went through a season in my life where I tried to depend on formulas. Sometimes they actually worked and it was great. But the times they didn’t and those were stressful times.
It was once accepted that only one style of music was suitable for Christian worship. Now you encounter many more styles depending on the setting. Do you enjoy the increase in variety or does it disturb you? You are entitled to your own preferences and these can be as narrow as you please. These are called tastes and are uniquely yours. Yet my Kingdom is broad and inclusive rather than narrow and selective. Do not let your tastes become a basis for division. I criticized the Pharisees for letting their traditions make my word of no effect. Don’t let your taste in music or anything else divide my body.
Did you just say all I need to do is take the next step?
I did. Just the next step.
I’m confused. What do you mean?
I mean when life is difficult, even when it is the most difficult you have ever experienced. Even when you think you can’t possibly live this way another moment. Even when finally there is nothing left in you. Even then.
Even then what??
You live in a world of time, speed, and distance. You make good estimates of travel times based on experience and expect them to be fairly consistent. This makes for an efficient use of your time and allows you to keep a schedule. Yet in the economy of my Kingdom, you are always available for an assignment that you may not have planned for. A Samaritan was traveling and encountered a crime victim in need of assistance. He stopped to help, causing him an unexpected delay and expense. Yet for this he is known throughout the world as the Good Samaritan. Are you willing to have your day interrupted to carry out my assignments?
You experience time as a continuous progression, but you have a regular means of tracking it with clocks and calendars. Different cultures have different calendars so not everyone agrees on the beginning and ending of a year, and the selection is somewhat arbitrary. Do you spend some time reflecting on what has happened in a year when one rolls into the next? It is good to be aware of changes and progress. Yet you shouldn’t wait for a new year to deal with issues in your life with resolutions, for I use a shorter time horizon. I call you to live in the present moment, and your time is always ready. Don’t worry about tomorrow, for sufficient unto the day is the evil and grace thereof, and my mercies are new every morning.
You are correct in thinking that salvation is the central event in the life of any person. Yet you would be wrong to think that my work in a person’s life begins and ends there. I was at work in your life before you were saved, to break up the stony ground and prepare it to receive me. I continue to work in your life after it received the good seed and life came forth. I weed and water and watch over your growth. Salvation was an event that changed your state of being, but in another sense your life is an ongoing story of becoming, and so I have called you to follow me on the strait and narrow way that leads to life.
The woman had fallen and couldn’t get up (sorry I couldn’t resist). She was all by herself but had a medical alarm, which she pressed, and we were there to help her a few minutes later.
