7 Signs You’re a Woman Set Apart by God’s Hand of Protection

7 Things God Wants Elderly People to Do: This Is Why You're Still Alive ...

The SEED

 

                                                        The Seed

                                                                           By Penny Williams

 

                                                                   

Everything began as a thought, then was conceived of a seed. Depending upon what kind of thought you receive will depend upon whether you entertain it or cast it away. Everything comes from our hearts as this is where we file the things that are imparted and important to bring up later. The acorns drop from the Oak tree with some taking root, whereas some are used to ground up for flour or coffee, others are used for decorations while the squirrels happily bury for wintertime. The sunflowers stretch their long necks as if to give praise to the sun embracing the light and when the seeds are ripe for the picking, sometimes you will see flocks of yellow birds come to dine. Zinnia seeds become scattered when the wind blows, and the thorny blackberries pop up everywhere. We sometimes plant bulbs that never come up to meet the sky. Others cannot wait to bloom.

What happens to those bulbs who never reach through the earth? They seemingly never had a chance. Was it just a bad bulb?  Did the insects or other critters get to the bulbs before they decided to germinate? Maybe the soil wasn’t good.

God is the mastermind of all fruitfulness, and He uses seeds everywhere you walk and look and scatters them everywhere. This is part of His large plan.

The angel Gabriel was sent from God to Nazareth to a virgin named Mary telling her that she was highly favored of God and that she would conceive in her womb the Messiah and would rule over the house of Jacob forever. The Holy Spirit would come upon her, and the power of the Highest would overshadow her. He would be Holy and called, “The Son of God.”  We could even call Him “The Son of Love.”

God is a Spirit. He is Love.

Mary became impregnated with God’s seed [His Love], with His Word. The Word’s name is Jesus Christ. Everything He said and did was all about glorifying the Light and Love of the Father.

I do not know anyone who can understand all of God’s thoughts or His ways. Isaiah 55:8

Our God uses our thoughts to accomplish His will in our lives and others too. One single word from our Father sent His Son Jesus who changed the whole world, His name has melted hearts in bowed knees in repentance, created unwanted wars, exposed the evil intents of enemies, caused division in households and many believers were martyred and continues today, just as Jesus said for those who believe He is the King of Kings. The name of Jesus Christ is known worldwide, and it's never been the same since.  Rd. Matt. 10:34-42. 6:25-34

In John 3:3 “Jesus answered, and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”  Jesus was casting seeds.

Mary was a forerunner of what happens to those of us who listen and understand God’s Word. They become overshadowed or pregnant with that word by God’s Holy Spirit [love]. During such a miracle, we do not realize what is happening when it happens. Although, the only way I can express it for myself is that; I had a small glow of a candle inside of me from my childhood and knew in my heart that “Someday I would return to the God of my childhood.” I did not know when or how. I felt that I should “clean up myself first” before I returned. But that isn’t the way God works. His Holy Spirit cleans us up after we humble ourselves, repent and confess our sins and accept that Jesus Christ is the only way to eternal life. Although, the confessions from our hearts take a few minutes, in time there will be memories of other past sins to confess. By God’s grace and faith, you have stepped out of death into life through being conceived in and by His Love. Although we are new creatures in Christ, the process of cleaning up our old fleshly worldly habits can take years. Be patient, God is with you. Everything you go through will be a lesson for you to learn and grow.  We all have our own “customized past paths” we have walked through.

Let’s go to the parable of the Sower.

Matthew 13:1-23 KJV

¹ The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side.

² And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.

³ And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;

⁴ And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:

⁵ Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:

⁶ And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

⁷ And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:

⁸ But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

⁹ Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

¹⁰ And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?

¹¹ He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

¹² For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.

¹³Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

¹⁴And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:

¹⁵For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

¹⁶But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.

¹⁷ For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

¹⁸Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.

¹⁹ When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the wayside.

²⁰ But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;

²¹ Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

²² He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.

²³ But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

 

Within every life, there is an enemy and along with that threat there is a solution.  

The amazing thing about this parable is that, just because someone is preaching the word, or reading the word does not mean they are hearing, accepting or retaining the word. It all depends on where their hearts are at the time they hear it. Insincere hearts are blocked from the truth. The Holy Spirit seeks humble hearts.

The humble heartfelt prayer of faith is powerful before the word begins to go out into the airwaves. Just as when a farmer prepares their soil before they plant their seeds, so we too need to learn from the farmer to prepare the soils upon whom we scatter God’s seed. A full and complete dependance upon His Holy Spirit by faith promises to bring a fruitful harvest. Though we may not see the harvest or know about it until later, it is all by His miraculous mercy and grace.

There were crowds of people gathering around Jesus so that He went upon a boat to teach the multitudes upon the shore. He began to speak in parables.

The scriptures below will be in NIV unless otherwise stated.

 “As He was scattering the seed [word], some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.”

 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means; When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path [or wayside].”

Think about this.

If there was not so much life changing power in the word, Satan would not bother to pervert it or take it away. If there were not so much love and faith involved and the many promises that would set you free from yourself, addictions, lies, seductions from the world, he would not counterfeit the word nor accuse it of being a lie. We know that he is the father of lies. There are those who tolerate the word and will never remember what has been spoken. Sin hardens hearts and many will choose sin over God’s love. Sin seduces and then reduces all that you have.

God gives us love.

The enemy gives us lying accusations, encourages violence and hatred. What they accuse you of, they themselves are doing.

I ask you, why would our Father God give His beloved seed to anyone who would devalue it? The Bible talks about how it is a privilege to have it. His word is a treasure we put in our hearts.

“Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.

“The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. “

To have good soil, deep roots and faith from God you are going to have to use the faith that He has given to you. This requires you to apply His word in your life. Trials, tests and temptations are going to come. Growth will teach you how to resist the worries and fears and do battle instead of going back into the world. The way of the world decreases the truth, while God’s word will give you a powerful hope that arms you with increased faith.

Is it not possible that when the seed falls on rocky places and has no root lasting only a short time could be part of unbelief in the mighty God who has offered eternal life?  

Run to Him and pray.

“Other seed fell among the thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.”

“The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. “

I am familiar with unwanted plants in my garden that begin to choke out my flowers or vegetables. Most are thorny vines. I find this factual how the enemy never fails to replicate God’s goodness with something ugly that destroys. He said for us to learn from His creation and if we are attentive and pray, we will hear His voice.

The superficial words from the world cannot hold a candle to God’s promises. Although there can be a lack of understanding of the word, it does not mean it isn’t true. The distractions, seductions and manipulations for riches will either stomp out the anointing that is in God’s word or water it down. The enemy continues to lie and is unable to speak the truth.

Ask yourself what kind of fruit have I been yielding?

What lies have I believed in others?

What lies have I believed in myself?

Things happen! Your heart begins to worry. Do you immediately go to the Lord about it? Worrying can choke your faith and your health if you allow it. When you submit to worry, where did your faith go that God gave you?  Worry can be a prelude to our words. Did you cancel out your faith by a negative word of unbelief? Perhaps you replaced it with the deceitfulness of wealth and why do we think that we can buy our way out of the pit we dug for ourselves in the first place?

The love of money will never buy you the love that you seek.

The love of money will never buy you a clear conscience.

The love of money will never buy you favor from God.

The love of money will not purchase healing for your body.

The love of money will never pay for forgiveness.

If you were to replace faith with your worries and for the deceitfulness of wealth, you would be as a barren tree that never gives fruit, and no amount of money will ever pay for your salvation.

Salvation is a free gift from God, if you repent and believe that Jesus went to the cross for your sins. We have all sinned. Every person you see in or out of church have sinned.

 “But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was given”

You win! You will be given new eyes for you to see, new ears so you can hear and a brand-new heart to begin to store good things inside instead of the things of the world. The puzzle begins to come together. There will be battles from time to time, but if you hang in there, I can see you running to the finish line right next to me. Be forewarned, when someone comes to the Lord, they lose all their worldly friends. I did because they said, “She got religion.”  Remember, Jesus said, “If they persecute me, they will persecute you.”  Tests will come along for your faith to be tried and then increased. Temptations will also make their way to your door. Resist the enemy and he will flee from you. As I have said previously, we go through these things so WE can see how we respond:

With faith or with fear.

When you opened the word for you to read, God already knew how you would respond from time to time, because He is Omnipotence, Omniscience, Omnipresent. He is all powerful with supreme authority over everything. He is all knowing, He knows your thoughts before you think them, and He is everywhere. Not one of us can hide from His eyes. Not one bird can fall from the nest, that He already knows. When troubles come up in our lives and we respond in the wrong way, it is God who wants YOU to see how you responded. He wants you to understand what is still in your heart that needs to be flushed out. We go through these things for us to be honest with ourselves and if we can see them, we are made stronger in Christ.

Never give up upon God and His plan for your life.   

In the beginning we are babes in Christ. The first thing to learn is to put God first in everything you do. Learn to pray and talk to Him. Go to Him about everything in your life. You are a toddler. Toddlers run too fast sometimes and slip and fall. Worries will come and the spirit of fear can be heart stopping if we allow it. Dropping your faith, going back and joining forces with the worries of the world will never bring you the victory that you desire. Learning and resisting will!  The minute you accept Jesus as your Savior you need to find a godly Bible believing church to make new friends [they will pray for you], seek out a mentor, find a good small support group to hang out with. Everyone there is growing and learning too. Organize your time constructively and pray with faith [expectantly] before you read your Bible and ask the Holy Spirit to give you understanding as you read. Then, apply it in your life.

Read and meditate on it, eat it, walk it, listen to it, speak it and sleep it. When you need to know something, remember, God loves you and He is faithful and will always bring up the answer from The Holy Spirit.

Ask Him.

If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Lu. 11:13

When you do this, you will understand how things work in the Spirit world first, then the physical. Spirit first, then physical.

When I was of the world, I used to think that everyone who went to church was squeaky clean. I thought they all had good upbringings, very little problems and I would look out of my window and watch them when they came home from church and why did they seem so happy all the time?  They had joy. The joy of the Lord!

In the past, fear may have kept you from coming to Jesus, perhaps of not being accepted in a group. Maybe you feel you would not fit in or maybe ignorance of the Bible. When I came to Jesus, I did not know anything about the Bible. I knew there was Genesis, John and The Book of Revelation. But I did not know what was inside of those writings. All I knew was what was given to me when at 5 yrs old sitting upon Sister Janes lap in a Catholic Orphanage. She introduced me to The Holy Father, Son Jesus and The Holy Spirit. She told me about the enemy who comes to steal, kill and destroy everything we have by the sins we commit. Yes, I can remember everything she said and I understood it. I praise God that she was so obedient to tell me this truth. From 5 years old to 28 years old, I went through a series of unbelievable trials and tests. I am presently trying to wade through writing a book of my life, so all those who read this will understand where you are now, I once was. Yes, I went through that too! I never lived a “normal” life. There was always something tragic happening to me. So, you see, I have been there! It wasn’t until I was 28 that I made an official confession in my home to accept Jesus into my life forever. When I rose from my knees, I was a different person, but a babe in Christ. I discovered I couldn’t get enough of God’s word. I had finally found out who I was! I did not have an identity. I did not know who I was. I never had a father, but too many stepfathers. I never wanted to grow up. Why would I want to grow up when all I experienced was abuse, violence, pain and rejections?

Everything we go through, all those specialized problems and pains that stop our world and crush our hearts, are for us to continue being transformed into the likeness of Christ. We have a God who is never wasteful within any of our lives. He uses everything we go through in our lives to get the job done and you know what happens?

We become stronger! In His strength!

We have more faith! Higher, deeper and wider than before!

We love Him so much more! His love is like a homerun!

We are given more understanding! When more understanding comes, so does the joy!

Nothing! No one can take away what God gives to us! He is powerful and so is His word.

I am overwhelmed by His love, mercy and grace in my life. All the sorrows and pains I went through have been like purging through a fire of faith that strengthened my soul.

It will all be in my book. By faith, it will get done.

I urge you not to let another day go by without accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior. He loved you before you knew there was such a love. My life is a walking miracle, and I will never stop praising His name or writing about Him. He is your answer now and tomorrow.  

Pray with me today this sinner’s prayer that everyone has had to pray before becoming born again. Consider it a door into eternity,  you will be walking through.

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for your unfailing love for me. Thank you for leading me right to this prayer and revealing to me what I need to do to become born-again. I believe that your Son Jesus died upon that cross, shed His blood so I could have forgiveness and eternal life. I believe that on the 3^rd day He was risen! Your word tells me to repent from my heart. I repent Lord.   I ask that you forgive all my sins. Name your sins.  I need You Lord. Please come into my life and take over.  In Jesus name, I ask this prayer. Amen.

If you have prayed this prayer of faith, congratulations and welcome into the family of God. Confess your faith to those who know you.  Find a good Bible believing church and connect to a small group. These people will help you get through the trials and tests that you will go through. God will use them to encourage you, and they will pray for you. You will know them by their love. May His blessings come in waves of abundance and the way be made clear for you as you grow.

 

 

 

 

 

It's Only a Caterpillar

 

                                                             It’s Only a Caterpillar

                                                                                By Penny Williams

Imagine driving down a street where there are beautiful White Oaks, Maples, Tulip Trees, and a few Cedars that look down and begin to smile at you as you ride along. God’s glory begins to shine and makes you feel as if you are living within a Vincent Van Gough painting. The greenery is enough to take anyone’s breath away. Their branches begin to reach out from the tops toward one another on our street, relating to a great love for the sun and each other and I couldn’t help but start taking pictures.  For the first time in many years, I can finally look up and drink in the memories of the loveliest deep blue skies over my head. The clouds are like large fluffy puffs of cotton. Every cloud quite unique in their own special form grandly displaying God’s workmanship. You may question as to why I have seen gray skies for so long? I will answer with a bit of cold water and a few questions: “What was the constant need to dump chem-tails on this nation? And, for so many years? Where have the honeybees gone? Why is cancer an epidemic?   I rest my case.  

We hope all that is in the past.

Let’s take a walk to my garden.

I had to pluck off a very fat and happy, green caterpillar from my tomato plants, I stand in amazement over the fact that God guided and directed him and his family to their lunch that was waiting for them, “over here.” How far did they travel to get such a sumptuous delight? Why, oh why, did he tell all of his relatives where to come?  I know that if we watch God’s creation closely, we can learn a great deal about life. His creation instructs us! It is God Himself who put it all together and for us!  Does it not seem that He has fine-tuned everything in their own special place to reproduce in their own likeness?

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.” Psalm19:1,2 KJV

Think about it!

The heavens declare God’s glory!

The skies proclaim the work of His hands!

They pour forth speech!

They reveal knowledge!

 Here, the psalmist emphasizes that creation continuously communicates God's glory and His wisdom.

You cannot buy that! And are we not to give God all the glory for His creation, for our eyes that can see God’s Heaven’s, the literal work of His hands? His creation speaks, and I believe they speak to us if we listen. They reveal our Father’s knowledge!  Everything is vibrant, exciting and alive, in His kingdom! He has named every star you see at night.

"For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse." Romans 1:20 Ber.

 "But ask the animals, and they will instruct you; ask the birds of the air, and they will tell you. Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; let the fish of the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? The life of every living thing is in His hand, as well as the breath of all mankind" Job 12:7-10

That last sentence in the KJV says: “In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.” Vs. 10

When I happened upon that last verse, I was overwhelmed by love for our Father’s creation. Just recently, I was asked in a meeting about, “What have I learned recently from the Lord?” I brought up Job 12:7-10 and as I was trying to remember the quote, a young newcomer knew it by heart and finished it for me. Then, she told me a story about how her and her mother used to sing it together and she had a paper with those verses on it surrounded by flowers and she colored it all around. She told me that she had been asking God who can she give this too? Today, she knew that I was the one she was to give it to. I was not just humbled but completely overtaken in awe and gratitude how our Father God works in both of our lives. He gives us unexpected gifts from Him.

Oh, for the sweet, sweet love He gives to us. I ask you, are you sensitive to hear Him? And, to receive what He has for you while you are here?

Does that verse really mean for us to ASK THE ANIMALS, and they will instruct you? The birds? Earth and Sea?

I see it exactly as it is written. We cannot twist the word around to try to get more understanding from it.  I learn from my pets all the time and in my garden.

This is as I have suspected for so long; everything that God has created is alive and has a soul.  This is why your dog cries when you are gone. Your cat is filled with mixed emotions when another cat comes to live with you. Our soul is our emotional center.  We either make our decisions by how we feel [soul] or by what we see, hear, taste, touch and smell [flesh] or by The Holy Spirit that gives us life.

We were created to love God with all our hearts and love each other as we do ourselves.

The flesh, the soul and The Holy Spirit. When you are trying to make a choice in your life, the question goes to your decision center. It could go something like this:

You: “This is such a big decision, I am not sure it is the right thing to do.

Your flesh says, “Go for it! You deserve it!

Your Soul says: “You know you really want it. Just the thought makes me happy!”

The Holy Spirit should always be your final answer as He has been cleaning up your life and lives in your temple that says:

“First pray and ask Me about it. Seek My will. Then, wait upon Me. If it is of Me, I will confirm it.”

The latter choice is your perfect move.

How do you seek God’s will in your life?  “How much of the world are you hanging onto and is there anything in your life that you put before God?”

 

 

 In other words, how many caterpillars do you have in your garden?

Our lens can be:

Muddied

Cloudy

Clear

Our aim is to see and hear God clearly.

 

Present

 

“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. 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.” Ro. 12:1-2.

 

Priorities

“Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.” Col. 3:2-7

Paul was talking to the church when he wrote those verses. When you continue to read the whole chapter, He talks about putting off the old man and putting on the new man. If it wasn’t possible for us to do that, he would not have written it. If that is the case, why do we continue to get on that Merry-go-round and keep pondering about the sins of the flesh? I am talking about that old man as if he is an old friend?

As I see it: The biggest problem we have in the western church are “things.”

Like that fat caterpillar in my garden, we seem to be blinded and bloated and have become sluggish, munching on what God has given us. The western church [not all] is tempted by materialism so much so, that some end up watering down the truth of the gospel. We relent too easily. We either skip over the verses we do not understand or ignore them when we do not agree with them.  Think for a moment about what we are faced with every time we turn on the TV. We are pushed to the limit of how we NEED everything they talk about or else we might not survive. Materialism which is greed is kinship to fear. Greed is lust or covetousness = which is idolatry.

Question: Are you teaching your children to pursue more or to have a thankful heart for what has been given to them? I am not talking about excelling in his gifts.

More appears never to be enough. In the west, we strive for bigger and better. When given a little power, fame and money all appear to be over the top. Gone is the mystery of modesty or shame. Our people end up half dressed, lashes over our own because the originals aren’t long enough. We end up with implants everywhere, even in our derrière’s. Tummy tucks, face and eye lifts. Many doctors have gotten wealthy because of vanity. Botox is a common service, especially when we see the small beginning of a wrinkle.  We follow every new hairstyle and color regardless of what it looks on us. Hairstyles are not one size that fits all. These lies our nation have accepted have creeped into every area of our lives. There are times when we look and sound more like the world.

If the church looks more like the world to attract the world, and the world sees no difference in us, why would they visit the church?

I am an artist, I love colors. Let’s think about colors for a moment. Remember, when everyone was painting their walls beige because someone with authority and power said that is the thing to do? Then, brown was the answer, then black appliances for the kitchens. Today, everyone is going with different shades of gray because “neutrals are acceptable.”

If we do not paint our walls gray, do you fear that you will be an outcast? Where is that fear of man coming from?

One time I painted all my walls in the living room a gorgeous rose pink and loved it but decided to paint over it because of “what others would think about it.” I wish I had never done that!

What a bunch of baloney!

Look outside and you will see God made all the beautiful colors sitting side by side. The deep blue sky filled with His luscious white clouds that are behind His gorgeous green trees. Have you not noticed all the different flowers growing together in many different colors? Yellows make you happy as they grow alongside the pink ones. Every color God has made is a neutral. If you are a red and blue lover, that means that you love purple!

Do not fear. Learn to be who God made you to be. Be yourself. Walk through this life seeing through your lens in Christs, not someone else’s. There is only one you and we were all created unique.

There was this couple who was visiting America for the first time and as they were leaving the plane, one of their children noticed how big the people were and asked, “Mommy, why are there so many big people?”  That was the first thing the child noticed when she stepped off the plane.

With the overeating, we are destroying ourselves. We jokingly make excuses about how good the food was as we put another bite of fried chicken into our mouths, or we go back to the desert for a second helping. Agencies selling how to lose weight have increased because everyone is making a lot of money doing it! In reality, all we have to do is keep our mouths closed.

I confess that I cannot eat just one potato chip or just one nut and that is why I try very hard to stay away from them.

Unfortunately, people still judge by appearances.

I ask you, what is the difference between someone drinking and another one over-eating? Although, we know that alcohol is toxic, continued to the extreme, both are destroying themselves.

Breaking the speed limit by driving too fast or by going too slow? Both are a hazard on the highway.

What is the difference between a lie, an exaggeration or an assumption?

A lie is usually deliberate. Some have lied so much, they believe their own lies. They have said that if you hear something continually repeated, eventually you will believe it.

All those caterpillars know this quite well.

An exaggeration is a word carried or dramatized out of bounds. Comedians exercise this for a laugh. However, we know those who can exaggerate a story and those who exaggerate even the truth. Some even keep the truth out.

An assumption. Websters says it is related to arrogance and pretension, assuming that something is true, a taking for granted. Speaking when you do not know your facts. Giving what you have been taught, not what is truly factual. In Christianity, we always need to check everything out for ourselves what we hear first.   

Next to materialism is our tongues. Most believers are walking around with their foot continually inserted in their mouths and then wonder how they can correct what they just said. May I remind you that every word we speak is being recorded in heaven. We will be judged according to what we have said. If you have been thinking about it long enough, you will either say it or do it.

You are not alone.

If we can begin to break our addictions and chip away from the things of the world and leave them behind us, we will have more peace and less stress.

We will know God’s will for our lives.

If we can listen more and talk less, we will learn more.

My mother used to tell me to think before I spoke. She was always sending me to the dictionary.

Do not share everything you are thinking about,

Do not gossip! Do not repeat something that was given you in confidence.

You are breaking the stronghold of that caterpillar in your life.

Too many cannot discern God’s voice because their mind and heart are too cluttered by the things of the world. If we could see them in the natural, they might look like one of our closets.

Begin to replace whatever your weakness in the world with prayer for strength and tenacity. God is always faithful. Learn to lean upon the Holy Spirit, He is a master in cleaning up our lives. Pray His word. Do not be discouraged. Little by little we become transformed. Sometimes, it seems that the closer you get to our Holy King, the more caterpillars you still have inside of you. At times, the hardest people to love are those closest to you, but God has given us the capability to bare the fruit needed and look past all those nitpicky irritating things and remember where they are struggling in their walk too. It isn’t an easy walk, but the rewards are eternal.

Eternity is a long time.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade-kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.  

1Pe. 1:1-9 niv.

There is a reason for everything we go through.

Be salty!

 

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for the gift of Your Word, Your Holy Spirit and Your Son. This morning You have shown me where I need to be an example in my life. I want to be all I can be to bring you glory. Be my strength and quicken me to pull back from the things of the world, not for me to justify, not compromise, not make excuses, resist and think before I speak and before I eat too much and to call upon You when I am in need. I choose to put all my trust in You and in how You work in my life. In Jesus name I ask. Amen.