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8:45:00 PM EDT
Feeling Quiet
On My Mind
One day, God was looking down at earth and saw all of the bad behavior that was going on. So he called one of his angels and sent the angel to earth for a time.
When the angel returned, he told God, 'Yes, it is bad on Earth. 95% are misbehaving and only 5% are not'. God thought for a moment and said 'Maybe I had better send down a second angel to get another opinion'.
So, God called another angel and sent her down to earth for a time, too. When the angel returned, she went to God and said, 'Yes, it's true. The earth is in decline; 95% are misbehaving, but 5% are being good'.
God was not pleased, so he decided to e-mail the 5% who were good because he wanted to encourage them and give them a little something to help keep them going.
You know what the e-mail said?
No?
Okay, just wondering. I didn't get one either.
My first thought was "funny". My second thought was "ouch". Ouch because I wondered if God was really to do this, would I get an email? After all, the joke doesn't say if you have accepted Christ as your savior. Nor does it say if you call yourself a Christian. It was if you are "being good".
None, no not one is TRULY good accept for Christ. But we who claim Him should be trying daily to be as good as we can. We should be trying to follow the laws and commandments of the Bible. Jesus said that "if you love me you will obey me". That's pretty straight forward. We should be being the "best we can be", as the old army commercial theme song used to say. After all, we are in the Lord's army! And Jesus is our General. Are we following His "marching orders" or have we gone "AWOL"?
Or have the trials and trouble of this world left you feeling "shell shocked" and unable to proceed? Are you lying in the "infirmary" of confusion and self doubt? Have the enemy of worldly things taken your heart or mind "captive"? "Missing in action" because you are afraid you won't measure up, don't trust your training. Did you indeed become AWOL? Are you "dodging" your calling and your "duty"? Step up and get your "field orders" from the Holy Spirit! "March" in time to His will! "Enlist" in some soul searching and confession. Get in "basic training" through the word and the church.
Present yourself "ready for action", one of the "few, the proud, the called"!
National prayer day would be a good place to start. Prayer for our misguided nation. For our leaders. For the world. And most importantly, for yourself and His leadership, scrutiny, forgiveness and blessing. For the only way to truly change anything is to change yourself.
- Barbara
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Hi Barb,
Thank you for the warm comment on my last blog post. the joke you posted was very good-- but most people miss the point that somehow they can merit everlasting life in heaven with Christ by BEING "GOOD."
There is NOTHING that we can do personally to merit life in heaven! Only thru the blood of Jesus and our absolute faith and TRUST in Him does the Father admit us into the Kingdom of Heaven. The book of Romans bares this all out.
I am very excited about the new book I am almost done reading, FREEDOM FROM ADDICTIONS, by Neil T. Anderson, which fully explains about finding freedom in Christ. I learned tons of great things that helped me.
Cordially,
Tom Schuckman
tschuckman@aol.com -
Oh Barbara- this is good. I don't know if I'd get an e mail either, but I hope I would! I'm not AWOL, but sometimes I think I'm hiding in the fox hole with my hands over my ears! It's a tough job, but I'm going to hang in there for the whole fight~ maybe more bloody than He planned for me to be, but hopefully able to stand before Him and hearing "Well done good and faitful servant". I'll be joining you in the day of prayer tomorrow Barbara- God Bless, and I hope all is well with you and Pete~ love Carolyn
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Barb~The military anology works really well; I like it a lot. There was discussion last night among a group of Christians about those who called themselves Christian, but yet had no conviction, no daily striving to be good or better. Someone was saying about how people "got Saved" and then dropped out. Well what about "judge not lest ye be judged"? The group was taking so long to get around to the Bible study on Romans; I doubt it was a coincidence that the part not gotten to was going to be about not judging, oneness, unity...What about God going to get the one sheep that went astray while leaving temporarily the flock of 99? I dunno...So much to think about, but I trust Him to guide my thoughts and actions 100%...I'm going to check out the older entry.
Blessings to you & yours, Deborah ;-)
http://journals.aol.com/sassydee50/SassysPrivateWords -
Thank goodness for grace!!!!!
Traci
5/1/08 12:53 AM
A SCRIPTURE TO THINK ABOUT, 'NARROW IS THE WAY AND FEW THERE BE THAT FIND IT'.
I PRAY FOR WISDOM AND GUIDANCE TO FIND THAT NARROW WAY AND HELP OTHERS TO KNOW JESUS. HE KNOWS HIS SHEEP AND WE KNOW HIM.
NOW ABOUT BLACKBERRIES- - - WHAT A WONDERFUL FRUIT TO HELP GET THROUGH THE GREAT DEPRESSION OF THE 1930s.
SUGAR WAS 5 CENTS A POUND AND WILD BLACKBERRIES PLENTIFUL. STARTING EARLY MORNING OUR FAMILY COULD BY ABOUT 10:AM HAVE SEVERAL GALLON OF BERRIES PICKED. TEMPERATURE GETTING UP NEAR 100 DEGREES.
I CAN STILL REMEMBER THE SOUND OF THE FIRST HANDFUL OF BERRIES HITTING THE BOTTOM OF THE BUCKETS AS WE BEGAN PICKING. CHIGGERS WERE PLENTIFUL TOO. WE TRIED TO DISCOURAGE THE CHIGGERS BY RUBBING A LITTLE BIT OF KEROSENE ON OUR WRISTS AND ANKLES. TICKS TOO WERE THERE. THIS WAS IN EASTERN OKLAHOMA, CHOUTEAU AND LOCUST GROVE WERE THE NEARBY SMALL TOWNS, NEAR THE NEOSHO RIVER.
'OH' THAT BLACKBERRY JELLY AND JAM THAT DEAR OLD MOTHER MADE, OF COURSE WITH HELP OF THE OLDER GIRLS AND GRANDMOTHER NANCY GAGE, ENOUGH OF TO LAST ALL WINTER. MIGHTY FINE EATING ON HOT BISCUITS WITH
REAL BUTTER. ANOTHER DELICACY WAS 'SAND PLUM JAM'. sam