April 21 2016

Greetings My Friend I am amazed with the lessons I learn as I read the Bible each day. Isaiah's passage "Tell the righteous that is shall be well with them for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds. Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with them, for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to them." Next I wen to 2 Corinthians to hear Paul teach and prayer was talked about. "Indeed we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.... You must help us by prayer so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessings granted to us through the prayers of many."I learn that if my heart desires the things God desires I will seek to do good. Good is defined by God's goodness, help the lost, lonely, hurting of this world with a heart that seeks God. In recent years Junior and I have attempted to reach out to some financially poor people. Along with being poor some are also lost and lonely. We have offered rides, things of our abundance, food, clothing and even furniture. Some of those who are hurting are truly not looking to move out of their struggles. They think they are but when guided they find a reason why it won't work and stay with the comfortable. Some take and take and take some more and they too do not work to move themselves out of their situation. At some point we walk away. Then there are the ones who take what we have to offer and slowly begin to move themselves from the situation they are in to a better place.That feels real nice. To me that is reaping what we so. There is much enjoyment in that reaching back to give a helping hand. Next I see Paul teaching us as believers first that hardships will be a part of our walk with God. Many times I find these hardships extremely difficult and often wonder why. Later though I marvel at the lessons that came from that difficult journey I went through. I see strength because by relying on God I was able to stay the course and move through my struggle, this too is a joyous moment. The going well was the ability to endure, to trust and in the end to see the good that came from staying the course with God's hand guiding me and holding me. Sometimes I see my faith journey not unlike an athlete who practices and works hard at their field of endeavor. The final result is not just a toned body but the ability to grow in their sport and to play it well. My faith journey to me is building my spiritual muscle. Being in the spirit for me has been confusing and hard to find. Much of what I am learning as I read the Bible talks about the natural world which I get since I live in it. My journey is taking me from the natural to the spiritual. The OT is a whole lot of physical descriptions such as circumcision and in the NT I learn that the physical cutting away of skin becomes a cutting away at my heart not the physical heart another worldly term but of my spiritual heart. Someone prayed for me to open my spiritual heart to God and I did. Someone walked with me as I left dysfunction and turned to a functional way of dealing with life. That functional way is Jesus. Because someone cared I opened my heart to Jesus and now I pray I am a catalyst to open another person's heart with God's loving hand guiding me. At the end of the day I pray I hear God's voice, grow in God's grace and Word and then move towards those He puts me in touch with. For me reaping what I sow is learning to God's will. My prayers and the prayers of others helps me stay on track. May God bless you and keep you make His face shine on you. Love Janet