OOPS!

Volume 10 Issue 6

Greeting in His Name,

Another catch up article. This is one that was published during my email publication days, but it has been updated. A lot of times in our Christian walk we need to be reminded of some things that helped us to get through before. These are things that challenge us but thank God they don't overcome us. So with that being said, today's blog is entitled Oops! Hope you find some inspiration, conviction, and queries.

shalom and love,

heidi

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Today’s publication is a continuation of the last. This issue of being a mature Christian is really haunting to me, in a GOoD way. Because we have a responsibility to each other in the Lord - Am I my brothers keeper?- I ask God to help me and I would like to share with you His guidance, His help. I want to open with a little story I read. A dear friend and I walked in a local mall each morning. I cherished this time with Ruth, and so, I thought, did she—until another friend of Ruth’s joined us. They enjoyed each other so much that I felt left out. Soon I stooped going. When Ruth called, expressing concern, I was deliberately cool. Then one afternoon, my husband brought home a kitten. Our collie accepted her immediately; soon they were playing together. But our beagle resented this intruder. She even stole a teddy bear I’d placed in the kitten’s basket and hid it in her own. Then she sat and glowered. “Jealous?” I chided, cuddling the beagle. “Look at the fun you’re missing!” Oops. I saw myself in that sulky little beagle! I whispered a prayer of thanks for a timely lesson. Then called Ruth, asked her forgiveness, and agreed to meet my walking companions the next morning. I found that instead of losing a dear friend, I had gained one. *Keep me from the sin of jealousy, because it keeps me from the joy of love. - Aletha Jane.

Your ’Oops! I’m not there yet’ may not be jealousy like Aletha, but it may be lying, stealing, cheating. It may be harboring ill feelings in the heart and mind. It may be relentless resentment, better back-up off me bitterness, or unresolved anger. Gossiping may be your thing, backbiting, eye service, or it may be your need to get the last word and have everything your way. It is said that it is the small foxes that spoil the vine. It’s those little bitty small things that tend to disturb our walk with God. Whatever the case may be God is saying, “Grow UP!” I did say from the beginning that we are responsible to and for each other. Ephesians 4:16 AMP For because of Him the whole body (the church, in all its various parts), closely joined and firmly knit together by the joints and ligaments with which it is supplied, when each part [with power adapted to its need] is working properly [in all its functions], grows to full maturity, building itself up in love. There's that word again, MATURITY! Think back on the issue Walking in the Favor of God. One of our steps to true favor was to be mature. In order for us to truly see God in His fullness we have to understand that God is a God of order, He has high expectations for us and His goal is that we win. He wants us to triumph over all our little foxes and live in peace here on this earth and forever peace with Him in the new earth to come (Rev 21:1).

If your life seems to be an error to you and nothing seems to be going right, whether saved or not, God can fix it. Look at the graphic to your right. Our life is much like a computer.

We have the CPU our brain, the hard drive our heart, the keyboard what we allow to be typed into our life. I thought about being saved and how synonymous it can be to saving data on your computer. When you save data to your computer it enters the CPU, hard drive through the keyboard. Being saved can be viewed similarly; we invite Jesus, the ultimate techie guy, in to our system. He takes our system through a disk defragmenter process. This is where He cleans all unnecessary clutter and junk from ours lives, each byte at a time. He installs the most protective Anti-Virus ware, the Holy Spirit, and will regularly attempt Virus Scans. This all depends on you. Because God gave us a free will we can decide to allow God to work for us or we can decide not. The mature thing to do is to let Him into all your files, let Him re-write some of your programming. One thing no one wants is a computer break down, nor does any of us want to experience a breakdown or breach in our relationship with God.

I believe I am writing this publication because I have experienced a lot of ‘Oops’ in life. And often can be very judgmental and hard on myself for making such, seeming at the time, stupid mistakes. When you sit under an anointed ministry, as I have done, that truly teaches the Word of God – you ask yourself “why?” Because I have fallen short, more times than I would like to admit, I can give you the answer to that question, my own selfish desire. Yes me! I wish we could all be so together like the Walgreens commercial but we are not in the land of perfect. Not to make an excuse. But one thing I shared with a close friend that I am grateful for is conviction, a true sign that the Holy Spirit is in your life. With conviction comes repentance and God has promised in 1 John 1: 9 to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Whatever is unrighteous, not right, unjust, wicked, let it go. Put a remove from premises notice on it. And move the vacancy sign to no vacancies. Tell yourself, “self, the Holy Spirit now resides in this area of my life and I have no room for folly.” But if it is profitable to your soul embrace it with all you got.

In closing don’t let your “I’m not there yet” or “Oops” in life stop you from fulfilling your life’s plan. Jeremiah 29:11-13 KJV For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. Search for Him.

Serenity Prayer

(Extended version)

"Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will; That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him Forever in the next. Amen."

LIFE QUOTE

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

-Reinhold Niebuhr (American Theologian 1892-1971)

Let Us Laugh!

A cement mixer and a prison bus crashed on the highway. Police advise citizens to look out for a group of hardened criminals.

(https://bestlifeonline.com/funny-clean-jokes/)

Hope to see you shortly with another catch up article.

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