When genuine joy is dependent on the state of your circumstances.
When you begin to lose the distinct aroma of the fragrance of Christ in your life.
When you begin to feel or act as if self-worth and acceptance is dependent on how well you perform.
When victory or success depends on you and your ability rather than on the adequacy of God and the power of the Holy Spirit.
When you place undue emphasis on programming and planning to the exclusion of His direction, leading and guidance.
When more time is spent in the “activities arena” than in the prayer closet.
When the praises of men and women become more important than the approval of God.
When relating to and caring for people is less important than programs, planning, meetings, and budgets.
When you assume responsibility to worry and fret over things and people that God in His sovereignty and power would take charge of (if you would allow Him to do so).
When your rights become more important than God’s will and way.
I have a couple of kids that catch poison ivy very easily and one of them is my teen daughter. Living in the country like we do, there’s an abundance of it but they know where most of it is and stay away from it, so I was surprised when she came to me and showed me her blisters.
“Mom, why do I get it and you don’t?”
I had to laugh at her question. “Because I don’t go where the poison ivy is and you do.”
It was no sooner out my mouth then God flashed the neon ‘Duh!’ sign He has just for me.
Why do some things affect me that don’t bother or affect my Christian sisters? Because I go where poison ivy is and they don’t.
It’s made me, once again, consider where I walk. Am I tip toeing through poison ivy hoping and praying I don’t get it? It would be so much better if I just stayed away from areas where I know the poison ivy grows!
“Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.” Ephesians 5:15-16 (NAS)
Patty Wysong is a wife and homeschool mom of 5 who is passionate about wrapping lessons in pretty packages that will point others to God.
19 He who tills his land will have plenty of bread, But he who follows frivolity will have poverty enough! 20 A faithful man will abound with blessings, But he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished. Prov 28:19-20 (NKJV)
and those wishing to be rich, do fall into temptation and a snare, and many desires, foolish and hurtful, that sink men into ruin and destruction, 1 Timothy 6:9 (YLT)
Lottery tickets are sold by the millions to people who believe one day they will strike it rich when they have the winning ticket. Gambling is not the way to acquire riches. In fact it is a better way to loose riches. One is much better for having worked for what they possess then to try to win it at a game of chance. I may not be a gambler but I do understand that the roll of a dice can cost you great amounts of money. Some people seem to think they can beat the odds, or beat the house, but anyone who knows, knows the house always wins.
Gambling with the will of God
Some people choose the will of God by a toss of the dice instead of seeking His voice to hear what it is He would have them do. The devil would have us think that we too can beat the odds by rolling the dice and taking our chances on salvation by skirting the way that God prescribed for us to be saved. We must call on the name of the Lord. There is no other way prescribed under heaven whereby a man can be saved. It is not a crap shoot, it is a done deal. We can trust in God’s word and God’s ways of doing things. His will and way will end up being beneficial to us, skirting His ways will not be. Gambling with the plan of salvation is foolish.
Flipping a coin, rolling the dice, spinning a wheel, Eenie meenie minnie moe, does not sound like a solid plan for decision making. I know many people like to just take their chances in life and really have no actual plan of how they are going to achieve anything. They are of the persuasion that no matter what happens, the government or someone is going to come to their rescue. They think someone is always there to bail them out no matter what bad decisions they may make. That is a bit naïve at best and not very sound when planning for the future.
It is true, for the most part, the poorest person in America still lives better than two thirds of the world’s population. Being part of a blessed nation does have its advantages but to go through life hapless and without purpose seems like a gamble. Life is full of surprises but if you take care of the basics and build on a solid foundation then you can be assured that your house will not fall into complete ruin when disaster strikes.
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. Matthew 7:24-25 (ESV)
We can have confidence that someone will be looking out for us if we build our life on God’s word and His principles. That same word will be looking out for us no matter what it is we face in life. No matter what storms life may throw your way, if you base your life’s decisions on the word of God then you have confidence that God will be there for you. He is the rock solid foundation you can rest assured will never fail.
I do not know about you but I would hate to base my financial future on a roll of the dice, a flip of a card, a spin of the wheel, or some lottery somewhere. I like to know that for the most part my future is secure and not up to chance. I can be confident that my financial house is in order by proper planning and preparation. So too it is possible to be sure that my spiritual house is in order as well. Taking care of the important things in life is not something to be left up to chance.
Do not place your hope and life choices on a roll of the dice.
But those who are waiting for the Lord will have new strength; they will get wings like eagles: running, they will not be tired, and walking, they will have no weariness. Isaiah 40:31 (BBE)
A teacher gave her class of second graders a lesson on the magnet and what it does.
The next day in a written test, she included this question:
“My full name has six letters. The first one is M. I am strong and attractive. I pick up things. What am I?”
When the test papers were turned in, the teacher was astonished to find that almost 50 percent of the students answered the question with the word “Mother.”
Insight for your “Journey across the Sky”
A View from the Nest www.eagleviews.org
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Romans 1:16 (ESV)
Allergy medicine that does not relieve the symptoms and religions that does not relieve distress of the people are both ineffectual.
I suffer from allergies. Some days are better than others when it comes to symptoms. When I am having a bad day I want relief from the itchy eyes, the runny nose, and the scratchy throat. I tried many different over the counter medications and most of them did not help on severe allergy days so I went looking for the drug I used to take to remedy the symptoms. And it worked!
I am pretty loyal to brands once I find something that works. I like Tide. It does the job I expect it to do-get my laundry clean and fresh. I like Quaker Oats products, they have always proven themselves to be of high quality at least to my liking. I prefer Coke to Pepsi. I like Hershey chocolate and a Baldwin concert grand piano.
I am not saying that others are not good I just have a preference. Now when it comes to my salvation I found someone who does what He says He will do and can be depended on to fulfill (the promises he made to us). Jesus was the answer to my life’s search for answers.
You may not like Jesus so you are searching for other answers. I hope you do not find like I did that some remedies are not remedies at all. In fact the money I spent on those ineffective allergy medicines could have done far more good being given to a charity somewhere. The drug company that produced these pills only took my money and offered me nothing as far as relief is concerned.
I can think of many things that take money and offer nothing in return. The government comes to mind as a big taker of money and offering very little value in return. Drugs, alcohol, promiscuity, and other vices always take more from you then they offer in return. So do mega-ministries. They offer BIG promises to get your money and then are impotent when it comes time to actually provide the help they promised.
In all my searching for Jesus I am sad to say I tried all the well known manufacturers of the ‘God’s pill’. None of their prescribed methods of salvation worked for me. It was not until I was basically kicked out of every major denomination in the United States did I actually find the ‘God’s pill’ that worked.
Jesus came to me when I sought him with my whole heart. I had given up trying to work out my salvation. I had given up trying to find my own way of making life make sense. I realized I was a failure and had no answers, only questions. When I took those symptoms and questions to the churches representing Christ in the world I was given all kinds of prescriptions to remedy my life symptoms and they all proved ineffectual.
Where was I to go? To whom could I find to represent the truth of God? What did work? What pill could I take to relieve me of the suffering? It was not until I actually tried Jesus, not a denominational view of Jesus, but the actual living breathing resurrected Jesus spoken of in the scriptures, did I find relief from all of life’s ills. No church membership was able to cure my soul sickness. None of the methodologies espoused by the many denominations were able to address my need for soul cleansing. Their prescription masked some of the symptoms but where unable to render a real cure. If I was only seeking to ease the symptoms of my sin sick soul then the denominational church structure was able to provide the needed relief, although temporal at best. Jesus however offered an eternal cure.
Churches need to get back to the basics of the gospel and spread abroad the good news of Christ and his saving power rather than promoting their particular brand of doctrine. What the world needs is more cures from sin sickness and not simply remedies of symptoms.
When people are looking for relief from their spiritual afflictions they too want something that works. When I was spiritually desperate and searching for answers that is when I found Jesus to be the answer to all my spiritual problems.
Drixoral worked for my allergies and Jesus works for my soul sickness. I tried all the rest. I am sticking with the best.
But those who are waiting for the Lord will have new strength; they will get wings like eagles: running, they will not be tired, and walking, they will have no weariness. Isaiah 40:31 (BBE)
When genuine joy is dependent on the state of your circumstances.
Lottery tickets are sold by the millions to people who believe one day they will strike it rich when they have the winning ticket. 
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