Is your walk with Jesus close?

[RGR]

Well, Trav, ya know, I don't intend to stay!!! God has also started showing me something in my personal life the last few days that needs changing-MY ATTITUDE/PERSONALITY!!! I get so disgusted easily, especially at work. I can't change on my own, but I know God is showing me this for my good and I've turned it over into His hands. As Joyce Meyers said-"I'm okay, and I'm on my way!"

[traveller]

WooHoo Ronald! I'm with you! I don't intend to stay either. I think those dry places mean we're going on to higher ground Brother!

[traveller]

The Lord showed me this just this morning Ronald. After posting here and sending you a PM, He led me to Psalms 107. The entire chapter is awesome! But check this out -

Psa 107:35 He turneth the wilderness into a standing water, and dry ground into watersprings. Psa 107:36 And there he maketh the hungry to dwell, that they may prepare a city for habitation;

Psa 107:37 And sow the fields, and plant vineyards, which may yield fruits of increase.

Psa 107:38 He blesseth them also, so that they are multiplied greatly; and suffereth not their cattle to decrease.

God is good.

[WayneB]

You make all the sense in the world eric! And I think you and good ole Dad E are right.    We need daily nourishment from the Living Word. Our friend WISDOM once said something that I will never forget. He said that people are all the time asking to have more of God, when in reality, we should be giving God all of us.

I agree Trav. Eric, you make a lot of sense and your posts reflect much wisdom. I appreciate you sharing.

I think our walk with Christ should be progressive and if we find ourselves in a dry spot, we should praise God because He could be prompting us to move on to higher ground. He could be telling us that we have gotten too comfortable and we need to go out and get our daily supply of manna, and move on.

I agree Trav. Our walk is progressive and at some point we need to move beyond our personal comfort zone. Peter pointed that out clearly. He wrote that as we add in increasing measure to those specific characteristics that reflect God's goodness and glory, we will become more effective and productive in our witness and Christian walk. These are the qualities that lead us to "wash one another's feet" (taking care of our brothers and sisters in Christ) and to serve Him by taking care of others regardless of where we may find them...in prison, hospitals, rest homes, wherever. Service to others takes our eyes of ourselves and puts it on Him as we we become a reflection of His glory and goodness, which brings us closer to Him.

2 Peter 1:3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure , they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  9 But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

10 Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

And no, you didn't talk in circles!

Blessings,

Wayne

[Guest Unworthy Servant]

Greetings in Christ; getting closer to God is what it's all about

It's good to hear this kind of thing discussed. Everyone here is seeking the Father in a beautiful way, and I am proud of that in Christ.

I was just on another site where the subject of mentoring came up in trying to help others who were new christians walk closer to the Father as well through the examples of the live that we showed to them in our daily lives.

It is my personal opinion that if we focus upon Christ within our lives much the Peter had to when walking on the water, not only will we have a closer walk, but we may well be unaware of the miricles we are showing to other people as well. What do you think?

May you richly bless God through your life in Him;

The Unworthy Servant

[tsth]

I think our walk with Christ should be progressive and if we find ourselves in a dry spot, we should praise God because He could be prompting us to move on to higher ground. He could be telling us that we have gotten too comfortable and we need to go out and get our daily supply of manna, and move on.

Dear traveller,

Before I even got to your post, I was thinking of the manna that you mentioned. I was moved to post this after your mention of it. I think that as Christians, we have lost our focus in terms of wanting what God wants, in our daily lives. I think we forget that the things that God has in mind are on a totally different level than what we are on. We think of our daily lives in terms of jobs, kids, homes, friends, etc. We have forgotten that our purpose as God's children, is to fulfill what He has in mind to display "through" His children. It's much greater than jobs, homes, etc., it's an understanding each day, as we read His Word, receive His manna, that there is a fulfillment that He intends through His people. And it can be greater than anything we expect. We keep putting ourselves in a little box, rather than understanding that God's plans are GRAND! Just like the Israelites, they kept forgetting that God could provide ANYTHING, do ANYTHING, accomplish ANYTHING. But they kept limiting themselves, by getting hungup on their day to day existance. They forgot the BIG PICTURE! They kept getting uncomfortable. He can do marvelous things through His people, to display His majesty, if we would just be pliable/moldable/clay and willing to do things that initially are uncomfortable for us. If we start our day, with the idea that God has a great journey ahead for us, and read His Word, with that in mind, and stop limiting what He wants us to do/fulfill, our walk will begin to grow even closer. To understand that as His children, He wants to display His Works through us, just as He did with Moses and the others in the Scriptures, simply because they knew and believed that God had a greater plan and realm that just our day to day lives. IT'S MUCH GREATER THAN THAT! God can use us and is waiting for us to be listening and willing! Those times draw us extremely close. To seek out His Will for us in the big scheme of things, and stop being boxed in. Through God all things are possible!

God provides the manna we need for each and every day. We need to spend the time with Him in the morning/in the Word, (gathering it for the day). He wants us to get it daily, for a reason. It draws us nearer to Him.

In His Love,

Suzanne

[traveller]

Amen Suzanne!

[eric]

Amen here too Suzanne. A short tale of demonstrating God's will in our lives:

Living next door to us is a dear old widow of 80 years. My wife and her are both avid gardners and over the ten years we have living next to her, they have become pretty close. On boxing day of last year Melda invited us for lunch. During the meal Melda mentioned that her brother, who lived miles away, was dying of cancer. My wife, Esme (Emmy), asked if he was a christian. Melda said yes he was and was born again. Emmy asked her if she was born again and she said no. A great opening you say, but we started to talk about her brother and missed our chance. But wait! there's more. I remarked to Emmy when we got home that we were very remiss, but she said maybe it was not the time. Now comes the good part.

Acouple of weeks later when Emmy was going to take some books over to Melda, I gave her a salvation booklet called the Mystery of life, published by the Living Stream Ministry, which incidentally changed my life, to give her as well. Two days Melda came over and told Emmy she had read the booklet twice and asked if we would go over and go through it with her. WooooHooooo. Well as it so happened I have a drawer full of these things so we could all have one each. The end result, with much tears and

rejoicing Melda received Christ. What I am trying to say here that I thought God had finished using me because I was 80yrs, but I was wrong because as my daughter pointed out the Moses was 80 when God sent him on one of the most important missions in the bible. Her brother died a couple of days afier that, so we were able to reassure her that he was in the care of our Lord Jesus. It just shows that nobody knows when you are going to be used of God. Living next door to melda on the other side in another dear old widow, same age as Melda, so my wife has some more seeds to sow.

Praise God for His daily manna, which is Christ Jesus.

I'm not very good at cutting long stories short, but I do my best, but what I am also trying to say for the benefit of people who have aged parents who are not saved, Dont write them off. Keep on eating your daily bread and dont take your focus off Jesus.

Thanks for your time and enjoy the Lord.

eric.

[tsth]

Dear Eric,

What a wonderful example and encouragement! Thank you for sharing.....I think that is wonderous!

:il:

In His Love,

Suzanne

[IslandRose]

Amen Eric!

Why are we so quick to see obstacles when it comes to doing God's work. I'm old, I'm poor, I'm sick, I have small children.....

Is my walk with Jesus close? Never as close as I wish to be. I have gone through some of those desert places. I went through a terrible time of depression last fall when I could hardly read my Bible for crying. I felt like God had forgotten me. I KNEW he hadn't...but I FELT alone. And I have had some wonderful times when I could just feel His arms around me. I love the mountain tops, but I learn more about Him in the valleys. I guess because that's when I realize my need for Him more. Maybe if I could just learn to see my need of Him better while I'm on the mountain top, He wouldn't have to let me go through so many valleys .

I just have to remember that when I find myself away from Him....It's not God who has moved.