Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Who Are You?

Copyright (c) 2010 Stephen Lau

Who are you?

Reflect on your own identity.

The Bible says that man is created in the image of God. If
God is good, His creation must, therefore, be good. But the
Bible also says that because of the sin of Adam and Eve,
man has become evil. For salvation from man's evil nature,
we have to look outside of ourselves--that is, we must turn
to God or Jesus.

There is no denying that there is a lot of evil, as well as
good, in this world of today. So, are we good or evil?

More importantly, who are we? We are living in a busy and
hectic world that we seldom have the opportunity to pause
and reflect on this simple question "Who are we?"

In terms of our individual sense of who we are, most of us
would identify ourselves with the roles we play in everyday
life, such as the role as a child, a student, a spouse, a
parent, or a professional. But other than these specific
roles we play in our everyday life, who are we when we are
all alone by ourselves?

Who are you? Ask yourself that simple question when you are
all alone by yourself. This may look a simple question to
you, but the answer may not be that simple.

In life, you easily get caught up in your work,
relationships, emotions, and thoughts that you may have no
time to reflect on that simple question: "Who are you?" In
life, many people think that if they are not doing
something, such as watching TV, they are wasting their
time. So they keep themselves occupied with activities
during every wakeful moment of their lives. On the other
hand, there are also many people who spend much of their
time deliberately thinking about something. For these
individuals, it is difficult, if not impossible, to answer
that simple question: "Who are you?"

Unless you have a completely calm and clear mind, which
enables you to see the whole picture of who you really are,
you would tend to associate your identity with the various
roles you play in your everyday life. In real life, you are
playing so many different roles and being so occupied with
the activities accompanying these roles that you seldom
have an opportunity to see your real self as a whole--that
is, who you really are.

It is very much like the story of the blind men touching
the elephant and being asked to describe what the elephant
might look like to them. Each of them touching different
parts of the same elephant offered different perspectives
of the same elephant.

Likewise, living in the frenzied world may make you look at
yourself only as different individuals playing different
roles, instead of seeing yourself as one "whole" human
being--that is, who you are, or your true identify. Without
the complete clarity of mind and complete vision of your
whole being, you would be like one of the blind men--only
"seeing" part of the elephant, instead of its entirety.

So, what is the complete clarity of mind? Or how can you
achieve that complete vision of self?

That illumination is deliberate thinking of nothing, and
deliberate reacting to nothing, thereby instrumental in
creating the awareness or mindfulness which sheds light on
who you are or your true identify as a human being. And
this mindfulness or self-illumination is attained through
meditation, which enables you to see yourself with complete
clarity of mind.


----------------------------------------------------
Use meditation to harness mind power to transform your
life. Go to the author's web page: Meditation Techniques
(http://www.rethinkyourdepression.com/meditation-techniques.
html
) to learn how to meditate. Also, visit the author's
website: Living for Life (http://www.livingforlife.info )
to get the resources for the art of living well. Stephen
Lau is a writer and researcher with books and websites on
health and wellness.


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Sunday, July 25, 2010

Greatly Ordinary and Ordinarily Grateful

Paul's teaching about gifts was about the unity of the
Spirit, not about the difference between the Twelve
apostles and the rest of us. If anything, Paul understood
his use of the word "apostles" to mean all who had been
called to be ambassadors for Christ. And who were they?
Were they a select group of Christians? No! Paul wrote in
his Second Letter to the Corinthians that all Christians
are called to be ambassadors for Christ.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.
The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this
is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself
and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in
Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not
counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to
us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are
ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us.
We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God."
-- 2 Corinthians 5:17-20

This applies to all Christians, not just the Twelve
Apostles. That seems to be what Paul had in mind when he
used the word apostles. He was saying that Christ's
appearance to the apostles, to Christians across the board,
was a necessary element of the resurrection aspect of the
gospel. He was saying that one could not be an ambassador
for Christ apart from personally witnessing Christ's
resurrection appearance in bodily form, that being a
Christian involved a personal seeing or appearance of the
resurrected Christ. Exactly what that means is not as clear
as the fact that it is what Paul said.

As you might expect, the Greek is interesting at this point
(1 Corinthians 15:5-7). The Greek is translated as
"appeared" or "was seen." I suspect that it was a play on
words, that many people would describe as a kind of
mysterious vision or insight, a seeing of something
mysterious. The KJV translates it as "he was seen." There
is a change in the subject of the sentence in some of the
more recent translations. Again, the KJV reads, "After
that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles,"
whereas the ESV reads, "Then he appeared to James, then to
all the apostles" (1 Corinthians 15:7). In the KJV James
does the seeing, and in the ESV the Lord does the appearing.

Then there is the difference between "appeared to" and "was
seen of." There is no corresponding preposition in the
Greek. It is assumed or added because of the context. A
preposition, of course, suggests a relationship. The word
"of" means belonging to or associated with. The contextual
assumption is that the seeing or appearance of Jesus
belonged to or was associated with the person who saw Him.
The seeing, the belonging and the association are correctly
understood as being all tied up together. Consequently, it
appears that there is more to this seeing of the
resurrected Jesus than meets the eye, if you see what I
mean. I don't intend to be cute or witty, that's not the
point. I'm not sure what to make of it.

James saw Him, then all the apostles saw Him ascend into
the clouds. And finally, said Paul, "he appeared also to
me," or in the KJV "he was seen of me also" (1 Corinthians
15:8). Paul notes in the same verse that he (Paul) was "one
untimely born" (ESV) or "one born out of due time" (KJV).
The Greek is one word (ektroma) and literally means
miscarriage or abortion. John Gill notes that "several
learned interpreters think the apostle refers to a
proverbial way of speaking among the common people at Rome,
who used to call such supernumerary senators in the times
of Augustus Caesar, who got into the senate house by favor
or bribery." Gill goes on to suggest that such senators
were generally very unworthy of their office, and that Paul
"calls himself by this name, as being in his own opinion a
supernumerary (minor) apostle, and very unworthy of that
office." Thus, Paul seems to be suggesting his own
unworthiness with regard to this special kind of seeing or
vision of the bodily resurrection of Christ, unworthy of
his calling to be an ambassador of Christ.

In support of this view Paul goes on to say, "For I am the
least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle,
because I persecuted the church of God" (1 Corinthians
15:9). It should be noted here that Paul probably did not
consider himself to be in the same category as the Twelve
Apostles.

There was symbolic importance to the number twelve because,
with God's apparent abandonment of Judas, the Apostles cast
lots or elected a replacement for Judas -- Matthias by name
(Acts 1:23). Obviously, the Twelve Apostles symbolically
corresponded with the Twelve Tribes of the Old Testament.
With the loss of Judas there were eleven, and with the
election of Matthias the Twelve was restored in order to
maintain the symbolism. So, what was Paul? To consider Paul
one of the Twelve would require discounting Matthias. But
Paul never mentions Matthias, neither does anyone else. So,
I don't think that Paul had any intention of counting
himself among the Twelve Apostles. He was denigrating his
role, not lifting himself up.

Rather, Paul understood himself to be a model for ordinary
Christians to emulate, a model that people would emulate as
a mark of faithfulness. Paul was modeling the role of a
Christian as a prophet. He was prophesying, explaining what
he knew about Scripture, about God, what he knew as a
result of his own regeneration. Earlier in this letter Paul
had called the Corinthians to "be imitators of me" (1
Corinthians 4:16), of Paul. Paul's use of the word
"apostle" was not intended to set himself up as the
thirteenth Apostle. Rather, Paul intended the reference to
his being an apostle to be understood in the generic sense
of an ambassador for Christ, in the sense that all
Christians are called to be ambassadors for Christ in the
midst of whatever circumstances God has given them. Paul
understood himself, not as a great man, but as an ordinary
man who had been called to faith in Christ.

In Paul's own words he was "unworthy to be called an
apostle, because I (he) persecuted the church of God" (1
Corinthians 15:9). Yes, Paul had impressive credentials:
"circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of
the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law,
a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to
righteousness, under the law blameless" (Philippians
3:5-6). Paul had been a thoroughbred Pharisee -- smart,
well-educated, well-bred, etc. He had more biblical
knowledge and skills than any of the Apostles.

But he did not count any of that stuff to his credit.
Rather, he found it to be a liability, to be rubbish in the
light of Christ. "But whatever gain I had, I counted as
loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as
loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ
Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all
things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain
Christ" (Philippians 3:7-8). Paul's impressive credentials
were worse than nothing in his own eyes. They were not to
his credit, but to his demerit. He threw them away when he
became a Christian. In Christ he saw himself as an ordinary
sinner -- no, rather an extraordinary sinner (1 Timothy
1:15).

Paul strove to be an ordinary Christian, not to be a great
saint. And if we are to imitate Paul, we too should strive
to be ordinary Christians who live ordinary lives in the
midst of ordinary circumstances, to prophesy in the midst
of our ordinary circumstances, which means to endeavor to
understand, explain and apply Scripture in our ordinary
lives. Therein we will find many of the blessings that
issue from salvation in Christ.


----------------------------------------------------
Phillip A. Ross, author of many Christian books, founded
http://www.Pilgrim-Platform.org in 1998. He published a
exposition First Corinthians In 2008 that demonstrates the
Apostle Paul's opposition to worldly Christianity. Ross
recounts how Paul turned the world upside down in his book,
Arsy Varsy -- Reclaiming the Gospel in First Corinthians.


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Wednesday, July 14, 2010

How to Do Centering Prayer

Recently, more and more people are becoming interested in
learning how to do centering prayer. This is a prayer
technique that is based on the traditions and teachings of
the Christian church. In this method of prayer,
participants attempt to let go of all thoughts, emotions,
memories, and sensations. The goal is to quiet the mind in
order to better experience God's presence within. When this
state is achieved, one is said to be "resting in God". Here
are the basic steps of centering prayer.

The following are the basic steps:

1. Choose a sacred word, which symbolizes your intention to
be open to God's presence within. You might, for instance,
pick "love", "God", "peace", or "Father" as your sacred
word. The word itself is not important, but rather the
intention behind it.

2. Sit down in a quiet, comfortable place with your eyes
closed and silently invoke the chosen word to indicate your
desire to awaken yourself to God's presence within you.

3. Return to the chosen word to dispel thoughts when they
arise and bring your focus back to God.

4. End your prayer session by sitting quietly for a few
moments before opening your eyes again.

Prayer can be practiced privately, or with a partner or
group. Most people prefer private practice, however if
there is a prayer group in your area, you should consider
praying with the group on occasion. Many people find these
groups to be a great support, and a good way to encourage
perseverance.

How Long Should You Pray?

Ideally, centering prayer should be a daily practice. Many
people find it beneficial to practice for twenty minutes a
day, twice a day, although some people pray for longer than
this. You may start with one session in the morning and
practice a second session later on in the day, or if you
can only spare the time for one session, you may extend
this one session whenever possible.

If you are a beginner, you may find it difficult to
practice even for just a few minutes, so start off slowly
and gradually increase the frequency and duration of your
sessions as your practice develops.

Invoking the Sacred Word

When praying, the object is not to focus on the sacred
word, but rather to use it as a tool to disengage from your
thoughts. You should not repeat the sacred word over and
over again in your mind like a chant, as doing so would
make the word, and not God's presence, the focus of your
prayer. It should lie lightly in your mind, there to clear
your thoughts when you need it but not the focus of your
attention.

Many people find it difficult to clear their mind of
distractions, especially when they are new to the practice.
The past way to get past this is to continue your practice.
As you do, you will become better at quieting your mind.
The other thing you can do is accept your thoughts when
they come, which will also help you let them pass through
you more easily. As you do, you will be better able to seek
God's presence within you and be open to His grace.


----------------------------------------------------
Is your life out of balance? Do you need a Biblical
makeover? Feeling depressed or disconnected from God? Learn
about the Detox Your Life Now & Awaken Your Inner Spirit
Program at http://www.detoxyourlifenow.com .

Rhonda Jones is the author of 22 Christian meditation &
affirmation CDs, visit http://www.thechristianmeditator.com
to find CDs & MP3s on stress-relief, healing, love, peace,&
more.


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Sunday, July 11, 2010

Self Defense

It is amazing how the Lord's power extends to everyone...A
funny story I heard about an old lady who lived alone in
the back woods of Louisiana... One late night, a burglar
came in through the back door of her house. He apparently
wanted to steal whatever he can get his hands on. So while
all the lights were out in the house he blindly grabbed
items in the dark. Things began to fall and crash causing a
major disturbance; therefore, startling the old lady.

At this time, the old lady was terrified and confused. She
grabbed her bible and yelled " Acts 22 ". Surprisingly,
the burglar yelled back " don't shoot, I am leaving " and
bolted out the door.

What made me laugh is the fact that the bandit thought the
old lady was carrying an "Axe" and "22" pistol.

I believe God works in mysterious ways. However, not
everyone is fortunate in escaping danger or death.

A simple Door Stop Alarm could have prevented the burglar
from getting inside the home. There are so many way you
can do to protect yourself. One is carrying a personal
security device, such as Personal alarms. They are small
and compact which makes them easy and convenient to carry
with you. Criminals don't like attention with up to 130
decibels a personal alarm produces a loud, high pitch sound
that will get needed attention. Units are becoming more and
more diverse, so the same personal alarm that you carry on
those walks with double as a door and window alarm.

Let's face it, criminal's are getting more and more
sophisticated and cunning in this day and age. Start
learning different ways to protect you and your family
from becoming victims of crimes. There are so many great
self defense product for homes, apartments, hotels, or at
the office.

Another awesome self defense product is Pepper Spray, also
known as OC spray, is a lachrymatory agent (a chemical
compound that irritates the eyes to cause tears, pain, and
even temporary blindness). Pepper spray typically comes in
canisters, which are often small enough to be carried, and
or concealed in a pocket or purse.

Use all the tools God provides in order to live life fully
without being victimized." Protect you and your family
against crimes and unnecessary attacks. It is a small
price to pay and an effective way to arm yourselves.


----------------------------------------------------
James T Flanders is a writer with a passion for keeping
families safe. Door Stop Alarms are just one of many
personal protection devices available on his website. He
also supplies pepper spray, stun guns, mace, and Taser C2
for self defense, all at the lowest possible price:
http://www.HighVoltageStunGuns.com


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Thursday, July 8, 2010

Who Really Cares About You?

Are there times in your life when you feel like nobody
really cares about you? Yes, there are people who show
some concern. But who really knows and understands you?

Life is full of challenges. Sometimes those challenges are
small. Other times they are big. And then there are times
when it seems like the challenges are just too much to
handle. But who really cares?

Again, there may very well be people who are concerned and
hope things turn out for the best. But in challenging
times, you can often feel all alone. The burden is all
yours to carry.

Feeling all alone can be frightening. Thinking of carrying
the weight of your burdens all by yourself can be
frustrating. Believing that no one loves you can be
depressing.

So what can you do in times like that? Can you ask someone
to please try and understand you? Can you share your whole
soul to someone in hopes that they will really help you?
Can you tell someone just how much fear you really feel?

The answer is yes. You can share it all with God.

Far too often people think that everything that they talk
to God about has to be with the right and proper religious
words. They dare not express what they are really feeling
at the moment, because that would somehow be sacrilegious.
They better not speak anything negative, because that would
indicate their ingratitude.

So, instead of going to God, people so often unload on
their friends and loved ones. They tell them just how bad
they feel and all their frustrations. And most of the time
the response they get back is something like, "Gee that's
really too bad. I sure hope things get better soon."

Why do some people think that they can express exactly how
they feel to their friends, but think it is not appropriate
to speak to God that way? Why do people think that God
wants to hear pre-written prayers, or right and proper
religious words?

In the Bible, there are a number of examples of people
talking to God and telling Him just how they felt. Moses
said, "You got the wrong guy; I'm not going." Gideon said,
"If God is still around, where are all the miracles?"

You read in the book of Psalms in a number of places about
those who just let it all go when talking to God. They
weren't being irreverent or disrespectful. They were just
communicating where their heart and life was at that moment.

There is a huge difference between blaming God and accusing
Him of evil, and pouring out your fears and frustrations to
God. The Bible says that His ears are open unto our
prayers, and, prayer is talking to God. The Bible says
that we ought to pour out our hearts to Him.

Why should we do that? Because He said to, "cast all your
cares upon Him, because He cares for you." God genuinely
cares about you. He is not only concerned, but He has
unlimited resources to help you in any situation you may be
faced with.

Why does God care about you? Because He loves you. And
His love never waivers; there is nothing that can separate
you from his love. His love is totally unconditional.

No one could ever earn God's love. No one deserves God's
love. But His very nature is love. He so loved the world
that he gave His only begotten Son so that we could have
eternal life. That is immeasurable love.

Why does God love you? Jesus said, "The Father himself
loves you, because you have loved me, and have believed
that I came out from God." All God requires is to believe
in His Son. That opens the door for God's love to you.

So always remember that you are not alone. You do not have
be afraid and frustrated. You can go to the one who loves
you unconditionally and pour our heart out to Him. Give
Him all your hurt, all your fears and all your frustrations.

Tell Him just how you feel. Ask Him to help you. Believe
that He will. And keep going to Him in prayer, asking for
His help, and looking for and expecting His solutions.

There is nothing that can separate you from God's love.
His love for you never, ever waivers. And the Bible says
that God is a very present help in time of trouble. God
really cares about you because He really loves you.


----------------------------------------------------
Michael A. Verdicchio offers a FREE LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP to,
"Enriching Your Life Now!" as well as a FREE NEWSLETTER at
http://www.ConfidenceAndJoy.com He also offers a FREE
series of articles on success at
http://www.ReducingStressAtWork.com
Michael is a husband, father, minister, author, and
broadcaster. He has also been the voice on numerous
projects and productions including Mike's Pep Talks!


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Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Pray that We Hear Gods Whisper in our Lives

Copyright (c) 2010 Joy Obihara

Did you know that God Speaks to us on a daily basis?

Yes, but sometimes due to the hectic lives we live these
days some people don't schedule any quiet or prayer time,
let alone have time to meditate on Gods words in their
lives?

Finding Time to Pray

Well, if you've been struggling to find time to pray or
meditate on your inner communication with God, then today,
you can start by just following some simple steps.

Decide to start, and schedule a little time regularly, even
if it's just 5 minutes a day for reading the bible, and put
some effort into meditating on what you read.

This can then be followed by another 5 minutes of prayer.
You'll be acquiring Praying Power on a daily basis, even
though at the beginning you may not feel you are.

In time, you will begin to feel this Power in your life and
the process that may have seemed long at the start will
then gradually seem like a normal part of your daily life.

Praying Power Reassurance

In other words as you come to realise the awesome power of
Prayers in your life and what it can do for you through
your persistent prayers in faith, then you'll know that
there's no need to struggle, because the word of God tells
us that we are all made in the image and likeness of God.

You may also practice the verses in Psalm 16 verses 7-8,
which says:

"I will praise the Lord, who counsels me, even at night, my
heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me,
and because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken".

Growing in Practice

As you do this daily, you will grow in your wisdom and
power and you'll realise that praying power can go before
you to sort and direct every single problem you have in
life.

Why is this so?

Simply because Praying Power is Spiritual, and the energy
force when directed in the wholeheartedness of prayers
cannot be reckoned with. This is dynamic force, working
for you, and through you, when you call upon it in faith.

When you read the Bible, think and digest as you go along.
Let there be a frequent lifting of the heart to God in
reading the Bible and in prayer. Note that "It is not the
bee that flies so swiftly from flower to flower that
gathers the honey, but the bee that goes down into the
flower and seeks to find earnestly".

So, in your prayers and reading the Bible, a few sentences
taken into the mind and heart, and dwelt upon until they
have become a part of you, are better than many pages read
superficially.

Holding onto the Word of God in Faith

As you do this, you will grow in your wisdom and power and
you will realise that you have within you the key to unlock
your mind's vault through effective prayers.

Know that diligence in this practice, and ongoing prayers
and meditation, is the secret of success in all manner of
life and especially in the Christian life.


----------------------------------------------------
To watch the one minute video on The Astonishing Power of
Prayers, receive your FREE Praying Power publications, your
Success Keys to Prayers and your Vital Prayer Needs, visit
=> http://www.prayingpower.org Here, you'll discover some
of the most Powerful Prayer Warriors, revealing their
wisdom to transform lives for decades. You too can
experience that Lifestyle Freedom Starting Now.


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Friday, July 2, 2010

How Can Christians Apply the Law of Attraction?

If you are reading this, chances are high that you have
watched 'The Secret'. The basic premise of this movie is
the law of attraction. Simply put, this means that you get
what you put out or, like attracts like. How can Christians
apply the law of attraction? The good news is that the law
of attraction does not contradict with the teachings of
Christianity.

As a Christian, you already believe in God. In other words,
you are aware that there is a higher power at work; in
fact, God is the source to all things that you see.

Fortunately for us all, this law organizes everything
effortless. We just have to be ourselves. We may sometimes
fool ourselves into thinking that we have created
something; however, it is more accurate to say that it is
the law of attraction that has organized it to our
summoning.

Essentially, it all begins with you. What you think about
or meditate on is what you create. The Bible says as a man
thinks in his heart so is he. These are not judgments at
all; just the way the universe works, whether you
understand it or not.

One simple way that you can start using the law of
attraction is to begin with an intention. An intention is
something that you want or would like to see happen in your
life. How do you know if the intention is right for you? By
the way you feel. God said if our hearts do not condemn us
that we have confidence towards God, meaning, we are in
alignment with God's plan for us. It also means that there
is nothing standing in between us and God's blessings.

When you are feeling good and at peace in your heart, rest
assured that you are headed in the right direction. When
you are feeling bad or lacking peace, you may be going the
opposite way or your plans may not be alignment with what
God has for you. I use my feelings quite often to
determine what direction I should take.

One time I was going to buy a car, but everything inside of
me was screaming, "don't buy it." There was no visible
reason not too and I had even had the car checked out by a
mechanic beforehand. Unfortunately, I didn't listen to my
inner spirit and bought it anyway. It was one of the worst
regrets of my life because that car gave me nothing but
problems. If only I would have listened to my spirit or
inner feelings.

If you have taken the time to notice, it is not really the
things, people or circumstances that make it better or
worst for you. It has more to do with where you place your
attention and this, you have absolute control over. You
don't control your feelings either because that is just a
feedback mechanism for you; meaning, your emotions are like
a signal letting you know what's going on in your head.

How can Christians apply the law of attraction? By
utilizing their feelings in order to direct the attention
of the mind. Thank goodness that every individual on the
planet actually has access to these things, free-of-charge;
some just do not know that they have it in them.


----------------------------------------------------
Is your life out of balance? Need a Biblical makeover?
Feeling disconnected from God? Learn about the Detox Your
Life Now & Awaken Your Inner Spirit Program at
http://www.detoxyourlifenow.com .

Rhonda Jones is the author of 22 Christian meditation &
affirmation CDs, visit http://www.thechristianmeditator.com
to find CDs and MP3s on weight loss, healing, healthy
living, peace, and more.


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Thursday, July 1, 2010

God Is Not Testing You

Have you noticed that God gets blamed for a lot of things;
not just natural disasters, but even personal disasters in
people's lives? And you've probably heard this standard
line often comes up, "God is testing you." But is God
really testing you?

About a year and a half ago, I was talking to a friend who
had just been laid off from work. He said to me, "If God
is testing me, I sure hope He realizes that I'm only a "C"
student."

People use the phrase, "God is testing me," quite a bit.
But if you look at it honestly, what does that mean? It
means that whatever calamity you are trying to deal with,
God is the one who engineered it and brought it into your
life. Why would He do this? Does He have nothing better to
do than test people?

Some would argue that, "this test is to help you become
stronger." Really? If that is the reason then why have so
many people, who have run into difficult times, not come
out stronger? In fact some have even ended up in total
despair?

I guess they just failed the test. That's too bad for
them. Oh well, on to the next person and their test; let's
see what they can do.

How absurd to think that God goes around testing people
knowing that the test for some will end up in utter
despair. Does that sound like a loving God? No. it
sounds like some sort of diabolical entity.

The next time someone confidently informs you that God is
"testing" you, ask them a question. Ask, "How do you know
that God is testing me? Did He tell you?" If that doesn't
stop them, then ask, "And just how long is this test, since
you know so much about what God is doing in my life?"

But don't bother to ask them why God is testing you. They
will most likely tell you that God works in mysterious
ways, or something similar. Let's save the "God is
mysterious" debate for another day.

The problem is that far too many sincere, well intentioned
people are just in the habit of saying, "God is testing
you. God works in mysterious ways. God must have a reason
for letting this happen to you."

I don't know which God people are talking about, but the
God of the Bible does not go around making life hard for
people just to "test" them or make them stronger. God
doesn't take someone's job away so that they can become
stronger by having no income. He doesn't give people
diseases, or cause loved ones to die.

Now I am fully aware that in serious or tragic situations,
one might certainly look to God more than ever, asking for
His help. Who better to turn to in a crisis? But God did
not cause the crisis, and I get so tired of hearing God
getting blamed for so much evil.

God is our Father; we are His children. I'm a dad. Would
I hold back my daily supply of food for my children just to
make them stronger? Would I intentionally give them a cold
just to test them and see how they react? Would I murder
their brother?

Some may think that last paragraph crossed the line. And
yet, God Almighty, the Creator of the heavens and the
earth, our heavenly Father, gets blamed for things like
that every single day. If I did those things, I would be
arrested, and rightly so. But God just works in mysterious
ways?

The God of the Bible is not mysterious. His intentions are
clearly recorded in the scriptures, both Old and New
Testaments. One can clearly read of His promises of help
and deliverance; prosperity and help; joy and peace;
solutions and victory.

So you can chose to take everybody else's word, and wonder
why God is testing you and why He thinks it will make you
stronger. Or you can decide take Him at His Word and
believe Him, and then get the results that He promised.

I told my friend who had just been laid off from work that
God wasn't testing Him. I told him that God wanted to help
him and that if he trusted God, God would bring him a
solution. He took my advice, and found a job in less than a
week.

God is a very loving Father who wants to bless and take
care of His kids.


----------------------------------------------------
Michael A. Verdicchio offers a FREE LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP to,
"Enriching Your Life Now!" as well as a FREE NEWSLETTER at
http://www.ConfidenceAndJoy.com He also offers a FREE
series of articles on success at
http://www.ReducingStressAtWork.com
Michael is a husband, father, minister, author, and
broadcaster. He has also been the voice on numerous
projects and productions including Mike's Pep Talks!


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