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Thomas 1637 15469 Carlsbad	Re: Just a Thought...Spiritually 9/4/2007 7:19:25 PM
	"... a harsh word stirs up anger" (Proverbs 15:1 TNIV). There is something downright vicious going on out there today. Everybody is passing judgment on you. They are assigning worth to you by measuring your performance. Your boss is criticizing you. Or, if you are the boss, the board has set the date for your annual performance review. Everybody ís a critic! Okay, there is a certain legitimacy to it. People can't be carried on the payroll who don't perform. Incompetent persons in critical roles gum up the works for everybody else. Accountability is a good thing. But some things that are done in the name of evaluation and accountability are mean. Hateful. Destructive. There is such a thing as a critical spirit that perpetually leaves in its wake a bevy of wounded souls and countless damaged or destroyed relationships. Harsh criticism from people who enjoy dishing it out is like a battering ram against even the most secure, strong-willed people in the world. Enough whining now! The issue is not to decide whether or not such critics exist or ever level their guns on you or me. The question is how to handle it and what sort of person to be in our roles. Contrary to some religious representations of God, the divine role is not that of super-critic and soul-damner. Oh, he holds us accountable. But the accountability he enforces is simply that of forcing us to face the consequences of our choices. It is what a good parent allows with beloved children who need help in growing up into mature human beings. Be an encourager, not a critic. The truth is that God loves you so deeply that he will not love you less when you do something wrong. Ever been a parent? When your child messes up is when you are more aggressive to communicate your unconditional love. When you know you are loved by God, feel secure in his acceptance, and experience the peace that comes of that relationship, you begin to understand how to relate to other people. You love your children on the model of God's own love for you. You build the key relationships of your life on acceptance rather than skepticism. That is, you assign worth to persons as persons and refuse to make others feel they must earn your love by measuring up. All of a sudden, you can learn from your mistakes rather than be crushed under their weight. You can hold others accountable and still treat them with respect and affirm their worth. You will even develop the ability to distinguish a cold from cancer -- treating only the really serious things seriously and otherwise letting some things slide that don't deserve to be blown out of proportion. If the vicious spirit of harsh judgment invades your world today, be sure it gets there through someone other than you. Be an encourager, not a critic.
	AT YOUR SERVICE. Drop A Line With The Pros!! http://www.goneclicking.com/?rid=7178 http://www.protrafficshop.com/?rid=5719 Chief Administrator & Support
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Thomas 1637 15469 Carlsbad	Re: Just a Thought...Spiritually 9/5/2007 10:43:45 PM
	I've learned there is a certain art to clearing a pathway. I'm an expert at clearing paths through people, storms, bushes, and just about anything else you can think of. I've always been willing to step out and be the first to go into unknown territory. The number one rule in clearing a good path is to always keep moving. There is nothing that will cause panic quicker than getting half way into the unknown and to see your leader get lost and stop. No matter what happens, keep moving forward! Change directions maybe, but always keep moving. There are so many times in life that the world around me is full of confusing messages. It's hard to know which way to turn and it seems impossible to find my way. The good news is that as a Christian I have someone to clear the path ahead for me. Jesus who came to earth has cleared a path through the snags and traps of this life. He was tempted and tricked in every way possible, but kept moving forward. Jesus has cleared a path through this world that leads straight to God. The example of Jesus' life is the only guide we'll ever need. Just like the rule I use when clearing a path, Jesus never faltered as he pushed toward his goal. There were times of great trial and confusion, but he remained strong and continued to move forward. After fasting and praying for 40 days, Jesus was tempted by Satan, but he remained strong. While praying in the garden, Jesus knew that his betrayal was only hours away and he pleaded for another direction, but he never quit moving toward the goal of fulfilling God's will. When everyone had abandoned him and his mother stood at the foot of the cross, he never turned from his purpose; Jesus pressed forward and cleared a pathway of righteousness, a path that we could have never found any other way. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence. Acts 2:28 Jesus who came to earth has cleared a path... You may have felt lost in this world like I did, but the good news of Jesus is for us all. I have found the way. I found the man to follow and his name is Jesus. He's shown that he can survive every power of Satan and all we have to do is follow his example. The path to God is narrow and it's easy to get lost, but just remember to follow Jesus and keep moving forward!
	AT YOUR SERVICE. Drop A Line With The Pros!! http://www.goneclicking.com/?rid=7178 http://www.protrafficshop.com/?rid=5719 Chief Administrator & Support
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Thomas 1637 15469 Carlsbad	Re: Just a Thought...Spiritually 9/10/2007 9:15:34 PM
	You were created to serve God, and one way to serve God is by serving others, offering ministry to others. But it's important that you serve God according to his thoughts and his plans, not your own independent thoughts and plans. Don't misunderstand: This does not suggest permission to be passive in your service to God. Instead, it's a call to intentionally seek the will of God in our service to him. Rather than making assumptions about where to serve God, you can constantly and consistently talk to him about where he wants you to serve. And in this way, you will develop a mind like Christ's. We serve at the will of God and not on our fantasies about what Christian service looks like. The service required of me may look very different from the service required of you, because God has shaped us each uniquely and with our own unique purpose in mind. God speaks to you through your shape, your circumstances, your experiences, your friends, and your family. And he speaks through the Holy Spirit, telling you to prepare for the guests you cannot yet see, instead of rearranging the library that is already organized according to God's design. Im following my Rabbi and i thought of putting down some of my thoughts today of who i am. Thank you . Thomas Richmond
	AT YOUR SERVICE. Drop A Line With The Pros!! http://www.goneclicking.com/?rid=7178 http://www.protrafficshop.com/?rid=5719 Chief Administrator & Support
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Thomas 1637 15469 Carlsbad	Re: Just a Thought...Spiritually 9/11/2007 12:49:03 PM
	Someone asked me a while back about "all those terrible stories" in the Bible. I admit that I was a bit taken aback by the question. So I asked him to explain by naming some of the stories he had in mind. He started with some of the familiar ones that are left half-told in Sunday School. For example, the story of Noah and the Ark is hardly a sweet tale about animal husbandry. It is actually a story of judgment in which everybody in the world gets drowned -- except for Noah and seven members of his family. Then he named some of the lesser-known stories of the Bible that rarely ever get mentioned at church. Abraham's abuse of Hagar, the horrible rape of Diana, bears turning on some kids who were taunting a prophet, Jephthah's murder of his own daughter -- and there were more. I'll give the fellow credit for reading the Bible more closely than some. He knows what is there. The answer I gave him seemed to make sense to him. He even said it helped a bit. But, I thought I'd ask you to ponder it too. In a nutshell, I spluttered something about the Bible being a collection of true-to-life stories that speak of life in terms of its gritty realities. It isn't a "pretty" book. It is a truthful book. It tells the human story without glossing over the dark and ugly scenes. And some of those scenes involve things like heroes behaving badly and innocent people getting ground up in power plays. It tells the human story without glossing over the dark and ugly! The Bible tells the stories without glossing the character flaws of Abraham or Moses, David or Peter. Yet, Scripture also tells of the noble behaviors of a prostitute named Rahab and a soldier in the execution squad of Jesus who dared to marvel at his dignity, composure, and faith. The more I have thought about the answer that I gave the man, the more convinced I am that it was at least in the right direction. The Bible isn't what some of us were led to think. It isn't bedtime stories. It isn't burdensome rules. It isn't a handbook for glib answers to complex problems. It is a family album for the human race. It isn't so much filled with stories as with people. And the exploits of people are messy, unpredictable, and downright weird. As you read your Bible, see your own life as an extension of its narrative. Don't despair of the unflattering or even the immoral; celebrate God's kindness and eagerness to forgive. Don't live in denial of sleights suffered or abuse endured; name them and bring them into the light for the sake of healing. Accept the success and enjoy the applause; just remember who made them possible. The theme of Holy Scripture is the redemption of sinful humanity by the love and mercy of God, and the story is still being written in all of our lives.
	AT YOUR SERVICE. Drop A Line With The Pros!! http://www.goneclicking.com/?rid=7178 http://www.protrafficshop.com/?rid=5719 Chief Administrator & Support
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Thomas 1637 15469 Carlsbad	Re: Just a Thought...Spiritually 9/12/2007 12:42:12 PM
	“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV) Use today’s devotional as a prayer – Father, teach me to wage spiritual war in your manner, and not according to the world. Guide me to live - and to fight, argue, conflict - with weapons of the Spirit and not weapons of the flesh. Be my strength, Lord, when I am up against the wall – and I decide, by faith, to respond with weapons of the Spirit and not react with weapons of the flesh. Bring me, Father, to a point where I no longer have any confidence in the flesh, but my confidence is only in you. Lord, teach me, guide me, compel me, train me – fill me with the Grace me – so that when I face conflict, when I face discouragement and temptation, when I collide with an obstacle - I rely upon you and your way. I acknowledge you have given me the power and authority to demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of You. So, rather than getting into arguments, I can point to the truth - and I can state the truth. Help me to state the truth in my own life - and work on those areas where I am out-of-sync, where I am in sin, winking at that which is wrong. Lord, I commit to taking captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. Show me how that works; show me how to do that, and develop within me the discipline and the habit of doing this. Lord, prompt me and guide me to fit every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. No stray thoughts, no wandering thoughts, not allowing emotions to rule my thoughts or actions or moods - even taking my impulses and subjecting them to you. Lord, make me ready to use the tools you provide to clear the ground of every obstruction, so that you may build my life as an obedient life - matured into the Father of the Faith that you want me to be. I trust that, despite my sin you will build me into a mature believer who is obedient to you, serves you and constantly looks for your work in others. (Prayerwarrior) Thomas R.
	AT YOUR SERVICE. Drop A Line With The Pros!! http://www.goneclicking.com/?rid=7178 http://www.protrafficshop.com/?rid=5719 Chief Administrator & Support
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