Journey into Forever

Well. this is an interruption to our regularly scheduled program. Note...the EMS is activated! Beep! Beep! Beep! Sometimes, when you have finally realized your spiritual gift, and you try to use it for the Glory of God, you have a tendency to get so involved in that area that you forget a few things. Like, #1, you are a human being, and you are going to stay a human being. Well, I feel very human today. VERY human. I'll bet you can relate. Ever have a problem, a bump in the road that you drive over, get on the other side of it, and lo and behold! The same bump is in the road just a little way down the road. I have a bump like that. A thorn in my flesh that God likes to find glory in. A bump that no bulldozer or other 'road equipment' can fully get rid of. A situation where God teaches me each time about how I should be more like His Son. A burden He hasn't lifted from me. though trust me I have tried to convince Him to! Begged Him to. Eve

Today's subject is worry. Before starting here are some quotes I thought you might enjoy: "Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength." - Corrie Ten Boom, Dutch woman whose family helped Jews to escape Nazi Germany, then became a prisoner in a concentration camp when caught. (By the way, if you haven't read her story, you should) "I am an old man, and have known many troubles. But most of them never happened." - Mark Twain - author and humorist Now for the best quotes: Matthew 6:25-34 (NIV): "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? An

Sometimes it's almost funny how God puts things in your life to test and grow you about a subject you are studying in the Word. It's almost like He says, "Ok, you think you have this under control? Let's see what this does!" Since starting this study on fear, I have had a number of events that would have normally put me under with worry and fear. But I have to tell you I'm doing ok. So, I may be growing a bit! In chapter 3 of "Fearless", Max Lucado addresses the 'Fear of Disappointing God'. He speaks of a football player for the University of Texas back in 1941, Noble Doss. In a very important game, one that might lead the team to the Rose Bowl, Doss dropped a pass. He felt he cost the team the national championship and a trip to the Rose Bowl. Although Doss had a very productive, happy life, when speaking of that game 50 years later he cried as he spoke. We're like that with God. Many times you hear people speak

Psalm 8:4: What is man that You are mindful of him? And the son of man that You visit him?" (NKJV) Well, it looks like this is post #52. A year. One down and however many more God has in mind. My prayer is that just one of us would find a closer relationship with our Lord through something He has me say in these blogs. I have been on a journey for a while now, and I intend to be until I leave to be with Him. I can always learn more, be closer. And I am amazed, privileged, and honored to have you with me. It appears we will be working with FEAR for a few weeks. I capitalize because it is such a huge factor in all of our lives. Even though we frequently don't call it what it is, fear follows us everywhere we go. We may label it as concern, interest, love, or just good parenting, but many times it just boils down to plain old fear. And our fear encompasses a ton of areas. In his book, Max Lucado addresses many areas of fear individually. This week we

2 Timothy 1:7: "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear ; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." Sometimes my mind bounces around, thinking of different subjects,scripture,and ideas one right after another. I think I have mentioned adult ADD before. Right now, though, I am unusually stuck on one particular subject. Yes, it's still suffering and fear. They are subjects I have to continue with. I need to do some work here. So, I am humbly asking you to do some work on this subject with me. Fear and suffering are epidemic in our society today,and I firmly believe that to become the best witnesses we can be we need to get control of these two conditions. Something I haven't completely mastered yet. Okay, the use of the word mastered is a gross exaggeration of my experience. Honestly, I struggle with fear and an understanding of suffering way too often. So, I am going to sit on this subject a while and learn what God has to t