PTSD in daily living

Post traumatic stress disorder sounds intimidating but it happens all around us, not just to soldiers. Children experience it from bullying at school or from constant tension at home. Men and women experience it at work as doctors, nurses, fire department personnel, police personnel and in tense arguments at home. Soldiers experience it anytime that they are in a dangerous and life threatening situation.

We are all in life threatening situations when we get on the highway but it seems so normal until we don’t see it that way until something happens around us or to us and our family.  Some days, just living can be a stress producing ordeal which can traumatize our minds. These are the times that we should be reaching out to God to be our constant companion in every situation. Our comforter and guide is always waiting for us to call on Him and He will be there.

Jesus said that we would receive a comforter when He went back to the Father and as Christians we have that but some of us don’t count on Him daily like we should. God loves us all, no matter where we are and until we allow Him to enter our hearts and live there daily, we can never know the depth of His love for us.

In many ways, the lack of commitment to being a servant of God is the reason for Post traumatic stress disorder.  If we would humble ourselves and come to Him daily, we would not have such stressful lives and if the stress was there we would have Him to comfort us in our time of need. There are many ways that people today have to find comfort. Some are legal and some are not but most of us find a way to find comfort whether it is temporary or permanent. The kind of comfort we find in serving Jesus is permanent.

Read the Bible, it is good for you and for your future. It also contains the most helpful wisdom that can be found in this life and it is the source of most “self-help” advice, in my opinion. Our Creator put your DNA together bit by bit before you were born and He knew you long before that. Give Him a chance in your life to prove that He really is the One, the Excellent Counselor and the Prince of Peace.  Romans 8:28

YOU ARE ACCOUNTABLE TO A GOD WHO TRULY WANTS TO SAVE YOU (Ezekiel18:30.32)

 

The Jews in exile were saying that God was going to condemn them so He could watch them suffer, that God would take pleasure in destroying them (vv. 30.32).

Ezekiel's reply to this idea was that God does not want you to die! (See v. 23.) These statements from God cannot be any more plain, forceful, or beautiful than this: I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies. (v. 32). God wanted His people to live. He did not want Judah to be destroyed; He wanted His people to live, not to die!

If they died, it would not be because God wanted it to happen; it would be instead because they refused to listen to God’s prophet and turn from their sins that they might be saved, so they might live! Even so today: If you die, if you are lost now and are lost eternally, it is not  because that is what God wants. God does not want anyone to perish (2 Peter 3:9); rather, He wants everyone to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4). Jesus died for all (Hebrews 2:9); the grace of God that brings salvation
is available to all (Titus 2:11). If you ultimately are lost, then, why will it
happen? The answer is sin. Sin condemns (Romans 6:23), regardless of the type of sin that it may be.

Even that answer is incomplete. We are lost because of our sins, certainly; but if that were the complete answer, everyone would be lost eternally, for all have sinned (Romans 3:23). Why will you be lost? The answer is unrepented-of sins! That was Judah's problem: It was not merely that Judah had sinned, but that Judah had, in spite of the warnings of the prophets, refused to repent. Ezekiel came with a final appeal: Repent and live.! (18:32b). In the end, Judah was destroyed as a result of the people's failure to heed Ezekiel's appeal.

Likewise, if anyone should perish, the reason will not be that God wanted it to happen. Rather, destruction will come because you have failed to heed the warnings found repeatedly in His Word.  Repent and live!

How do I know that I know God and His Son?

There are three “tests” that John put forth for a person, a believer, to know that they know God without a doubt. These tests are that we keep His commandments, to walk as Jesus walked in obedience to the Father and to show unconditional love toward our brothers. The first one is usually the hardest for some to understand. It is to keep or obey His commands. Not just the ten commandments, but the two which Jesus put forth in Matthew 22:34-40. Jesus said, “Love God with all of your heart, and with all your strength, and with all your soul and love your neighbor as yourself, on these two commandments hang all of the Law and the Prophets”.

Those who say that they know God, but do not keep his commandments are liars and the truth is not in them. Belief is not enough, reading the Bible, God’s Word is not enough, your life has to show beyond a doubt that you belong to Him. We are put where we are to be “salty” and to be reflections of Him, not of ourselves or our personal views. Our mission, if we are Christians as we claim to be, is to be the best reflection of Jesus that our lives can be. How we live our faith on a daily basis shows what is in our heart, not what may be on our minds at the time. At least, that is what the world should see.

To walk as Jesus walked, in total obedience to God’s will, is our goal and purpose. As Christians, we are to submit to the Spirit’s leading influence in our life on a daily basis. This does not mean to give up entirely, but we are to give Jesus and His Spirit control of our lives daily. This is a hard concept for us because we do not like to give up control of our lives.

How can we, mere humans, accomplish this? The only way that we can do this is through Him and His Spiritual control of our lives. The only way that we can be truly effective for Him is by the power of His Spirit in our life. If we did good things (works) for others before becoming a Christian, how much more could we do with Him in our life? Those works that we did before becoming Christians may have been good but they did nothing more than to make us look good in other people’s eyes. What about the ones we are led to do or accomplish after becoming Christians? As long as we obey Him and accomplish them, we are doing His will and fulfilling His purpose in our lives.

Even though we are not bound by Jewish law, are we required to act as if we are regarding the Ten Commandments, as well as the commandments Jesus gave in Matthew 22? If we are truly His, yes! Our life is to reflect that His spirit lives in us and that we live through Him. If our lives do not reflect what is in our hearts as the truth of God, we need to re-examine our faith and our beliefs. We can only pass the test when we are led by the Spirit on a daily basis.

Is there a broken relationship in your life? Is there any prejudice or animosity toward any particular group of people? Do you fail to demonstrate love for others through tangible actions, not just  giving people “stuff” ? Is there a way we can fix these failures? Yes! Come to Jesus and show that you truly love those who love you and those who don’t.

As followers of Christ, we are to love Him so that we can resist the attraction of the world and all that it tries to offer us. To serve Him in whatever we do, regardless of how insignificant it may seem to us is our calling and purpose. In that way the light of God and His Son, Jesus, should shine through us so that everyone we come in contact with will see that we have something that they need and in doing so we will be the true followers of God that we were called to be.

It is just the way life is but how can we live it?

Today, with all of the violence, abuse of all kinds, wars, etc., it is truly miraculous that we can live our lives period. When we look at the television and the internet it seems that all of the news is bad, regardless of what channel you may be watching or where you live. But, there is hope for all of us.

The way to live it fully and completely can only be found in the Bible and by faithfully walking the Christian faith daily. I know that this is an unpopular topic these days, but listen and you may learn something. I was sleeping soundly when I was awakened with this message and was compelled to get up and share this with the world.

God’s wisdom, found in the Bible or the Talmud, is timeless and applies now just as much as it did when it was written. Some of the concepts from the Old Testament may be a bit dated, like slavery, but the whole Bible points to the end of the age which we are living in now. I don’t know how much longer this world has because Jesus said, “Only the Father knows when that time will come”. I don’t claim to be a prophet, just a messenger. I don’t and cannot predict anything, only God knows when things are going to happen because nothing takes Him by surprise.

The books that are supposed to be “self-help” books just re-package the wisdom found in the Bible. None of these so-called “gurus” came up with this on their own. The ideas and concepts have been with us for centuries and were handed down by those who read the Bible and put it to work in their lives. God’s wisdom is timeless and no amount of advertising or marketing is going to change the core of the beliefs that most of the world has heard they just didn’t know exactly where it came from.

Please, if you are reading this, pick up a Bible somewhere. Read it, especially the book of Romans in the New testament. It outlines the way to salvation and peace with God and eternal life with His Son, Jesus. Here is a link to an important part of this book, I hope you will read it and read more after that:  Romans 8

God loves all of us and does not want anyone to perish in the pits of Hell. That is why the Bible and its message have not gone away like the courts and may others would like for it to do. It is the Living Word of God and therefore timeless. When someone goes to Hell, they do so not because they are being punished by God but by the choice that they made during life by not accepting God’s free gift of salvation through Christ. Yes, salvation is a gift although some see it as a binding or a curse. It is neither of these! If you are to truly live the Christian faith, it is a daily and at first it can be an hourly walk with Him. Because our nature is sinful and we are prone to follow it because it feels good or because that is what all of our “friends” are doing. This life is temporary and only lasts for a small amount of time compared to eternity. Our souls and the bodies that we are given for eternity never die, regardless of where you go after your earthly body dies.

Give yourself the chance to live fully because only through faith in Jesus and the message brought through Him can you be saved. The things you do on earth, regardless of how good they may be, will never be good enough to get you into Heaven. Rejecting Christ and His message is all you have to do to go to Hell. Think about it! Before it is too late.

Are we content?

Paul spoke of being content in any situation in which he might find himself. His contentment came from knowing Jesus and knowing that he served Him to the fullest extent that he could. Is it possible for us to know this contentment in the times in which we are living? Yes! God and His son, Jesus are still in control and will always be! If we will be submitted to serving them in our lives on a daily basis, we can have that feeling of contentment in spite of the economic times in which we are living.

God wants us to be and have life abundant, especially when we are following Him and serving in His Kingdom. He created everything in the universe from the smallest atom to the largest galaxy. He knows exactly how things are supposed to work together and why. We were created for His purposes and He knows what purpose is right  for each of us in His service. It doesn’t matter what kind of “job” you have as long as you can do it in service to Him and with humility, not arrogance and pride in service to yourself or the world.

God loves all of us, no matter where we live or what religion we claim to believe in. If you feel a tug on your heart toward Him and to His son, Jesus, please respond positively! Humanity was created in His Image to serve Him in whatever capacity or position we find ourselves in. Our lives are not ours alone, but His!

If God is for us, who can be against us? ³²He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?  Romans 8:31,32

I do realize that there are some who do not believe that Jesus was the Son of God and that He was “just a prophet”. The prophecies in the Old Testament point to Him and His birth long before He came to us as the Son of David, the Messiah. I don’t have the room to point out all of the passages which speak of Him and tell who He is, but they are there.

Give the word of God a careful study so that you will find these passages, most of which are in Isaiah. There are also some in the Psalms of David and many others in Daniel, Jeremiah, Micah, etc.

Before your life ends here, please give yourself the chance to hear and really listen to a Bible teaching church and its pastor. Read God’s Word and ask Him to help you to understand and He will. When you do make your decision, it will be the right one. I pray that you and your loved ones will come to Him and be fulfilled in Him.

At least half of every person belongs to……..?

Some more than others are controlled by their own lusts, pride, ambition or ego. There was a country song back in 1995 called “Cain’s Blood”. I don’t know if it ever became very popular but it describes the human condition perfectly. On one side is our conscience telling us that we shouldn’t be doing something we know is wrong and on the other is “Cain’s blood” , or the bad side of us, telling us to go ahead if it feels good.

There are many temptations in our world and for many people there is no way out, as far as they know. The way out is there, you just have to ask for it. Jesus provides the way and the Bible is the instruction book. It has always been there throughout history. Some people find it and embrace it, others know it is there but take a long time to embrace it. There are some people who reject it completely and want no part in any church or service to Him.

Those teachings come from God because the Bible is His word written by human hands by the prompting of His Spirit. God has led me to write this blog, although some people may not agree with nor believe that. I have never been a “writer” for most of my life until a few months ago when I started this. Now, I can’t stop writing!

Each person has the choice to make in their life which side they will follow. Nothing is ever forced on anyone regarding your spiritual condition. God left it up to us to decide. If we choose to follow Him and His Son, Jesus, we will have eternal life with Him in Heaven. If not, we will still have eternal life but it will be in torment because of the decision that we made not to follow Him. It won’t be because of anything that we did in our life here on earth. Paul was a persecutor of the early church and stood by while Stephen was stoned to death for doing nothing more than preaching about the risen Christ. So the most prolific writer of the New Testament was a murderer, and yet Jesus saw much more in him.

Your life doesn’t have to be just your job or where you live. It can be your service to Him! I would rather go into Heaven and hear the words from my Lord, “Well done good and faithful servant” than to have a billion dollars on earth. I still live in a “trashy trailer” and have all of my life. I am not ashamed of it. I would like to have a “real” house but that is not what a home is. Home is where you are loved and accepted and can enjoy being with your family in reasonable comfort. It doesn’t have to be anything more than that.  My real home is where Jesus is and I am looking forward to getting to see Him.

I don't know what I would do without Him

This may be one of those "I told you so" posts but it is true! I don't know what I would do or be without God and His Son in my life! I do remember what life was like when I had not accepted Him and it wasn't pretty or anywhere near normal. I was trying meditation, incense, Eastern religions, alcohol, drugs, etc. If it made me feel better,even the slightest bit, I gave it a shot.

Then when I did accept Him into my life, it was a long time before my life and my witness for Him became real. My spirit had changed, but my life and what others saw had not really changed that much. I would hear a little voice inside telling me that something that I was doing was wrong, but many times I pretended not to hear. I "knew" I was saved so I figured I had my "fire" insurance and I didn't need to do anything else.

Man, was I WAY off base! It took the gift of my son's birth and his questions as a toddler to wake me up to the fact that he was watching everything that I did and said. I was responsible for him and his view of a good father and I wasn't even close to being "good". I should've been much closer to God and much more dedicated to serving Him at this point but I was still a babe in Christ. After more than a decade of being saved, I was still at the same point that I was the week after I accepted Him.

God knew it was time for me to change, actually past time. So the opportunity came and I took it. There is no getting away from God because the harder you run from Him, you will run into Him just that much faster. When God decides that it is time for you to serve Him, you will, one way or another. He will use situations or people or whatever He needs to use to get you to see things His way.

Now that I have come to know Him and what He wants me to do with my life, I have learned a lot. Just reading and studying His word from the Bible has taught me about His patience and kindness. And about His love for all of us and why we are still here. There are too many days behind to worry about the days to come. The future is a mystery and today is a gift, that is why it is called the present. The past is gone, as long as we learned from it what we were supposed to learn it served its purpose.

All we have to do is serve our purpose now. Daily, you have to get up and go to school or work or somewhere. Take God with you. He is there anyway so you might as well acknowledge Him. Ask Him to help you with your problems, even the small ones. He cares enough to do that even if He is the creator of the universe! He deserves your devotion and your love just as your parents do for He formed you in the womb. He knows you better than anyone, get to know Him and you will never be alone again.

Happy New Year, Everyone!

We have started a new year and so far the same news is around today as it was yesterday, nothing new yet! Our lives are in God's hands and He knows exactly what will happen and when, and yet we worry needlessly about things we cannot control. The weather, the stock market, gray hair, aching joints, our job or whether we will have one in the next six months. These are things that we do worry about and there is nothing we can do to change any of them. Even our job is in His hands so actually we don't have control over it either. There are many situations where we feel in control but He always is in control. If He were not, the whole universe would be in disarray and our world would be dead!

Fulfilling lives and our destinies in the world are dependent upon God, no one else. Your mother can't give you those, neither can your earthly father. Only in service to Him can you truly find fulfillment in everything you do, no matter what it is. If we really want to live out our lives with hope and confidence, we should put our confidence and our faith in God and His Son, Jesus! They are in control of everything and will cause every good thing to work for those who serve them.

There is no higher calling than to be a servant of God, the Creator of the universe and everything in it. He owns everything so I would rather work for the owner of it all than the one who only has a little! A few billion dollars is nothing compared to the entire universe!

In your service to Him, think about how small we are and the insignificance of our little planet in comparison to the universe. Yet, He knows you more intimately than anyone on the earth! He knows all of us on this planet just that intimately because He created us. He formed us in the womb and knows everything about us and our future selves. All the science and mathematics in the world can't explain why your personality is what it is or why, but He knows and He knew it before you were born!

No matter what your age or what "religion" you happen to believe in He still knows you and He will call on you at some point in your life. Listen for that call, it will be repeated until He has your attention no matter how He has to get it. Your Heavenly Father loves you and is waiting to hear from you. Make the decision today to come to Him in prayer, even if you have never prayed before, He is always by your side regardless of what you may have done in your life. He will forgive you if you will repent and believe in Him. That is all He asks!

Once you do that, He may inspire you to write or preach or be a missionary. Then again, you may just be a changed person and inspire someone where you work with what they see in your life. It could be a different job that He wants you to have but He has to have you first before you will be able to do it. Our Creator and our God is the best boss you could ever hope for because His retirement plan is eternal and has already been paid in full, it is not affected by the economy or the stock market either. Give God a chance in your life and you will never regret it!

We should all be Thankful!

Thankful to our Creator who sustains us with his power for without it, everything which was created would fly apart. Regardless of the scientific explanation to the contrary, God is the one who is keeping everything going.

I read something the other day that quoted doctors as saying that they did not know what the reason was for people living longer who regularly attend church services. It is simply because they are serving their Creator and He is sustaining them, nothing more than that. But it is folly to those who don't belong to Christ because they can't understand it.

Our lives are to be living sacrifices to Him every day, not just when we need Him. Truly, we need Him every day and He desires our service and praise. He doesn't need us the way we need our spouses, but He desires to know the desires of our hearts like a mother or father desires to know and hear from their children.

The love of God doesn't depend on our service to Him nor does it depend on us at all. He loves us regardless. He desires our service to Him when we give our hearts to Him and to Jesus. We are not required to do this, but when your heart and spirit are changed by Jesus you will want to serve Him in some way. Being a deacon, a pastor, singing in a choir, teaching a class at church, cooking for the church, doing the best you can do at your regular job whatever that may be, these are all ways of serving Him daily. He doesn't require us to be missionaries to other people, just to those around us.

All people are important to Him because He created us all. He formed us all in our mother's womb from the bits of DNA of our mother and father. He knows exactly how you will look, how you will talk, what kind of temperament you will have, what choices you will make and why. The colour of your hair and how many there are on your head and the colour of your eyes are all things that He put there to make you who you are. He knows each of us more intimately than anyone else can. That is the God I serve gladly every day and I hope someday you will too.