Becoming the Apple of God's Eye

[Forgive me for neglecting my blog the past few days. The weekend was an extremely busy one. I usually go out on church visitation Thursday evening, but now I'll go out also on Saturday mornings for bus visitation. I'm so excited I'm starting the handicap bus route. Right off the bat I'll have 5 ladies who will ride with me. Three are transfered to my route from another route. One lady recently cannot drive anymore. And the fifth lady has been sporadically attending church when she can get a ride from the public bus. Yesterday I started cleaning the bus and today will be another day of the same. Pray for me, Lord willing and by His grace I would like Easter Sunday to be my first day of operation. I have a reliable, faithful teenage boy as my helper. He's worked this route before and will be teaching me some things as we go. I would really appreciate your prayers.]

[Knowing God, Himself--The psalmist David was very intent upon know God's nature so that he would not damage his relationship with God in any way. David understood that the laws and words of God were refections of God's nature. In order not to violate the relationship, David was intent upon knowing what God had said. Notice in these familiar verses David's concern for the personal relationship he had with God..........]

Psalm 119:4:16 "Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently. O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes! Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments. I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments. I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly.

Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes. With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches. I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways. I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word."

[David also asked God--"Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings"-- in Psalm 17:8. David desires to be the apple of God's eye. We all are loved by God and special to Him. But this verse show how David is seeking a closer relationship. And then in Proverbs 7:2 it says "Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye." It seems God is telling all of us to keep His Words as the apple of our eye so we may have that special relationship of being the apple of His eye too.]

What is important to You?

[People remember what they choose to remember. Most people never forget their name, phone number, and names of their children. We can remember these things because we have repeated them often and because these pieces of information have a high personally priority with us. So how important is God's word's to us?]

Proverbs also exhorts the believer to retain the words of God by making them a permanent part of his life--to actually direct his daily steps, to preserve him from evil, to make him fruitful. These words from God must become so much a part of us that we do not forget them in the day-to-day activities of life. They can then dictate the next right responses we must make to life's challenges. We remember those things we choose to remember. Notice Solomon's exhortation toward this end through Proverbs......

• 1:8 "Forsake not the law of thy mother."
• 2:2 "Apply thine heart to understanding."
• 3:1 "My son, forget not my law."
• 3:3 "Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart."
• 3:21 "My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion."
• 4:2 "Forsake ye not my law."
• 4:4 "Let thine heart retain my words."
• 4:5 "Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not."
• 4:6 "Forsake her [wisdom] not."
• 4:13 "Take fast hold of instruction."
• 4:21 "Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart."
• 6:21 "Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck."
• 7:1 "My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee."
• 7:3 "Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart."

Again the list could go on and on. [Over and over you will find me sharing things that speak to my heart. I do not claim them as my original thoughts but something God used to speak to me and so I share them on my blog. So that my friends may receieve a blessing too.............It is important to realize much of the motivation to remember the words of God is tied to the kind of relationship we have with Him. So what kind of relationship are we looking for with God?]

God's Words Are Not Junk Mail

Biblically, hearing means we are choosing to listen to God. Too many of us hear the words of our God and ignore them. We don’t respond in any particular way to Him and then we wonder why there seems to be so much distance between us and God. The answer is simple—His words to us demand and deserve an appropriate response. His words cannot be ignored or discarded as if they were a piece of junk mail.

The Christian life is not merely maintaining biblical rules but maintaining a relationship with God. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning (the choicest part, the foundation) of wisdom.” –Proverbs 9:10 A man who is not in his proper place of reverence for and submission to God cannot be wise.

Proverbs directs our attention as a learner to God and those He place as spiritual leaders over us.

• 1:8 "My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother."
• 1:20,23 "Wisdom [Christ Himself] crieth without........turn you at my reproof"
• 2:1 "My son......receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee"
• 2:6 "The Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding."
• 2:7 "He [God] layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous."
• 3:1 "My son, forget not my law."
• 3:5 "Trust in the Lord."
• 3:7 "Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord."
• 4:1 "Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father."
• 4:10 "Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings."
• 4:20 "My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings."
• 5:1 "My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thing ear to my understanding."
• 6:20 "My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of the mother."
• 7:1 "My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee."
• 7:24 "Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth."
• 8:1,6 "Doth not wisdom [Christ Himself] cry?......Hear; for I will speak of excellent things."
• 9:1-6 "Wisdom hath builded her house....She crieth.....Come, eat of my bread.....Forsake the foolish."
• 13:1 "A wise son heareth his father's instruction."
• 23:19 "Hear thou, my son, and be wise."

This list could go on, but I think you get the point. Never in Proverbs is a man advised to listen to his own heart or to the heart of his peers. He is warned not to listen to seductive women, to crowds and mobs, to companions bent on being destructive and wasteful, or to evil men. He is exhorted often to listen to his God and to those place in authority over us.

[These are more excerpts from Jim Berg. There is so much for us to learn. If we are to move out of the “foolishness” of our own heart and develop a renewed mind we must make it a habit of life to listen to God rather than to our own heart. The cornerstone of wisdom is a dependent and submissive heart that shows itself by giving its attention to God......LORD, please help me not to ignore or discard Your Words so casually as if it were junk mail.]

Heart Condition

[I’m so excited Sunday is the start of our Revival services with Bro. Sam Davison preaching. As I’ve been praying about the upcoming meetings it has caused me to wonder about my heart condition. Not just for Revival but for all times, am I ready to receive the Word?]

In Luke 8:4-21 Jesus gives us the parable of the sower or you could call it the parable of the soil. This biblical truth is talking of the soil as the condition of man's heart and how or if he receives God’s Word.

The Indifferent Hearer –the soil of the “way side”, borders that are packed down and hard. This man’s heart is totally unreceptive to truth—indifferent. It bears no fruit and is therefore useless.

Impulsive Hearer—the soil is shallow with underlying bedrock. The heart is emotional and insincere. This man does not count the cost of receiving the Word and is unwilling to pay the price. The tests of life reveal that no seed has really take root. Stubbornness keeps God’s Word from deeply penetrating his heart making him useless to God.

Infested Hearer—the soil is infested with weeds. This person seems receptive to the Word but is unwilling to “weed out” the distractions that consume his life—anxieties, riches, pleasures. He doesn’t yield to God making himself useless.

Ideal Hearer—the good soil receives the seed (the Word) and produces fruit. It is the heart that hears the Word and keeps it. It is the heart that has not let anything crowd out or hinder the growth of the seed of the Word. Acts 10:33……hear all things that are commanded –And—Acts 17:11…..received the word with all readiness of mind and search the scriptures daily. This heart goes to whatever extent necessary to nurture the seed to fruit-bearing maturity and is truly useful to God.

“Hearing” in the Scriptures always means more than just auditory reception. It describes a high quality of attention and retention.

• Attention—In choosing to listen to God
• Meditation—in choosing to think like God.

[It is so important to be mindful in preparing our hearts to receive God's Word. Just as a farmer must till and prepare the soil before the seed is planted. Is our heart ready or do we feel hard, cold or indifferent?......or are we being stiff-necked & stubborn?......or are we easily distracted which gives Satan the opportunity to snatch it away? In other words, we must till the soil of our hearts (examine our hearts, yield, submit to God) with the purpose in mind to grow spiritually in our usefulness to God.]

Our Usefulness Will Be Judged

We must not forget how critical this matter of usefulness is to God. Many Christians today have the idea that they will appear at the Judgment Seat of Christ to be judged for their sin. That is not the case. All our sin—past, present and future—was judged at Calvary. The total payment was made and the wrath of God was propitiated by Christ’s atonement.

The Judgment Seat of Christ will be an examination of our usefulness of fruitfulness for God. The type of our works—not our sin—will be exposed as either “good or bad” (II Corinthians 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”) The word “bad” in this verse does not mean “evil”. It means useless or good for nothing.

Walking in wisdom, as the Bible defines it, is the only way for man to be useful to God. It is the only way we avoid being “ashamed before Him at His coming” (1John 2:28 “And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.”) when we shall stand before Him to give an account of our usefulness.

[How often we forget what our true purpose is on this earth. We are caught up in the business of our life, circumstances/trials/heartaches. When our purpose is all about Him and not about us. I may know these things but I'm so quick to forget.]

What is Wisdom?

The important lesson here is that wisdom is not having God’s perspective of the whole matter before us but having God’s perspective about what next response will honor Him while keeping us still usable to Him.

Walking in Wisdom with God does not give us special understanding to the “whys and wherefores” of everything that happens in our life. Very seldom do we have the big picture of God’s plan. Just as we see in the lives of Joseph, Daniel, Job, Paul etc….

Walking in Wisdom is having the skills (spiritual discernment) to respond godly to circumstances in our life. To know and practice right responses that keep us usable to God anyway.

So the goal of a Christian should be to stay on the path of usefulness to God no matter what the circumstances we face in our daily life.

[Today’s lesson (from Changed in His Image) was a real “eye opener” for me. I had not realized I was always expecting to understand what the whole picture & purpose was for the circumstances in my life. But all that I need to do is depend and trust in God. So help me LORD, to know the correct way to respond to the different things that come up each day. Help me to be usable to you.]

My Journey with God Through Music

[God took me on a journey today through songs. It blessed my heart so much I thought I would share this journey with you.]

Old Account Settled
There was a time on earth, when in the book of heaven
An old account was standing for sins yet unforgiven
My name was at the top, and many things below
I went unto the Keeper, and settled long ago

Chorus:
Long ago (down on my knees) long ago (I settled it all)
Yes, the old account was settled long ago (hallelujah!)
And the record's clear today, for He washed my sins away
When the old account was settled long ago

The old account was large, and growing every day
For I was always sinning, and never tried to pay
But when I looked ahead, and saw such pain and woe
I said that I would settle, I settled long ago

When in that happy home, my Savior's home above
I'll sing redemption's story, and praise Him for His love
I'll not forget that book, with pages white as snow
Because I came and settled, and settled long ago

O sinner, trust the Lord, be cleansed of all your sin
For thus He hath provided for you to enter in
And then if you should live a hundred years below
Up there you'll not regret it, you settled long ago

I Need Thee Every Hour
I need thee every hour, most gracious Lord;
No tender voice like thine can peace afford.

Chorus:
I need thee, O I need thee; every hour I need thee;
O bless me now, my Savior, I come to thee.

I need thee every hour; stay thou nearby;
Temptations lose their power when thou art nigh.

I need thee every hour, in joy or pain;
Come quickly and abide, or life is vain.

I need thee every hour, most Holy One;
O make me thine indeed, thou blessed Son.


Draw Me Nearer
I am thine, O Lord, I have heard thy voice, and it told thy love to me;
But I long to rise in the arms of faith and be closer drawn to thee.

Chorus:
Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord, to the cross where thou hast died.
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord, to thy precious, bleeding side.

Consecrate me now to thy service, Lord, by the power of grace divine;
Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope, and my will be lost in thine.

O the pure delight of a single hour that before thy throne I spend,
When I kneel in prayer, and with thee, my God, I commune as friend with friend!

There are depths of love that I cannot know till I cross the narrow sea;
There are heights of joy that I may not reach till I rest in peace with Thee.


Each Step I Take
Each step I take my Saviour goes before me, And with His loving hand He leads the way, And with each breath I whisper "I adore Thee;" Oh, what joy to walk with Him each day.

Chorus:
Each step I take I know that He will guide me; To higher ground He ever leads me on. Until some day the last step will be taken. Each step I take just leads me closer home.

At times I feel my faith begin to waver, When up ahead I see a chasm wide.
It's then I turn and look up to my Saviour, I am strong when He is by my side.

I trust in God, no matter come what may, For life eternal in His hand,
He holds the key that opens up the way, That will lead me to the promised land.

Face to Face
Face to face with Christ my Savior, Face to face, what will it be,
When with rapture I behold Him, Jesus Christ, who died for me?

Chorus:
Face to face I shall behold Him, Far beyond the starry sky;
Face to face in all His glory I shall see Him by and by!

Only faintly now I see Him, With the darkening veil between,
But a blessed day is coming, When His glory shall be seen.

What rejoicing in His presence, When are banished grief and pain;
When the crooked ways are straightened, And the dark things shall be plain!

Face to face! oh, blissful moment! Face to face to see and know;
Face to face with my Redeemer, Jesus Christ, who loves me so.

Redeemed
Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it! Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed through His infinite mercy, His child and forever I am.

Chorus:
Redeemed, redeemed, Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed, redeemed, His child and forever I am.

Redeemed, and so happy in Jesus, No language my rapture can tell;
I know that the light of His presence With me doth continually dwell.

I think of my blessèd Redeemer, I think of Him all the day long:
I sing, for I cannot be silent; His love is the theme of my song.

I know there’s a crown that is waiting, In yonder bright mansion for me,
And soon, with the spirits made perfect, At home with the Lord I shall be.

What a Friend We Have In Jesus
What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge, take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do your friends despise, forsake you? Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In His arms He’ll take and shield you; you will find a solace there.

He the Pearly Gates Will Open
Love divine, so great and wondrous, Deep and mighty, pure, sublime!
Coming from the heart of Jesus, Just the same through tests of time.

Chorus:
He the pearly gates will open, So that I may enter in;
For He purchased my redemption And forgave me all my sin.

Like a dove when hunted, frightened, As a wounded fawn was I;
Brokenhearted, yet He healed me, He will heed the sinner’s cry.

Love divine, so great and wondrous, All my sins He then forgave!
I will sing His praise forever, For His blood, His power to save.

In life’s eventide, at twilight, At His door I’ll knock and wait;
By the precious love of Jesus I shall enter Heaven’s gate.

O That Will Be Glory
When all my labors and trials are o’er, And I am safe on that beautiful shore, Just to be near the dear Lord I adore, Will through the ages be glory for me.

Chorus:
O that will be glory for me, Glory for me, glory for me, When by His grace I shall look on His face, That will be glory, be glory for me.

When, by the gift of His infinite grace, I am accorded in Heaven a place, Just to be there and to look on His face, Will through the ages be glory for me.

Friends will be there I have loved long ago; Joy like a river around me will flow; Yet just a smile from my Savior, I know, Will through the ages be glory for me

Looking Through His Eyes

[As I was reading and praying over 1 John 2:3-5 my mind stopped to think on keeping His commandment and the love of God being perfected in us. Then this song came to my mind.....]

Let me see this world, dear Lord,
As though I were looking through Your eyes.
A world of men who don’t want You Lord,
But a world for which You died.
Let me kneel with You in the garden,
Blur my eyes with tears of agony;

For if once I could see this world the way You see,
I just know I’d serve You more faithfully.

Let me see this world, dear Lord,
Through Your eyes when men mock Your Holy Name.
When they beat You and spat upon You, Lord,
Let me love them as You loved them just the same.
Let me rise high above my petty problems,
And grieve for men, hell bound eternally;

For if once I could see this world the way You see,
I just know I’d serve You more faithfully.”

[Oftentimes we get to living in our lives moment by moment in the business of life or the circumstance of our own problems. Sometimes it would seem we only come up for air Sundays and Wednesdays to get our batteries recharged on God. There is so much we are missing in life--the life God would have for us. My mind is still learning, still trying to comprehend all God has for me. What is our purpose? Keeping God's commandments is only part of it. It's a very important part. Not that we do it for good works unto salvation but for our love toward God. Keeping the commandments should show our love to God through obedience. As we demonstrate our love through obedience God perfects His love in and through us. As in the song says rising above our petty problems and seeing through His eyes. God has a great purpose for us. --Help me, LORD.]

That's What Grace Is For......

Is there something in your way a battle you can't win?
Do you struggle day to day with thoughts of giving in?
There's no reason for dispair, He has walked the way before,
With compassion flowing free, He's there for you and me.

That's what grace is for.....

When all hope fades away and prayers are only words,
Just reach out in faith and know He's already heard.
He'll mend your wounded heart, peace He will restore,
His arms are open wide walk through mercy's door.

That's what grace is for.....

When the answers just won't come and your soul cannot be still,
When it's all been said and done, rest in the Father's Will.
There's a mutitude of sins covered by the blood that pours.
Blood that cleanses every stain, so that none remain.

That's what grace is for......

When all hope fades away and prayers are only words,
Just reach our in faith and know He's already heard.
He'll mend your wounded heart, peace He will restore,
His arms are open wide walk through mercy's door.

That's what grace is for......

His arms are open wide walk through mercy's door.
That's what grace is for.

[His grace is always there.]

Until You've Known The Love Of God

Words and Music by Rusty Goodman -- Sung by Glory Bound Quarter
[Oh how I wish I could post uploaded music of my own.]

If you could own all the world and it's money,
Build castles tall enough to reach the sky above;
If you could know everything there was to know about life's game,
Yet you've known nothing until you've known God and His love.

CHORUS:
Until you've known the loving hand that reaches down to a fallen man
And lifts him up from out of sin where he has trod;
Until you've known just how it feels to know that God is really real;
Then you've known nothing until you've known the love of God.

If in your lifetime you could meet ev'rybody
And you could call every name from here to yon;
But if you've not come face to face with Jesus and His saving grace,
Then you've known nothing until you've known God and His love.

[Whenever I do my Cinderella cleaning, like today, I have to put on some good gospel music to carry me through the task. I always liked this song because it reminds me how vain things are. We may not have much in this world but to know the love of God is everything.]

What is Your Mental Image of God?

[Wow, God gave me quite a nugget to chew on today. So I'm sharing it with you.]

Many believers simply do not know God in any kind of personal, ongoing, intimate relationship. So in the deepest part of our heart what do we perceive God to be like?.......our mental image of God?

Sometimes we imagine things about God and act as if they were true, when in fact our thinking isn't right. If our view of God is not right nothing can ultimately be right in our lives. To live in the real world, God must be central in our thoughts. We must recognize Him in the light of His Word......."For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence." --Colossians 1:16-18

[What we perceive of God is revealed in our ideas of God through what we say, but not only that but in what is not said. It is also revealed in our actions and witness concerning God or the lack thereof.]

Renewing Your Mind.......

I’ve been learning quite a few things about myself and I will share some of them with you. Do any of you recall Ginny’s devotion with the tea bag? When a tea bag is placed in hot water what is inside naturally seeps out. Her visual was an example of how our problems/trials work in our lives. As we go through the hot waters of our trials it seeps out the bad crud of character imperfections that stunts our Christian growth. God’s purpose is for our good and to make us better.

Like I said, I’ve been learning a few things about myself from different things I’ve read. The Bible says…. ”And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” –Romans 12:2

Before we got saved there was a lot of worldly ways, family upbringing and personal experiences that influenced or corrupted our thinking. Some things we didn’t know were wrong until we started to see things in the light of God’s Word.

That's why God instructed us to renew our mind because we still have the indwelling sin nature that wants to corrupt every part of us making us ineffective for God.

Before I got saved I knew I had a very strong self-will that was wrapped in a blanket of pride filled with rebellion and independence. I was going to be the one that controlled the destiny of my life. I felt I had to in order to survive.

Through great conviction from the Holy Spirit I trusted Christ as my personal Savior. And at that time I received the indwelling of God’s Spirit and also the power of my sin nature was broken. I no longer had to obey the desires of my flesh.

Bible says…… ”There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” --Proverbs 14:12

This fleshly nature of ours is perpetually at war with God, when we begin to submit to the Spirit of God as He works in our lives, than very flesh rises up and resists the work of God. We may be willing to share our self sometimes, even sacrifice our self for a desired end, but we are never willing to completely de-throne our self to God.

I found, myself, living my Christian life my own way instead of God’s Way. I was going through life flying by the seat of my pants instead of walking with God in a way to know God, Himself.

I was merely in love with Christian ideals and principles. I tried to live by them as long as they went along with my plans and expectations for my life.

Let me say walking a Christian life in my own way was quite miserable. Because I set standards of perfection that I could not live up to. My life was a roller coaster ride with many crashes and struggling to pick myself back up and going on in my way of Christian living. I had usurped God’s control and replaced it with my own way. Any attempts we make to live independently from God are doomed to failure.

The Bible says….. ”For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. –Romans 8:13

Way back when Flip Wilson was popular he said, “The devil made me do it.” Blame shifting has been going on since the Garden of Eden. We would like to think that in this or that sin, we have been defeated because of the sin nature that still is indwelling us.

The humble reality is that we have chosen to disobey. The flesh’s power to demand our obedience to sin has been broken through the cross of Calvary and receiving Christ. We may choose to sin but we are no longer under the power of sin. We must not give Satan so much credit in our lives when the truth is-- it’s our own disobedience.

The solution to all this does not lie within us. We are the problem. The reality of life is that life isn’t supposed to make sense or bring any lasting peace and satisfaction without God—apart from God’s Way.

In going back to my text verse—How are we transformed by the renewing of our minds?” We must see the ugly, wickedness of our sin nature and humbly confess any sin that separates us from the obedience of choosing God’s Way.

We must die constantly to our flesh by submitting ourselves to God.

We must have a daily Bible study time and prayer with God. (Let me confess to you this is the point where I went off track and walked my Christian life my own way. My attitude was I’ll-pursue-God-if-I-have-the-time-and-if-I-remember-to-do-it. I wouldn’t submit to this daily time with God.)

As we wholeheartedly study and ponder on God’s Word the Holy Spirit will reveal more of God, Himself to us. This is how our mind is renewed and this is how we are transformed into new creatures.

So let me close with these questions.....Are you unhappy in your life? Does your life feel like a roller coaster of spiritual ups and downs? We CAN have a biblical change in our lives by doing it GOD’S WAY.

Christlike Attributes Part 4

In James 3:17-18 we will find characteristics of Godly Wisdom

• Wisdom is pure
• Wisdom is peaceable
• Wisdom is gentle
• Wisdom is easy to be entreated
• Wisdom is full of mercy
• Wisdom is good fruit
• Wisdom is without particality
• Wisdom is without hypocrisy
• Wisdom is fruit of righteousness
• Wisdom is sown with peace

II Peter 1:3-11 Are Great Virtues given in all things peraining unto life and godliness. Great Virtues that are partakers of the divine nature.....

• Faith
• Virtue
• Knowledge
• Temperance
• Patience
• Godliness
• Brotherly kindness
• Charity

Looking at all the Christlike attributes did you notice the different scripture passages and how some attributes are repeated. I've heard it told, if it's in the Scriptures more than once, we should take extra heed to them. God knows we don't always listen the first time we are told. It seems to be our human nature. How often do we hear things with our ears but not the Holy Spirit when He speaks to our heart?

Christlike Attributes Part 3

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Shows us Christlike attributes through the quality of love.

• Charity suffereth long
• Charity is kind
• Charity does not envy
• Charity is not proud
• Charity does not behave improper
• Charity does not look for personal gain
• Charity is not easily provoked
• Charity does not think evil
• Charity does not rejoice in sin
• Charity rejoices in the truth
• Charity bears all things
• Charity believes all things
• Charity hopes all things
• Charity endures all things
• Charity never fails

[It is mind boggling to ponder on the Love of God and the example of Christ's life while he was upon the earth--that God would give His ONLY Son and Christ would willingly lay down His life as the atoning sacrifice for sin. All because of the love they have for me & you.]

What Manner of Love

1John 3:1 "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us....."

What manner of love asks the question in “what kind of love?” and in “what degree of love?”

• The kind of love we receive from our Heavenly Father is the most tender and the most ennobling, in adopting us into His family, and in permitting us to address Him as our Father.

• The degree of His love is the most exalted, since there is no higher love that can be shown than in adopting a poor and friendless orphan, and giving him a parent and a home. Even God could bestow upon us no more valuable token of affection than that we should be adopted into His family, and permitted to regard Him as our Father.
  

When I think how insignificant we are as creatures, and how ungrateful, rebellious, and vile we have been as sinners, it amazes me at this love God shows toward us. This love which is ready to adopt us into the holy family of God. So that we may be regarded and treated as the children of the Most High.

A royal prince could not manifest any higher love for a wandering, ragged, orphan, found in the streets, than by adopting him into his own family, and giving him to the same privileges and honors as his own sons........Yet this is a trifle comparison to the honor which God has bestowed on us.........

The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star,and reaches to the lowest hell;
The guilty pair, bowed down with care, God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled,and pardoned from his sin.

When hoary time shall pass away,and earthly thrones and kingdoms fall,
When men who here refuse to pray,on rocks and hills and mountains call,
God’s love so sure, shall still endure,all measureless and strong;
Redeeming grace to Adam’s race—the saints’ and angels’ song.

Could we with ink the ocean fill,and were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,and every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,though stretched from sky to sky.

Oh, love of God, how rich and pure! How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure—The saints’ and angels’ song.

Christlike Attributes Part 2

These attributes are found in Matthew 5:1-11 and they are known as the Beattitudes.

• The poor in spirit -- a humble opinion of self
• The that mourn -- those grieved by sin
• The meek -- those not easily provoked
• They who hunger & thirst after righteousness -- an intense desire of godliness
• The merciful -- one showing mercy to others
• The pure in heart -- those whose mind, motives and principles are pure
• The peacemaker -- one who strives for peace
• Those persecuted for righteousness sake -- godly living brings persecution
• Those falsely accused for Christ's sake -- believers ridiculed; charged heavily with lies

Our very nature is bent toward sin. We gain attributes like these only from Christ working these things through us.

Christlike Attributes Part 1

God possesses these qualities and any believer can "get" them as he is controlled by the Holy Spirit. When a believer manifests these characteristics on a consistent basis; even under pressure, we say he has Christian (Christlike) character.

The attributes I'm sharing today are found in Galatians 5:22-23 and they are commonly known as the fruit of the Spirit.

• Love -- genuine self-sacrifice for the good of others
• Joy -- a feeling of great pleasure and delight in who God is and in what He has provided
• Peace -- a sense of well-being; rest; tranquility; contentment
• Longsuffering -- stability under pressure; self-control under provocation from people
• Gentleness -- kindness toward others; reasonableness; flexibility
• Faith -- faithfulness; reliability
• Meekness -- willingness to be governed; submissive attitude toward authority and circumstances
• Temperance -- self-control, especially of one's passions

Exposure to God brings about profound change in a believer -- the kind of change to Christlikeness we need.

God's Attributes

These attributes of God are attributes of Him only no created being can ever possess them.

• Omnipotence -- God is all powerful.
  
  
• Omniscience -- God innately knows everything.
  
  
• Omnipresence -- God is everywhere at all times.
  
  
• Immutability -- God's nature will never change.
  
  
• Transcendence -- God is distinctly different from His creation.
  
  
• Eternality -- God has no beginning or end.

Just knowing these things about our Heavenly Father gives me great peace and assurance.

A Letter To John

I want to share with you an actual letter from a mother to her son. She knew he would never read it; he had died in an accident on a farm three years before she wrote the letter. She wrote it as a testimony of how she had come to really know God since her son's death.

Dear John,

It's been three years since that night when God called you to Heaven. We have missed you so much, and I'm sure we will until we are together again.

At the time of your death, there was such a searching going on in your heart. I remember our long discussions and your attempts to make us understand what you were looking for. You were searching for a depth that was missing in your life. You had wisdom and insight in your youth. Some of the things you talked about, things that we didn't understand, have become clearer to us. You remarked about the students at college who were so busy serving the Lord yet lacked a personal relationship with Him. In fact, some of them with whom you talked couldn't say for sure they were saved. At the time your daddy and I talked with you I don't think we even understood, but I remember your saying that you wanted something "earth shaking" to show us. Well, when you died it was earth shaking. It tore our very foundations away. I feel that I, especially, took up your searching. I believe the Lord answered your prayer. I don't know why it had to be through your death. I'll never understand that, but through it I have discovered that my foundation was built on a creed more than on a Person. I had accepted the Lord as my Savior, but I was living my life by self-effort. When you died, everything I believed fell apart. I didn't turn from God, but I started questioning what I believed because your eternity rested on what we had taught you to believe. Was it right? Is there a God? Do I believe the Bible? Does God love me, really love me? Is there a Heaven? Are you there with God? What is it like where you are? What are you doing now? Will I really see you and know you in Heaven?

I can't say I've gotten all the answers to all my questions, but let me tell you some of the things that have happened. In my searching I have come across some of the things you were struggling with. The Bible is more that just a Book of rules. It presents a God Who wants to have fellowship with us. We do have a personal relationship with the God of the Bible. As you said, we do need to see our sins as God sees them. When we see God for Who He is, then we can see our sins as He sees them. Then we can realize the full impact of what it meant to have those sins for given through the Cross. Also our emotions do have a part in our Christian life. The Bible says that we worship the Lord "in spirit and in truth." If we don't let our total being become involved in worshiping the Lord, we hinder the Holy Spirit, and we cannot truly worship God. We are to love God with our whole being--body, soul and spirit. We can know His Spirit's presence. God can be alive to us. We can know His presence in our daily lives. We can have this while we are still here on earth. We can come before His throne and worship Him and in a real sense, be in His presence. I feel that is what you are doing now. Maybe that's why I have a yearning to do the same thing even while I'm still on earth........

Since your death, things have become very simple in my life, and I believe in your daddy's life too. The things we thought were so necessary are unimportant. To get to the basics of Who God is and my relationship with His is most important. After all, I really want to know the Person Who is now taking care of my son. How well I live by the rules we as Christians have laid down is not so important now. There was a lot of self-effort in my Christian life. God didn't save me by faith and then expect me to live the Christian life by self-effort. I think you were struggling to establish a relationship with God. You had accepted Christ as your Savior and always lived above reproach as a Christian, but you were wanting a real, personal relationship with God. In Heaven you have that relationship now, but I'm still here on earth struggling. I always tried to live right, but it was very "legalistic." I'm afraid that is how we taught you and your sister to live. We taught you how to accept Christ as Savior apart from works but the led you to believe that the Christian life was lived by self-effort, doing everything right. I believe that the element of love was left out of our teaching--accepting God's unchanging love and loving Him with your total being. This should come before works and lead to good works which are done out of a heart full of love for Him.

I'm writing this "open letter" to you as a testimony of an answer to your prayer, even after your death. If there is anything I have learned, it's that no matter how straight the live we walk in our Christian life is, it is empty self-effort without an attitude of worship and without allowing the Spirit of God to involve our total being in a loving relationship with Him. Out of that love will flow good works, a desire to fellowship with Him, a desire to please Him and serve Him. His love will compel us to be witnesses of His love to others. As the saying goes, I think I've had "the cart before the horse" by trying through self-effort to please the Lord and serve Him without letting His love fill my being in a very real, everyday sense. This realization is just beginning. Now I have to let it become an experience in my life. My prayer is that now I will live what I have learned.

Remember when I used to take you by the shoulder, tell you to look at me, and then say, "I love you, John"? I remember the sheepish look you would give me when I said that. Well, John, I still love you very much.

Your Mother

This mother, Mrs. Carol L. Wilkinson, picked up her son's search for a relationship with his Creator. She sought her God and was not disappointed. May it be true for all of us.