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I turned on the radio and this guy was saying that we commit an innumerable amount of sin in our mind each day.. just in what we think and say let alone our actions but God loves us unconditionally and we have to trust that He does because it’s the only way to be set free otherwise we will constantly condemn ourselves because we will feel like we're never good enough.

I think I figured out what the problem is other than the obvious fact that most skeptics and Christians doubt God's unconditional love for them.. but it’s that they feel condemned.. when they are not because 'there is no condemnation for those that are in Christ.' That is why Christ came… to take us back from the enemy. They don’t see that the Lord has "pardoned" them of ALL their sin. And that’s sort of the main object of the scripture. It’s why Christ came. We have been purged of all iniquity the minute we accept Him.

This does not mean that we don’t still make mistakes. It just means that we are reconciled to Him regardless when we accept Him and His sacrifice for us. But we have to accept His love/sacrifice as He won’t force His way into our life.

He came to take us back from the enemy because we had chosen Satan instead of Him. But we were meant to be His as He created us to live a euphoric life with Him. So He wants us to choose Him.

A lot of people don’t understand that not only were we created to live a euphoric life with Him in the afterlife.. but we were meant to live a euphoric life with Him here And now. On earth.

Because once we surrender to Him Satan cannot afflict us like he did before. He may try to attack but his darts cannot touch the armor of God and they cannot penetrate the shield of faith. It's then that we may go into battle against the enemy... and bring others to the same level of surrender so that they too may trample over the enemy in the power of the Holy Spirit.

God gave usthe law because He loves us... and wants to protect us from evil but we are inclined to sin and so have a hard time following His commandments. He loves us unconditionally so He sent His son (which was Him in human form because He had His spirit) to die for our sins so that all we have to do is accept Him to be saved.

Only those that deny Him go to hell.

No, I meant to say only those that "reject" Him go to hell… not those that deny Him as they are two entirely different words with entirely different meanings even though they’ve been used synonymously.

**De·ny dəˈnī/ verb verb: deny; 3rd person present: denies; past tense: denied; past participle: denied; gerund or present participle: denying

~ State that one refuses to admit the truth or existence of.

**Re·ject verb past tense: rejected; past participle: rejected rəˈjekt/

~ Dismiss as inadequate, inappropriate, or not to one's taste.

Synonyms: turn down, refuse, decline, say no to, spurn; informalgive the thumbs down to, rebuff, shun, snub, repudiate, cast off/aside, discard, abandon, desert, turn one's back on, have nothing more) to do with, wash one's hands of.

"The loggers rejected the offer."

Antonyms: accept.

Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is the only thing that can't be forgiven because blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is the same thing as completely renouncing the Lord with your whole heart. And it’s those people that obtain a reprobate mind.

I’ve addressed this before. And doubt and renouncing the Lord are not the same thing. So people need to stop thinking they are because it’s a huge cause of atheism itself. Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is committed in the heart and only GOD can judge a man's heart.

And when a person commits this they are completely rejecting Him in their heart. He is NOT rejecting them.

As I said before skeptics and Christians alike.. have all doubted the unconditional love of God/Christ.

... Most of the people that are on those atheist experience sites belong to God.. they are just deceived. And they need to know the truth.

People don’t realize it but most people belong to God.. even those that may follow false doctrines. They are just deceived.

My friend Shawn went on a mission trip... he said several Muslims repented after they listened to him speak. People know the truth when they hear it. Even if they followed a false doctrine. Because God draws on everyone's heart from birth. There are many good hearted people that are deceived and follow false doctrines. We all belong to God initially.. and the only way that can be changed is if we renounce Him completely in our heart. And there are many deceived people (that commit idolatry among other things) yet they still belong to God.

Only He can judge a person's heart.

...

Salvation is a spiritual process. The Holy Spirit draws us which is why everyone is without excuse as we all know the truth in our heart. Sometimes we just need to be reminded. We can't understand the process in which He draws on our heart. God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are one. Jesus said He is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through Him. He is in the father and the father is in Him and He is in the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit is in you.

He said His sheep know His voice.. and follow it. To them He has given all wisdom and understanding...

we can be deceived yet still have understanding but the more understanding we have the less deceived we will be.

Everyone that knows Him in their heart has some level of understanding, and we increase in knowledge as we get closer to Him.

And everyone has gifts from Him.

For instance, everyone that has the Holy Spirit can sense the emotions of others.

But some to a greater degree so they were called to specialize in intercession.

And there are many other gifts of the spirit as well. They just need to be activated through scripture and prayer.

Every talent and ability we have was a gift from Him. Some we are already utilizing and others have yet to be activated.

If you would like more information on the gifts of the spirit go to this site:

How God Speaks: The Quickened Word School.

You can also read the article I wrote titled Empaths.

We all have specific gifts and Satan wants to prevent us from utilizing them for God. He will try to get us to utilize them for him instead as I mentioned before in a previous article titled Satan Targets Us. Which is why we have false prophets and leaders that lead people astray as they're using their charisma and leadership abilities for Satan.

I listened to another message. The guy was talking about how God set the captives free... yet they murmured and complained about the manna He provided for them-- he said that he couldn’t see how they could complain about being provided for. ... you’d think they’d be more appreciative. And I think we’ve all been guilty of the same thing. We tend to like to focus more on what God has yet to do than what He's already done for us. And I think we’d be a lot happier if we were to focus more on what He has already given us considering most of us have a lot to be thankful for.

And the speaker said, so what if when Jesus asked Peter to follow Him he'd have said, 'Well. Right now’s not really a good time. There’s this to do.. and that to do.' He’d have really missed out. ... Jesus didn’t say, 'Come on, Peter. Let’s go see if we can catch some fish.' He had him go ahead and spread the net... because He knew exactly where the fish were... He said, 'Follow me, and I [will] make you become fishers of men.' Jesus already knew what He had planned for Peter. And He knew He would prosper him-- Peter didn’t know. He had no clue. But He trusted Him. And amazing things happened.

Jesus knew where the fish were-- Peter didn’t. But Jesus did. There are never any risks when we choose to follow Him-- because no matter what-- we always win.

‘Our lives are about something bigger than ourselves.’

 ...That’s a quote from Anthony Hopkins in the movie 'Bad Company.'

He gave up everything to work in law enforcement.. and fight against crime.

He’s right. We’re all called to make a difference.. in some way. And we all have specific gifts and specific occupations that God has given us so that we can make that difference.

I used to think that the callings that God gave us and our secular occupation were mutually exclusive, but I realized that wasn’t true. Jesus was a carpenter. Luke was a physician (and Jesus is the great physician because His healing is a spiritual and physical healing of the whole body only He doesn't accept compensation for it). Matthew was a tax collector. Paul was a tent maker.

So we're all called for a greater purpose-- through both a spiritual and secular occupation.

The problem is... some people get so caught up in their secular occupation that they neglect their spiritual one-- so in effect they never utilize their spiritual gifts. Which is sad. Because that's where we were meant to make the most difference.

Wanting to fight evil in a secular occupation is honorable-- and God is the one who calls us to do it-- but nothing fights evil the way prayer intercession does.

God has called us for three major roles. First, we have a spiritual role and relationship with Him that He expects to come first in our life (so we don’t get depressed or unbalanced and end up committing idolatry). Next, He has given us a life partner.. that He expects us to love.. and cherish... and be faithful to. He also gives us a family. And last He gives us a secular occupation-- that He has created us well suited for-- so that we may provide for ourselves as well as others that may be in need-- because God also calls us to help others... and provide for those in need... (they may be in need for whatever reason.. usually because they and their family have turned away from God.. but whatever the reason, we're not to worry ourselves with it. We're to help those He has called us to help, and we're to trust Him-- in all circumstances).

God has called us for all three of these roles, and it is important that we fulfill all of them... without neglecting one for the other.

I think the reason we have a hard time accepting God's unconditional love for us is because of the law. But if you think about it that’s nonsensical. Consider the allegory I gave you before in a previous article regarding the police officer and the son. The officer loved his son with all his heart but as a police officer that implements justice he is required to uphold the law regardless of whether the person involved is his uncle, cousin, son or whatever. But lets consider the alternative. Lets assume that the officer decides that he would be justified to let his son off for transgressing the law because he is his son? Would that be justice? What would others think of the supposed 'justice' system then? But, most importantly, would that really be what was best for the officers son? To have no sense of accountability? To know he can commit any type of crime because he can get right out of it as his father is in charge and doesn’t hold him accountable for his actions... what’s going to happen to him eventually? He’s going to go overboard because he has no discipline.

So lets go back to the original analogy we addressed previously in which the officer maintains justice and holds his son accountable for his actions.. does this mean that the officer doesn’t love his son? No, just the opposite actually.. it means he loves his son and wants to protect him by teaching him to avoid evil. Does this mean that the officer expects the son to be perfect and never make mistakes? NO. That’s unrealistic. But the officer does expect the son to try to stay out of serious trouble. But he loves him regardless because he is his son.

And I’ve already addressed the issue of hell-- God does not send his children to hell. It’s important to understand this correctly. We are not all sons and daughters of God. There are some that have renounced Him. Their hearts are not pure and they desire evil. Satan is their father so they will abide with him for eternity.

There are none without sin, but there are many that have a pure heart... those that do belong to God... which is 'the reason' they have a good heart.

"We’re not saved because we're good we're good because we're saved"

The definition of a pure heart-- you may make mistakes but you love good and you hate evil.

The definition of an impure heart-- you make mistakes but you don’t really mind as you desire evil and you hate good.

This can seem to get entirely confusing but it’s not really. It can be summed up rather simply-- if you love God in your heart and you have accepted Him then He dwells in you which is what makes you a good person (ie you're considerate, you love others etc). And He dwells in your heart because you desire Him in your heart. And He knows your heart.

He does not make us desire Him in our heart. We desire Him of our own accord. I have to be more careful with my wording. We may have a good heart because we're saved but we have that good heart because we desired Him in it. As we are capable of desiring good before we're saved. We’re just not capable of being good until we're saved.

He draws on our heart and we accept or reject Him. And He draws on everyone’s heart initially.

We don’t ask God to come attempt to dwell within us. He does it automatically as were automatically given the free gift of salvation. We can either accept or reject it.

Definition of desire-- .

Strongly wish for or want (something).

"He never achieved the status he so desired"

Synonyms: want, wish for, long for, yearn for.

Definition of choose--

Pick out or select (someone or something) as being the best or most appropriate of two or more alternatives.

"He chose a seat facing the door"

Synonyms: select, pick (out), opt for, settle on, decide on, fix on, take

Decide on a course of action, typically after rejecting alternatives.

"He chose to go"

We often desire good but our flesh betrays us and we have a hard time choosing it as we were born into sin through our forefathers. But even though we are inclined to sin we were created to be with God. There are some that desire Him more than others yet they lack the strength to act on that desire, resist Satan, and choose God. Therefore, God came to earth in the form of man to die for us and thus impart His spirit to us so that if we desire Him we may become "one" with Him and overcome.

I’ve heard people say things like, So and so was kind all of their life yet they suffered.. why would the Lord let that happen? I see no logic in this because no one is without sin except Jesus Christ... and no one has suffered as much as He did.

I think the problem is that we tend to be self righteous.

And no one wants to take responsibility for their own actions. We all want to act like we don’t have our own mind or our own consciousness.. and we're not here choosing what we want to choose… and that’s illogical.

....

God has a plan for us based on 'our' actions as we are down here living our own lives and making our own choices. We go through trial because we have to learn to let go of those desires that are not of Him.. because they are detrimental to us.

And we have to be able to trust Him.

Satan is a 'perverter' of all things... he is a slanderer.. and a liar.

He will blame God for everything. But we must resist him… and ask God to remove him from our thoughts and mind forever.

The truth is not in him.

Satan is evil. He is the cause of ALL that is evil.

God IS good. He is the cause of ALL that is good.

God will turn everything Satan meant for harm into good.

And He needs us to trust Him.

We only harm ourselves when we listen to Satan’s lies. Because when we sin against God.. we sin against ourselves. And Satan knows this. And he wants to destroy us.

We must strive to remember the truth. In our hearts we know Him. It’s the basic understanding Satan will attempt to steal from us which can only be restored when we make a conscious choice to trust in what we know to be true in our hearts.. who God really is. Otherwise, Satan will try to torment us by putting slanderous thoughts in our minds against Him as well as ourselves.

Satan is the accuser. He accuses God by putting slanderous thoughts in our mind. And he accuses us in the same way... not only to ourselves but to God but He defends us… and conquers Satan.

God is the 'just judge'

He is righteous and as such He is required to uphold to the standards of the law He gave us. And He gave us that law to protect us from evil. But we kept violating it. It is never God's will for us to choose to violate His law because when we invite evil into our lives we open the door to affliction. But we continued to do so. But God loves us unconditionally so He came to earth to die for our sins.. and thus pardon us of our transgressions in the hope that we may turn to Him and accept His sacrifice/love for us.

 ... We have to choose Him first before we can be good.. and we didn’t seem to be able to do that before which is why I said we are not capable of being good until were saved. ... God came to earth and gave up His spirit so that we may now overcome evil with good in the power of His spirit.

So now (if we desire Him) we may overcome through faith in Him and His sacrifice for us.

Just to make something clear as a lot of people misunderstand this. God took our place when He died for us. Because by law sin leads to death. Therefore, He was able to justly pardon us. ...

He did not come to do away with the law.. but to fulfill it in that we now may become righteous in Him through the justification of faith.

There are many people that teach false doctrines. .. they teach that since we're saved we can do whatever we want.. we can lie, cheat, and steal.. and it's all okay.. like we're no longer held accountable for our actions. But this is not biblical. Actually, the bible teaches that though we can never earn salvation as God loves us unconditionally we are expected to bear His fruits after we're saved as we are His ambassadors, and He expects us to be just and kind like Him. And He also expects us to uphold the law in the same way He does.. since we are one with Him. And though violating this does not revoke our salvation in Him we will be held accountable for our actions.

Then there are those that go to the extreme on the other end… speaking of nothing but hellfire and brimstone. And that’s even worse.

God just wants one thing from us-- for us to trust Him.

For us to remember that He is our father... and our provider... and that He loves us with an irrevocable consuming fire.

He just wants us to give it all to Him.. and trust His plan.

He has a plan for us and He needs us to trust Him.

God has a plan for each of us... based on our actions and what He sees that we will do. He has this magnificent way of taking the negative circumstances of our choices and interweaving them in a reverse type manner thus turning them into good. God is perfect. There is no fault in Him. He came to earth to save us.. even when we denied Him and wanted nothing to do with Him. And that is what real love is. It’s sacrifice.

God loves us unconditionally... but here is the balance. That does not mean that He forces us to love Him back. Therefore, we can of our own will decide to 'whole heartedly' renounce Him. Those who do this are not God’s children. They belong to the wicked one and so share his fate.

God does NOT send His children to hell. Only Satan’s.

Everyone has denied God at some point but not everyone has renounced Him in their heart. There is a huge difference, and God judges the heart. We can’t make that determination.

So people need to stop acting like they can and we wouldn’t have so many atheists in the world.

And the law does NOT equal condemnation because the law was given to PROTECT us from Satan’s fate and hopefully prevent us from choosing to follow Satan ‘whole heartedly' thus renouncing God in our heart.

The law is not what condemns us-- its our ignorance or disregard of it that equals condemnation because when we violate it 'continually' in our heart we become desensitized so to speak which pushes us away from God and closer to obtaining a reprobate mind in Satan. And God wants to prevent us from doing that as He doesn’t want us to belong to Satan because it is at that point that we become condemned because we belong to our accuser.

Basically, God gave us the law to protect us from Satan because sin (which is Satan) leads to death.

It takes an advanced person to appreciate the law and most atheists are not so advanced.

But they don’t realize their faulty logic.

An appropriate analogous complaint-

I hate the law.

Why?

Because it’s evil.

What? How do you figure?

Well, I mean, because it means bad things happen to me when I do bad things. The people that set that up are evil man. I should just be able to do bad things all day long and not have bad things happen as a result. It’s all their fault man.

So, uh, basically you don’t understand that you’re responsible for your own actions?

Exactly.

...

I’m trying to figure out how they think to explain this better. It’s like they think God is evil and He doesn’t love them because sin equals death. They blame God because death results from sin but they missed the first part or what leads to death. It’s the sin that leads to death and God doesn’t cause the sin. Sin is caused by the person when 'they' listen to (Satan).

Death is brought on ourselves when we listen to Satan.

And God wants to prevent us from listening to Satan. That is why He is the master intercessor, and He calls us to be intercessors in the same way as it is not God's will for us to die. He came to give us life. But we have to choose Him instead of Satan.

God is good. He is the ONLY source of good in this world and that’s what is so heartbreaking about these sites I’ve been on. These people are so deceived that they don’t see that. They don’t know that He is their source of strength when they are weak... they don’t see that He is their comforter and their provider... they have turned against the one who loves them the most.. the one that gave His life for them.. and they have sided with their own enemy.. that plans to destroy them.

Gods law in summary:

Refrain from promiscuity

Do not murder

Do not steal

Respect authority

Do not rape

Do not kidnap etc etc

Which can all be summed up as... love God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself.

So tell me exactly WHY I’m having to defend God for establishing these precepts?

Even when we ignored His law, listened to (Satan), and brought suffering upon ourselves.. He came to earth to save us from the very thing we chose and denied Him for, and He still pardoned us and ransomed us back to Himself.

There is NO FAULT in Him.

And why did He come to earth to save us? Because He does NOT desire that we suffer at the hands of Satan and He does not desire that we remain in bondage to him which is why He gave us the law.. to keep us from choosing Satan/sin and thus hurting ourselves/others.

...

We had chosen Satan/sin instead of Him, but He couldn’t accept that. He loved us too much. So He came to die in our place (even though we’d chosen death because Satan/sin leads to death) in the hope that we would see how much He loves us and choose Him instead of Satan.

I watched the passion of the Christ. I remember when I saw it the first time in theaters. I couldn't stop crying.

I let my daughter watch it. I thought it would be good for her to watch it while she's still young and her heart is open. I asked her if she understood it and what she thought when she saw how He was beaten and tortured and that He did it because of His love for us. She said she didn’t want to say because she knew He wouldn’t like it, but she felt like she didn’t deserve it. I told her that He loves us unconditionally and all He wants us to do is believe it. She said she did believe it. I told her a lot of people feel unworthy.. even the disciple that was closest to Him felt unworthy because he made a mistake. It just means we have compassion for Him. But we should try not to feel that way because we are always worthy in His eyes.

... I was talking about Peter when I said the disciple that was closest to Him. He loved Jesus with all his heart. He was furious when they took Him captive and even cut the guys ear off with a sword in his defense, but Jesus healed the guy and told Peter to cease because people that live by the sword die by the sword.

Then later he denied him because of the fear of man.. even though he didn’t really agree with them in his heart. But he repented and was one of the first that Jesus appeared to after His resurrection and He anointed him as leader.

http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/biblestudyandtheology/perspectives/denying-christ-luke-22-goodwyn.aspx

http://www.gotquestions.org/Peters-denial.html

http://www.creators.com/lifestylefeatures/inspiration/kids-talk-about-god/why-did-peter-deny-jesus-three-times.html

I remember when I lived in the house my dad built for my grandmother and I hated it. Because my grandmother and my father paid for everything. I appreciated it. But I prefer to be self sufficient. And my grandmother took over with my child. So I stayed depressed and upset over it. One day I decided just to be content. And give it to God. I figured that if that was where God wanted me to be then it must be what was best for me... cause it seemed like every time I tried to get out of there it never worked out. But as soon as I stopped worrying about it. And being so depressed over it. And decided to trust God. I received a call saying that there was a vacant town house located about ten minutes away from my mom. Then I got a Patient Advocate position at a hospital which is about five min away from my apartment.

That’s what surrender is. It’s trusting God in whatever situation we may be in. And giving 'every' area of our life to Him. So that we are content-- knowing that He knows what’s best for us. And that He is taking care of us. And that He will always work everything out for our good.

And the reason He wants us to trust Him is because He wants to see us content.

Because whether we realize it or not if we're worrying and depressed over one thing. Even if it is resolved we will always worry and be depressed over another. Happiness doesn't result from a change in circumstances. It results from trusting Him in every circumstance.

I love the way that your heart breaks /With every injustice and deadly fate /Praying it all will be new/ And living like it all depends on you /Here you are down on your knees again/ Trying to find air to breathe again/ And only surrender will help you now/ I love you please see and believe again/ I love that you're never satisfied/ With face value, wisdom, and happy lies/ You take what they say and go back and cry /You're so close to me that you nearly died /Here you are down on your knees again/ Trying to find air to breathe again /And only surrender will help you now/ I love you please see and believe again/ They don't have to understand you/ Be still /Wait and know I understand you/ Be still /Here you are down on your knees again/ Trying to find air to breathe again/ And only surrender will help you now/ The floodgates are breaking and pouring out/Here you are down on your knees/ Trying to find air to breathe /Right where I want you to be again/ I love you please see and believe again/ Here you are down on your knees again/ Trying to find air to breathe again/ Right where I want you to be again/ See and believe!

Those are the lyrics to Again by Flyleaf-- one of my favorite songs. I didn’t realize it for a long time but she's talking about surrender to God. I used to think she was talking about a guy lol. But then I realized that she is supposed to be singing from God's perspective-- which makes more sense.

But I never understood the last part until now.

She says, here you are down on your knees again trying to find air to breathe again right where I want you to be again see and believe.

God wants us to surrender to Him-- but in order for that to happen we have to 'come to the end of ourselves' and that usually only happens after we've suffered long enough because we're highly stubborn, and we think we want things that cause us harm but eventually we finally fall to our knees in surrender, turn to Him, and give those things up.

An example of things we think we want that are detrimental to us-- we think we want idols. These can be in the form of people, food, objects, or substances. It’s important to note that there is nothing wrong with wanting the person, food, object, or substance. But there is something wrong with making that person, food, object, or substance into an idol.

Something becomes an idol when we put it above God because we're not trusting Him. And were depressed or unbalanced. Therefore anytime something or someone becomes an idol it is detrimental to us.

This always results in heartache because it further opens the door to demonic affliction such as disease, depression, and other spirits.

I said it 'further' opens the door to depression because there are levels of depression as one can start out with mild depression but it gets worse if we open doors.

... Ive been guilty of idolatry.. more than a few times.. with more than one thing. I think we all have at some point. But I’ve decided I’m tired of it. And I’m going to trust God.

For a long time I didn’t even realize I was committing idolatry. I think I knew in my heart, but I ignored it, and I’ve committed it a lot. I think the only thing I haven’t committed it with is my child. Which is strange because that’s what most people commit it with-- because they become imbalanced and worry too much about their children. They refuse to give them to God. My mom said she did that. But I never have.

Well, actually I guess I haven’t committed it as much as I thought-- cause I’ve never committed it with my child, money, power, or anything like that.

But I have committed it with my soul mate, my mother/father/sister, the sun, work, sleep, and certain substances.

But I gave it all to God last night… and I felt so free… and elated. I can’t explain it.

The biggest idol I had was the sun. I worshipped the sun, and I stayed in it. If I felt depressed, my solution was to lie in the sun or go to the tanning bed.

And at one point I went to the tanning bed every single day. Then I’d lie in the sun all day if I didn’t go. I think maybe I overdid it a little, and I ended up getting skin cancer (melanoma) a while back. But everyone prayed for me, and God made sure I was healed.

But I think the worst idols I ever had were pain pills and alcohol as they drained me of my spirit and caused the most damage to my life. I almost overdosed on pills and God saved me. That's when I gave them up.

Then work was my idol for a time.... until I was out of work for a while.. then sleep became my idol so I was sleeping like over twelve hours a night and going to sleep way too early... then the only job opening I could find was a third shift position at an assisted living facility.... then I realized I felt a lot better since I stopped sleeping constantly…and I got hired as a Patient Advocate not long after that and started working days again.

I idolized a few of my loved ones and worried about them constantly before I finally decided to give them to God.

My soul mate was my idol for a while... but I finally learned that I needed to put God first and learn to trust Him before my soul mate and I could have a healthy relationship.

Before I was so focused on wanting to be with my soul mate that I was neglecting myself... and my callings. I realized I needed to focus more on the people.. and what I’m called to do.

...

And I’m glad I didn’t get my way lol. I realize now if my soul mate and I had gotten together before I’d have never directed my focus to what I’m called to do. We are here to be with our soul mate and have a family.. but we’re also here with a greater purpose.. for the greater good.. and we should never lose focus of that. God created soul mates to be together AND to do His work together.

 ‘Our lives are about something bigger than ourselves.’

It’s funny how we always find out in the end that God knows best, eh?

I say in the end cause that’s when the trial ends-- when we finally trust Him completely.

(If you would like more information on idolatry you can also read my previous article titled 'Idolatry')

Idolatry is a spiritual thing. We were created for a relationship with Him and in order to have the relationship we were meant to have with Him we have to trust Him. Otherwise, we will have a hole in our soul so to speak-- that only He can fill. But we often try to fill that void with other things-- things God gave us as gifts. That is when those gifts become idols. The reason they become idols is because were trying to depend on them to provide us with what only God can give us. Basically, our well-being. And if we try to depend on someone or something else to provide us with that we will be let down because nothing or no one can provide us with that except Him. Thus until we choose Him we will continue to chase after various idols in an attempt to gain true happiness and self fulfillment in vain when all we have to do is choose Him and not only will we have the happiness we were trying to obtain but all things will be added to us.. and He will give us the desire of our heart.

I taught a lesson last Sunday about how 'everything' on earth was given to us as a gift from God and was intended for good, but Satan perverts good things and makes them bad.

I gave them examples: I told them that God gave us doctors and medications to heal us and these medications come from healing herbs and compounds that God gave us. But Satan will pervert medications through additives that are not natural and thus not intended for medicinal use. Another way Satan can pervert medicines is through making them our idol and thus causing us to abuse them. I told them God also gave us alcohol to enjoy but Satan perverts it by attempting to make it our idol as well. Food can also be perverted through gluttony. I told them sex was a gift from God that He intended to be a sacred act of union in marriage but Satan perverts it through homosexuality and acts of promiscuity.

Marriage was a gift from God but it can be perverted when it's all we focus on so we end up neglecting ourselves and our spiritual alter which eventually causes us to become imbalanced.

God is love therefore He is the source of all love. We can't have love without Him. All relationships must have the love of Christ in order to be sustained.

Our occupation was also a gift from the Lord but it can be perverted as well when it's all we focus on, and we end up neglecting our spiritual role.

These gifts are a lot more enjoyable when utilized in the way God intended.. because we don’t have the negative effects that result from abuse such as addiction, disease, and hangovers. So it’s a lot more fun to follow God than Satan.

God has an amazing plan for us—

And it’s far better than anything Satan could offer.

Or anything we may plan for ourselves.

Because when Satan puts something before us there is always a price.

And we end up losing far more than we may gain.

God will never hold anything back from us—

It’s Satan that will.

God has many gifts for us.

He stands at the door and knocks…

all He wants us to do is open it.

Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all things shall be added to you.

Matthew 6: 33.

I think what we are all really seeking is love, and He is love. God created us with a perfect life partner and when we put Him first He sends them right to us. The way to get what we want is to put God first.. then He gives us the desires of our heart.

I had to go through a great trial to learn that.

I used to chase after things of the world, but I finally realized they left me desperately unfulfilled. I finally got so sick and tired of the sick cycle carousel that I fell to my knees, and I asked God to increase within me. Because I finally realized that I needed His spirit to increase within me or I would only continue to seek after things of this world thus continually remaining unfulfilled. My heart wanted God but my carnal nature had a mind of it's own.

I told Him that I knew that I could not overcome on my own because my flesh was too weak. And that I knew that was why He had to die for me.. because He knew I could not do it on my own... that I need His spirit to overcome. And I thanked Him for His sacrifice. And that He loves me perfectly just the way I am-- so much that He took my place in death to give me life. And I told Him that I accept His sacrifice and the life He died to give me. I asked Him to change me... to make me new in His spirit.. that I was tired of living the way I was. Because I was so sick of the endless turmoil.. of never feeling fulfilled. Of knowing I have a purpose but just not reaching it. I had reached the end of myself. I acknowledged that I wasn't good. I was actually pretty bad. I mean, that was why I couldn't do anything except selfishly chase after things of this world no matter how hard I tried to reach my true purpose. But I also acknowledged that though I considered myself to be pretty bad, God loves me just the way I am though I make mistakes. Which helped me to see others that hurt me in a new light. I realized that since God loves unconditionally and forgave me for all of my mistakes then I need to forgive and extend the same grace to others as we all fall short of the glory of the Lord. I'm not perfect and neither are those that hurt me. We have all succumbed to the voice of sin. But God loves us perfectly and unconditionally. And that's what it took to get where I am now. I had to acknowledge the unconditional love of Christ.. and that He loved us enough to die for us (in the unhealthy and unsatisfactory state we were in) so that we may be made new and receive life in His spirit. And I had to accept Him and His sacrifice. And that I could never earn His love as He loves me unconditionally. I think that was what I found hardest to grasp though I'm not sure why considering I've never expected my loved ones to earn my love so why would I think that my father in heaven would expect me to earn His love? Especially when He IS love.. meaning the love that I have for others... or that others have for me.. is His love. Love is not conditional-- it's unconditional. And unconditional means you can't earn it because it is already freely given regardless of what you do. When I finally accepted all this my life changed. I began to know Christ like never before. Suddenly my sole desire was no longer for myself. Or marriage alone. It was for the greater good. To seek and find the creator and father that knows and loves me just the way I am-- yet doesn't want to leave me that way. Because He has something greater planned for me. To break the bonds of affliction from the enemy. To prosper me in ways I can't even fathom. And the joy I feel from realizing and knowing my father and [the truth] is unfathomable. It is beyond words. It's like obtaining the completion of completion as you finally find your true hearts desire== what you are living for.

We are all here with a purpose and a plan. To know and experience the fullness of love in Christ. And He is within. Yet so many are chasing something they already have. God is love. And we already have Him.

And He created gifts for us--

Therefore, He wants us to have them.

All He wants us to do is trust that we WILL receive them.

Once we accept Him we become saved. We essentially say in our heart, Lord I accept you as my savior. I acknowledge that you died to give me a new life and identity. I accept you and your sacrifice as well as this new life and identity. Then that’s it. You’re sealed for all eternity.

When we accept the Lord and become saved we become one with Him. I gave an illustration regarding Siamese twins. Siamese twins are two separate entities yet they are also one. He lives in us. Which means that He is part of us. We have our own mind which is separate from His but we are still one with Him. And He is always with us… guiding us.

What keeps most of us from getting to the place we need to be is we refuse to acknowledge that we cannot fix ourselves. If we try we will not succeed. If it were at all possible for us to fix ourselves then I suppose He wouldn't have had to sacrifice His life to make us one with Him so that we can overcome. But yet for some reason we still try to overcome without Him. And it won't work.

If we want to be fixed we have to surrender first. And surrender means acknowledging that we are in bondage to Satan (as we all have been) but that we no longer want to be so we accept His sacrifice and love which frees us. Then we give Him permission to change us by offering up ourselves to Him. We more or less say, I’m tired of living this way. I give myself to you. Fix me. Once we do this, He then changes our identity and makes us a new creation in Him. We are one in Him as we always were but His spirit then increases mixing with ours in it's entirety unto the level of completion so that we overcome. And this is done after we surrender thus acknowledging we need Him to fill us with His spirit so that we can overcome as without it we are in bondage to Satan.

Or rather I should have said, as without the filling of the Holy Spirit we are in bondage to Satan. Rather than just saying it.

I hate semantics.

One accepts Him in his/her heart thus becoming saved but does not typically surrender right then. So they are saved but can still be in bondage to Satan. It’s a process but nevertheless interrelated thus when one reaches surrender one then rededicates or acknowledges and accepts the Lord once more then proceeds to surrender.