Thank you Phil. This is great spiritual food drawn from your own
personal experiences. Thanks for sharing.
Jackie
At 07:14 AM 2014-03-11, you wrote:
>I like that, Phil.
>
>Thanks much.
>
>Many Blessings,
>
>Pat Ferguson
>"I can Do all Things Through Christ Who Strengthens Me." Phillippians 4:13.
>
>
>At 10:00 PM 3/10/2014, you wrote:
>>When I was about 10 years old, I used to ride a few short blocks to
>>a friend's house. We all attended the same church and were all 8
>>to 12 years of age. These brothers, 3 all together, had paper
>>routes so I'd help them deliver city papers back in Des Moines. I
>>didn't do it every day but I did it often and they would pay me a
>>little for helping out. Their bundles of newspapers were dropped
>>at a street corner a couple of blocks from their house but to get
>>there, the last block was down a very steep hill. It was so steep,
>>we always bet each other to see who could, from a dead stop, start
>>climbing the hill on his bike. I was sure I could do it but half
>>way up, my legs nearly fell off; it was that steep. None of us
>>could do it; it was literally impossible.
>>
>>Do you have a relationship with the Lord that feels that way? I
>>lived 50 years of my life, 45 years as a born again Christian,
>>thinking I had to do things to make God happy. When the Lord told
>>me 30 years ago, it was the other way around, that is, He wanted to
>>please me, I didn't believe it. In fact, I kept right on trying to
>>make God happy. I would never had admitted to such a feeling in my
>>walk with the Lord at that time but as I look back on it, the truth was plain.
>>
>>Did you know that the Christian life is impossible to live? Jesus
>>never met for you to work at it at all. For example, right now, my
>>left leg is weaker than my right, about half the strength, due to
>>the past 4 back surgeries I recently had. Neurological problems
>>set it and my toes are partially numb and sometimes half way up my
>>leg starts tingling and I have to stand up and walk around the
>>house or switch to another chair to get the circulation moving due
>>to the compressed nerves. Outside, when walking further distances,
>>I need a walking cane to help me with balance because my left foot
>>sometimes just tries to flop out there and turns at an odd angle
>>and I stumble. I have to walk slowly outdoors but in the house,
>>I'm walking my own speed and there are lots of things to grab on to
>>to keep my balance. In other words, I have to concentrate on every
>>single step I am taking or I stumble because my foot tries to drag
>>across the floor or a sidewalk even with the walking cane. Stop
>>and think about that for a moment. Walking, for me, used to be as
>>natural as breathing. We don't think about breathing; we just do
>>it without effort. That's what I mean when I said I've been
>>walking with the Lord nearly 57 years now and I believe that is
>>what the Bible says, or means, too, when referring to walking with
>>Jesus. If we find ourselves straining as a Christian, angry
>>because God isn't answering our prayers, given burdens we cannot
>>carry because they are too heavy for us alone, upset because we
>>have no friends and it isn't fair God, and I could go on and on,
>>then we are working at trying to walk and breathe spiritually
>>speaking. Yes, even in recent days, as I was visiting with an 81
>>year old Christian friend, I told him I complain about my state and
>>I tell the Lord so. My friend said, "Phil, have you ever ask God
>>to ease up on you before because you were really hurting? I have,"
>>he confirmed. I laughed and said, "Sure, Gary, I've said, "Come on
>>Lord, let up on the strap and give me a freaking break. I'm
>>suffering down here, don't you know?" In fact, if you knew how the
>>Lord and I talk to each other sometimes, you'd say, "Well, he ain't
>>a very could Christian," and you'd be right but it isn't me you get
>>to judge; it's Jesus you must judge.
>>
>>I've mentioned this a couple of times before but it is worth saying
>>again now. I was complaining one day because, as an intercessor,
>>the Lord kept telling me, "Bear other's burdens." After a couple
>>of weeks of this, I finally said, "Lord, as soon as I get my
>>problems taken care of with you and your ways, I'll help
>>others." Then he said, "Bear each other's burdens; I didn't say
>>when yours were solved, then help others with theirs." Another
>>time I said, "Lord, these burdens are just too heavy." He said,
>>"Then they aren't my burdens I asked you to carry because my
>>burdens are light." I busted out laughing because it was true and
>>I knew the Bible confirmed it.
>>
>>So you have to get off your bicycle and push your bike for awhile,
>>that's ok. The first time another intercessor prayed with me, he
>>said, after praying, "Did you hear anything in your thoughts,
>>Phil?" I said, "amazingly, yes. I heard myself saying, I am 50
>>years old, I was at the time, and I'm not successful." The man
>>prayed a couple of sentences and I heard Jesus say in my thoughts,
>>"I never asked you to be successful." It was like a heavy weight
>>was lifted right off of me and I've never doubted what He said that
>>day until now. Oh, sure, I do my share of complaining and I
>>express my disappointments in the Lord but then I always ask Him to
>>show me the truth. In most cases, the answer immediately comes and
>>it is simple. The Lord told me 30 years ago, "Phil, if it is too
>>complex, or complicated, it isn't me." Is climbing that emotional
>>hill too difficult, with depression and fear making the climb too
>>impossible? It is supposed to be that way, did you know
>>that? Jesus is already at the top, on the other hand, and He's
>>already there before you arrive at the same destination. If you
>>look around, you'll see he's behind you and helping by pushing your
>>bicycle up that steep hill right along with you. Just as natural
>>as walking or breathing.
>>
>>Phil.
>>Living His Name
>><http://www.SafePlaceFellowship.COM>WWW.SafePlaceFellowship.COM
>>
>>Phil.
>>Living His Name
>><http://www.SafePlaceFellowship.COM>WWW.SafePlaceFellowship.COM
>
>Thanks much.
>
>Many Blessings,
>
>Pat Ferguson
>"I can Do all Things Through Christ Who Strengthens Me." Phillippians 4:13.
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