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.