ARE YOU STARVING YOURSELF TO DEATH?

We all are acquainted with the devastating effects of 

malnutrition.  If we do not get enough of some nutrient

or other, something in our body is going to suffer.

We are taught what to eat for a healthy heart, lungs,

muscles or even our brain.  I imagine that there is 

even something special to eat for us to have healthy

small toes.

But there is very little instruction in this old world 

about how to have a healthy "you".  Yes, you, the 

real you, not just your body.

Consider almost any living organism you want.

A tree, rose bush, vegetable, slim or what ever.

They can get the nutrition they need simply from

a supply of manure.  But they are not like you.

They do not have a spirit, soul, mind or the thing

that makes the real you.  The thing in us that is 

going to be somewhere forever.  We worry about

this old body we live in.  But do we ever think 

about the life that is in us.  Our real self.

This is the thing Jesus Christ was talking about when he said;

"People do not live by bread alone,

but by every word that comes from

the mouth of God."  

(Matthew 4:4 NLT). 

The only way our real self can be nourished is by the

word of God, the Holy Bible.  If you are neglecting

reading the Holy Bible you are neglecting the nourishment

that is most needed by you, the person in your body.

Neglect it to your own peril.

ME OR JESUS

Still browsing around in the book of Philippians

we find this sad comment.

"I have no one else like Timothy, who genuinely

cares about your welfare.  All the others care

only for themselves and not for what matters

to Jesus Christ."  

(Philippians 2:20,21 NLT)

Paul of course is writing from prison in Rome

at this point.  You will remember that there is a 

church or group of Christians in Rome and they

have been encouraged in their living for God by 

Paul's presence there in prison.  And it seems that

there are some companions along with Paul.

But,

out of all of these there is only one person who

cares enough about other Christians to go check

on them for Paul.  The others were all too selfish

in their affairs to worry about the work of Jesus

Christ.

When asked about the greatest commandment

Jesus himself stated;

"You must love the LORD your God with all

your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.

This is the first and greatest commandment.

A second is equally important: 'Love your

neighbor as yourself. The entire law and all

the demands of the prophets are based on

these two commandments.'".  

(Matthew 22:37 - 40 NLT)

Now caring only about your own interest is 

not loving your neighbor as yourself.

God allows us to make the choice,

am I going to be interested in the things

that concern me and mine or the things

that are of concern to Jesus Christ.

TODAY'S QUOTE

“A half hour with God, limited to doing 

his will in His way, is worth more than

a million years doing the best in our

own self and energy.  All fleshly effort

will be tuned to ash and will not make

It into eternity.”

K.P. Yohannan

The Road to Reality

p.191

HOW TO BE USEFUL TO GOD

HOW TO BE USEFUL TO GOD.

No,

I am not an expert on the subject.

But I have picked up on the clue which

 is my desire to pass on to you.

Back ground, or research if that would

make you feel any better.  I have "attempted"

to live for God for over sixty years.  That does

not count my years of growing up.  And of 

course that includes a lot of experience and 

not all of that has been good.  A lot of that 

has been failure.  That includes many years

of observation of the lives of other people,

both successful and unsuccessful.

During those sixty or more years I have

been a diligent reader of the Holy Bible

having read it well over one hundred times.

No, that does not necessarily make me smart.

And of course have studied it for years 

attempting to teach it now and then.

But probably one of the most instructive things

I have run across, at least as far as my current

subject is, the reading of dozens and dozens

of biographies.  For myself, one of the most

encouraging things spiritually apart from the 

Bible is the biographies of successful men and

women of God.  Reading them is encouraging

to me.

But in all this reading something has stood 

out to me.  Some of these People were highly

educated.  And some could not read or right

enough to spell their own name.

Some of them came from wealthy situations,

and some were as poor as dirt.

Some of these people had very strong physical

constitutions.  And some these people were

sickly by nature.

Some of these successful people were outgoing

and charismatic by nature.  And some of these

successful people used of God were retiring quit

people who would make great hermits.

Some of these people "just" happened to be 

in advantages positions.  And some of these

people were totally disadvantaged.

The list could go on and on.  But that is enough

to see that the list could include you and me.

What was the one common denominator that

made them useful to God?

Jesus Christ himself said,

"If anyone wishes to come after Me, 

he must deny himself, and take up his

cross daily and follow Me."

(Luke (9:23 NASB)

Remember, the cross was a method of

execution.  A way to die.  And in this 

case to die to self.

The Apostle James says it another way;

"Submit therefore to God.  Resist the

devil and he will flee from you."

(James 4:7 NASB)

And the Apostle Paul one place when talking

on this subject said; "I die daily."

(1 Corinthians 15:31 NASB)

In short, If I want to be really useful to God,

no matter where I am or what ever my 

circumstances my be,

I have to die to myself and my

desires and give myself over to

God to let him use me however

he wants.

RICK WARREN AND CREATION.

"You didn't create yourself,

so there is no way you can tell yourself

what you were created for!"

- Rick Warren

TODAY'S QUOTE

Image courtesy of: www.Pixabay.com  

"We can build influence by self-promotion,

but God will only promote those who do not

promote themselves.  That which is built on

self-promotion will have to be maintained by

human striving.  Those who allow God to build

the house have taken a yoke that is easy and

a burden that is light."

- Rick Joyner

WHERE IS YOUR LOVE?

"Do not love the world or anything that belongs

to the world.  If you love the world, you do not

love the Father.  Everything that belongs to the

world - what the sinful self desires, what people

are so proud of - none of this comes from the 

Father; it all comes from the world.  The world

and everything in it that people desire is passing

away; but those who do the will of God live

forever."

(1 John 2:15 - 17 TEV)

************************

Would you like a free download of

THE HOLY BIBLE

Go to the link below for a free

download of the

Updated King James Version.

www.oocities.org/updatedkjv

SUCCESSFUL PRAYER

Photo courtesy of: www.bigfoto.com

Kathryn Kuhlman's book

Never Too Late

Marion Burgio

Multiple sclerosis

+++++++

After reading Kathryn Kuhlman's book
Never Too Late something finally got my
attention.

The book largely was about the struggles of
Marion Burgio who had Multiple seclerosis for
seventeen years.  The pain and the agony that
these folks endure is almost beyond my imagination.

But when Marion was at one of the healing services,
in a wheel chair, just barely alive if I may say it that
way.  Marion, who did not really want to go to the
service, began to feel concern and compassion for
those around her who were suffering.  And she
began to forget herself and in her own way to pray
for those around her.

It was then, when she was not even thinking about it,
that her own instantaneous miraculous total healing took
place.

Is there not a clue here?
First, she prayed for someone else.
Then the Lord reminded me about Jobs recovery.

"Then after Job had prayed for his three
friends, the Lord made him prosperous
again and gave him twice as much as
he had had before."
(Job 42:10  GNT)

The Lord turned things around for Job,
after he prayed for his wayward friends.

In the closing section of the book Kathryn
broaches the subject again when she said,

"Often there are those who come praying

for physical healing and they get so 

caught up in the spiritual impact of the

miracle service that they forget about 

their own need.  They soon direct their 

prayers toward others and begin rejoicing

over the miracles that take place.

Oddly enough, it is often at this precise 

moment that God chooses to heal - when

self is forgotten and God and others come

first."

pp. 69, 70

HOW TO MULTIPLY

This is a very poor picture of Organic Black-Eyed Peas.

The picture was taken with a high quality Nikon camera,

and a very low quality photographer.

I acquired these peas back in the year 2008.  Decided to 

grow my own Black-Eyed Peas.  You know, save some money.

But they have not multiplied yet, despite protection from the

weather and rodents.

I just returned from a trip half way across the United States.

There I met with a life long friend who is an agricultural expert.

Ray has been in agriculture all his life.  Ray taught me something.

To get those peas to multiply, I have to take them off the shelf

and put them in the ground.  He said they have to die in the 

ground to multiply.

Now can you believe that?  They have to die to multiply!

All the peas I have ever seen come off the shelf.

Jesus said something like that too,

"I am telling you the truth;

a grain of wheat remains no more than

a single grain unless it is dropped into

the ground and dies.  If it does die, then

it produces many grains.

Those who love their own life will lose it;

those who hate their own life in this world

will keep it for life eternal."

(John 12:24,25 GNT)

Another very poor picture taken by the low quality

photographer.

I am like that lone solitary pea above when I sit on the shelf.

Jesus was talking to me when he said,

"If you want to come with me,

you must forget yourself,

take up your cross every day,

and follow me.

For if you want to save your own life,

you will lose it, 

but if you lose your life for my sake,

you will save it.

Will you gain anything if you win

the whole world but are yourself lost

or defeated"

of course not!"

(Luke 9:23-25 GNT)

MY CROSS

Jesus said,

"If you want to come with me,

you must forget yourself,

take up your cross every day, 

and follow me."

(Luke 923 GNB)

The cross was an instrument of execution.

We all know that.

And many of us understand out of love, devotion

and responsibility giving our selves totally to Christ.

Giving ourselves without reservation to him and his service

and a life of holiness.  Then going forth in the power of

the Holy Spirit.

Now this will go against some "theoryologies".

I know.  I've been there.

But if we will be honest with ourselves we find that life

is like gardening.  A weed is going to crop up.  It may be

the same day, or another year.  But there will be a piece of

root left in the ground.  Or a seed blown in by the wind.

And our life will have a weed(s) in it.

God knows these vessels of clay.  God also knows what

life is going to throw at us.  That is why he said, 

"take up your cross every day,"  Or as another version

says, "daily".

Praise God.  After a time of refreshment with the Lord,

tomorrow will be a new day.  And we will die (again?)

to self, pick up our cross and carry on.