I am 52 years old as of this moment, tomorrow I will be 53 years old. This life is good if you know God, if you do no know God life can be quite miserable. What have I learned in almost 53 years of living? That is a good question, and I don't have all the answers, BUT I do have a few. "Jesus is The Way, The Truth, and The Life, no man (or woman) comes to the Father (Abba) but through Him." When Jesus taught men to pray, He did not say "Pray to me," but HE said pray to the Father - "Our Father (Abba-Daddy God), who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name..." If we want to have life, we must come to the Father through the Son. No man can do this unless the spirit of God draws him (feminine always implied) first.
It is the goodness of God that draws men to repentance. Many times we say we are "Sorry" but often it is not true repentance, we are just sorry we got caught. I was helping a friend the other day, answering the tyranny of the urgent (not a good idea BTW), and I got impatient. I passed an old lady that was driving way too slow. I went around her as she was turning, because she was taking her sweet time. We had to be somewhere by 1:00 pm and it was 12:45, so I was rushing. As I came up to the stop sign, I saw two Sheriffs deputies, and I knew - Ticket Time! Well, Thank You Jesus! It really pays to help someone in need. It was not my idea, not my plans, I was just trying to do good. Wonderful! Sometimes things just happen, and most of the time it is our own fault. My worst enemy is the one I stare at everyday in the mirror. Can you relate? We don't plan to fail, we fail to plan.
If you want to be successful you need a plan of action, hopefully one that is tested and true. When God gives orders (His plans), one can be assured that they will work. God NEVER fails! We do, on the other hand, let Him down and that all too often. God is our anchor man! He has never lost a race.
The law is our tutor. The law is not there for the just, but for the unjust. The righteous were never supposed to be ruled over by the unjust. Truth, Justice, and the American way are great ideals, but we live in a fallen world. Men do not always follow the law, they follow their ways, man's ways, the emotions of the people, the will of the people, and they use the law to their advantage to gain wealth, status, and position.
"Life is like a box of Chocolates, you never know what you're going to get." Well, fate determines many things, but not everything. Many things blamed on the Devil and God are our own fault. We are the Masters of our fate. Sometimes we are not successful because we have not failed enough. The system that is successful will allow for failure and mishaps. Perfection doesn't happen. People who are "perfectionists" will fail in many areas of their lives, because they are focused on "One Thing" and that is usually the wrong thing. God (The ONE) helps us to see the bigger picture. Many build Kingdoms and have plans, but not according to God's law. Many plan to go to Heaven, but they will never get there because they strive to get there using their ways, their plans, and their schemes. God wrote the schematic manual for the human being, and in it He details the human being, His plans, and how life should be lived. We have to take the ball and run with it. The problem is that some do not know where the goal line is, some do not know the game plan, some are very talented and seem to do everything right - only to find out later they were doing all the right things for all the wrong reasons.
We can blame and project our failures onto others, or we can take the responsibility and say "My Bad," "I blew it!"
Sometimes we find out too late that what we thought we were doing for good was really seeking to be known, to be recognized, self-seeking pleasures that amount to nothing in the end. "All to Jesus I surrender, All to Him I freely give..." We must leave everything at the foot of the cross. All of man's ways will burn in the fire of His love. Our God is a consuming fire. When we stand before Him, He will NOT say "What do you think?" He will say, "Did you do what I asked you to do?" His Words are clear, even a child can understand them. We are to love God with all of our heart, all of our soul, with all of our minds, and with all of our strength. We are to love others in the same way we love ourselves. "Love thy neighbor as thy self." We are to love our enemies and pray for those who hurt us, for those who despise and use us. Our worst enemy is often looking for the same thing we are, and we are fighting for the same rope in a tug-of-war. To the victor goes the spoils, but the victory belongs to God. If we belong to Christ, He leads us in a triumphant march to His glory. God gives us the "booty," or the spoils of war. One place in the Bible, it took the children of Israel three days to pick it all up. He fed the children of God (Israel) manna in the desert for 40 years, yet they still complained.
I have been young and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken nor His seed begging for bread. He is the bread of life (the staff). He is the substance we look for. He is our all in all. He is our ruler, our Master, our King, our Father, our healer, our defender, and our friend - and so much more. God is our life. Bless His Holy Name! I will yet praise Him. He puts all of our enemies to flight!
