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Welcome to my blog: I intend to share heartfelt writing about anything that comes to mind. |
 prompt What do you believe is the spiritual state of your country right now? Explain. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion_statistics_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarceration_in_the_United_States https://alcoholrehab.com/drug-addiction/ https://usafacts.org/visualizations/weekly-unemployment-claims/?utm_source=bing&... https://www.cdc.gov/phlp/publications/topic/resources/resources-homelessness.htm... https://usafacts.org/articles/preliminary-us-death-statistics-more-deaths-in-202... https://www.healthline.com/health-news/why-hanging-out-at-a-bar-during-the-pande... https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/08/religious-participation-sur... I share these links to statistics just for the sake of numbers. If these numbers on just a few topics is any indication of our spiritual state, then we are on a downward spiral. I don't believe the majority of the US citizens are seeking God first now. It is a minority I believe. Of the people claiming to be Christians, how many have a true and consistent relationship with God? How many go to church, but their heart is far from God? How many people draw close to God (claim Christianity) with their mouth, but they are just going through the motions? If we were truly seeking Christ, why is our country so divided? Why is there so much hate and violence? Why are the police considered our enemy? Why is the Bible starting to be banned and conservatives hushed? Why are sins being openly celebrated? Why are more people lining up to get into bars rather than churches especially during a pandemic? People are losing their faith in God. Then we wonder why this same God isn't blessing America. Why is America in the state it is in right now? It will not improve until we humble ourselves in repentance before God and return to him fully. We are turning our backs on him, and he will turn his back on us. It is only going to continue to get worse as we turn our backs more and more towards God. Personally, I think we are seeing a great falling away. As true Christians, this should break our hearts. God's heart is breaking too. |
prompt Do you think there is a Spiritual picture going on with Covid-19? Explain your opinion. It is said there is a physical and spiritual side to everything that exists. In all honesty, it is hard to know what to believe about just about anything anymore. Confusion is not from God. James 3:13-18 ▼ However, God may allow confusion as a punishment for sin. This whole subject could easily turn into a full-blown Bible study and an interesting one it would be at that. Was the virus man-made? Was it spread accidentally or on purpose? Do we know the answer with 100% certainty? Only God truly knows for certain. We all know that the media only tells you what they want you to hear. Then there are the conspiracy theorist. Some of their suspicions are legitimate. Some, only God knows where the ideas came from. I think all of this adds to the confusion. One thing I know, man-made or not, accidentally spread or on purpose, God is still in control. There are many places in the Bible where it speaks of God sending plagues for judgement. I would be here a while if I were to try to list them all. Is this virus a judgement of God? I think it may be, but I do not know 100% for sure. I do believe it is a good idea to consider our ways. Anytime things are not going well in life, it is a good time to do a quick self-check. Examine yourself at this time to see where you stand with God. Confess any unconfessed sin and seek his healing and forgiveness. Put away anything evil from you. Return to him and he will return to you. Hagai 1:5-7 ▼ Having said that, there are times God allows bad things to happen to test us, teach us, and to reveal his glory. So once we have examined ourselves to make sure we are in good standing with God, Talk to him. Spend some time with him. Poor out your heart before him. I like to ask him not to let me miss the lesson he is trying to teach me. I ask him to reveal his glory no matter what happens even if I fail or am required to suffer. I ask him to reveal to me where I fall short and to help me to change. Rather we are in the last days or not doesn't matter. Either way we need to draw as close to God as possible even if it hurts. We need to get to the place where we can say from the heart, "Even though he slays me, I will follow him."  |
prompt Write down what's going on in your life right now spiritually. I feel close to God. I know who I am with Christ. There are many things I need to work on in my life right now. There is always room to draw closer to God no matter how close I feel I am to him. I am not where I once was, but I am not quite where I want to be either. I am definitely going through a period of growth right now. |
| prompt Write down what's going on in your life right now spiritually. I feel close to God. I know who I am with Christ. There are many things I need to work on in my life right now. There is always room to draw closer to God no matter how close I feel I am to him. I am not where I once was, but I am not quite where I want to be either. I am definitely going through a period of growth right now. |
prompt What has been your strangest experience in Church? I have had many experiences in church. I have had good, bad, strange, and extremely spiritual experiences. I think for me, my strangest church experience was when I was a child. some family friends took me to church with them. It was a Pentecostal church. I was used to Independent Baptist Church. So, when they had their worship service, I was a little freaked out. A woman in the choir appeared to faint. People were dancing in the aisles, and it got loud. I had a headache by the time it was all said and done. |
prompt In Ruth chapter one, Naomi tells her daughters-in-law to go back to their country and gods. What do you think this tells us about the condition of her heart towards God? I think this is an interesting thought to ponder. You can see in the different answers that we have all given the various opinions. Reading the chapter in my study Bible, it says that Naomi was returning to God by returning to her own country. A few thoughts crossed my mind on this. Was she maybe testing the hearts of her daughters in law? Could it be that God was testing them? We know for a fact that Naomi was bitter. She said so herself later in the book of Ruth. Could she have said these things out of the bitterness in her heart? Was some of her bitterness directed toward God? I think maybe it was. She must have been very heavily grieved at this point. She felt utterly hopeless. She was at rock bottom I think maybe. She was depressed. I think there may be several things at play here. We all get all caught up in our feelings at times. I think she was speaking out of the bitterness that was in her own soul. She felt she had nothing left to offer. In her bitterness, she felt God had forsaken her because of her sin. I think it is possible she honestly felt they might be better off with their own people and their gods. However, I think we can see how she is honestly grieved about her sin. She acknowledges and accepts the consequences. She is broken and has nothing left to offer. BUT GOD, had other plans. Praise his name! Because she and Ruth turned their hearts to seek the living God, God raised them up! Ruth just happens to start gleaning in Boaz's barley field. He takes notice of her. He protects her. He has his servants drop some barley on purpose for her. He just happens to be near kinsman to Naomi's deceased husband. God made everything fall perfectly into place for them. In the end Naomi has a grandson and someone to pass the inheritance on to and Ruth becomes great grandmother to King David. Wow! What a story and picture of God's amazing grace! |
prompt How does it stir your soul to consider God's wrath fell on Christ instead of sinners? I have written about this very topic.
How can your soul not be stirred when you consider this if you are truly saved? It is at the very core of every Christian's foundational belief. We love him because he first loved us and sacrificed himself for us. It is a foundational belief in general that if you want to receive love you give love. That's what Jesus did for us because no greater love is there than when a man lays down his life for his friends. I realized something today. I missed my devotion time yesterday. Every time I thought of doing it, I kept getting distracted. I thought to myself, "I will just read an extra chapter tomorrow." Today was yesterday's tomorrow. Sure enough, I read my extra chapter just like a good little Christian. That's when I realized it. Reading the Bible isn't about a ritualistic behavior. It's about spending time with God. It is about that relationship and making that relationship more important than anything else. I did make up the chapter that I missed yesterday. However, I cannot make up lost time. Yesterday is gone. I will not have an opportunity to spend time with God yesterday ever again. That time is gone. It is lost forever. I learned a valuable lesson to not take my time with God for granted. It is so precious. I am sad that I missed yesterday's time. I hope I never forget the lesson the Holy Spirit taught me today. |
prompt Luke 7:23 And blessed is he whosoeuer shall not be offended in me. Have you ever felt angry or offended by God? Write about it. Yes, I have, on more than one occasion. At one point, I was so angry at God, I was physically screaming at him. At times when we are grieving and broken, it is our natural human reaction to feel angry at God. I am not saying we should. However, it is in our human nature. We are not alone in feeling that way. However, I have realized when we get that angry at God, We are showing a lack of trust in him. He is Sovereign and has the bigger picture in mind. All things work together for the overall good of everyone called according to God's purpose. No it is not easy to have that complete child-like faith in God at all times. We all come short of God's glory more than we like to admit. It is also easy to get angry at things we don't understand. This is why we should not lean on our own understanding, but in all our ways acknowledge God. He will heal our hurts and eventually take away our sorrows. He will direct our path! |
prompt What is going well in your walk with God so far this year? I have a lot going on in life right now. It is good for the most part though. I have got 2 businesses I am working on. I have made it a point to keep God first. I have my quiet time first thing in the morning. It seems like I am praying all day long. Although, I feel I need to still work on some aspects of prayer. I am about to start writing the Bible studies again. God is walking with me every step of the way and providing all my needs. |
Prompt What topics would you like to discuss more of? What is your favorite kind of prompts? Do you have any special request? What can you do to draw closer to God this year? I tend to like a variety of prompts. I try to switch it up every now and then. My heart's desire here in the prompts that I have been sending out is for us all to draw closer to God together. Not one of us is perfect. We all have areas we fall short of God's glory. While not all prompts are pleasant, they hopefully get us to think about where we are, where we are doing well, and where we need to improve. It is a place where we can examine our own hearts and share our hearts with others. If you don't like a prompt, tell me. I am ok with it and love to hear your feedback. I need to work on updating my prayer journal better and memorizing more scripture. I continue to read a minimum of 1 chapter of the Bible a day with the study notes in my Bible. I probably need to physically attend church more often. I faithfully watch it online if I can't attend though. This pandemic and having diabetes with autoimmune disease and a roommate who is high risk makes life a bit challenging at times. God is walking me through it though. |
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