Can’t or Won’t

Having physical limitations before I was injured at work back in September I struggled with what things I can’t do. These limitations have often been a source of frustration for me. Mainly because there was so much more that I could once do. Now my what my body is able do and not able to do limits me from what type of jobs I can do, and how many hours I am able to work in a day. This in turn effects my finances which is another sore subject for me. I have not been able to work since September 1st because I was hurt doing my job. It has take three months just to get partial use of my right arm back and I am still unable to drive, and even clean mu home. I am a grown woman who has literally been grounded, I have even limited my computer time because it is painful to type and get tired of doing the left handed peck. It is nice to finally not have to wear the arm brace all the time, but I miss being able to do simple little things and not that I have gotten great at using my left hand it has become calloused from being used to do things I normally do with my right hand. Now to get on to the real point of this post, and that is there are things were are not able to do for what ever reason they may be, we literally can’t do certain things.

Now there are things that we can do but we do not want to for various reasons, and so we tell others we can’t, when it is really that we won’t. Maybe because it is an inconvenience, or maybe because the person asking has done something you do not agree with. Maybe there is a game or show you really don’t want to miss so the timing is bad for you. I can go on and on with reasons we won’t do something for another, and some of those reasons are good ones. It is how ever not something you are not capable of doing. It is that you won’t.

Can I fly? No since I am not a bird and do not have wings, but I can get on a plane. So if I buy a ticket and board a plane I can fly to where the plane is going. Now if I do not have the money to buy the ticket than I can’t get on the plane. Now do I want to fly to where the plane is going? If it is a place that does not interest me and I don’t want to then I do not have to buy the ticket because that is a trip I won’t be taking. This is my choice. I have the money but do not want to go, so I choose to stay home.

When my Mom died not only was I dealing with the pain of losing her, I did not have money to make the trip for her funeral, yet my church learned of this and they funded the trip, so I was able to go. I did not have the ability to make the trip on my own but they made it possible. They could have not offered and I would have missed her funeral, but they were more than happy to help me in my time of need. They made a way for me and helped me through a painful period in my life. They were able to help and they did.

This brings me to someone who did not have to do anything for the people who hated Him. Who lived according to their own way, and who rejected Him. God did not have to send us His Son Jesus, and Jesus did not have to go. They chose to love and Jesus gave His life for a world filled with sinners and had not even repented. God could have wiped out this earth and started over but did not. He created us and loved us even though we have caused Him so much pain. Jesus knew what He was coming to this earth to do and why. Still He came suffered and died to pay a price He did not have to. Even while praying He asked His Father if there was any other way that this cup He would drink from could pass from Him, but He said not His will but His Father’s be done. (I know I did not write His prayer exactly as it was written, but you get the point) Jesus did not say ‘I won’t do this for them, look at how they have treated me’. He did what He had taught, and showed there was no greater love than for a man to lay down his life for another. He did what no other could do and paid the debt for all of our sins.

I thank God everyday that He did not say I can’t do that, or I won’t do that. He just loved us as we were and hoped that we would receive Him. So do not think that Jesus can’t save you, He already did. It is up to you to make a choice to repent, and do not say that you can’t, because the hard part was done for you. Please don’t say you won’t, because it will hurt more than you think.

Good Parent Good Child?

God is The Good Father, we are His children. Does this mean we are good? A good parent does not mean the child will be good, and a good child does not alway have a good parent. We become who we are by the choices we make every day. I chose to receive Jesus as my Lord and Savior. His forgiveness was always there for me but until I received Him it was not a part of me.

Just because someone buys you a gift, it does not become yours until you accept it. A man and woman do not become husband and wife until they chose each other and get married. I see parents blamed for their children’s behavior  when they have done everything they could to be good to their children. Environment and genetics become other reasons for a person’s life going down the wrong path, saying if they had been raised in a better home, in a better neighborhood and were the right race they would not have become criminals. I have known people who had terrible and abusive childhoods who grew up to be some of the most loving and caring people I will ever know. I also know people who had a good childhood who turned into selfish and uncaring people, who do what they please at the cost of others.

Now think about Rahab who was a prostitute and an Amorite. She helped the spies and was received into God’s family and became a part of Jesus’s bloodline. Then Ruth a Moabite and daughter in-law of Naomi. She left not only her land but denied her gods and accepted Naomi’s God, the True God to be her own. She loved Naomi and followed her willingly even when she was released by Naomi, she refused to leave Naomi. She became the mother of Obed who is the father of David. She too became a part of the bloodline of Jesus. Here are two women whose beginnings were not good but whose lives transformed by their choice to accept God as the Only True God.

Look at Saul the first King of Israel. He was anointed by Samuel and chosen by God. He turned his heart against God and began disobeying God eventually losing the anointing of God and losing his crown. Before Saul there was the first son of Adam and Eve, Cain. He offered a sacrifice of what he wanted and not what was desired by God. He then killed his brother Abel.

Hebrews 11:31 – By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.

Joshua 2:1-24 – And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot’s house, named Rahab, and lodged there.   (Read More…)

James 2:25 – Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent [them] out another way?

Joshua 6:17 – And the city shall be accursed, [even] it, and all that [are] therein, to the LORD: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that [are] with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.

The book of Ruth

1 Samuel 16 – 2 Samuel 10

Genesis chapter 4

So do not let your past dictate your future. God is the Good Father. He loves you so much He sent His Son to pay the price to redeem you and forgive you. The choice is yours. An eternal life with Him or a mere existence that will come to an end.

John 3:16 (KJV)  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

 

3. Dear Esther (Volume II Letters from God)

Dear Esther,

     You are truly a beautiful young woman. Your outer beauty is only a mere reflection of the beauty that is within you. You are a beacon of light because My love lives inside of you. You have hidden from those around you who you really are. The king chose you to be his wife not only because of your appearance but because you were attractive in a deeper level. He did not know what this was because he only knew you outwardly. It was the woman I created you to be that made you be his queen.

     I Am your Maker, and I am your God. Yet the people around you have not known this. You have kept this secret, as Mordecai had instructed you. The time is coming when you must announce who you truly are. I know this is causing you to be afraid, because there are those who would want to see you dead when they learn of this.

     You did not marry king Ahasuerus so you could be queen in title only. You are in a position to save your people. There is an enemy who has been planning to kill all the Jews. He does not know that you are both a queen and a Jew. He has tricked your husband into executing your people.

     It is now the time to reveal your true identity. Yes you will be risking your life. Approaching the king, even though he is your husband without an invitation is not permitted and punished with death. Yet you cannot let this stop you. More than your life is at stake now. If you choose to refuse to do this, thinking that you will be safe, you are wrong. Your fate is the same as your people. You had a difficult decision to make, and I am glad you chose to do what is right.

     Before you go to the king you will prepare yourself with fasting and prayer. Then anoint yourself, and I will make the way for you. You need not fear for I am with you. When you go to the king, he will receive you. You will then invite the king and Haman to dinner. This is when you make known your true identity. Your enemy and the enemy of your people, Haman will be exposed as a deceiver and a murderer and will be executed in the way he had planned on executing the Jews.

     The woman that I have created you to be will be what I will use to save your people. You will know then you are loved for more than your appearance. You are beautiful, wise and faithful. I love you.

 

Yours Faithfully,

God Almighty

Read

The book of Esther

26.Letters from God (fictional letters to people in the Bible) Dear Jonathan

Dear Jonathan,

     You are a faithful and loyal young man. You are a good friend and a loyal son. I can say so much about what is good in you. Yet there is sorrow as well. You love your father the king Saul, and you love your friend David. Yet your father hates David. Worse your father has fallen out of favor with Me. This rips your heart in two. Yet your love is so great. I am so proud of you. You do your best to be a son to a man who has turned from Me, and now he is trying to kill your best friend, because of his jealousy. So what are you going to do? Do you stand up to your father and stand up for a friend who is innocent, or do you step aside and not interfere. Saul is your father and he has done much wrong, yet you love him and want to believe in him. David is your friend and you are loyal to him and you know his life is in danger from your father.

     This leads you to having to make a choice. You will do what you can to protect David, and he will live. You will do this because you know that it is the right thing to do. You know that he is to become the next king of Israel. I know that you are Saul’s son and it should be you, but I know that in your heart you know David was born to be king and he will be a good king. He will not be perfect, but he has a perfect friend in you. This is why when you know of your father’s plans to kill David; you will not hesitate to let David know of these plans. You will help David live and keep him from harm and I love you for all your goodness. Never forget this, I do love you, and I know you are good. I am with you always.

Love,

Your Heavenly Father and your God

Read

1 Samuel 18 – 20

14.Letters from God (fictional letters based on people in the Bible) Dear Joseph (falsely accused)

Dear Joseph,

(Falsely accused)

     You were falsely accused of attempting to rape Potiphar’s wife, when you denied her, she screamed her false accusations. She was angry because she had been rejected, something that no one had ever done. She was used to getting her way and had never been told no. So to keep you silent she lied. So now you sit in jail. Once again you are being treated terribly by those who are close to you. Even though Potiphar knew that you did not touch his wife or try to harm her. Yet he was more concerned about how this would look to others and how what she had done could affect the position he holds. For these reasons he hid the truth of what his wife had done. He knew in his heart the truth, yet he still punished you for a crime that you did not commit.

     You are paying the price for her lies. Once again you are alone in a dark place, imprisoned by another’s actions. The pain of the humiliation caused by her accusations has cut deep. This pain you are feeling is more than understandable. You suffer much, but I will see you through this. You are not alone. I Am here with you. Do not be afraid. I have plans for you, and through you I will save many. Soon two men will be in prison with you. I will give these men dreams, and to you I will give the interpretations of their dreams. Just a little while and I will take you out of your prison and place you on high and you will be given a position of power and authority.

      When this time shall come, how will you treat those who have wronged you? I know your heart, but do you? Do not let go of your faith in Me. Believe and much good will come from your suffering. I will take what has been done to you and use it to be glorified in you. What you have suffered will not be in vain. I will prosper you and you will see the power of my love and the grace of forgiveness.

I Am yours Faithfully,

Love your God

 

 Read 

Genesis chapter 38 & 39

 

11.Letters from God (fictional letters based on people in the Bible) Dear Dinah

My Dear Dinah,

     You are My beautiful and loving girl. You have been the victim twice. First Hamor raped you and stole your innocence. They tried to make things right and submitted themselves to your father’s decision. Thankfully he chose to forgive, and the man became your husband. His father the King and all the people of the land gave up their old ways and rid themselves of all their idols and other gods. They were circumcised to show their commitment to Me. I was now their God as I am yours.

     It was not My plan for you to be hurt, yet I was able to use what was meant to destroy you and use what was done to you to bring a nation to Me, so that something good had come out of what terrible thing that had been done to you. It was a chance for you to heal from what had been done to you. To remove the shame you felt. Yes there are those who would have blamed you, and I am sorry for the way they think about such a terrible crime. More than your body had been harmed, because he took from you what you did not give. You refused and he did what he wanted to satisfy his own desire not caring about what he was doing to you. He took your free will. I want to heal your heart and mind as well as your body from the damage he has done to you.

     Now your brothers have gone against your father’s decision and slaughtered not only your husband but many of the other men after they had been circumcised and were healing in their beds. This hurt you more because you feel that you were only an excuse for them to behave in this violent way. You did not feel the comfort of a brother’s love. They did not console you. Instead they stole from you from your husband by taking his life. Your pain did not end here. You have also lost your brother Joseph. Your other brothers told you that a wild animal had killed him. So he was dead because they said so. You have suffered such loss, your innocence, your husband, and your brother.

     I am sorry for the pain that you feel. I know that you may want to blame Me, for I am your God. I want to keep you from all harm and suffering. Yet I have given to all men free will. I could not control their actions without taking their free will away from them. As you chose to serve and love Me from your heart, is how I want them to choose for themselves. I love you and care deeply for you. I will heal you, and love you for all eternity. You will live with me one day and never suffer again. I promise you this.

Love,

Your Heavenly Father

Read

Genesis 34 & 37

8.Letters from God (fictional letters based on people in the Bible) Dear Isaac

Dear Isaac,

     You are definitely your father’s son and like your father you have repeated the mistakes of your father. I do hope that you will not repeat the same mistake again. Just as your father gave into fear, you have copied his actions. You too said your wife Rebekah was not your wife and almost caused her to take part of adultery. This sin would not have been hers, since she was acting in submission to you her husband and did as you asked of her, but she still would have sinned.

     Why would you do this to her? Do you love her? You have been more concerned for yourself than for the life of the wife you were blessed with. She was to be kept under your arm for protection, but instead you used her as your shield. This is an act of cowardice. Where is your faith in Me, and your respect for your wife. She has been obedient and loving to you in all things. How can you treat a treasure like her like nothing more than something you can easily cast off. Do you not know what it means to be a husband?

      I created you for better than this, and I created her to be cherished as she cherishes you as both a husband and a man of God. Her actions have proven her love. Will your actions from this point on show that you cherish and love her? As she has forgiveness for your actions, I will also forgive you for this transgression. However learn from your mistake and do not repeat this act again as your father Abraham did. You have been blessed. Hold on to your faith in Me, and know I will provide for your every need, and protect you, if only you believe. Be a man of honor and you shall be honored.

Love,

Your Lord God Almighty

Read

Genesis 26:6-11

Genesis 12:10-20  

Genesis chapter 20

 

Which Path?

It is time to make a choice

 

Which path do I take?

Which ever one I chose

 

I cannot see where it will end

Still I must make a choice

and take the step forward

and have faith that God goes with me

and I do not travel alone

I chose to follow Jesus

and trust in Him to get me home