Priorities

Priorities.

I've been thinking of these recently. It seems as life gets busier and more and more demands are made of you the importance of knowing your priorities becomes vital knowledge.
Getting them wrong can see conflict in your marriage, your family and in yourself. You see your free time being eaten into, your rest time, family time, husband and wife time and something has to give.

Here is my list of priorities. I've thought these over for a while in the Spirit and asked others what they think, and believe these are right:

1: The Lord.
It had to be didn't it. Above all others you must cultivate your relationship with God or the others are pretty much doomed.

2: Your Husband/Wife.

3: Your Children.
The order of these two is important. If your children eat up all the time you have for your spouse then there is no option but deterioration for that relationship. The same with your spouse taking all your time so you can't spend time with Jesus, the time might be going into the relationship but because the priorities are wrong it will suffer for it.

4: Your Job.
They pay you for your time, and that payment affords you to stay in your house, clothe yourself and family and allow you to eat. Your job is a gift from God and we need to work at it 'as unto Him'.

5: The Church.
As a friend said to me recently, Church isn't the same as God. If you don't get the above priorities correct you will not be able to operate at Church level. It's important to be committed to a church, to become part of the wider family of God, but if it's at the cost of your marriage you wont win any stars in your crown when you stand before Him. Some churches love to hold meetings, 1 a week, 2 a week, 1 every night. You just cannot agree to that level of commitment without something suffering.

The Cross Part 2

So what is the power of the cross?

For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
(I Corinthians 1:17)

I remember as a kid going to a gospel meeting, that didn't have nice words or clever arguments. I remember a young man talking of what the cross was like. What the thorns were like that were twisted into Jesus head, what the nails were like that cruelly went through His hands, the spear that gashed his side open, and this was all after his cruel flogging and mutilation.
The cross has no power as a gold piece of jewelry that hangs round your neck, or as a white marble statue above a pulpit. They beautify something that should not be beautified.
The power of the cross is to kill, and keep killing, until whatever is on it is dead.
The power of the cross is it is a doorway to life. An eternal life that can only be reached by death, now, in this world. Not at your natural death, then is too late, but willingly, while you have breath now.

and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.
(Ephesians 2:16)

The power of the cross is to take away the judgment we deserve. Jesus took that hostility between God and man, that hostility that man had created, that stopped man from being all God intended him to be, and nailed it too the cross in his own body.

by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.
(Colossians 2:14)

Imagine being in a queue at a store. You have 1 item in your basket. It's the most precious of possessions, costing all. You get to the till and realize you have no money. You can't put the item back, that is not an option. The price has to be paid, and you can't pay it. The sentence for not being able to pay is eternal imprisonment. And then Jesus comes, opens up his wallet and pays the price for you.
You would be eternally thankful, the fact that some would rather go to prison that have the price paid for them is astonishing, but true.

Jesus paid the price with His life, on the cross, and when you see the truth of it the only response is to give Him your life. And as we've seen, the way to do that is through the cross.

A couple more things on the cross. These are some random thoughts associated with other 'cross' related verses.

but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
(John 19:25)

The cross isn't a quiet private event. People will notice, and should notice. Your family will be the closest and most observant. They will see a great and tragic spectacle. They probably will not understand. Think your being a fool. Maybe try to coax you down, plead that you give this up so life can go back to normal. But it can't. And eventually they will see the effect the cross has had on you once you have made it through the door to the other side of death and Jesus lives in your heart on the throne and begins to make all things new in your life. The cross is a public spectacle and the more people see and know of what you have done the more will be affected. After all the Bible tells us:

because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
(Romans 10:9)

There is a telling, a confession that is part and parcel of salvation. It just can't be done in secret.

, As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry his cross.
(Matthew 27:32)

Similar to the point above, but this makes me think that there are other people who get dragged into what is happening with you near the cross. There are relationships you have, people you know, or people you don't know that for some reason become satellites to you as you are going through this change to the cross. You may feel sorry for them that they see you like this, falling to bits as sin weighs heavy around your neck, as the knowledge of Heaven and Hell weighs heavy, the knowing deep down that your life is a mess with you running it and you desperately want Jesus to step in and become Lord. But God has brought these people to you for the very reason of observing you, to get a feel for how heavy and how deadly the cross is. They may never hear a skillful sermon, but to come into contact with you as the cross weighs heavy is a more sobering experience than any they will have experienced up to now.

and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called the place of a skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha.
(John 19:17)

Just to finish this point, ultimately, no one can bear the cross for you. You will carry it. It will take everything you are. Nothing left behind. But as the cross is inserted in the place of the skull, you will find that for you it is death that has been killed for you through the power of the cross.

Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe. Those who were crucified with him also reviled him.
(Mark 15:32)

looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
(Hebrews 12:2)

The cross as we've seen is not a pleasant experience. Made all the harder by people who will ridicule you. People do not like an act like salvation. It's misinterpreted by them. They feel threatened by it, as well they should, because they feel you are saying; this is the right way, the only way to be saved, to be truly good, spotless and blameless in God's eyes. No one in these PC days wants anybody to draw a line in the sand as to what is right and wrong. These days everything is right, there is no wrong way to find God, in fact, we don't really need Him anyway because we are not bad. We've made up our own rules as to how we will enter heaven, and they don't involve Jesus at all. To stand up in that atmosphere and say; NO, there is only one way and His name is Jesus, will not go down well.
Despising the shame? The shame is to be seen as the sinner you are. All your faults and weaknesses. Jesus Himself took the place of a sinner and was counted with them, though He knew no sin. he endured it. He had His eyes fixed on the prize.

It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ.
(Galatians 6:12)

My last point. I have to stop somewhere on a topic so large or I might never finish.
When I read this scripture, the biggest thing I think of is to remember where we have come from. Remember the simple truths that set us free, and the simple but incredibly powerful life we have entered into. We have entered via the cross into friendship with the Creator of the universe. Our walk with Jesus is a simple one. As simple as Adam in the garden, walking and talking with His Lord, sharing his thoughts and feelings and listening to the great teacher as he shares His thought and feelings back. And as with any student / teacher relationship, He rubs off on us. We start to see His character and more, we start to become like Him. Amazing.
Where this goes wrong is when our eyes are diverted from this simple life. We get bogged down with people's ideas on how to worship, how to pray, 10 ways to prosperity, how to be an overcomer. And if we are not careful our attention drifts to formulas, to giftings and gifts, to ministries and people, and slowly our attention is refocused on something that is supposed to be 'deeper revelations' of Jesus, when in actual fact, the deeper revelations are already there in your simple walk, being revealed as He sees fit to reveal them. We find prayer gets harder, and shorter, worship only happens when the band is particularly on form or when it's your favourite song. You tithe, you read the Bible, you try your best, but slowly your walk with Jesus is being replaced with rules and regulations. Life is being replaced with Law.
The cross set us free. We are free. We have friendship with the Saviour. There is no deeper truth, no missed message that you have to fulfill to attain salvation.

The Cross Part 1

Lets start with the big choice.
The Cross or the Throne?

The throne is where you sit now. Lord and master of your heart and mind and body. You do what you want, you say what you want. You answer to no one other than the Law of the Land.
The throne is a plush, gold covered, velvet lined, seat of luxury and power. You were born sitting on it.

The cross is a crude device, made from 2 long rough pieces of wood. No effort has been made to beautify it, no lick of paint, it's an object made for one purpose. To kill whatever comes in contact with it.

That is the big choice.

The first mention of the cross in the Bible is from Jesus. He's talking about the cost of discipleship:

And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
(Matthew 10:38)

and in Luke:

Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
(Luke 14:27)

Jesus wants you to go on the cross, allowing Him to take the seat on your throne. You have to allow this willingly by giving up the throne and going to the cross. You go to the cross by accepting Jesus as Lord of your life. As you do this you find that Jesus takes His rightful place as Lord and you find that you are now dead on a cross, crucified with Jesus.
Something I've learned since starting this study is that the cross will not be found by the light hearted. Only those with serious mind and serious heart can find the cross. It's the narrow door, not only does it cause you to lose all as you squeeze through, but for most they don't even see it as they carry on their busy lives.

And he said to all, If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
(Luke 9:23)

Jesus talks of this being a daily act. This doesn't mean you have to go through the process of salvation every day by accepting Jesus as Lord of your life. When you have done this once, He is Lord. There is a daily walking through of what you have done though. The flesh, which could maybe translated as the part that still likes sitting on the throne, will rebel at your decision to give up the seat of ruler-ship. It's been used to getting it's own way and want's no other King but itself. It is this fleshly voice that needs to be put in it's place daily. The place of death.

Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.
(John 19:19)

This verse has a significance for us too. It is only in death, and death on a cross we will ever truly find out who we are. Just as all who passed could see this was Jesus, the King of the Jews, so when we are crucified with Him, we find out just who we are. Servant of the Most High, Slave to Christ, Friend of God.

He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.
(Matthew 27:42)

What was said in mockery nevertheless has truth in it. You cannot save yourself. The one place you can save yourself is on the cross, but as Paul says, this idea is foolish to some:

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
(I Corinthians 1:18)

How many times are we told the mystery about losing your life to save it? Just a quick search gives me 6 results:

Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it.
(Luke 17:33)

Think of all those self help Guru's, those seminars where someone promises you to become a better person in 3 easy steps. The adverts that show you by buying this product, eating this, wearing that, will improve your life. It's all a lie. It won't work. Only the cross will make it happen.

Jesus said to him, No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.
(Luke 9:62)

The same is true of those who go to the cross and are then fooled into thinking that another way will save them. To fall for the voice that says, 'do this thing instead, and then we will believe you are serious'. No, it's a one way journey. There is no turning back. Not ever.
I'd just like to expand on this point slightly. You have to count the cost. You have to assess the price being asked. I expect you might have been to meetings where an appeal is given. All eyes are asked to be closed, all heads bowed. It's made as easy and embarrassment free as possible for someone to shyly put their hand half way in the air, just high enough to be seen but not high enough to be noticed by anyone hopefully.
This isn't a good start. This isn't giving the person the right understanding of the cost of their decision. In some ways the decision to follow Christ should be made harder. Not a dip your toe in the water and if it's not to your liking perhaps find a different way to show your nice and good. No, it's a jumping straight in the deep end, knowing you can't swim and your not going to make it up. An abandonment of all that has gone before. No turning back.
I think the easier we make these decisions, in the long run, the harder the task to train the disciple.
You don't have to explain that your money is God's, your time is God's, every decision you make needs to be for God to a person who has given up his life to Jesus so dramatically. They understand already that they and everything they have and are is His.

Hero Worship

When I was a kid, I had the nack of maybe not understanding the right answer, but guessing what it should be.
For instance, I was in primary school, and the question was asked: Which is heavier, a Kilo of feathers or a Kilo of sand. Nearly the whole class said sand. I had no idea what a Kilo was but I guessed it was a trick question and said they were the same...and got a big pat on the back for being clever.
Thing is, I'm not that clever, I just could guess well.
When it came to questions on having a hero, I was pretty much the same. Knowing that the wrong answer was to say my favourite pop star, because he looked cool, or wore dark sunglasses that were trendy...I knew not to say my favourite film star, the one who killed all the bad guys with witty one liners. Those were the guys I really wanted to emulate, but I answered correctly and said Jesus...and got a nice pat on the back for answering correctly.

Now I'm older, I look at jesus and think, this man really is my Hero.
Jesus was a man (as well as being God) that was always at peace. Nothing flustered Him. He never flew off the handle, he got angry, he got sad, but it was never out of control.
He could walk into a room and everybody would know, here is someone special. They might not like Him, may take offense at Him, but they couldn't ignore Him.
In conversation, it didn't matter who he was speaking too, he had the right word for the right time, something I admire in him more and more.
He truly was, and is, someone I want to be like.

My Hero.

More on the Holy Spirit:

Intro:
I'm going to assume before we start that you are aware that the Holy Spirit is part of the Trinity that make up the Godhead, along with the Father and the Son (Jesus). For some verses to think over with regard to this look at:
Genesis 1:26 and Matthew 28:19
As with my other short question and answer sessions, this is by no means a complete work. The Holy Spirit is such a huge topic I feel a bit out of my depth even at the start, but if I can convey a little of what He does here, that is my goal.

1: Why do we need to be baptised in the Spirit?
First, it's a command of Jesus:
Acts 1
4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, you heard from me;
5 for John baptised with water, but you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.

Second, without Jesus walking the Earth, after His resurrection and ascension into Heaven, there would be no Jesus on Earth in the flesh. God had a great plan for this though, it was to have multi Jesus's on Earth, this would be accomplished through the Spirit:
John 16
7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you.

We will see later just how the Spirit accomplishes this 'Jesus making' process. The point is Christians were never intended to live without the Spirit.
In Acts 19, Paul finds some followers who have never even heard of the Spirit:
2 And he said to them, Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? And they said, No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.

There is only one outcome for these believers; to be baptised in the Spirit.

If you are coming at this question from the view of 'I've given my life to Jesus, don't I already have the Spirit?'
I believe that when you are born again, the Spirit does enter into you, and will have an influence on you, speaking to your conscience, leading you to Jesus, but until you are baptised in the Spirit, you are missing a dynamic of power.
In Romans 15 Paul talks about being used by God in a powerful way:
19 by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God
This is a level of life in God not experienced outside of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Another example is to look at the disciples before and after Pentecost, and what a transformation took place in them all from that day.

2: What does He do in you?
Jesus describes the Holy Spirit as a Helper:
John 14:
26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
and 15:
26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.

So, the Spirit first is a Helper to teach you about Jesus and help you remember the Word. He is then a Helper to witness for Jesus.
It's important to note quickly that the Spirit also makes His home inside you.
1 Corinthians 6 says:
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,.
What does He do in you? He lives in you, and He has not come to be silent or timid. He has come for war!
Galatians 5:
17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

He has come to wage war in you against the flesh. Flesh is everything opposed to His will. Every natural desire, both good and bad, because they are not Supernatural and of Him. The Spirit wants you to do only what He tells you to do. nothing more, nothing less, and to be just as Jesus, who said in John 5:
19 So Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.
It's not that Jesus had no will, and was like a robot, performing functions programmed into Him by the Father, rather Jesus made a decision of will. He would do nothing but what the Father was doing. And this He did by the power of the Spirit.

3: How does he communicate with you?
I recently heard a preacher talking about how much God shouts and only once the word talks about God whispering:
From 1 Kings 19:
11 And he said, Go out and stand on the mount before the LORD. And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.
12 And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.
13 And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, What are you doing here, Elijah?

My opinion, and you can disagree if you want to, is that the Spirit does indeed whisper to us. He whispers for us to come after God, to come into His presence. Unfortunately we are pretty dull and miss these promptings far too often.
David in Psalm 27 said:
8 You have said, Seek my face.
My heart says to you,
Your face, LORD, do I seek.
This is pretty much how I think of the Spirits workings in us regarding speaking. He calls to us, 'seek My face', and if we hear, and if we're not too busy or are not missing our favourite TV show, we may just reply 'Your face, lord, do I seek'.
Realistically, how do we hear this voice, is it audible?
Again, in my experience, it is a conscience voice, a voice of the conscience, and as we learn to listen and respond, the path of listening will become trod over time into a well worn path that is no longer like a whisper but the loud command that it is.
I will just add 'the Word' here too. The Spirit will communicate through the Bible, for it was He who inspired the writers. It is Him who will lead us into ALL truth, and so He can open the Bible's truth's to us.

4: What else is the Spirit called/likened too?
I don't think I'll get them all but here are some, and when you see them mentioned in the Bible take note:
Oil. Also a symbol for healing.
Wind. Water.
Fire. Remember the tongues of fire?
And names! There's tones:
The Spirit of God, The Spirit of the Lord, The Spirit of Christ, Spirit of Fire, Spirit of Judgment, Spirit of Holiness, Spirit of Truth, Spirit of Life, Spirit of Wisdom, Spirit of Understanding, Spirit of Counsel, Spirit of Power, Spirit of Knowledge, Spirit of the Fear of the Lord, Eternal Spirit.

Why are all these names important? You will learn something about His character, and His dealings with people from these names.

5: What are tongues?
The Holy Spirit doesn't come into your life empty handed. He has brought gifts with Him. Some gifts are for everybody, some are more selective. Some gifts are occasional, some are permanent. For instance, someone may have a gift of prophecy without being a Prophet.

Tounges is mentioned as a gift received via baptism in the Spirit:
Acts 2. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Acts 19. 6 And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying.

Can everyone filled by the Spirit speak in tongues? Yes.
Does everyone? No.
Why? Faith.
Why is Tongues so important?
Paul described it as one of the lesser gifts and yet it is very powerful for day to day living.
First it is a means to build yourself up. (1 Corinthians 14v4), it is because of this first attribute that I believe it is for everyone. God would not let such a gift be for a special few.
There does seem to be some contradiction in the Word regarding tongues, Paul asks in I Corinthians 12:30, Do all speak in tongues, implying that perhaps all don't, but again in I Corinthians 14:5 he urges us ALL to speak in tongues.
The gift of tongues is also a means for the Spirit to communicate in a pure way to God. What I mean by that is He is not limited by our language and understanding of anything, but can commune only as the Godhead can. This means that the Spirit can pray on our behalf or intercede for others in a way we just can't do.
Tongues is also a gift to be used in Christian gatherings of the Church, though only with an accompanying interpretation, which is another gift of the Spirit.

Over the years I've seen the gift of tongues cause problems with Christians. They just don't get it. They don't know why it wont work with them? Why is it just not happening?
I've come to a conclusion the answer is a simple one.
It's faith.
The gateway to tongues, as with any gift of the Spirit, is to step out and do it. God will not physically take hold of your jaw and start making you speak. You do it in faith. And as you start speaking in tongues your mind will immediately start to rebel.
This is actually very encouraging if you just see this simple truth now.
You are speaking in a Heavenly language and thinking at the same time 'this is me, this is daft, is this it?' YES!
And the simple truth is you just can't do that yourself. Have you ever tried to speak to someone and be thinking something completely different? I'm sure you could with practice, but the fact you are doing it now with tongues is a good proof that it is God.
At this point it is a good idea to move on and accept you are speaking in tongues and enjoy it. You should do it every day. It will refresh you, it will act as a river of water to your mind, washing and washing it with heavenly words. It will change your prayer life and will give you new dimensions in worship as you now find another language ready to take over when your natural one has become lost for words to express your heart towards God.
It is a very encouraging practice to start to ask God for interpretations to your tongues as well.

I will just make a few more points on tongues. Over the years I have heard people saying what you can and can't do with tongues.
Can you think in tongues? Well, I've done it, so I will say yes.
Can you write in tongues? I've heard of at least one person doing this in a powerful way, and I know of a few people who have tried it, myself included, so again, I'd have to say Yes but it's not very common in my experience and has not much point to it.
Can you have more than one tongue? Yes, definitely. I have recognised over the years tongues that sound quite different coming from me. I have known people speak in tongues and actually be speaking Italian or Hebrew.
What is the difference between speaking in tongues and giving a tongue in Church?
Again, over the years I have known times when I can speak and speak in tongues and it is an uplifting experience and of great benefit. I have also known times when it has felt supercharged, and a level of passion and purpose is there that is not normal. I believe it is these supercharged times that the gift is to be shared in a gathering along with the interpretation. And remember, if no one brings that interpretation it is your job to.


6: What other gifts are there?
The other gifts mentioned in I Corinthians 12 are:
utterance of wisdom
utterance of knowledge
faith
healing
miracles
prophecy
distinguishing between spirits
tongue
interpretation of tongues.

Now the Bible commends us to seek the gifts of the Spirit, especially Prophecy (I Corinthians 14:39), but I will just add one thing, over the years I have seen in myself desires to seek gifts to the extent where it was more a heavy burden. I am now at a point in life where I do not seek these gifts. I seek the Giver. What this means is, that I do not turn my nose up at the gifts, I just have a view that if I am in fellowship with Jesus and the Holy Spirit, any thing He wants to do through me is just a command away, and the nearer I am to him the louder I will hear that command. As said earlier, this is my view, and it's for you to use or ignore as you wish.

And let's not forget Fruit:
From Galatians 5:
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control;
These are not gifts, but rather 'effects' that the Spirit will have in you. All these fruits you can start to see being developed the moment you are baptised.
Have you been a stressful person? Expect to see Peace being developed in you more and more.
Have you had problems with addictions? Expect to see the fruit of self control being developed in you. These fruit will grow and grow killing off fleshly desires and fruit if you nurture them in obedience.

7: What do I do now?
I added this question for a few reasons.

First, if you have not been baptised in the Holy Spirit, then He is just a prayer away. You can seek Him yourself or ask for some one to lay hands on you.
Acts 8 shows us
18 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands,.
The Baptism of the Spirit can be given in such a way. But remember it is a gift and must be received with faith in the same way you received salvation. When you have been baptised that is the time to open your mouth and speak your first words in your new language.

Second, if you have been filled with the Spirit, and have become complacent and dry, do not delay. Start to speak in tongues again. Allow the Spirit to flow freely through your life again, sweeping away through repentance everything that would hinder His flow.

Third, I would say be obedient. The Spirit is alive and active. He will want to work through you. He has no interest in helping you with your life and projects but every interest in helping you become like Jesus. When he whispers to you, determine now that you will treat it as the command it is. When he calls you to come aside and sit and listen, be obedient, do as your told.

Keep going in the cold.

It's getting cold now. Christmas is approaching and most of us are waiting for the time we can stop work for the year, put our feet up and enjoy a well earned break before next year.
But, how many of us take a break from God at that time. How many Bible's go unread, how many prayers unsaid?
I'm no super saint, I want to be a normal Christian. One tip I want to give, is that to help you keep going when you want to take a break, is to have a daily devotional. They are books that have a short message based on Bible verses for you to read every day. Some have one reading for the morning and one for the evening. They are a great habit to start. And remember a habit is hard to get rid of.
Habit: Take away the H and you have a-bit
Take away the a and you still have bit
Take away the b and you still have it!

I read the one at the top, Oswald Chambers: My Utmost For His Highest.
There are loads out there, find a good one and give it a go.

The chocolates were poisoned.

The chocolates were poisoned.

Even as a kid I remember the chocolates being there.
They looked so good, some had shiny wrappers.
We all knew they were poisoned though.
I remember being in the Baptist church youth group, I was around 10 years old. Even then I remember some of the older kids, some of my friends, discussing the chocolates.
One day, my friend Phillip said he'd had eaten one.
We were all a bit stunned, after all, he was still alive?
He told us he knew he shouldn't have eaten it, but it hadn't been that bad.
A couple of weeks later he wasn't there.
I've not seen him since.

Then I joined another church when I was around 13.
There was a girl there called Dawn. She took one of the chocolates too.
It was very quick working on here, I never saw her again.
Then a friend of mine, also called Chris. He took one.
He was around just long enough to tell us he'd done it.

We all knew they were poisoned. It was tough though. You see them there day after day. As soon as one is taken, it's replaced by another. Day after day after day they are there.

A couple of times I was tempted to take one.
I even had one in my hand one time until I dropped it.
I'm still alive. Not down to me though, as I had it in my hand one of the leaders of the church warned me to drop it, and I did.

I'm not in a youth group any more - too old now.
Thing is, I was speaking at one the other day and the next week I dreamed about the chocolates.
I could see that this young group knew about them.
They knew they were poisoned.
I knew as well that each of the girls were going to try one, maybe some of the boys.

It's strange, but everyone thinks the same thing just before they pick one up.
They always think they will be strong enough to withstand the poison.
They know others can't take it, but they think maybe they can.
Then, when they do, they tell there friends about it, warning them; "I know I shouldn't have eaten it, and I'm telling you it was wrong and you shouldn't do it, I'll be all right though".
And then they're gone.





Do you know what the chocolates are?