hi, iknow the bible really well... thats nice... wish you knew the God of the bible real well for the joy is in knowing Him.years ago in sunday school, the teacher had his oldest son come in and testify about working with his father and how demanding he was but that he knew that he was loved. the older son left and the younger son came in and ran up and jumped in his daddys arms anddraped himself around the teachers neck. this was the demo of what i am talking about.jimp

Good morning, Matt,

I think maybe God likes it when His kids are gutsy enough to express anger, He has their attention. Like when you make a decision for your own young children that are for their good and safety- and get a blast of their anger. Every good parent goes through that.

I can't get away from the passage in Matthew where Jesus says to the ones being judged, "I was hungry and you fed me..." and the other parts of those verses. And with each part, the hungry, the naked, the thirsty, and the in prison- the person can't recall seeing Jesus in those situations. But they did the deeds and Jesus saw it all.

Our traditional view of persons being saved is whether they have accepted Christ as personal savior. I don't argue with that. But what Jesus seems to be looking for at the judgement is the works that show that you are like Him. As Reidhead says, He is looking for Himself!

I am not very good at doing church. I attend a big fancy church that is known across the country. I give money there, and go on Saturday nights so that Sunday morning I'm free to hit the streets. I love the adventure of those weird but free encounters with people who are totally screwed up and have unbelievable ideas about Jesus. But feeding them, clothing them, and being Christ to them is deeply satisfying.

In my little motorcycle "gang" of old duffers we adopt starving military families, give cash to the widows of murdered Border Patrol agents- stuff like that. Sometimes we get a chance to pray with people, many times not. But for me, it's just knowing that Jesus is in me, watching, loving, doing. I have come to love what He loves, and I am free from thinking I have to do all the work. Maybe He has left some for you...??

One of the most important things I have learned about sharing the gospel is to first get permission. But I also have a little trick to see if there is an open door.

"Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?"

I am yet to hear someone say no to that. Then I just ask where they are spiritually. The first few words out of their mouth will let me know if there is a door there or not.

I see that you have drawn some interesting responses to your original post. Thank you for letting me join in the conversation!

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Tom Cameron

Matt,

Your post was compelling enough that I felt I had to respond, I have been here reading for years, but rarely post....

Matt, the crossroad is not a bad place, it may be the end of your 'self'. God often takes his own into the desert, the wilderness, the crossroads for extended periods--and you already know these examples: Noah (tell me that building an ark for decades to the criticism of everyone around him was not a wilderness), Moses--40 years, Abraham (kill your son?), Isaac (the wrestler), Jonah (not sure how things worked out under that tree), Paul (seems he was often in jail), and I could go on--but you already know these.

The question is, where else is there to go? Job said, "even if He slay me...." Matt, if not God, where else???

You are His, bought with a price. You are his workmanship, the clay. Let the potter have His way with you in humble surrender.

His love and mercies are unconditional. He has not and will not forget you--you are written on His heart. How could the One who died for you, forget you??

You have our prayers....

Matt, thank you for sharing honestly. I found a couple of the responses you got here heartless, please don't let it discourage you, it was probably meant to make you think.

I have had a similar walk with the Lord: several years of great closeness, receiving teachings and visions from the Holy Spirit and then it all just dried up. I spent years repenting of everything I could possibly think of, begging and pleading with the Lord to "return" to me though I knew (and sometimes hoped)he hadn't actually left. Eventually I came to the point of surrendering everything to Him, including the "right" to have him prove Himself to me and shower me with His love at my request.

Matt, if you know that there is no persistent sin in your life in which you are resisting Him, then God might be testing you. The right response is to hang in there like a bulldog. Tell Him that you will believe and love and serve Him no matter how you feel, no matter what He allows into your life, no matter if it kills you. Take your eyes of yourself and look to Jesus, praise and thank Him all day long for who He is, for what He has done, for what He will do. Read Galatians 2:20 every day and ask the Lord to make this a reality in your life. Expect it not to be easy.

Matt, when the Lord lays hard tests on a man He is honoring that person. He trusts that you will not fail and abandon Him and so you will bring glory to His Name because you loved him even when He gave you no human reason to do so. Look to Job as an example of what I'm talking about. As far as God's promise of a wife, remember Abraham who had to wait for the promise until it seemed past all possibility. God not answering you in seven years does not mean He forgot about it, but you must come to the point where you will not turn from Him even if He never gives you a wife. He is worthy of all of your love and trust without ever proving it to you. Never turn away, Matt, never turn away, He is your life.

May He bless you richly in His time.

Well said, SolaV.

There is another thread that talks about praying difficult prayers. Like when Paul so publicly wrote that he wanted the fellowship of Christ's sufferings to accompany the good things he'd also received.

One of my favorites is a prayer attributed to Charles Finney:

"God if I can serve you best in Hell, send me there."

Like the imagined question in the Heavenlies one day,

"Wow, these people We've created are full of sin. Who will go and provide a death by which We might save them?"

"I'll go, Dad..."

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Tom Cameron