Being Genuine is a Lost Art

So often people play the role of being this type of person or that type of person. They not only let on to be this type of way, but they also want to be respected and upheld because of who they say they are. As I get older, I realize this is merely a facade...an illusion that people have created in their simple minds. When you get to the core of these people, what you find is a person who is completely opposite of who they profess to be. As a people, we have gotten so lazy and manipulative that we put all of our energy into this illusion instead of taking that same God given energy into creating this person that we want others to buy into. There is such a show that is displayed until these illusionist will go to extremes to constantly find reason why you are wrong just to beef up this fake person that they've created. They will often make you live in your past, but their present is completely deceptive. I've also found that they will justify any unholy thing to make themselves feel right in their wrongdoing. I just wonder what kind of relationships we would have if we had more individuals actually being the illusions they've created...actually living the life that they would like you to believe they are already living.  Lives truly would be changed....God truly would be pleased. So as we gear up for 2014, my challenge for you is to be the image you portray on social media, be the person you preach to others about being, be the person you would have your spouse believe you are and actually do what you want them to believe you are doing because when it's all said and done, God sees and he knows.

Romans 12:9  "Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good."

When it all feels like too much

My life is pretty adventurous with a husband, four kids, and 75 hormonal 8th graders. My friends often tell me that we should pitch for a reality television show. In all of the adventure, some days tend to be very overwhelming. I have an escape route all mapped out and hope no one catches me running away. I have quite a few friends that feel this way as well, but instead of hopping the next flight out, we must learn how to stay grounded in the midst of the chaos.

A lot of times I have to remind myself that this is the life you wanted and this is what you prayed for, but when the going gets tough we want to point the fingers and bail. There are two lessons to be learned here. 1. Be careful what you pray for and 2. If God brought you to it, he will bring you through it; otherwise, you are on your own. Now, don't get me wrong, I would not trade my children and my husband for all of the tea in China but sometimes I do which I could let someone borrow them and bring them back.

In those moments of "Can you please come borrow these people", I have to cling to God. He provides me with the peace of mind that he has this handled already. All I have to do is keep my cool and as I read the other day, "Faith it till I make it".

On those days when your children are hanging from the rafters, faith it till you make it.
When your husband can't seem to get down off of his high horse, faith it till you make it.
When work is so overwhelming that you begin to question your sanity as to why you chose this job in the first place, faith it till you make it. You get my drift. Just hang in there, and remember that God is always there. We are the ones that forget to use him most of the time. Women are perfectionists and we like to think that we have it all together, but we don't. If we did, why would we need God?

"Come to me all who are weary, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rests in your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11: 28-30.

Life is a Process

 "Being a Christian is more than just an instantaneous conversion--it is a daily process whereby you grow to be more and more like Christ." -Billy Graham

I was reading the other day where women are around the age of 34 when they reach maturity and men are like 42 (that is a discussion for another time). I find this to be pretty accurate. I turned 35 this year and I feel so much stronger and confident in myself as well as my decision making process. Now one thing I have to add here is that I did not do it alone. I also have to add that there is also an exception to every rule. There are some 65 year olds that have the maturity level of a pre-teen. That is also a conversation for a later date. The point that I am attempting to make here is that God brought me to this place, and while I am not where I need to be, I am thankful that I am not where I used to be. 

Spiritual maturity is a process.  I was one to go through the motions of reading the bible, having my daily devotions, going to church, etc., but I truly did not have a real understanding of what was going on. The desire was there, but the process was in the early stages. I think a lot of times either people do not recognize that there is a process, they want to think that they are further along in the process than they truly are. or some of us want to rush the process. What we must realize is that everything will happen in God's perfect timing. We just have to trust and have faith until the process is finished.

Know that you will face many challenges in this life. God truly wants to refine us and make us whole. If you never understand or embrace the process, you will falter. People will make you feel that you are not worthy of the process because of your past. There will be times throughout the process that you just want to throw in the towel.  Trust in the Lord every step of the way, and he will provide for your every need throughout the process.

Negative Nancy

Some people refuse to see the good out of life. They love to harp on the negative and always think that the world is against them. Well I had these Negative Nancy characteristics for a lot of years. What I found is this: this way of viewing life is like cancer to the soul. It eats away at you until you are completely destroyed in mind, body and spirit. I know that this has nothing to do with God's will for my life, so I had to stop; there is good in the world because God created it. Love is greater than everything else, and if I could begin to take that negative energy and convert it into positive energy and love, then all would be right with the world...all is right with the world. Choose the good life.

People...

The older I get, the more I am accepting of the fact that we all are on a journey in life. We process things differently, we grow up differently, and we view things/situations differently. I have found myself taking things very personal and receiving them in a negative way. I realized just tonight that I have to remove my emotions from most situations and receive them with the heart of God. No one owes me anything. As long as my intentions are pure, I cannot worry about what another person does or why they do it. I probably could be justified in most things that I find "wrong" in others, but what does it really matter? I realize the change has to occur within me. Praying where I see a fault in a person, accepting their way of handling situations, and so on. No one is perfect. No situation is perfect. Only doing things God's way is perfect. That's what I strive for. Peace, Love and Light!

Finding Peace from Within

God has designed it to where we can find peace in every avenue of life. It's up to us to tap into whatever that peace may be. I think if we turned off the noise of our minds, delved into God's word, and really entered into that tranquil place, we would discover the peace that God has set before us. When you enter into that place, it's not about how much money we have. It's not about any thing that's on our schedules. It's not about what people may think of us.  It's about peace, tranquility, and love.

So many times our days are clouded with what others will think, how we did not meet the "standard", and what others are doing. The noise that goes on around us is menial, irrelevant, and basically....down right petty. TURN IT OFF! What is God's true purpose for your life? What is it that he really wants you to be doing? Do that. Work on your art!

I think we should get still...focus on that. God is love and we are God's...let's be love. Let's bask in the glory of the Lord. Let's do his will for our lives. Let's turn off the noise of what other's are saying, what we think others may think. We are in control of our destiny. Make God your blueprint.

Moving Forward

"The Lord is always working to take His people forward into greater revelation of who He is, that we might share in the experience of His presence, discover the joy of committed, loving relationships, and find the inner fulfillment of living with purpose." 

I spent a lot of years trying to "figure" things out. The crazy part is that I knew exactly what I should have been doing, but somehow my mind would not allow me to do them. I would hold grudges, worry myself half to death about the most minuscule thing, and I was very selfish. I've moved into a place now that has me less worried, loving, and unselfish. The weird thing is  that I haven't learned anything any different. The word of God that I have been reading for years and years has remained the same. The sermons that I listen to, all the same.Circumstances in my life, they all are pretty much the same. My kids didn't leave, my husband didn't leave, and people around me haven't changed. The thing that has changed is me. I have decided to not live in fear and not allow myself to fall victim to negativity. It's called peace. It's call surrendering everything to the Savior and allowing him to lead your life.

How do you get there? As my husband used to tell me, "Nike". You just do it. There is no formula. No amount of good deeds will get you to peace. You have to truly want it. You have to truly become sick of yourself and have a desire for God's will to be done in your life. Until then, you'll stew in your mess which in turn prolongs the time you arrive at peace. "Stewing" creates more problems which makes it harder to move forward. The decision is yours stew or move.

Embracing Our Rewards

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward." Psalm 127:3

For years I murmured and complained about the things that I had to do around the house. How I had no time for myself, and most importantly (in my eyes) how no one in my household appreciated me and the things that I was doing.  This mentality nearly destroyed my life.  As I approach my 13th year of marriage and motherhood, I realize the one thing that I have done wrong. I have not had a servant spirit toward my husband and my children. If you dread cleaning, cooking, and all of the other numerous responsibilities that we have through the course of the day, then you view your life and your family in a negative light. This is detrimental to the entire family structure.

A co-worker and I were talking not too long ago and what came out of that conversation was that we are not cut out of the same cloth that our ancestors were. The women! Oh those beautiful proverbial women! They didn't go to the spa. There was no such things as time off.  They didn't indulge in girl getaways. In fact, in the midst of being raped and enslaved, they cared for their families. They worked while the sun beat down on them. They worked their fingers raw sometimes carrying their children on their backs. Their husbands were taken away from the family, leaving them to carry the burden of providing for a number of children.

Nowadays we come apart at the seams when we have to clean our own homes and work.  God forbid we clean up and no one notices! On top of that, we run our husbands off because we are too overbearing and selfish. If only we could reach back and grab a hold to some of that faith that those women had. What a difference we could make in the lives of our families. They endured all of those awful things. Can you wrap your minds around the prayers that they prayed....some were probably even for us.

As mothers, as wives, we are the backbone in our families. We hold it all together. We have the ability to be the greatest impact in our families day to day lives. We have the ability to show them through our actions, through our speech what God's love looks like. Our husbands and our children are rewards from God. We see their flaws and we have the ability to take that straight to God on their behalf.  We can speak peace into their lives. This should not be looked upon as a burden, but as an opportunity to make a difference just as the women of old.

What we allow to happen is for society to tell us that caring for your family is wrong. "Be an independent woman! You shouldn't have to cook and clean and pick up behind them.", they say. This is the devil in them trying to deter us from God's true purpose for our lives. Keep serving your family. Be that stability that your children need. Be that helper for your husband and stand in the gap when he can't quite find his way. The reward is so great if we just hold on. Galatians 6:9 says, "Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart."

Peace and Love.

20 Things a Mother Should Tell Her Son

I just love Pinterest...some days a little too much. I ran across this the other day,and absolutely fell in love with it. I think I will get this blown up and hang it in my boys room! It is vital that mother's teach their children how to be successful people. I think there is an extra something that goes along with having boys. I want for my boys to be strong men with morals and values. I think these are perfect guidelines to help them be those strong men! Enjoy!

 20 Things a Mother Should Tell Her Son
1. You will set the tone for the sexual relationship, so don't take something away from her that you can't give back.
2. Play a sport. It will teach you how to win honorably, lose gracefully, respect authority, work with others, manage your time and stay out of trouble. And maybe even throw or catch.
3. Use careful aim when you pee. Somebody's got to clean that up, you know.
4. Save money when you're young because you're going to need it some day.
5. Allow me to introduce you to the dishwasher, oven, washing machine, iron, vacuum, mop and broom. Now please go use them.
6. Pray and be a spiritual leader.
7. Don't ever be a bully and don't ever start a fight, but if some idiot clocks you, please defend yourself. 8. Your knowledge and education is something that nobody can take away from you.
9. Treat women kindly. Forever is a long time to live alone and it's even longer to live with somebody who hates your guts.
10. Take pride in your appearance.
11. Be strong and tender at the same time.
12. A woman can do everything that you can do. This includes her having a successful career and you changing diapers at 3 A.M. Mutual respect is the key to a good relationship.
13. "Yes ma'am" and "yes sir" still go a long way.
14. The reason that they're called "private parts" is because they're "private". Please do not scratch them in public.
15. Peer pressure is a scary thing. Be a good leader and others will follow.
16. Bringing her flowers for no reason is always a good idea.
17. Be patriotic.
18. Potty humor isn't the only thing that's humorous.
19. Please choose your spouse wisely. My daughter-in-law will be the gatekeeper for me spending time with you and my grandchildren.
20. Remember to call your mother because I might be missing you.

*This article came from Pinterst by way of Werdyab Blog

Consistently Inconsistent

Consistently Inconsistent

"A man without self-control is as defenseless as a city with broken walls."

My BFF and I were having a conversation the other day and she used the term "consistently inconsistent", and I thought if there was a definition for what I've been, then that's it! How terrible! I pondered on this a few days and I realized that many of us suffer from being consistently inconsistent.

Think about when we go on diets. We start off doing well, but about week two we say, "I'll start back on Monday", but Monday never comes. I personally have a huge problem keeping my closet clean. I'll clean it and organize it and I tell myself I'm going to keep it this way! It looks immaculate.....for about three days! Oh let's not forget our finances! We're going to save and invest and stop shopping.....tomorrow. You get the picture. But for some of us it goes deeper than this. It spills over into our spiritual walk. We say we are going to read the Bible everyday, we won't pray until the going gets tough, and we very seldom spend quiet time with God although we have every intention to do all of these things. We are consistently inconsistent.

Discipline is key in our Christian walk. Without discipline we are vulnerable. Vulnerable to wrong thinking, vulnerable to be influenced by the wrong people, vulnerable to satan's tactics. We have to become so disciplined that we are not wavered by the things that go on around us. We know whose we are and we act accordingly.

Scripture tells us that if we show ourselves faithful over the small things, then he will bless us with the big things. We have to become disciplined in anything that we do to show ourselves faithful and lead a happy and peaceful life. As with anything, we must have a balance and set realistic goals for ourselves.

Peace and Love.

Stay in Balance

A daily reminder for us all....

Stay in Balance
by Joyce Meyer - posted January 24, 2012


I have learned how to be content (satisfied to the point where I am not disturbed or disquieted) in whatever state I am. —Philippians 4:11

Stability is maturity. To grow up in God is to come to the place where you can be content no matter what your situation or circumstances may be because you are rooted and grounded, not in things, but in the Lord.

Paul was emotionally and spiritually mature because he knew whatever state he was in would pass. He had learned the secret of facing every situation of life, whether good or bad.

God wants to bless you and use you as a vessel through which His Holy Spirit can work. But in order for that to happen you must learn how to handle both the good times and the bad.

That’s why it is so important to remember that whatever comes your way, “This too shall pass.” The good times and the bad never last forever, but through Christ we can handle either with joy and stability.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


From the book Ending Your Day Right by Joyce Meyer. Copyright © 2004 by Joyce Meyer. Published by Warner Faith. All rights reserved.

She Let Go

For all my ladies...

I ran across this poem and was truly blessed by it and thought I would share! Be blessed!

She Let Go

Without a thought or a word, she let go.

She let go of fear.
She let go of judgments.
She let go of the confluence of opinions swarming around her head.
She let go of the committee of indecision within her.
She let go of all the ‘right’ reasons.
Wholly and completely, without hesitation or worry, she just let go.
She didn’t ask anyone for advice.
She didn’t read a book on how to let go.
She just let go.

She let go of all the memories that held her back.
She let go of all of the anxiety that kept her from moving forward.
She let go of the planning and all of the calculations about how to do it
just right.
She didn’t promise to let go.
She didn’t journal about it.
She didn’t write the projected date in her Day-Timer.
She made no public announcement.
She didn’t check the weather report or read her daily horoscope.
She just let go.

She didn’t analyze whether she should let go.
She didn’t call her friends to discuss the matter.
She didn’t utter one word.
She just let go.

No one was around when it happened.
There was no applause or congratulations.
No one thanked her or praised her.
No one noticed a thing.
Like a leaf falling from a tree, she just let go.

There was no effort.
There was no struggle.
It wasn’t good.
It wasn’t bad.
It was what it was, and it is just that.
In the space of letting go, she let it all be.
A small smile came over her face.
A light breeze blew through her.
And the sun and the moon shone forevermore.
Here’s to giving ourselves the gift of letting go…

There’s only one guru ~ you.

Jennifer Eckert Bernau

Peace. Love. Happiness.

I've always been on a quest, as are the most of us, to find peace, love, and happiness. All through the Bible it is mentioned. God desires for us to possess them, but I just could not understand why they were hiding from me. I was always sad, mad, and full of hate for one something or the other. I have discovered that each of these priceless things lie within me. I was looking everywhere except within. We have to know who we are as individuals before we can be any good to those around us.

I was very unhappy and I would often place the blame on someone around me or attribute it to some past pain that I had experienced. While I believe people and circumstances are contributing factors to the make up of who we are, we cannot be defined by those things. When we define ourselves by those things, that's when we move away from the will of God and that is when self-destruction begins. I often quote 2Tim. 1:7,"God does not give us a spirit of fear, but of love, power, and a sound mind." That's powerful. Love. Power. A SOUND mind. We possess the power to do or be anything that we desire because God said so! How refreshing is that?!

So often we don't move from our comfort zones because we are afraid to fail. Do it afraid! If God brought you to it, he will bring you through it! And if he didn't bring you to it, humble yourself and allow him to move you out of it! In order to have a wholesome, godly life, we have to be willing to step out on faith and embrace the power that we possess. We would rather make poor decisions, settle for less, bring others down through our words/actions, and live passively and recklessly instead of believing the promises of God. We possess so much, but until we believe that, we will always suffer and we will always struggle. You are beautiful. God is beautiful. Trust yourself. Trust HIM. The sky is the limit!

Peace and Love!

A New Year. A New Beginning.

During this time of year we make resolutions or commitments to become better in certain areas of our lives. While I believe it's a great idea to always strive for growth at any time in any area of our lives, this shouldn't be limited to the New Year. It should be an anthem everyday that we are blessed with. What we tend to do is start off well in January with our resolutions, but by March we've fallen off the wagon and fallen back into our same old routines.

We must be consistent in living our lives according to God's will. There is no other acceptable way. Without him we are nothing, but through him we are everything. Lamentations 3:22-25 tells us that, "It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him." We don't have to wait for the New Year to begin again. Every day that we are living and breathing, we have the opportunity to grow. It isn't done merely by saying that we will, but a constant and conscious effort to grow beyond our current state.

Peace and Love in 2012. May God continue to bless you throughout the year.

Words of Wisdom

This is something we should all read at least once a week!
Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio

To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most requested column I’ve ever written. My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:


Life teaches us many lessons
1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.

8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.


Serenity
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.

12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.


Enjoy the simple moments!
19. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ‘In five years, will this matter?’

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.


Learn to let go...
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.

35. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative — dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come.

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.

The Velveteen Rabbit

Over the Thanksgiving break, my twins and I read The Velveteen Rabbit. I read the story years ago, but had all but forgotten the story line. As I sat and read, they intensely listened. When I got to this particular part, I was about in tears and so were they :

“What is REAL?” asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. “Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?”

“Real isn’t how you are made,” said the Skin Horse. “It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.”

“Does it hurt?” asked the Rabbit.

“Sometimes,” said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. “When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.”

“Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,” he asked, “or bit by bit?”

“It doesn’t happen all at once,” said the Skin Horse. “You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”

Life is a journey that we all must travel through. We must approach each day as a stepping stone to becoming Real.
Peace and Love.

I'm Still

There's a thin line between sanity and insanity. Real and make believe. As of late, I feel like I've been doing the perculator across that mug. I am a woman. A very complex and emotional being. Derived from man and so eloquently created by God. Unrecognizable to myself in my own mirror and more defiant than our mother Eve.  This is me. Trying to find my way in this unfair life. So desperately seeking an intimate relationship with my Redeemer. I hear him. I see him. I feel him. But just as impatient as Sarah, I too am pregnant with a seed. A different kind of seed that will allow God's glory to resignate and do life changing things through me. It was once prophesied, but see just like Sarah, I feel like I know best because my feelings and emotions said so. "If only you would get still", God whispers.          
 
To the women I've so harshly judged, I don't hate you. I hate the me that  I see in you. So simple minded and oblivious to the world. We are all no different. Misguided creatures making emotional decisions and not trusting God and the power we possess from within. Allowing others to define who we are. Measuring our self worth off of someone who really isn't even paying attention. Seeking man's approval over God's grace. Constantly struggling to find peace when peace never left.   Peace is God. God tells us that he will never leave nor forsake us, but yet and still we are always on a journey to "find him." He's not lost. We are lost in what we want, think, and feel. "If only you would get still", God whispers.
 
Fear hovers over like a murderer. Fear wants to rule. Fear wants to bind. Fear wants my soul. Fear is the direct opposite of everything our Creator represents. Fear wants to strip us of everything we hold true in God. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Simple. Our minds are so stifled by the things and people in this world to the point that we are paralyzed with fear and discontentment in our own lives that others would love to have. Nothing is ever good enough. We want what others have. "If only you would get still", God whispers.
 
I now understand Fannie Lou Hamers heart, "I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired." These feelings and emotions are destroying lives and passing on the torch of generational curses. It has to stop. It has to stop with me now.  Helen Keller once said, "Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose." God is a worthy enough purpose. My family is a worthy enough purpose. God, I'm still.

TGIF1 Repost: The Value of Hard Places

If you have found yourself in a hard place in your Christian journey, then this post is just what you need! Enjoy!

The Value of Hard Places
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 1 by Os Hillman
Monday, November 07 2011

"So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you." 2 Corinthians 4:12

Being forced into hard places gives us a whole new perspective on life. Things we once valued no longer hold the same value. Small things become big things, and what we once thought big no longer holds such importance.

These hard places allow us to identify with the sufferings of others. It keeps us from having a shallow view of the hardships of others and allows us to truly identify with them. Those who speak of such trials from no experience often judge others who have had such hardship. It is a superficiality of Christian experience that often permeates shallow believers.

Those who have walked in hard places immediately have a kinship with others who have walked there also. They do not need to explain; they merely look at one another with mutual respect and admiration for their common experience. They know that death has worked a special thing in them. This death leads to life in others because of the hard places God has taken them through.

It is impossible to appreciate any valley experience while you are in it. However, once you have reached the top of the mountain, you are able to appreciate what terrain you have passed through. You marvel at what you were able to walk through. The valley of the shadow of death has yielded more than you ever thought possible. You are able to appreciate the beauty of the experience and lay aside the sorrow and pain it may have produced.

Death works in you for a greater purpose. If you are there today, be assured that God is producing something of much greater value than you will ever know.

Be still and know that I am God

Kudos to Debbie for an amazing first day of yoga class! I had been contemplating and trying to carve out time and I am so glad that I finally did. Just learning to breathe right and clearing my mind of all of the garbage that comes through it was awesome.

It is of utter importance that we don't allow our minds to dictate our lives. I have been very guilty of this very thing and it is not a good place to be; in fact, it's he'll on Earth. Throughout the Bible, God warns us:

HEB 10:22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

HEB 10:23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)

HEB 10:35 Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.

PHI 2:3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.

PHI 2:4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

PHI 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

PHI 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: PHI 2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: PHI 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

TIT 2:6 Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded .

TIT 2:2 That the aged men be sober, grave , temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.

CO1 2:16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

ROM 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

And the list goes on. It is imperative that we do not become prisoner's of our minds. As I heard it put once, "Where the mind goes, the man follows." we will follow our twisted thinking all the way to the pit of destruction.

As we practiced on our breathing during yoga, one of the phrases she asked us to use was,"Be still and know that I am God." What wonderful words of reassurance! Be still and know that I am God! No matter what walk of life you are in, whether you are a garbage man or a CEO, happy or sad, lost or found, practicing yoga or sitting in front of the tv eating Ben & Jerry's, at the end of the day, we have to recognize our Prince of Peace. Our Lord of Lords. The one who is in ultimate control. The Alpha and Omega. He is the Great I Am!

Peace and Love

Being Presumptuous

This is a piece that was passed along to me by my BFF. It is very heavy and will cut you deep, but I feel that it is something that God wants each of us to understand. It is very lengthy so get your notebooks out! Be blessed.

"Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins."—Psalm 19:13.

ALL SINS are great sins, but yet some sins are greater than others. Every sin has in it the very venom of rebellion, and is full of the essential marrow of traitorous rejection of God. But there be some sins which have in them a greater development of the essential mischief of rebellion, and which wear upon their faces more of the brazen pride which defies the Most High. It is wrong to suppose that because all sins will condemn us, that therefore one sin is not greater than another. The fact is, that while all transgression is a greatly grievous sinful thing, yet there are some transgressions which have a deeper shade of blackness, and a more double scarlet-dyed hue of criminality than others. Now the presumptuous sins of our text are just the chief of all sins: they rank head and foremost in the list of iniquities. It is remarkable, that though an atonement was provided under the Jewish law for every kind of sin, there was this one exception: "But the soul that sinneth presumptuously shall have no atonement; it shall be out off from the midst of my people." And now, under the Christian dispensation, although in the sacrifice of our blessed Lord there is a great and precious atonement for presumptuous sins, whereby sinners who have sinned in this manner are made clean, yet, without doubt, presumptuous sinners, dying without pardon, must expect to receive a double portion of the wrath of God, and a more wonderful manifestation of the unutterable anguish of the torment of eternal punishment in the pit that is digged for the wicked.
I shall this morning, first of all, endeavor to describe presumptuous sins; then, secondly, I shall try, if I can, to show by some illustrations, why the presumptuous sin is more heinous than any other; and then thirdly, I shall try to press the prayer upon your notice—the prayer, mark you, of the holy man—the prayer of David: "Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins. "
I. First, then, WHAT IS PRESUMPTUOUS SIN? Now, I think here must be one of four things in a sin in order to make it presumptuous. It must either be a sin against light and knowledge, or a sin committed with deliberation, or a sin committed with a design of sinning, merely for sinning's sake, or else it must be a sin committed through hardihood, from a man's rash confidence in his own strength. We will mark these points one by one.
1. A sin that is committed willfully against manifest light and knowledge is a presumptuous. sin. A sin of ignorance is not presumptuous, unless that ignorance also be willful, in which case the ignorance itself is a presumptuous sin. But when a man sins for want of knowing better—for want of knowing the law, for want of instruction, reproof, advice, and admonition, we say that his sin, so committed, does not partake to any great extent of the nature of a presumptuous sin. But when a man knows better, and sins in the very teeth and face of his increased light and knowledge, then his sin deserves to be branded with this ignominious title of a presumptuous sin. Let me just dwell on this thought a moment. Conscience is often an inner light to men, whereby they are warned of forbidden acts as being sinful. Then if I sin against conscience, though I have no greater light than conscience affords me, still my sin is presumptuous, if I have presumed to go against that voice of God in my heart, an enlightened conscience. You, young man, were once tempted (and perhaps it was but yesterday) to commit a certain act. The very moment you were tempted, conscience said, "It is wrong, it is wrong"—it shouted murder in your heart, and told you the deed you were about to commit was abominable in the sight of the Lord. Your fellow-apprentice committed the same sin without the warning of conscience; in him it was guilt—guilt which needs to be washed away with the Saviour's blood. But it was not such guilt in him as it was in you, because your conscience checked you; your conscience told you of the danger, warned you of the punishment, and yet you dared to go astray against God, and therefore you sinned presumptuously. You have sinned very grievously in having done so. When a man shall trespass on my ground, he shall be a trespasser though he have no warning, but if straight before his face there stands a warning, and if he knowingly and willingly trespasses, then he is guilty of a presumptuous trespass, and is to be so far punished accordingly. So you, if you had not known better; if your conscience had been less enlightened, you might have committed the deed with far less of the criminality which now attaches to you, because you sinned against conscience, and consequently sinned presumptuously.
But, O! how much greater is the sin, when man not only has the light of conscience, but has also the admonition of friends, the advice of those who are wise and esteemed by him. If I have but one check, the check of my enlightened conscience, and I transgress against it, I am presumptuous; but if a mother with tearful eye warns me of the consequence of my guilt, and if a father with steady look, and with affectionate determined earnestness, tells me what will be the effect of my transgression—if friends who are dear to me counsel me to avoid the way of the wicked, and warn me what must be the inevitable result of continuing in it, then I am presumptuous, and my act in that very proportion becomes more guilty. I should have been presumptuous for having sinned against the light of nature, but I am more presumptuous when, added to that, I have the light of affectionate counsel and of kind advice, and therein I bring upon my head a double amount of divine wrath. And how much more is this the case, when the transgressor has been gifted with what is usually called a religious education; in childhood he has been lighted to his bed by the lamps of the sanctuary, the name of Jesus was mingled with the hush of lullaby, the music of the sanctuary woke him like a matin hymn at morning; he has been dandled on the knee of piety and has sucked the breasts of godliness; he has been tutored and trained in the way he should go; how much more fearful I say, is the guilt of such a man than that of those who have never had such training, but have been left to follow their own wayward lusts and pleasures without the restraint of a holy education and the restraints of an enlightened conscience!
But, my friends, even this may become worse still. A man sins yet more presumptuously, when he has had most special warning from the voice of God against sin. "What mean you?" say you. Why, I mean this. You saw but yesterday a strong man in your neighborhood brought to the grave by sudden death; it is but a month ago that you heard the bell toll for one whom once, you knew and loved, who procrastinated and procrastinated until he perished in procrastination. You have had strange things happen in your very street, and the voice of God has been spoken loudly through the lips of Death to you. Ay, and you have had warnings too in your own body; you have been sick with fever, you have been brought to the jaws of the grave, and you have looked down into the bottomless vault of destruction. It is not long ago since you were given up; all said they might prepare a coffin for you, for your breath could not long be in your body. Then you turned your face to the wall, and prayed; you vowed that if God would spare you, you would live a godly life, that you would repent of your sins; but to your own confusion you are now just what you were. Ah! let me tell you, your guilt is more grievous than that of any other man, for you have sinned presumptuously, in the very highest sense in which you could have done so. You have sinned against reproofs, but what is worse still, you have sinned against your own solemn oaths and covenants, and against the promises that you made to God. He who plays with fire must be condemned as careless; but he who has been burned out once, and afterward plays with the destroying element, is worse, than careless; and he who has himself been scorched in the flame, and has had his locks all hot and crisp with the burning, if he again should rush headlong into fire, I say he is worse than careless, he is worse than presumptuous, he is mad. But I have some such here. They have had warnings so terrible that they might have known better; they have gone into lusts which have brought their bodies into sickness, and perhaps this day they have crept up to this house, and they dare not tell to their neighbor who stands by their side what is the loathsomeness that even now doth breed upon their frame. And yet they will go back to the same lusts; the fool will go again to the stocks, the sheep will lick the knife that is to slay him. You will go on in your lust and in your sins, despite warnings, despite advice, until you perish in your guilt. How worse than children are grown-up men! The child who goes for a merry slide upon a pond, if he be told that the ice will not bear him, starteth back affrighted, or if he daringly creepeth upon it how soon he leaves it, if he hears but a crack upon the slender covering of the water! But you men have conscience, which tells you that your sins are vile, and that they will be your ruin; you bear the crack of sin, as its thin sheet of pleasure gives way beneath your feet; ay, and some of you have seen your comrades sink in the flood, and lost; and yet you go sliding on, worse than childish, worse than mad are you, thus presumptuously to play with your own everlasting state. O my God, how terrible is the presumption of some! How fearful is presumption in any! O! that we might be enabled to cry, "Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins."
2. I said again, that another characteristic of a presumptuous sin was deliberation. A man, perhaps, may have a passionate spirit, and in a moment of hot haste he may utter an angry word of which in a few short minutes he will sincerely repent. A man may have a temper so hot that the least provocation causes him at once to be full of wrath. But he may also have a temperament which has this benefit to balance it, that he very soon learns to forgive, and cools in a moment. Now, such a man does not sin presumptuously, when suddenly overcome by anger, though, without doubt, there is presumption in his sin, unless he strives to correct that passion and keep it down. A man, again, who is suddenly tempted and surprised into a sin which is not his habit, but which he commits through the force of some strong temptation, is guilty, but not guilty of presumption, because he was taken unawares in the net and caught in the snare. But there are other men who sin deliberately; there are some who can think of a lust for weeks beforehand and dote upon their darling crime with pleasure. They do, as it were, water the young seedling of lust until it grows to the maturity of desire, and then they go and commit the crime. There are some to whom lust is not a passer-by, but a lodger at home. They receive it, they house it, they feast it; and when they sin they sin deliberately, walk coolly to their lusts, and in cold blood commit the act which another might haply do in hot and furious haste. Now, such a sin has in it a great extent of sinfulness, it is a sin of high presumption. To be carried away, as by a whirlwind of passion, in a moment is wrong; but to sit down and deliberately resolve upon revenge is cursed and diabolical. To sit down and deliberately fashion schemes of wickedness is heinous, and I can find no other word fitly to express it. To deliberate carefully how the crime is to be done, and, Haman-like, to build the gallows, and to set to work to destroy one's neighbor, to get the pit digged that the friend may fall into it and be destroyed, to lay snares in secret, to plot wickedness upon one's bed—this is a high pitch of presumptuous sin. May God forgive any of us, if we have been so far guilty!
Again, when a man continues long in sin, and has time to deliberate about it, that also is a proof that it is a presumptuous sin. He that sins once, being overtaken in a fault, and then abhors the sin, has not sinned presumptuously; but he who transgresses to-day, to-morrow, and the next day, week after week, and year after year, until he has piled up a heap of sins that are high as a mountain, such a man, I say, sins presumptuously, because in a continued habit of sin there must be a deliberation to sin; there must be at least such a force and strength of mind as could not have come upon any man if his sin were but the hasty effect of sudden passion. Ah! take heed, ye that are sodden in sin, ye that drink it down as the greedy ox drinketh down water, ye who run to your lust as the rivers run to the sea, and ye who go to your passions as the sow to her wallowing in the mire. Take heed! your crimes are grievous, and the hand of God shall soon fall terribly on your heads, unless by divine grace it be granted to you to repent and turn unto him. Fearful must be your doom if unpardoned, God should condemn you for presumptuous sin. O "Lord, keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sin."
3. Again: I said that a presumptuous sin must be a matter of design, and have been committed with the intention of sin. If at your leisure at home you will turn to that passage in the book of Numbers, where it says there is no pardon for a presumptuous sin under the Jewish dispensation, you will find immediately afterward a case recorded. A man went out on the Sabbath-day to gather sticks; he was taken in the act of Sabbath-breaking, and the law being very stringent under the Jewish dispensation, he was ordered at once to be put to death. Now, the reason why he was put to death was not because he gathered sticks on the Sabbath merely, but because the law had just then been proclaimed, "In it thou shalt do no manner of work." This man willfully, out of design, in order, as it were, to show that he despised God—to show that he did not care for God—without any necessity, without any hope of advantage, went straight out, in the very teeth of the law, to perform, not an act which he kept in his own house, which might perhaps have been overlooked, but an act which brought shame upon the whole congregation, because, infidel-like, he dared to brazen it out before God; as much as to say, "I care not for God. Has God just commanded, 'Ye shall do no manner of work?' Here am I; I do not want sticks to-day; I do not want to work; not for the sake of sticks, but with the design of showing that I despise God, I go out this day and gather sticks." "Now," says one, "surely there are no people in the world that have ever done such a thing as this." Yes, there are; and there are such in the Surrey Music Hall this day. They have sinned against God, not merely for the pleasure of it, but because they would show their want of reverence to God. That young man burned his Bible in the midst of his wicked companions—not because he hated his Bible, for he quivered and looked pale at the ashes on the hearth when he was doing it; but he did it out of pure bravado, in order to show them, as he thought, that he really was far gone from any thing like a profession of religion. That other man is accustomed sometimes to stand by the wayside, when the people are going to the house of God; and he swears at them, not because he delights in swearing, but because he will show that he is irreligious, that he is ungodly. How many an infidel has done the same—not because he had any pleasure in the thing itself, but because out of the wickedness of his heart he would spit at God, if it were possible, having a design to let men know that though the sin itself was cheap enough, he was determined to do something which would be like spitting in the face of his Maker, and despising God who created him! Now, such a sin is a masterpiece of iniquity. There is pardon for such a one—there is full pardon to those who are brought to repentance; but few of such men ever receive it; for when they are so far gone as to sin presumptuously, because they will do it—to sin merely for the sake of showing their disregard of God and of God's law, we say of such, there is pardon for them, but it is wondrous grace which brings them into such a condition that they are willing, to accept it. O that God would keep back his servants here from presumptuous sins! And if any of us here have committed them, may he bring us back, to the praise of the glory of his grace!
4. But one more point, and I think I shall have explained these presumptuous sins. A presumptuous sin also is one that is committed through a hardihood of fancied strength of mind. Says one, "I intend to-morrow to go into such-and-such a society, because I believe, though it hurts other people, it does me no hurt." You turn round and say to some young man, "I could not advise you to frequent the Casino—it would be your ruin." But you go yourself sir? "Yes." But how do you justify yourself? Because I have such strength of principle that I know just how far to go, and no further. Thou liest, sir; against thyself thou liest; thou liest presumptuously in so doing. Thou art playing with bombshells that shall burst and destroy thee; thou art sitting over the mouth of hell with a fancy that thou shalt not be burned. Because thou hast gone to haunts of vice and come back tainted, much tainted, but because thou art so blind as not to see the taint, thou thinkest thyself secure. Thou art not so. Thy sin, in daring to think that thou art proof against sin, is a sin of presumption. "No, no," says one; "but I know that I can go just so far in such-and-such a sin, and there I can stop." Presumption, sir; nothing but presumption. It would be presumption for any man to climb to the top of the spire of a church, and stand upon his head. "Well, but he might come down safe, if he were skilled in it." Yes, but it is presumptuous. I would no more think of subscribing a farthing to a man's ascent in a balloon, than I would to a poor wretch cutting his own throat. I would no more think of standing and gazing at any man who puts his life in a position of peril, than I would of paying a man to blow his brains out. I think such things, if not murders, are murderous. There is suicide in men risking themselves in that way; and if there be suicide in the risk of the body, how much more in the case of a man who puts his own soul in jeopardy just because he thinks he has strength of mind enough to prevent its being ruined and destroyed. Sir, your sin is a sin of presumption; it is a great and grievous one; it is one of the masterpieces of iniquity.
O! how many people there are who are sinning presumptuously to-day! You are sinning presumptuously in being to-day what you are. You are saying, "In a little time I will solemnly and seriously think of religion, In a few years, when I am a little more settled in life, I intend to turn over a new leaf, and think about the matters of godliness." Sir, you are presumptuous. You are presuming that you shall live; you are speculating upon a thing which is as frail as the bubble on the breaker; you are staking your everlasting soul on the deadly odds that you shall live for a few years, whereas, the probabilities are, that you may be cut down ere the sun shall set: and it is possible, that ere another year shall have passed over your head, you may be in the land where repentance is impossible, and useless were it possible. O! dear friends, procrastination is a presumptuous sin. The putting off a thing which should be done to-day, because you hope to live to-morrow, is a presumption. You have no right to do it—you are, in so doing, sinning against God, and bringing on your heads the guilt of presumptuous sin. I remember that striking passage in Jonathan Edwards' wonderful sermon, which was the means of a great revival, where he says, "Sinner, thou art this moment standing over the mouth of hell, upon a single plank, and that plank is rotten; thou art hanging over the jaws of perdition, by a solitary rope, and the strands of that rope are creaking now." It is a terrible thing to be in such a position as that, and yet to say, "to-morrow," and to procrastinate. You remind me, some of you, of that story of Dionysius the tyrant, who, wishing to punish one who had displeased him, invited him to a noble feast. Rich were the viands that were spread upon the table, and rare the wines of which he was invited to drink. A chair was placed at the head of the table, and the guest was seated within it. Horror of horrors! The feast might be rich, but the guest was miserable, dreadful beyond thought. However splendid might be the array of the servants, and however rich the danties, yet he who had been invited sat there in agony. For what reason? Because over his head, immediately over it, there hung a sword, a furbished sword, suspended by a single hair. He had to sit all the time with this sword above him, with nothing but a hair between him and death. You may conceive the poor man's misery. He could not escape; he must sit where be was. How could he feast? How could be rejoice? But O, my unconverted hearer, thou art there this morning, man, with all thy riches and thy wealth before thee, with the comforts of a home and the joys of a household; thou art there this day, in a place from which thou canst not escape; the sword of death above thee, prepared to descend; and woe unto thee, when it shall cleave thy soul from thy body! Canst thou yet make mirth, and yet procrastinate? If thou canst, then verily thy sin is presumptuous in a high degree. "Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins."
II. And now I come to the second part of the subject, with which I shall deal very briefly. I am to try and show WHY IT IS THAT THERE IS GREAT ENORMITY IN A PRESUMPTUOUS SIN.
Let me take any one of the sins; for instance, the sin against light and knowledge. There is greater enormity in such a presumptuous sin than in any other. In this our happy land it is just possible for a man to commit treason. I think it must be rather difficult for him to do it; for we are allowed to say words here which would have brought our necks beneath the guillotine if they had been spoken on the other side the Channel; and we are allowed to do deeds here which would have brought us long years of imprisonment if the deed had been done in any other land. But I suppose it is just possible to commit treason here. Now, if two men should commit treason—if one of them should wantonly and wickedly raise the standard of revolt to-morrow, should denounce the rightful sovereign of this land in the strongest and most abominable language, should seek to entice the loyal subject of this country from their allegiance, and should draw some of them astray, to the hurt and injury of the common weal; he might have in his rebellious ranks one who had joined incautiously, not knowing whereunto the matter might tend, who might come into the midst of the rebels, not understanding the intention of their unlawful assembling, not even knowing the law which prohibited them from being banded together, I can suppose these two men brought up upon a charge of high treason: they have both, legally, been guilty of it; but I can suppose that the one man who had sinned ignorantly would be acquitted, because there was no malignant intent; and I can suppose that the other man, who had willfully, knowingly, maliciously and wickedly raised the standard of revolt, would receive the highest punishment which the law could demand. And why? Because in the one case it was a sin of presumption, and in the other case it was not so. In the one case the man dared to defy the sovereign, and defy the law of the land, willfully, out of mere presumption. In the other case not so. Now, every man sees that it would be just to make a distinction in the punishment, because there is—conscience itself tells us—a distinction in the guilt.
Again: some men, I have said, sin deliberately, and others do not do so. Now, in order to show that there is a distinction here, let me take a case. To-morrow the bench of magistrates are sitting. Two men are brought up. They are each of them charged with stealing a loaf of bread. It is clearly proved, in the one case, that the man was hungry, and that he snatched the loaf of bread to satisfy his necessities. He is sorry for his deed, he grieves that he has done this act; but most manifestly he had a strong temptation to it. In the other case the man was rich, and he willfully went into the shop merely because he would break the law and show that he was a law-breaker. He said to the policeman outside, "Now, I care neither for you nor the law; I intend to go in there, just to see what you can do with me." I can suppose the magistrate would say to one man, "You are discharged; take care not to do the like again; there is something for your present necessities; seek to earn an honest living." But to the other I can conceive him saying, "You are an infamous wretch; you have committed the same deed as the other, but from very different motives; I give you the longest term of imprisonment which the law allows me, and I can only regret that I can not treat you worse than I have done." The presumption of sin made the difference. So when you sin deliberately and knowingly, your sin against Almighty God is a higher and a blacker sin than it would have been if you had sinned ignorantly, or sinned in haste.
Now let us suppose one more case. In the heat of some little dispute some one shall insult a man. You shall be insulted by a man of angry temper; you have not provoked him, you gave him no just cause for it; but at the same time he was of a hot and angry disposition; he was somewhat foiled in the debate, and he insulted you, calling you by some name which has left a stain upon your character, so far as epithets can do it. I can suppose that you would ask no reparation of him, if by to-morrow you saw that it was just a rash word spoken in haste, of which he repented. But suppose another person should waylay you in the street, should week after week seek to meet you in the market-place, and should, after a great deal of toil and trouble, at last meet you, and there, in the center of a number of people, unprovoked, just out of sheer, deliberate malice, come before you and call you a liar in the street; I can suppose that, Christian as you are, you might find it necessary to chastise such insolence, not with your hand, but with the arm of that equitable law which protects us all from insulting violence. In the other case I can suppose it would be no trouble to forgive. You would say, "My dear fellow, I know we are all hasty sometimes—there, now, I don't care at all for it; you did not mean it." But in this case, where a man has dared and defied you without any provocation whatever, you would say to him, "Sir, you have endeavored to injure me in respectable society; I can forgive you as a Christian, but as a man and a citizen I shall demand that I am protected against your insolence."
You see, therefore, in the cases that occur between man and man, how there is an excess of guilt added to a sin by presumption. O! ye that have sinned presumptuously—and who among us has not done so?—bow your heads in silence, confess your guilt, and then open your mouths, and cry, "Lord have mercy upon me, a presumptuous sinner."
III. And now I have nearly done—not to weary you by too long a discourse—we shall notice THE APPROPRIATENESS OF THIS PRAYER—"Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins."
Will you just note, that this prayer was the prayer of a saint, the prayer of a holy man of God? Did David need to pray thus? Did the "man after God's own heart" need to cry, "Keep back thy servant?" Yes, he did. And note the beauty of the prayer. If I might translate it into more metaphorical style, it is like this: "Curb thy servant from presumptuous sin." "Keep him back or he will wander to the edge of the precipice of sin. Hold him in, Lord; he is apt to run away; curb him; put the bridle on him; do not let him do it; let thine overpowering grace keep him holy; when he would do evil, then do thou draw him to good, and when his evil propensities would lead him astray, then do thou check him." "Check thy servant from presumptuous sins."
What then? Is It true that the best of men may sin presumptuously? Ah! it is true. It is a solemn thing to find the Apostle Paul warning saints against the most loathsome of sins. He says, "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth, fornication, uncleanness, idolatry, inordinate affection," and such like. What! do saints want warning against such sins as these? Yes, they do. The highest saints may sin the lowest sins, unless kept by divine grace. You old experienced Christians, boast not in your experience; you may trip yet, unless you cry, "Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe." Ye whose love is fervent, whose faith is constant, whose hopes an bright, say not "I shall never sin," but rather cry out, "Lord, lead me not into temptation, and when there leave me not there; for unless thou hold me fast I feel I must, I shall decline, and prove an apostate after all." There is enough tinder in the hearts of the best men in the world to light a fire that shall burn to the lowest hell, unless God should quench the sparks as they fall. There is enough corruption, depravity, and wickedness in the heart of the most holy man that is now alive to damn his soul to all eternity, if free and sovereign grace does not prevent. O Christian, thou hast need to pray this prayer. But I think I hear you saying, "Is thy servant a dog, that I should do this thing?" So said Hazael, when the prophet told him that he would slay his master; but he went home and took a wet cloth and spread it over his master's face and choked him, and did the next day the sin which he abhorred before. Think it not enough to abhor sin, you may yet fall into it. Say not, "I never can be drunken, for I have such an abhorrence of drunkenness;" thou mayest fall where thou art most secure. Say not, "I can never blaspheme God, for I have never done so in my life;" take care; you may yet swear most profanely. Job might have said, "I will never curse the day of my birth;" but he lived to do it. He was a patient man; he might have said, "I will never murmur; though he slay me, yet will I trust in him;" and yet he lived to wish that the day were darkness wherein he was brought forth. Boast not, then, O Christian; by faith thou standest. "Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall."
But if this need to be the prayer of the best, how ought it to be the prayer of you and me? If the highest saint must pray it, O mere moralist, thou hast good need to utter it. And ye who have begun to sin, who make no pretensions to piety, how much need is there for you to pray that you may be kept from presumptuously rebelling against God.
Instead, however, of enlarging upon that point, I shall close my few remarks this morning by just addressing myself most affectionately to such of you as are now under a sense of guilt by reason of presumptuous sins. God's Spirit has found some of you out this morning. I thought when I was describing presumptuous sin that I saw here and there an eye that was suffused with tears; I thought I saw here and there a head that was bowed down, as much as to say, "I am guilty there." I thought there were some hearts that palpitated with confession, when I described the guilt of presumption. I hope it was so. If it was I am glad of it. If I hit your consciences, it was that I meant to do. Not to your ears do I speak, but to your hearts. I would not give the snap of this my finger to gratify you with mere words of oratory, with a mere flow of language. No, God is my witness. I never sought effect yet, except the effect of hitting your consciences. I would use the words that would be most rough and vulgar in all our language, if I could get at your heart better with them than with any other; for I reckon that the chief matter with a minister is to touch the conscience. If any of you feel, then, that you have presumed against God in sinning, let me just bid you look at your sin, and weep over the blackness of it; let me exhort you to go home and bow your heads with sorrow, and confess your guilt, and weep over it with many tears and sighs. You have greatly sinned, and if God should blast you into perdition now, he would be just; if now his fiery thunderbolt of vengeance should pierce you through, if the arrow that is now upon the string of the Almighty should find a target in your heart, he would be just. Go home and confess that, confess it with cries and sighs. And then what next wilt thou do? Why, I bid thee remember that there was a man who was a God. That man suffered for presumptuous sin. I would bid thee this day, sinner, if thou knowest thy need of a Saviour, go up to thy chamber, cast thyself upon thy face, and weep for sin; and when thou hast done that, turn to the Scriptures, and read the story of that man who suffered and died for sin. Think you see him in all his unutterable agonies, and griefs, and woes, and say this—
"My soul looks back to see
The burdens thou didst bear
When hanging on the accursed tree,
And hopes her guilt was there."

Lift up your hand, and put it on his head who bled, and say,
"My faith would lay its hand
On that dear head of thine,
While, like a penitent, I stand,
And there confess my sin."
Sit down at the foot of his cross, and watch him till your heart is moved, till the tears begin to flow again, until your heart breaks within you; and then you will rise and say—
"Dissolved by his mercy, I fall to the ground,
And weep to the praise of the mercy I found."

O sinner, thou canst never perish, if thou wilt cast thyself at the foot of the cross. If thou seekest to save thyself thou shalt die; if thou wilt come, just as thou art, all black, all filthy, all hell-deserving, all ill-deserving, I am my Master's hostage, I will be answerable at the day of judgment for this matter, if he does not save thee, I can preach on this subject now, for I trust I have tried my Master myself. As a youth I sinned, as a child I rebelled, as a young man I wandered into lusts and vanities: my Master made me feel how great a sinner I was and I sought to reform, to mend the matter; but I grew worse. At last I heard it said, "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth;" and I looked to Jesus. And O! my Saviour, thou hast eased my aching conscience, thou hast given me peace; thou hast enabled me to say#151;
"Now, freed from sin I walk at large;
My Saviour's blood's a full discharge
At his dear feet my soul I lay,
A sinner saved, and homage pay."

And O! my heart pants for you. O that you who never knew him could taste his love now. O that you who have never repented might now receive the Holy Ghost who is able to melt the heart! And O that you who are penitents would look to him now! And I repeat that solemn assertion—I am God's hostage this morning; ye shall feed me on bread and water to my life's end, ay, and I will bear the blame for ever, if any of you seek Christ and Christ rejects you. It must not, it can not be. "Whosoever cometh," he says, "I will in no wise cast out." "He is able to save to the uttermost them that come unto God by him." May God Almighty bless you; and may we meet again in yonder Paradise; and there will we sing more sweetly of redeeming love and dying blood, and of Jesus' power to save#151;
"When this poor lisping, stammering tongue
Lies silent in the grave."