Spiritual Notebook

Too Busy Being Busy?

Do you ever get too busy being busy? That is what has happened to me lately. I hadn't realized that so much time had passed since I had written my last post here.

I sometimes forget that God says, "Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth." Psalms 46:10

That is what I need to do at times because I do allow myself to get busy doing everything except what I should be doing...witnessing to others. I forget that it is okay to sit down and relax and do nothing except think upon the Lord.

When I do remember to be still, those are the times when the Lord speaks to me. I have to be still in order to hear Him speak to me. Why? Because He speaks in a still, small voice.

1Ki 19:11 And he [angel of the Lord] said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake 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 :
1Ki 19:12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire : and after the fire a still small voice .
1Ki 19:13 And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?

Are you having problems hearing from the Lord lately? Maybe it is time that you also were quiet. Sit back and relax and ponder (think) on the things of God. Who knows. You may also hear His voice!

God bless until next time,
Linda

Notes From January 9, 1994

Notes from January 9, 1994

These are notes that I wrote in my Spiritual Notebook on January 9, 1994. It is time to share these with you today.

Love others not expecting anything back in return. Give out expecting it to keep going. The only way I can call Jesus "friend" is if I have a clean conscience and am doing what He wants me to do. A friend is someone that shares your life with you.

Servant - devoted to another, follows without question and without knowing, treated lowly, kept in the dark

Friend - shares and becomes a part of a person's life, shares with us, gives to us, Jesus

We are never alone if Christ is our friend. Joy will come to us if we do the things Christ wants us to do.

John 12:

44 Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me.

45 And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me.

46 I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.

47 And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.

48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.

49 For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.

50 And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.

Life everlasting to it's fullest comes from following Jesus fully. What Jesus said came from God the Father. Do we abide in darkness or follow the Light? Does Jesus call me friend? Do I show Him true friendship?

What Is Prayer?

I have many people ask me, "What exactly is prayer?" So, I thought I would write to you today with an explanation.

What Is Prayer?
1. I Talk to God
Prayer is simply talking to our Father and Creator. I talk with Him, the same as I talk with anyone. I tell Him more personal things than I normally tell others. He never tells my secrets and He never betrays my trust. I confess my sins to Him and I apologize to Him when I hurt Him. He always has time for me. He is always patient to listen to my gripes and complaints. He never interrupts me because of the phone ringing, or because someone else seems to be more interesting than me over at another table (or wherever I am). I always have God's full attention. He is always there anytime (day or night) for me to talk to Him. He is never too tired, too busy, too annoyed, or anything else. He always listens. (I just wish I could say the same for myself.)

2 Chronicles 6:19 Have respect therefore to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee:

2. God Talks to Me
Yes, God does talk to me. Now wait a minute. Don't stop reading just yet thinking I am a crazy person who thinks I hear the voice of God. I do hear the voice of God, as can anyone else who desires it. I do NOT hear a literal, audible voice. How do I hear God talk to me? I hear Him in my heart and in my mind. How do I know it is God talking to me? Because I weigh what is said against what the Bible says. If what I hear is against what the Bible (God's Word) teaches, then I know that it is not God's voice that I heard. I also hear Him through His Words in the Bible. When I read the Bible, sometimes I am condemned of some sin. Sometimes, I am encouraged, comforted, lead what decision to make. Yes, God does talk to me; and yes, I do hear Him speak.

1 Kings 19:12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.

3. God and I Have Conversations
A conversation happens when one person speaks and then another person speaks. The two speak to one another about various subjects. They listen (hopefully) to one another. If the two who are conversing are family members or very close friends, then, they share things in their conversations that they would not normally share with others. I share my secrets, feelings, disappointments, anger, feelings of hatred and everything else with God, my Lord and Saviour. He never betrays my trust. He never looks down His nose at me; although if anyone had that right, it would be God, my Creator. He never judges me unjustly. When God points His finger at me and corrects as an earthly father corrects his children, I know that I deserve it. I have done something I should not do and my Father gently corrects me.

Proverbs 3:11-12 My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction: For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.

4. Anyone can talk to God.
God's Word (the Bible) explains this point much better than I can:

Psalms 50:23 Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God.

Philippians 3:20 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:

Hebrews 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Ephesians 4:17-32 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But ye have not so learned Christ; If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil. Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

"Thank you, Father, for being patient with me and correcting me when I need correction. Thank you, my God, for being there and encouraging me when I feel I can go on no more. Thank you, my Lord and Saviour, for saving my soul and rescuing me out of the pits of darkness, sin, and immorality. I owe all I am to You, God. I owe everything I have to you, Father. Please help me, Father, to never withhold anything back from You. Thank you, my God and Father, for talking to me. Thank you for this great gift of prayer you have given to all of us.~Amen!"

I hope these words will help you better understand "What Is Prayer?"

May God bless you, lead you, guide you. I already know that He will listen to you!
Linda

I'm Saved--Now What?

I did this on my website as a Bible study; but the Lord has laid it on my heart to use this today for my post. So here is "I'm Saved--Now What?"

Thank God, you took the right path and accepted Jesus Christ as your LORD and Savior! However, at this point you may be a little uncertain as to what you should do next.
Realize where you are in the plan of salvation. You are a "babe" in Christ. I Corinthians 3:1-2 states, "And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able."

What does that mean? Let's take for an example a newborn baby. When that baby first comes into this world it doesn't know how to talk, crawl, walk, or eat. "Baby" doesn't even know how to eat; and even if it did, it doesn't yet have teeth and can only take milk specially prepared for him or her. "Baby" has to be taught first how to feed on this specially prepared milk. The Bible is a Christian's specially prepared "milk of the Word." God took great care in preparing this milk for His babes. So what do you do now?

Step one would be to obtain a Bible--God's Holy Word and read it. If you don't know where to start reading, start with the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Why? Because this will give you a good look at the Savior Jesus Christ. You will learn what He suffered, how tender His heart, and how loving and caring our God, the Father is for you.

Now, you know how to feed yourself the milk (reading the Bible), the next step is to learn how to talk. Prayer is a wonderful gift God has given to His "babes." There is no mysterious secret to prayer. Prayer is having a conversation with God. This can be done through thought (thinking within yourself) or speaking out loud. Ask God to send the Holy Spirit to you to guide you and tell you what to speak to Him. Tell God what is in your heart. He wants to talk with you. He loves to hear your praise. He wants you to tell Him about your troubles, fears, doubts. You don't have to be in a special place or certain position (physically) to talk with God. you can talk to Him kneeling on the floor, laying on the bed, driving in your car, when you are at work. The place, time and position doesn't matter. What matters is that you do talk to God.

Still afraid and concerned about starting a conversation with God? Jesus left us an example in the LORD's Prayer. (Matthew 6:9-13 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.)

Now, you know how to feed yourself (read the Bible) and how to talk (pray). It's time to learn to crawl and walk. You learn to walk one step at a time. You have already taken your first two steps by learning to feed and to talk. Learning to walk is a never-ending lesson. To be able to walk a Christian walk you must continue to read and study the Bible daily. You must continue to pray constantly.

There is one thing that will be a tremendous help to you when learning to walk. Pray for God to send you someone who has been a Christian for a while. Pray that this will be a Christian that earnestly walks the walk of a true follower of Christ. This Christian will take you under his or her wing and will help you learn. He or she will hold your hand when you don't have the strength to take the next step. Remember, you are a baby. A baby, when first learning to walk, needs to know that there is someone in front of them to help keep them from falling. Or, if "Baby" does fall, someone will be there to pick them up and comfort them and give them the courage to try again. You need someone like that to help you too. Pray earnestly for this person and God will send them to you.

May God keep you, protect you, and lead you.

© 2003-2004 Linda Sedrick Pearson

A Message to All Military Personnel Away From Home

Dear Military Personnel,
My family wants to thank you for your service to our country. We greatly appreciate the sacrifices you give every day. We realize that you are away from your families during their birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, birth of babies, deaths of loved ones. We are sorry that you must miss out on many pieces of your family history as you serve our nation in foreign countries. Thank you for keeping us safe.

On behalf of all families in the United States that have loved ones serving away from home, my family has created a special tribute to you. You can view that tribute by visiting our specially created page here: A Message to All Military Personnel.

Once again, from my family, thank you for your service. You are appreciated and we pray for you daily. May God keep you all safe and bring you home to your loved ones soon.

Sincerely,
Linda

What Is An Intercessor?

An intercessor is one who helps another plead their cause before the Lord. God, according to Isaiah 59:16, thinks it is very important to have an intercessor available.
"And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him."

An intercessor works hard praying for the needs of others. Without my mother interceding for me, I might not have ever accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my Saviour. An intercessor also listens to the prayers of others and prays with them. The intercessor intreats God to listen to the prayers of the other person that is in need and pleads for God to answer that persons prayer. The intercessor prays most of the time in agreement with another during a prayer. Sometimes the intercessor can not pray in agreement if the person is asking for something that is not biblical.

The intercessor is one who prays in behalf of another, also. Intercession is also called supplication in the Bible. Ephesians 6:18 says: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; The person who does what is stated in this verse is the same as an intercessor. They are continually in prayer for others.

I found the the definition of the word intercessor interesting:
1. Ambassador
2. Interpreter
3. Teacher
4. Someone who prays for needs of others

When I looked up the word intercede, I found these definitions:
1. To intreat
2. To pray for
3. To make supplication for
4. In behalf of

Next time you see a hard working prayer warrior (intercessor), you tell them you appreciate the job they are doing and that God is listening to their prayers.

God bless all you intercessors out there. Don't give up. Be encouraged. God is listening to your supplications.

Until next time,
Linda

Families Are A Gift From God

Families are truly a gift from God. I thank God for my family. Each and every one is a very special person to me. They each have a personality that is different than the rest. That is what makes them unique and special. I thank God for making each one different. Yet, we are all members of the same family. We have some traits that are the same; but it is the differences that gives them each a special place in my heart.

That is the way it is with the Christian family, also. Each person is different, unique and special; yet, we all have some traits that are the same. For instance, we all have Jesus as our Saviour. God called us all in to His service. We all have the same Father, God in heaven. We all have the same Spirit--the Holy Spirit who leads and guides us on our day to day walk. So, where are we different?

We are different because God took great care to give each one a special talent. That talent is to be applied to a job in His service. Each job fits together with the jobs of the others to promote the Kingdom of God. Each job glorifies God and leads others to Jesus. No job is smaller in importance than another. Some jobs take less time to complete than others, but that doesn't mean it is of less importance to God's Kingdom.

The purpose of each job is to bring glory and honour to God. He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, so that we could be saved and brought in to the family of God. That is very special. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, gave up His wonderful life in heaven to come to earth, suffer, and die for the sins of everyone who has lived, lives now, or will ever live before He comes back to earth to receive His own unto Himself. Because Jesus arose from the grave and now sits on the right hand of the Father in heaven, we can have peace in a world of torment.

Thank you, Jesus, for what you did for all of us. Thank you, Father, for sending your Son to us and for giving us each our special talents. Thank you, Father, for being a forgiving God. Thank you, Father, that no matter what sin we have committed, you are there waiting to forgive us. All we have to do is ask God to forgive us. We have to accept Jesus as payment in full for all sins we have committed.

I thank God that there is no sin that we commit, except one, that God doesn't forgive. That one unforgiveable sin, is to blaspheme the Holy Ghost (Holy Spirit).

Mar 3:28 Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme:
Mar 3:29 But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:

When a person continually rejects the call of God through the Holy Ghost, and absolutely refuses to accept Jesus as payment for his or her sins, that is to blaspheme the Holy Ghost. It is the Holy Ghost (or Spirit) who is sent to each person to call them to God. Refusing to accept that call and refusing to accept Jesus as payment for your sins, and then dying in your sinful state because you refuse God, brings to you eternal damnation. You have blasphemed the Holy Ghost.

Where do you stand? Have you accepted the call of the Holy Ghost? Have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour? Have you become a part of God's family and let God be your Father?

If you haven't, what are you waiting for? God never promised us tomorrow. The day of salvation is now! The time to become a part of our family is now! Don't delay any longer.

Until next time,
Linda

A Point of Contact

Do you need a point of contact for healing? Do you need a point of contact for your finances? Do you need a point of contact to come out of drug addiction, alcoholism, prostitution? Depression?

You already have that point of contact available to you. His name is JESUS! Reach out and grab your Point of Contact! Grab on to JESUS!
Jesus is the Healer. Jesus can heal you of your physical illnesses. He can heal you of your emotional illnesses. Jesus can rescue you from depression. Jesus can heal your financial problems.

Jesus is the Rescuer. He can rescue you from drug addiction. He can bring you out of alcoholism. He can bring you out of prostitution. He can break the bonds of homosexualism.

There is nothing that Jesus can't take care of. Only Jesus can bring you out of bondage. Whatever your bondage, Jesus is your Point of Contact. You don't need to send for an anointed cloth. You don't need to send money to someone for them to pray for you. You don't have to make a long trip somewhere to hear someone speak. Jesus is already there with you. Talk to HIM! Trust HIM!

Everything you need is already available through God and Jesus. God provided for you before you were born. It is up to you to grab that Point of Contact--Jesus! All you have to do is reach out and grab on to Him. Reach out for Jesus!

Tell Jesus you know you are a sinner. Confess all your sins to Him. Let Jesus know you are tired of living in sin and bondage. Ask Him to save you and to bring you out of all your sins and bondage.

Ask Jesus to deliver you from the sin you are in. Confess it all to Jesus! Leave nothing out.

Then, accept Jesus as your Savior. Accept Jesus as payment in full to God for all the sins you have committed. Accept Jesus as your Lord. Let Him lead and guide you. He will never leave you alone. Jesus will send the Holy Spirit to live within you. The Holy Spirit will teach you. The Holy Spirit will help you to keep that Point of Contact. That Point of Contact is Jesus!

Until next time may God bless and keep you!
Linda