Last night I heard a young girl talking about her missions trip to Haiti.  Many of us know missionaries, support mission groups and have heard many testify of their trips.  I think I speak for all who were there when I say we were blessed by her testimony.

It was a short, sweet testimony.  She just stood up in the audience and spoke very briefly but what she said was very powerful.  Tina Wakefield had just sang a song about mountains and valleys.  Evidently during the song, Danielle, the young missionary had a revelation about how she was going to sum up her trip.  She said she went on that trip to Haiti expecting to go into the valley.  She went and helped many children like we see on television; you know, the ones we look at and “feel sorry” for them.  We feel sorry for the children and are thankful for people like Danielle and others who feel that prick on their hearts and take a step of faith.

The part that really blessed us though was when she said she went expecting to go into the “valley” but never realized she would be stepping upon a mountain when she arrived in that small village in Haiti.  You see, what may be our “valley” is actually some people’s mountain.  My revelation came when I realized instead of “feeling sorry” for these children, I was rejoicing in what THE LORD was doing in that small camp.  I believe sometimes when I would see commercials and such on television I  would look at what that “person” or that “organization” is doing.  I am ashamed and humbled to admit that I never considered it’s what God is doing THROUGH those people.  I don’t think I ever really thought of donations as actually helping God’s movement.  Instead, I merely thought of it as helping a particular “person” or “group” go on a missions trip.

Romans 10:13-15 ” How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?  And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!’ “

There are so many people all over this world who don’t need “our” help, they need a move from God.  God uses missionaries and evangelist to do His work; to move on His behalf.   Was I bringing the work of God to my natural instead of seeing His supernatural when I considered these missionaries and evangelists merely as “people” or “organizations” when sending them out into the world to preach the Gospel?  When I gave, was I giving in support of that person or that cause?

2 Corinthians 9:6-7 “But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.  So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. ”

When this young missionary, Danielle, spoke of that mountain in Haiti, she saw God working.  She saw and she was part of the very ones God uses to do His work, to spread His Gospel by giving her time…and she reaped bountifully.    She came home and blessed us with her testimony.  God used her to enlighten my eyes to the meaning of a “cheerful giver”.   From the pew to the pulpit to the missions ground, God wants to bless all of us for enabling others to spread the Gospel of Jesus among the nations.  Thank you Lord for using others to bless us and enlighten our eyes to your glory.  Bless you Danielle, and all the servants of God who are willing vessels.   When we support our pastors, evangelists and missionaries we are supporting the cause of the Gospel; the vessels God is using, not the organization or the person.

^” Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matt. 28:19-20

– Donna Warren

Joel 1:3  “Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation.”

I went to a revival last night and as I looked around I saw so many ladies of my grandmother’s generation.  I thought about my “Nannie” and how she would have loved to go with me to these revivals.  I’m sure now she is saying to herself, “Oh, just wait until you get here!”  My husband and I often say if it wasn’t for our Grandmother’s prayers there is no telling where we would be!

Matthew 5:13 ““You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.”   This salty generation that I’m referring to will fade away.  This salty generation has not lost one bit of their saltiness.  They are still praising, praying and telling it to us – their children.

So what about us, the children of the “salty generation”?  What are we doing with this salt?  Is it beginning to lose its flavor so we add a little artificial flavoring to feed the masses?  Was their salt not tasty enough?  Perhaps we’re not tasting the same salt they had.  Man made salt is not as healthy nor as flavorful as the salt of the earth.

2 Timothy 4:3-4  “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.”  Is this what is happening to our salt?  We cannot  be made salty again without the almighty touch of God.  It is the Holy Spirit that adds the flavor, not man.  We must trust in God and His Holy Spirit to convict and bring forth the plan of Salvation.  As the Body of Christ, we are part of the Lord’s mouthpieces and hands.  There is much truth to the old adage “actions speak louder than words”.  Our Christian love, freedom and liberties provokes others to want the same – that is our saltiness.  The Holy Spirit convicts and Jesus Christ saves.  We don’t have to entertain, we just have to love the lost (AND the found as far as that goes) and let God be God.

We must trust in the convicting power of the Holy Spirit.  We are the salt and Jesus Christ is the Saviour.  No one wants to save the lost more than Jesus Himself.  We must “Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.” 2 Timothy 4:2.  I cannot imagine the sorrow my grandmother and my parents felt when I was lost.  But praise God, their prayers were answered and the Holy Spirit did a job on me also!  I am adopted into the Kingdom of God, I am now too considered “salty”.

“I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.” 2 Timothy 1:5.  How will the future generations remember us?   Will they know our saltiness? – Donna Warren

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.  And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.   If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” John 14:12-14

Jesus has given all believers authority.  We don’t have authority over people but over the evil spirits that affect us and others.  We only have power and authority in the spiritual realm to do God’s will and perform His works, not our own.

The internet, television and radio are full of preachers preaching the Gospel; the true Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Unfortunately today there are also many who make the Gospel more complicated and confusing than what it is.  We must understand the work and sacrifice of Jesus and the Cross first.  Many times we are taught to serve the Lord because of His power instead of seeking a personal relationship with Him which in turn reveals His mercy and grace and causes us to “want” to serve Him.   Serving the Lord merely for the “acts” or the “show” negates The Cross.  It is works without faith and leads to self righteousness instead of righteousness.   The Kingdom of God is freely given for the asking to those who believe.  It cannot be earned.

This power of attorney is given to all believers through the power of the Holy Spirit.  John 14:16-17 “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever,  the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. ”  The reason Jesus grants us the authority to use His name to perform His works is to glorify God, but we must ask with unwavering faith.  To pray “if its in your will” for a promise God has already made to us is a prayer of unbelief.  God’s Word says in 3 John 1:2 “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. ”  We don’t pray “if it’s in Your will may I prosper?”  We take authority over God’s promises to us and quit letting the enemy convince us otherwise!  Remind the enemy “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4

Now is the time for all Christians to seek, believe and receive the power of the Holy Spirit.   We do not have limitations in Christ.  There is a new breed of Christians, both young and mature, who are not seeking entertainment but the fire endued by Holy Spirit.  Many are afraid to teach, preach and study the Holy Spirit.   We hold the Lord’s reputation here in this world and He watches over His reputation.  The Lord will teach us and guide us through His Holy Spirit.  He is not going to let us fall when we are holding on tightly to Him.  We must continue to carry out the full program of God by allowing Him to perform His miracles, signs and wonders through His Holy Spirit, which is in every believer.  The fullness and the gifts of the Holy Spirit are available to all who seek.   We need to allow Him to use us to glorify Himself through us by taking the authority granted to us in Jesus’ name.   This world needs to see miracles, signs and wonders – both small and large.  Are we Christians the very ones scared to rise up to what the Word of God says about our authority to perform His works in this world?  Do we seek only His protection when He wants to give us the His power and authority over evil as well?  Speak life, speak redemption and use the power of attorney Jesus has sent you and disciple to the nations! – Donna Warren

Did anyone else ever receive a blessing then freeze, look around and try to figure out the catch?  Good things don’t happen to me, so what’s this going to cost?  Why do we have a sense of fear when something good happens?  Why do we meditate so much on the bad news instead of the good news?  Human nature, maybe?  What does our “human nature” consist of?

We follow God, we seek God and we praise God for our blessings.  We look back and see how far He has brought us and we are in awe of His faithfulness when we were sinners and we feel unworthy of His mercy.  So now that we have found Him and our faith abounds in His grace, why in the world do we think His blessings are going to come to a screeching halt?  Romans 5:10 “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”  Praise God that His faithfulness doesn’t depend on our worthiness!  Sometimes its hard to accept gifts from God because we feel like we’re not worthy; just like when someone tries to bless us with a gift and we feel “guilty” for accepting.   On the other hand, when we truly try to do something for someone and they “hate” to accept it but we really don’t want anything in return.  We just want them to receive the gift, enjoy it and make good use of it.  Why do we put our conditions on God’s love for us?

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; ⁵ does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; ⁶ does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; ⁷ bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, ENDURES all things.”  God’s love reaches far beyond our circumstances.

So we are blessed then fear rushes in.  We take that step of faith, step out on the water and the enemy starts throwing darts at us.  The devil reminds us of all the darkness and we start looking around into the darkness and try to see.  Fear sets in.  We meditate on fear. But what if this?  What if that?  Well, what if we just never take our eyes off of the light?  What if we stay focused on Jesus?  What if we receive His blessing and give Him the glory?

Discernment 101:  If it’s not “of” God, it’s not from God.  If we have to lie, cheat, steal or manipulate to “receive” that blessing there is reason to fear stepping out on the water.  However, when we are seeking and trusting God for His will in our life, never be afraid to jump out in the middle of the storm.  Don’t let the enemy rob you of the Lord’s blessings.  As Christians, we are adopted into the family of God to receive His special favor.  Everyday is like the first day of school for God’s children.  He wants to clean us up, teach us well and show us His love to provoke others to seek Him as well.  Martyrdom and boasting does not represent the Kingdom of God.  Our humbleness at receiving His blessings reflects His Glory. – Donna Warren

What do you say to someone who is dealing with the sickness of a loved one?  How do we minister to them who suffered the loss of a brother/son from the same illness not long ago?  What do “we” do?

I started just to stop there and let everyone else answer because I don’t really know the answers to all the questions about sickness.  However, there are a few things that I do know which “I” will hang onto during this difficult time.

I was talking to a dear friend one time who suffered much abuse as a child.  This lady is so dedicated to the Lord and is such an inspiration to me.  I asked her how she reconciled everything that happened to her as a child with the love of God.  She plainly told me its what you CHOOSE.  She could have chosen to live her life in resentment and anger but instead she chose to accept the love of God.  You see, it was not God who abused her, it was satan.  The abusers chose to serve evil.  All of those around her chose to eat off of satan’s plate and she suffered.  Our actions not only affect our circumstances but those around us.  When we serve evil and receive evil; we also give evil.  Instead of continuing to receive the afflictions of the devil, she made a choice to receive the mercy of God.  She received His mercy and glorifies His Grace today by disciplining to women.

So my friend “chose” to receive God’s mercy.  What about sickness?  What about the young?  What about families who have suffered loss and affliction?  Why?  Jeremiah 33:6 “Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth.”    This is very black and white to the spiritually discerned but is foolishness to the natural mind.  This is the Word of God; this is the ONLY truth.  God brings health not sickness.  Any sickness we or our loved ones encounter are not from God.  If we believe the Word of God we cannot blame God.  We may not always understand but God says in 3 John 1:2 “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.”

John 10:10 “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”  The enemies attacks are against ALL of us; the weak, the strong, the vulnerable, the faithful and unfaithful.  We are all attacked.  Satan will attack us and/or our loved ones but we must choose.  We must choose God’s mercy.  We must allow Him to use our weakness for His glory.  If we choose fear, bitterness and anger God cannot act.

Today I choose to put my stepfather Buddy and my Aunt Brenda before the throne of God for His Mercy.  I choose to lift up the mantle of faith of our family and praise God in the face of the enemy.  I pray for God to make His presence known in the operating room this morning with my aunt and in the waiting room with the family.  I pray for healing, peace and comfort for both Buddy and Brenda.  I praise God for the gift of Buddy and Brenda in my life and thank Him for allowing me to see His glory in and through their life.  As odd as this may sound and as sick as they may be, I know that through Him they are strong.  I know that they too are His children.  I know, that I know that God gives strength, peace and love to all who choose to receive.  Even though I may not understand it all, I am in a sense excited to see God go to work during this time.  2 Cor. 12:9 “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”

Let’s all praise God and lift up the mantle of faith among all who believe and pray  strength, courage, wisdom and knowledge for the many families who are under attack. God is the giver of life and satan tries to destroy.  Draw the Bloodline of Jesus and Satan cannot cross It.   Be bold in your declaration of faith and allow God to be God.  None of us can defeat the afflictions of satan with out the blood of Jesus covering us.  Plead the Blood and praise the Lord!  – Donna Warren

1 Timothy 4:1  “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.”  Only those of us with faith can lose it.  The scripture states “that in latter times some will depart from the faith,”.  How could we possibly lose our faith you ask?  By “giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.”  We, Christians, must all stay close to the Word of God and not be deceived by false doctrine.  WE are the very ones the deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons will try to guide away from the truth.  God has sent us His servants; His preachers and teachers of His Word and we must pray for their strength, wisdom and knowledge.   They are the ones God uses to lead us to Him through faith in Jesus and the Cross.  In 1 John 4 the Bible tells us to test the spirits.  Deceiving spirits will not confess Jesus.

Mark 7:7 Jesus says to the pharisees “And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.”   Are we receiving the grace and love of Jesus or are we learning the rules of religion?  If we stumble are we convicted by the Holy Spirit or are we condemned by the rule makers?  Colossians 2:22 “Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” ²² which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men?”

Extreme doctrines are taught; from hyper grace to Christian cannibalism but the Gospel is the only way down the narrow path.  God has grace for all, given freely and abundantly to all who believe in Jesus and the Cross.  Our Salvation was paid for at a very high price.  Galatians 5:13 “…(we)have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”   Liberty abused in the presence of others can cause them to stumble.  Hypergrace is abusing the liberty the Lord has given us.

Obedience is required when we choose the way of righteousness instead of the ways of the world.  Sometimes the “ways of the world” may seem easier but the Holy Spirit convicts us.  We are dead to the sin nature.  We may stumble but we run back to the Lord.  Sin is no longer “fun”.   Christian cannibalism is the extreme religious doctrines taught by some today.  Galatians 1:15 “But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!”

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. ¹⁴ Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Matthew 7:13-14.  Be careful not to be deceived.  Confess Jesus and profess God’s Word.  Don’t sit on the sidelines of the Kingdom of God; jump in and be a part of the Kingdom of God! – Donna Warren

When I was trying to wrap my head around “fearing” the Lord and “loving” the Lord,  I compared it to loving our parents but fearing they would take the car keys from us.  Then I finally realized I have actually always understood the fear of the Lord.  The majority of my life I lived in fear of the Lord.  I understood He had the power to “take those car keys” but I did not understand the LOVE  of the Lord.  Honestly, I would profess my love for the Lord only because I feared Him.  I heard all of the stories about the wrath of God and provoking Him to anger and did not want any part of that.  No way, I was going to mind my business, do my job and try to fly under God’s radar.  Brilliant idea, huh?

Well, you know sometimes we have to be thrown into complete darkness before we can see the light.  God may have to lift His hand of protection over us in order to save our spirit.  Then again, sometimes God will actually hand us over to satan.   1 Cor. 5:5 “deliver such a one to satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.”   That, my friends, is why I feared the Lord…I didn’t want to be handed over!  BUT, I didn’t want to serve Him either.

So I feared the Lord but was serving the world.  Come to find out, satan feared God also and satan is the lord of this world.  That certainly couldn’t be, could it?  I would NEVER “serve satan”!!  What a harsh reality.  God loves us enough that He will eventually turn us over to the afflictions of the enemy in order to bring us to repentance.  Not only that, He can’t wait to forgive us once we repent.  God does not cause the affliction but the affliction can cause repentance.

God is faithful and long suffering.  We should fear Him but we must understand His love also.  He loves us enough that He gave His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the Cross so we could be reconciled with Him.  He loves us enough that He will turn us over to the afflictions of the enemy and deliver us when we come to repentance.  When we accept Jesus and run back into the arms of our Saviour the enemy has no more power in our life.  This is the moment we “understand” God’s love.

Luke 15:20 “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.”  God is our Father and He can’t wait to welcome home our lost souls.  Praise God for His faithfulness and long suffering for this lost soul!  The Lord did have compassion on me; He did run and fall on my neck and kiss me when I came back home.  It is the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ that has been entrusted to us and now it’s up to each of us to execute His plan for our life.  Fear God’s power, accept His Son and grow in His Love.  – Donna Warren

What do we seek?  What is that feeling deep down inside trying to tell us?  Is it a longing for truth, righteousness and freedom?  Isn’t that what we are all seeking?

Why don’t we pay more attention to that feeling deep down inside?  What are we afraid of and why?  Are we just too busy to really explore that feeling?  That “feeling” we have in our inner most being desperately seeking truth, righteousness and freedom is the Holy Spirit  ministering to us, declaring to us we are a child of God.  We are too busy to explore that feeling because the enemy keeps us that way – that’s his job.  Satan knows if we ever slow down enough to listen, we will find the truth, righteousness and freedom we are seeking.  The enemy knows he is defeated; he just doesn’t want us to know that as well.  How can we possibly say no to what we have been seeking – the righteousness of God?

Are we bashful?  Are we embarrassed? What will our friends think?  I don’t know, I haven’t asked them.

It was the last night of revival.  The evangelist is making his last altar call.  Just when it’s about to be over he stops and says their is a woman out there and God wants you to know things are not going to get better until you turn it over to Him.  What?  Is he talking to ME?  But I AM too embarrassed.  I’m not necessarily bashful except when I’m out of my comfort zone.  What about that gut feeling though?  If feels like my gut has been split open and dissected. Oh my, I can’t, I just can’t make that walk down that aisle.  About that time a gentleman walked over to me and asked if he would go up with me, would I go to the altar?  FINALLY!  That’s all it took, was that one small step of faith and I gave it all to the Lord.  Whew – what a relief!  I was free indeed!

I was and am so blessed to have a pastor that was on fire for the Lord and mentors that knew as long as I held tightly to the Lord, His Holy Spirit would guide me and teach me the way to truth and righteousness in Him.  I was on fire for God!

As far as that evangelist, I still follow him when ever I can.  His name is Rev. Stanley Owensby.  When I first dedicated my life to the Lord I had people tell me how they loved to be around “new” Christians.  They loved to see that fire burning in them.  I never told anyone but that scared me really – I never wanted that fire to go out!  One Monday I was working and thinking about what everyone would say about “new” Christians and that fire.  Stanley was in revival that night but it was a long drive and I was tired so I almost didn’t go.  However, my friends and I loaded up and went anyway.   That night the preacher was preaching on how he stuck his finger in the socket 40+ years ago and that fire has never gone out!  Well, PRAISE THE LORD!!   God used Stanley to show me that fire doesn’t have to go away!  As long as I stay close to Him, the Holy Spirit will keep that fire ramped up as hot as you want it!

Don’t get me wrong, there are still trials and tribulations, but that feeling down deep in my soul has been inflamed!  The hard times come and then they go but my spirit stays focused on the Lord.  Many of you know this inflammatory touch of the Holy Spirit, there are some who remember the fire and then there are those who have never known the fire.  This world is a dark place.  We have generations coming up that will never know the fire if we don’t show them the power we have through Jesus Christ.   The Holy Spirit is roaming the earth today looking to inflame the spirit of those who will receive Him.  Our ministry is our life; it is our testimony.  Our ministry isn’t always behind a pulpit.  Our ministry is the Gospel of Jesus Christ!  “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”  Acts 1:8.  Witnesses to the end of the earth!! Amen! – Donna Warren

God’s promises are not for sale but our Salvation is guaranteed.  Sometimes we approach the gospel on “a trial basis”.  We stick one foot in and see if we get “those blessings” we hear about or have seen and decide to try it out.  Someone once described religion to me as man’s last ditch effort to be redeemed; what we turn to when all else has failed.  In a way that makes sense I guess.  When we finally realize we can’t do this thing called life on our own or we realize that has to be more than “this”.

God’s promises are for every single one of us.  The Lord’s blessings and revelations are new everyday.  Our Salvation is guaranteed; sealed by the Holy Spirit when we believe in Jesus Christ.  We can’t try to “sell” someone on Christianity.  We have to let that fire in our bones kindle the fire in theirs.  The Holy Spirit will do the same work in them as He does in us if we, in our flesh, just stay out of the way and let God teach them, guide them and direct them to the source – Him and His Word.

It’s so easy to get out in front of the Holy Spirit and try to start “saving them ourselves” because we sense the urgency.  We, Christians being filled with the Holy Spirit, watch the news, believe the Word of God because we’ve seen His work in our lives and read the prophecies.  We know that no man will know the day or the time but we can know the season…we sense the urgency!

That fire in our spirit is inflamed by the Holy Spirit.  That urgency we sense is the Holy Spirit quickening us.   All of a sudden this isn’t a trial basis!  We have both feet in the fire and Nebuchadnezzar is screaming “servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!” Daniel 3:26.  Everyone around us is wondering where our joy comes from when our natural world is falling to pieces around us.  They see our blessings and want some too!  They see our Jesus and begin to wonder what He’s all about, could this Gospel be true?  Then we tell them about Jesus and what He has done in our lives – we testify.  Jesus’ love  in us has flowed through us, the fire has been kindled in their spirit and His glory has been reflected in this dark world.

No, we can’t sell someone on Christianity.  We ARE Christianity!  The Holy Spirit is the one who bears witness to everyone who believes in Jesus.  Romans 8:16 “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God”.   God calls us to be the light of this world.  “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16.  Whose light is “your light”?  Is it YOUR light?    If it is…. go let it shine!  – Donna Warren

MINIMAL CHRISTIAN REQUIREMENTS:  Guilty?  Long ago, in a far away land, I was guilty.  I wanted to do the bare minimum to get into Heaven.  In the meantime, I was unintentionally giving it all I had to work my way straight into the fiery pits of hell.  I was even told  “God didn’t want me and the devil was scared I would take over.”  Surely I wasn’t the only one trying to eat off of both plates, was I?  I was thankful for all the material things I had.  God had blessed me with a wonderful family, great friends and plenty of adventures, wasn’t being thankful enough?  Um….NO!  I was indeed thankful for all the material things but I wasn’t thankful for the sacrifice made by Jesus in order for me to receive those material things.  I wasn’t thankful for God’s grace and mercy.  I didn’t understand at what cost my blessings came.  “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ” Romans 5:8

I guess God finally got tired of me coming to eat all the good things off His plate, leaving a mess, then running out to play with the devil while He was constantly cleaning up my mess. (Sound familiar Mom and Dad?)    Eventually, I was being served beanie weenies without the weenies AND having to clean up my mess.  Talk about indignant!  Well – the humanity of it all!  God has a way of getting our attention.  You see, God NEVER gets tired of us.  He just wants us to realize whose hand is holding our plate.  He wants us to know these blessings didn’t come free.  His Son, Jesus Christ, paid for them.  The Kingdom of God is given to us freely, as long as we understand why and how.  God LOVES to give to us, He wants us to eat off of His plate freely but He is a jealous God.  We can’t eat off of both plates.

So instead of seeking the minimal requirements, we all need to seek the FULL Gospel!  Instead of seeking “just enough”, seek it ALL!  Rise up to what the Word of God says about our life.  We so often believe in the “small” things God can do but because it is beyond our comprehension, we don’t believe for the “big” things.  We, as Christians, ARE the body of Christ.  We demonstrate Christianity to the world.  As the body of Christ, we can’t only seek to find out the minimal imperfections and failures allowable in Christianity.  Everyone one of us make up the whole.  It is our responsibility to seek the full Gospel, bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit ( love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control) and with these fruits show the stature of the body of Christ.  Colossians 1:19 “For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell”.  Seek the fullness of God. – Donna Warren