Joyful Help Meet At Home

There is sunshine in my soul today, more glorious and bright, than shines in any earthly way, for JESUS IS MY LIGHT!!!!

Do you know the song?

Often in my little church, our pastor would lead the singing. He would shout-- "Sing it like you mean it?"  I'm not sure how anyone else took that, but to me it was an admonition to search my heart. How hypocritical did I dare to be? In those tender years, I still had a bit of fear that God would send lightning bolts to strike me down; or worse, that He would kill my parents if I was bad. This feeling came upon whenever it was time for the Lord's Supper. Even though I begged forgiveness before partaking of the bread and grape juice, in the back of my mind there was always this nagging feeling that if I didn't repent enough, God would kill me.

Thus, much of my childhood, teen years, and into my adulthood, have been fraught with fear. Somewhere I had this mental picture of God sitting on His throne, and as I crawled up to the pinacle near Him, He'd wait til I had almost reached the top, and with great fingers he'd flick me (anyone really) down to the bottom, forcing me to climb up again, wondering if this time he would be merciful.

Many people have take that view of God, including numerous Born-Again christians.

I believe this is a tool of the devil to keep us from fulfilling our call to be a witness for Jesus.

Along the road of life, we start to see every "bad thing" that happens to us as punishment for some unknown wrong we've committed and failed to confess and forsake.

Instead of seeing God as the Loving Father who gives good gifts to His children, we look at the stones, and serpents, as if they are all from God too.

Yes, God allows harshness into our lives. No, it is not pleasant or fun. I speak, again, from experience.

The fruit tree, must be pruned to bring forth good fruit.

Gold must be heated to purge the dross and be purified.

The stones and serpents and scorpions that we get; the cutting of our branches; the purging of dross; it is to bring forth something better than before. It is to conform us more into the image of The LORD JESUS Christ.

All we endure in this life, is working in us a far more exceeding and abundant weight of glory in the life to come, eternal life in a perfect environment with a perfectly Holy God and Saviour-Jesus Christ.

Rather than kick at the hard times, which I know I am guilty of doing; we must strive to see what dead branch or dross is being removed from us,so we can be a vessel fit for the Master to use, that will bring forth fruit abundantly.