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Myrunning man 31612/21/2023 ![]() ![]() But I was there! To the casual observer, I was part of the group. I was embarrassed and unhappy to be there. ![]() We were at a "family restaurant", and families with children were all around us. I was very uncomfortable with the language and the topics of conversation. They quickly became loud and inappropriate. ![]() At the restaurant most of the people at the birthday get-together were drinking alcohol - lots of alcohol. The restaurant was about an hour's drive from home, so hiring a taxi was unthinkable. Something told me not to go, but I felt obligated. I was invited to a birthday dinner for a former coworker. Oh, but I have been! Every time I think I know even a little bit about how to live as a Believer, I find myself letting both my Savior and myself down. if I looked like apple juice, but was too bitter to be tolerable to Him.if I appeared to be a long, cool drink, but was, instead, a rancid, disappointing fluid worthy only of spewing out. We had a lot of laughs about that over the years, but it would be no laughing matter is my Lord spit me out of His mouth because I was unpalatable. Then, she read the bottle, and was shocked to discover that the "apple juice" was really vinegar. It tasted awful, and she quickly ran to the garbage can and spit it out. Having been told to make herself at home, she got up the next morning and helped herself to some juice from the refrigerator. One Friday night she stayed overnight with one of her girlfriends after a football game. When my daughter was in her early teens one of her favorite beverages was apple juice. If we are tepid, He will spit us out of His mouth. He does not want us to be some unsatisfying, lukewarm beverage in His mouth He desires that we be either mouth-wateringly hot or tongue-tinglingly cold. These are the words of Jesus, warning that He does not want any "so-so" Believers: He wants us to be actively faithful to Him. "So, because you are lukewarm - neither hot nor cold - I am about to spit you out of my mouth." While receiving spiritual food from preachers and teachers is good, spiritual growth and survival also depend on knowing how to feed ourselves. They still needed to be fed by someone else when they should have been feeding not only themselves but others as well (v.12). Like the eaglet, they hadn’t learned the difference between a twig and a fish. They had not learned to distinguish between good and bad (Heb. Certain people in the church were not growing in spiritual maturity. The author of Hebrews spoke of a similar problem in the spiritual realm. If the eaglets don’t learn this skill, they will never be able to survive on their own. Within a few weeks, however, the parents will teach the eaglets how to feed themselves-one of their first survival lessons. They still relied on their parents to tear their food in tiny pieces and feed it to them. But they had not yet learned to feed themselves. What intrigued me about this little drama, which was being broadcast by webcam from Norfolk Botanical Garden, was that a big fish lay just behind the eaglets. Apparently it wasn’t too tasty, because he soon abandoned it. The oldest of the three decided to solve his hunger problem by gnawing on a twig. The eaglets were hungry, and Mom and Dad seemed to be ignoring them. 5 Lead me in thy truth, and teach me for thou art the God of my salvation on thee do I wait all the day. 6 Remember, O LORD, thy tender mercies and thy loving-kindnesses for they have been ever of old. 7 Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions according to thy mercy remember thou meġ0 All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep hisĬ ovenant and his testimonies. 4 Show me thy ways, O LORD teach me thy paths. Even so, God patiently guides us back to His path - the path that leads to abundant life.ġ Unto thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul. Sometimes we come full-circle and recognize the fact that we are back at the same crossroads we saw years before. The results are the consequences of life. He has arranged a wonderful path for each of our lives but, we oftentimes choose to veer off the path. "I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11)įather God, in His abundant mercy and love, desires the best for His children.
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