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I thought my identity had been stolen.
My parents called to inform me that they saw my name in the local newspaper. Unfortunately, it was not “good publicity” by any means.
It seems I had gotten myself in a bit of trouble. More than once.
My parents knew, of course, that it wasn’t me in the court news of the paper(they read that section religiously). I’m sure there were many others of my acquaintance that did think it was me.
I made inquiries thinking my identity had been stolen and discovered that there was indeed another Anita Reaves in the county. We have different middle initials, fortunately.
But it is MY NAME. And now MY NAME has been presented in a bad light. To the other Anita Reaves I say, if you are to bear my name, then live up to it with grace and respect. For you have only one name and your name should be dealt with honorably.
The Bible says,
A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.Proverbs 22:1
I want my name spotless.
Newsong has a beautiful song called WE WEAR HIS NAME. I wish I could post it here. As a bearer of the name of Christ, then I must also do whatever I can do to not bring shame to it.
“We wear his name. The name above all names. In a world that’s lost in hopelessness we’ve been called to be the light. We wear His name.”
1 Peter 4:16
However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.
PRAISE GOD, I wear HIS NAME.
Philippians 2:10
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth
First a few questions for you:
Do you believe God loves you?
Did God make rules to oppress you?
What are the consequences of your behavior?
Consider the following verses:
Galations 5 16-25
16So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
19The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
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Focus now on verses 19-21 above. Many feel that this list is a bunch of regulations meant to control and to make life miserable. They think God doesn’t want us to “have fun”.
But right now, let’s look at each item and think of the consequences of participating in that behavior.
***Sexual immorality(impurity, debauchery, orgies): We know that if you live a life style of free sex there are some very grievous repercussions–broken hearts, unplanned pregnancy, abortion, disease, and even death.
***Idolatry and witchcraft: Doesn’t seem like there would be any consequences of this lifestyle. SarahAnne Sumpolec ,once a practicing witch said, “At one point, as a senior in high school, I even felt that my “spirit guide” was leading me to kill myself. I made one serious attempt to take my life but when that “didn’t work”, I began to flounder, wondering what I was doing wrong. I couldn’t seem to find what I was looking for.”
***Hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and envy: Have you known anyone who because of any of these things hurt someone else? Think domestic violence. Think Bernard Madoff.
***Drunkeness: broken families, drunk driving leading to death, violence, reduced judgement (which can lead to pregnancy, use of other drugs, etc).
God wants us to have this: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
He doesn’t want us to experience the consequences of breaking the “rules”. Sounds a lot like LOVE to me.
Your answer to my first question, “Do you believe God loves you?”, I hope your answer is “YES”. Because He does.
1 John 3:16
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
God loves you and He wants to protect you.
John 3:16-17
16“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,[f] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
I’ve shown the consequences and I’ve shown you TRUTH. Which would you rather have?
Those of us who seek God’s will in our lives want clear direction. Most of the time we don’t have that clear direction or we have it and we just cannot see it. I’m of the opinion that we just cannot see it. I know he cares enough to answer.
I’ve been reading the Bible from my PDA(I have over 350 books on it–who needs a kindle?). And for whatever reason, every time I turned it on, it came to the same Bible verses (Instead of going back to the last scripture read as it usually did).
James 1: 5-7
5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
Was God telling me that I should be praying for wisdom?
I’ve added wisdom to my prayer list. And I believe He is all powerful and will answer.
Our Pastor spoke of the religious heritage of our country. The men who began our great land were great men of faith.
Consider a prayer taken from George Washington’s prayer journal:
Sunday Evening
O most Glorious God, in Jesus Christ my merciful and loving father, I acknowledge and confess my guilt, in the weak and imperfect performance of the duties of this day. I have called on thee for pardon and forgiveness of sins, but so coldly and carelessly, that my prayers are become my sin and stand in need of pardon. I have heard thy holy word, but with such deadness of spirit that I have been an unprofitable and forgetful hearer, so that, O Lord, tho’ I have done thy work, yet it hath been so negligently that I may rather expect a curse than a blessing from thee. But, O God, who art rich in mercy and plenteous in redemption, mark not, I beseech thee, what I have done amiss; remember that i am but dust, and remit my transgressions, negligences & ignorances, and cover them all with the absolute obedience of thy dear Son, that those sacrifices which I have offered may be accepted by thee, in and for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ offered upon the cross for me; for his sake, ease me of the burden of my sins, and give me grace that by the call of the Gospel I may rise from the slumber of sin into the newness of life. Let me live according to those holy rules which thou hast this day prescribed in thy holy word; make me to know what is acceptable in thy holy word; make me to know what is acceptable in thy sight, and therein to delight, open the eyes of my understanding, and help me thoroughly to examine myself concerning my knowledge, faith and repentance, increase my faith, and direct me to the true object Jesus Christ the way, the truth and the life, bless O Lord, all the people of this land, from the highest to the lowest, particularly those whom thou has appointed to rule over us in church & state. continue thy goodness to me this night. These weak petitions I humbly implore thee to hear accept and answer for the sake of thy Dear Son Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
In celebrating the beginnings of our great country I watched the movie First Landing.
I highly recommend watching this movie. Especially if you have children studying US History.
I wrote one sentence in my new novel today.
Am I happy?
Yes.
A book starts with one word, then one sentence, then one paragraph, then a page, then a chapter, then more chapters, then “the end”.
You can’t reach “the end” without a one word beginning.
So, my advice on writing a book. Just do it.
Put A Ruffle On It 
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