WILL POWER?

SUNDAY’S MONDAY

      I apologize not for my recent issues with my feelings about Pat’s death but that’s what I needed at that moment in time. Should you not know these feelings that I’m dealing with, I vehemently rejoice with you. My sincere appreciation goes out to everyone who has or is praying for me and the family. I have two reasons for sharing my feelings in my writings and that is for God to use it to help someone else and to help me as we conversate together during this time in thought. However, in the light of transparency, I’ll add, that should this blog offend you, I rejoice because there is still hope. Enough said, I’ll get on with the week's enlightenment that God has shared with me. Willpower has always been a mysterious hit-or-miss thing with me, mainly because I’ve never understood how it works. Well, at least I didn’t until this week! God has demonstrated the secret of willpower to me over the last several weeks and the simplicity of how it works. This was one of those wake-up-the-mule with a 2X4 between-the-eyes moment. The reason I couldn’t understand willpower is no one ever taught me the truth which is, now get this; We have none! We have only the power of yes and no! God gave us free will, which is nothing more than the right of choice. Outside of that, we have no power without Him! He is the source of any power found within us. John reminds us of our frailties in John 15:5 (NLT), “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” Nothing means no willpower without Jesus.

      I’m honored to be involved with a transitional group that helps addicts shift their dependency from a chemical coverup to spiritual healing. They will come to us fresh out of treatment instead of being sent directly into a world that is waiting to devour their soul. Ergo, because of my burning desire to help I tend to talk about it a lot and many concerned people speak of willpower and I have to confront them with these questions, what is that? What does willpower look like in the world today? Where does it come from? Look at Psalms 62:11 (NLT), God has spoken plainly, and I have heard it many times: Power, O God, belongs to you. Willpower doesn’t exist in people; we cannot create what we don’t have. Unless God has sent His Holy Spirit to dwell within us, we will never have it!

      This is a huge part of our cultural failure to create real, honest, moral, bible believing adults. We base our teachings on wives’ tales, half-truths, and watered-down religion. Then these same adults flip out when the generation becomes adults living out the wives’ tales, with half-truths and immoral lives because they flow in the watered-down religion, they grew up in. As adults we often expect human flesh to do what it is incapable of doing and even when it repeatedly fails, we continue to blame the person. We intend to use this point as a teachable moment, all, not part, but all the power we have comes from God. We know that we can’t fix the world but like the kid with the sand dollar, we help one at a time and then allow the taught-to-teach as they go about their new life. Think about this, every contact this new creation has, imprints tidbits of what they believe in others. As a result, the client finds a life worth living, in many cases, families will reunite, and neighbors will gain a teacher. Slowly, the chains of sin will be weakened and others may escape their bonds. We all need to live out 1 Timothy 4:7 (NLT), Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives’ tales. Instead, train yourself to be godly. Think about this, “It has to start within you!” Do you believe in willpower?

      I was a victim of the willpower myth for many years and God sent Pat to liberate me from the lies. She gave me everything I needed to see myself as I was, a useless waste of space, doing nothing and going nowhere. I knew Pat deserved so much more than I and that thought broke my heart. So, on June 12, 1992, in an upstairs apartment in Conover, NC I begged God for help, without negotiation on my part and He worked the miracles! It was then I knew, it wasn’t anything in me that did it because that me, died and God is working little miracles in my life every day. My Pat taught me things about love, kindness, and servanthood without me even knowing I was being taught. On her last day on earth, she demonstrated what love and trust looked like in the eyes of Jesus.

      Lord, I pray that we each discover a deeper meaning to your words in Ephesians 1:18-20 (NLT), I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. 19 I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power 20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. Open the eyes to our hearts Lord, that we might see your power and supremacy in its fullness. Amen

HAVE A BLESSED WEEK BY BEING A BLESSING TO OTHERS!

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