Is the Bible valid?

For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” (Romans 1:16-17)

Sometimes we encounter those who really don't believe the truth of the gospel. It could be that we sometimes struggle with it ourselves, questioning the validity of what God has said or promised to us. Those who doubt the truth today might even say it is just kind of 'old-fashioned' and outdated - like it belonged to our parent's generation, not ours. What is worse is that some actually believe they are able to do life on their own, that they don't need this 'God thing' we talk about. Faith isn't 'old-fashioned', outdated, or 'invalid'. It never grows old.

I think some may balk a little at the words found within the pages of our bibles because they see them as 'man's ideas'. In other words, they see them as written by some scholarly men back in the day, but who is to say they are the 'real deal'? They have no idea that God used men, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to record those words. They forget that God wrote the first words on stone, but we lost those a long time ago when they were shattered on the ground at the sight of the false gods people had erected to worship. 

God's word is a powerful thing to those who will accept it, put their trust in what it says, and live according to the principles taught within those pages. If man doubts the validity or value of such truth, they only need to put it into practice to see it stands the test of time and has a value far greater than one might imagine. It has a transformative power unlike any other 'truth' circulated throughout time. If we will listen to its wisdom, embracing it as truth, we will begin to experience that transformation within our lives that is only possible when we allow our hearts to be open to his touch.

Through faith in Christ, we are welcomed into God's family. That faith grows as we embrace not only the person of truth (Christ), but the words of truth (the scriptures). Just sayin!

A true and straight path

God, you give true peace to people who depend on you, to those who trust in you. So trust the Lord always, because in the Lord you have a place of safety forever. Honesty is the path good people follow. They follow the path that is straight and true. And God, you make that way smooth and easy to follow. At night my soul longs to be with you, and the spirit in me wants to be with you at the dawn of every new day. (Isaiah 26:3-4, 7, 9)

Some of us might equate dependence to some 'bad' way of living in which we cannot do or think anything on our own. Dependence requires more thought and determination than you might first imagine. What some consider to be dependence is nothing more than passive complacency and apathy. What God considers to be dependence is actually a place of active submission and obedience. Obedience requires forethought and continuous thought - passive complacency does not. Obedience requires trust and truth - passive complacency is satisfied with the status quo or the easiest route possible. This life of truly trusting God and living in total dependence upon him is something which requires active thought, leading to active participation, and ending in active renewal. The key to dependence is then action, not passivity.

To those who are actively choosing to trust in him instead of their own strength or self-performance, God provides true peace. Dependence really starts at the point of trust. Trusting God's truth revealed in his Word rather than our own thoughts about matters is something we learn over the course of our time walking with Jesus. Trusting God's provision for our salvation as the sole means by which we are saved and placed in "right standing" with him requires us to embrace truth. Trusting God to give us the direction we need when we are walking in unfamiliar territory in this journey begins in embracing the truth he reveals in the wise places we seek his truth. If you don't see the pattern here, let me point it out: It all begins and ends with TRUTH. Depending upon God begins and ends with TRUTH. God is TRUTH - therefore, all we receive from him is truth. All we stand upon is truth. All we rely upon is truth.

Without truth, all other foundations are simply unreliable and capable of crumbling at some point. Trust is "placed" - we choose to rely upon another. Trust is not forced upon us - it is something we make a conscious decision to give. When we walk across a shaky structure, we choose to believe it will support our weight despite its shakiness. We are making a conscious decision to move from one side to the other, depending upon (relying upon) this structure to get us there. It matters not that it appears less than reliable, because we are choosing to place our trust in it. This is where many of us get into a place of difficulty in our daily walk - we are choosing to place our trust in things, people, and circumstances which are at best a little "shaky" and probably not entirely trustworthy.

If we recognized the truth before we took the first step of depending upon all that is 'shaky' in our lives, we probably wouldn't venture out! There is unnecessary danger when we come to believe what we see rather than relying upon what we know to be consistently true. God's Word is consistently true - to rely upon anything which gets added to it or taken away from it is like whitewashing a lie. It appears to be reliable, but it will fall apart under careful scrutiny! This is why I so consistently remind us of the importance of getting to know God's Word for ourselves - not just relying upon what another man or woman tells us the Word says. 

A true and straight path is the result of knowing and embracing truth. If we want our path to be well-guided, secure, and filled with God's peace which passes all understanding, we need to allow that path to be guided by his truth. This means we submit our decisions to his truth - what does the Word of God have to say about what we are about to do? If we don't know, we may be going out on some pretty shaky ground! When the Word doesn't come right out and make it "plain" as to what we should do (as can be the case with some of the things we might encounter in this life like whether we buy and iPad or a Windows tablet), we just need to trust the consistency of God's principles taught throughout. Our decisions should not violate God's principles of truth. 

Anytime we confuse truth with a lie, our path gets a little rocky. Obedience is burdensome to those who are expecting truth to be easy stuff! Truth is learned - believed in our minds, confirmed in our hearts, trusted in our emotions. Truth is not a "thing" - it is a person - Christ Jesus! As long as we understand this, we will be more open to examining all "truth" in light of what he says, does, and is. We rely upon a whole lot of things in this life - some out of our control, others quite easily under our control. God expects that we will take both and place them under his control. In turn, we are "trusting" him to guide us down straight and smooth paths which are outlined by him. Nothing makes dependence easy - but learning to trust God begins in the moments of submitting our thoughts, actions, and emotions to his careful oversight. Dependence is active obedience. All our actions should be leaning heavily upon truth. Just sayin!

Is it all a show?

“If you stick with this, living out what I tell you, you are my disciples for sure. Then you will experience for yourselves the truth, and the truth will free you.” (John 8:31-32)

How many of us can really say we have excellent "stick-to-it" determination at the beginning of a project or task? Most of us, right? We don't usually start out with "I don't think this is worth finishing, but I'll start it". We usually will say something like, "This is a big task, it may take me more than one day to accomplish, but nothing ventured, nothing gained." Freedom is often the result of determination. If you have spoken with a former of prisoner of war, they will share the things they held onto in their minds, hearts, and spirits which helped them make it through till their release. You will hear of the tremendous determination and doggedness required to hold on when things really don't show any signs of changing. I think true freedom is based on how determined we are to get and keep the truth inside us.

Truth sets free all who hold to the teachings of truth. Get truth inside you and focus on it long enough - you will begin to see freedom breaking upon you like the new dawn! What are the conditions of freedom? No one finds truth with the heart and mind determination to pursue deception. When we want truth, we seek truth, but finding it down Deception's Alley will not be likely. We turn from deception to find the pathway to truth. Once we find the pathway to truth, we have to continue on the path. In the most literal sense, this is obedience. The conditions of freedom are seeking and obedience. Truth has a purpose - to impact our lives. The way we are living, the things we are doing, the words we are speaking. 

Truth comes the idea of "propositional" truth - the formal statement of a truth to be demonstrated or an operation to be performed. In this regard, we have things like doctrine, theology, and instruction. The problem with living by "propositional" truth is the lack of impact it makes on our lives. We can believe there is a God, that he is pleased with good actions, and displeased with wrong actions. What is missing? The power and ability to live this way! Propositional truth needs to be combined with personal truth in order for it to impact our lives - it has to become part of who and what we are, impacting what we are doing. 

Truth is a living thing - not a studied topic. Truth is not just a list of facts - it is a playbook of well-orchestrated plans which will drive the enemy back and ensure we continuously hit the goal line. Is it possible to be "smart", but dumb at the same time? We can have all kinds of "topical" knowledge but lack the wherewithal to actually use any of the truth! We can have the "knowledge", but still come up lacking. Unused knowledge follows the "use it or lose it" theory. Don't use it, and you will lose it! Truth is only as good as when it is used. Time in the Word of God is great. We should get into it regularly. Yet, time in the Word is really not fruitful if we don't bring it before Jesus and ask him how to use it in our lives. What we can learn from the passage we take in is often determined in those moments of contact we make with Jesus - where he begins to show us how the principle taught can become a way of life for us. To the observer, this is what makes the difference between being genuine or phony. Phony people profess (they have propositional truth) - genuine people practice (they have truth which sets them free).

The group in scripture who probably came as close to "illustrating" propositional truth were the Pharisees. They gave all kinds of "show" of truth, but did truth really change their lives? Not really. They had knowledge but lacked wisdom. Wisdom is the outcome of applying what you have been taught. Knowledge does not ensure right living - only the application of knowledge combined with the presence of the "Teacher" in our lives will ensure right living. Truth only finds anchor in our hearts when we act upon it. Truth moves us to the degree we embrace it and put it into practice in our lives. We can believe right and still act very wrong! The missing ingredient is obedience! Obedience is only possible when we are willing to be challenged by the truth. We can make truth a way of life, or we can add truth to our life. These are quite different concepts. Only one will impact the course of our actions - when we make truth our way of life. Truth really is a person - Christ. We pursue a person - embrace him - then we live out truth. Just sayin!

A slip of the mask

Love takes off masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within. (James Baldwin)

Jesus’ primary concern was his disciples. He said to them, “Watch yourselves carefully so you don’t get contaminated with Pharisee yeast, Pharisee phoniness. You can’t keep your true self hidden forever; before long you’ll be exposed. You can’t hide behind a religious mask forever; sooner or later the mask will slip and your true face will be known. You can’t whisper one thing in private and preach the opposite in public; the day’s coming when those whispers will be repeated all over town. (Luke 12:1-3)

A great many of us fear being 'exposed' for who we really are - believing ourselves to be unwanted, unappreciated, and perhaps even under-valued - so we hide behind some mask. What's worse is that Christian believers hide behind a mask of 'religious piety', all the while attempting to hide their very real struggles looming just behind that 'pious hypocrisy'. I know these are strong words this morning, but I did this for many years, so I am the first to admit my own sin! We cannot hide our real selves behind a mask of religion. All that does is terribly confuse those who are observing our lives for the evidence of the difference Christ can make in a life lived for him.

The point Jesus made all those years ago remains true today. The Pharisee paraded their piety in an attempt to be 'judged' as worthy or important. What they failed to recognize was the inadequacies of good works and 'religious performance'. The point Jesus made was one of relationship - learning to be 'real' at all times and allowing God to express his goodness through us even when we don't always do or say the right things all of the time. He was asking us to be 'truthful' with ourselves and others. In other words, don't conceal our shortcomings behind cleverly created 'religious masks'. 

I am probably going to step on some toes here, but I am going to do it anyway. Have you ever been around someone who is so 'heavenly minded' that they are no 'earthly good'? They say all the right 'phrases' like, "Be Blessed", "Praise God", and "May God be Glorified". Life is coming at us pretty hot and heavy, but somehow those words don't 'ring true' in the moment. The fact is we needed to hear, "I am here for you. What can I do to help you right now?" We needed to see faith put into action. We likely really needed to hear them admit they struggle with similar doubts, fears, or misplaced trust, so we didn't feel like we would never get our life together.

I will be the first to admit it - I don't have my life together. I don't have all the answers, but I am willing to live this life right there alongside others of you who also don't have your lives together. I am willing to roll up my sleeves, get a little dirty, and even pull you along when you don't want to move. I need others in my life who will the do the same for me. That requires you and I to rid ourselves of our religious masks and just get real with each other. It may not seem like much, but when we are open with each other, God can move amongst us - using each one of us to be his messengers of grace. Just sayin!

Huh...so that's how I stay on course!

Oh, that my ways were directed and established to observe Your statutes [hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying them]! Then shall I not be put to shame [by failing to inherit Your promises] when I have respect to all Your commandments. I will praise and give thanks to You with uprightness of heart when I learn [by sanctified experiences] Your righteous judgments [Your decisions against and punishments for particular lines of thought and conduct]. (Psalm 119:5-7)

We are probably frequently heard crying out to God, asking him to set our ways straight again because for some unknown reason we have managed to stray from the path we should be on once again. Our plea - direct and establish my ways - not to live as I want, but to observe your Word in its entirety. A "directed" life is one that is both God guided and regulated, so the course is made certain and true. It is like when I used to ride the little cars at Disneyland as a child - I had no idea the metal bar which ran between the two tires actually was keeping me on my course! It was there for my safety and to keep me from playing bumper cars with passers-by. I just rode along like I was mastering the road and watching the world pass me by as I maneuvered the twists and turns. I thought I was driving - directing the course of the vehicle, while in fact, someone with a whole lot more common sense than to give control of a vehicle to a child had my safety in mind! The same is true of our lives in Christ - sure we don't have a metal bar between our "tires", but we feel his pull and tug of our desire to veer off course, don't we?

The metal bar on the car ride was there to act as a mediator - it pushed me back on course when I was about to 'veer off-course'. It "established" the course of the vehicle in which I was riding. I wonder if we actually realize how much God is "establishing" the course of our lives, not with a metal bar, but with his Word? As we hear the Word, taking in its richness and promise, it forms the basis for our travels in life. As I drove that tiny car along a designated track, unlimited power existed - but only as long as I stayed on the track! I could not operate those little cars off the track - there was something about the track which gave them the "structure" in which they were designed to be operated. Disney envisioned the ride as the freeway of the future - but kids just saw it as plain fun! God envisions the "track" he provides through the intake of his Word as providing the "freeway" for each of our future endeavors - wouldn't it be great if we saw his Word as just plain fun for our lives!

 
The little cars on that track also had one other feature designed for safety - they were "one-wheel" drive. In other words, one wheel actually moved the vehicle forward. Interestingly, God has the same vision in mind for us - that we be "one-wheel" driven! He is the one who is designed to turn our wheel - not just the one who designs the course upon which our lives will travel. The "drive" of our lives would be ugly if there were two wheels each pulling in opposite directions. Imagine the wear and tear on the other wheels! Not to mention the other working parts of the vehicle! No wonder God requires there be just one wheel driving our lives! I don't know about you, but when he drives, I get to my destination the first time! There was one other little feature in these cars which says something to me about how God's Word, taken in regularly, applied consistently to our lives, affects how we arrive at our destination. The pedal. To the unknowing this pedal resembled the gas pedal of a sports car. To the designer, it was both the accelerator AND the brake. The Word of God is kind of like both in our lives - accelerating us into times of growth, holding us back when the next movement would cause us harm. As you pushed on the pedal of those little cars, they moved forward under the drive of one wheel. As you took your foot off the pedal, they stopped - not gradually, but immediately - because the "drive" was disengaged. God's Word gives us this kind of protection - something we lack on our own. Maybe we should see the importance of the regular and consistent intake of the Word as it applies to keeping us on track in life. What we take in becomes important in determining the path it will lead us. Just sayin!

I pray this for you

And this is my prayer: I pray that your love will grow more and more. I pray that you will have better understanding and be wise in all things. I pray that you will know what is the very best. I pray that you will be true and without blame until the day Christ comes again. (Philippians 1:9-10)

I pray that your love will grow - we all need our love to grow just a little bit each day, don't we? How awesome would it be to know someone in your life was praying for your love to grow today? Well, consider this a little prayer from me to you - may your love grow! What does 'growing' love look like? I think it might take on the form of not always talking, but realizing you might just need to listen a little bit more. It could even mean you shut off the TV and just observe the environment around you, who is filling it, and what they are filling it with at this very moment. It could also look like that moment when you just realize someone needs a touch, a hug, or a kind smile to bolster their weariness over life's challenges. May your love grow in little ways today. Your love doesn't have to grow by leaps and bounds - it is the little things that mount up to bigger things!

I pray that you will have better understanding and be wise in all things - if you are like me, you can get confounded by things that come your way and almost come to a stand-still because you don't know what to do next. Over the past couple of years, my work with taking care of mom in her last days, while working full-time meant I left some of the household maintenance undone. The exterior needed painting and I couldn't do it myself. I found some painters and now it is done. The master bathroom was in desperate need of updating, fixtures and plumbing valves needed replacing, and the shower stall had to be torn out. That task seemed daunting to me - finding a contractor, getting all the materials, and then going through the demo and remodel work. It is now done and what a joy it is to have it all finished. These don't seem to be very 'spiritual' things, do they? Yet, their sheer magnitude was weighing on my mind, taxing my soul with unwanted burden. To finally take the steps to get this all done is hard, but God granted the wisdom, brought the understand on what needed to be done, helped me find the contractors, and even got me some good bargains to boot! I pray for God to bring you better understanding and wisdom in those areas of your life where things are 'weighing' upon you - removing those barriers and helping you to take steps forward that need to be taken in your life.

I pray that you will know what is the very best - not just the 'almost the best' in your life, but the VERY BEST. I think we settle for a lot that isn't the very best for us - just because we don't think we will ever find 'better'. I have two grandsons. Do I want them to find just 'any old wife' because 'any old wife' will do? Absolutely not! I want them to find the VERY BEST in life - not just in their choice of wife if they choose to marry, but in their choice of career, friendships, hobbies, etc. I am not the only grandmother who feels that way, I am sure. We grandparents are quiet protective of our offspring's offspring, aren't we? It is easy to pray for the 'very best' in another's life, but what about our own? Do we find ourselves settling for 'second best' or 'almost the best'? If so, I am praying we will break out of that mindset and begin to pursue the things God has provided as the 'VERY BEST' for us!

I pray that you will be true and without blame - a pretty strong prayer, huh? True - meaning that there won't be much need for adjustment in life - because we are pretty 'true' or 'level' in our thinking, actions, and attitudes. Without blame - because life will throw all kinds of things at us, trying to make the 'blame' stick on us. Others will want to find fault with our life decisions - even when they aren't all that perfect, it isn't their role in our lives to 'find fault'. If God points out an area where we are not 'true' or 'level', that is one thing. It isn't up to any of us to 'find fault' with the 'levelness' of another's life. We can pray for them, be good examples in their lives, and even offer them advice when it is sought. It isn't our job to constantly be getting out the 'level' to see if they are 'true'! Just sayin!

Is this really creme brulee?

The believer comes to a place of revelation and deep introspective consideration from time to time - pondering the greatness of the gift they have received in their redemption from sin. The realization of just how selfish one had become before Christ bestowed such magnificent grace on their life can bring a person to their knees in grateful adoration. The truth be told, many of us need those 'knee bending' moments because they are what help us realize just how much God has done for us in the gift of grace. Most of us want more than just a 'basic salvation package' from God, though. We want the initial forgiveness of our sins, but we also want the ongoing forgiveness we will need because we 'keep on' sinning. We also want to be embraced in God's goodness from day to day, with a fresh revelation of who he is, what he is doing in our lives, and how much more he has prepared for us. We don't want to miss out on any of the blessings he has prepared for us. We occasionally forget there are 'efforts' on our part that are prerequisite to experiencing this incremental growth - 'efforts' that we might find hard from time to time, but are still expected if we are to grow 'into' the grace we have been extended.

Do you want more and more of God’s kindness and peace? Then learn to know him better and better. For as you know him better, he will give you, through his great power, everything you need for living a truly good life: he even shares his own glory and his own goodness with us! And by that same mighty power he has given us all the other rich and wonderful blessings he promised; for instance, the promise to save us from the lust and rottenness all around us, and to give us his own character. But ...you must also work hard to be good, and even that is not enough. For then you must learn to know God better and discover what he wants you to do. Next, learn to put aside your own desires so that you will become patient and godly, gladly letting God have his way with you. This will make possible the next step, which is for you to enjoy other people and to like them, and finally you will grow to love them deeply. The more you go on in this way, the more you will grow strong spiritually and become fruitful and useful to our Lord Jesus Christ. (I Peter 1:2-8 TLB)

We all want more - this is a given. Don't believe this to be true? Think about your last Thanksgiving or Christmas or Easter dinner. Even on days when we can fill our bellies to the brim, leaving the table almost 'miserable' because of the massive feast we have enjoyed, we are still thinking of the turkey sandwich we will indulge in within just an hour or two after leaving the table! We are filled to the brim as we leave the table, but we are imagining just one more delicacy. It is kind of like that with God's grace - we know we are filled to the brim, but we leave each and every encounter with Jesus feeling satisfied, but with just a hint of a craving for more! With each new 'feast' we enjoy in his presence, there comes a desire to experience more of what he offers at his banquet table.

All of us desire to be fruitful and useful. We want the best in our lives. Most of the time, we rise in the morning with positive intent - we desire to do well that day. We don't really want to compromise ourselves, selling ourselves out to sin's pull, but we also live in a world filled with all manner of things that can entice us at every turn. We know the real and consistent struggle of living where there is ample temptation. We want all those wonderful blessings God has prepared for us, but we forget there is a whole lot of work to realizing those blessings in our lives. The work? It is really in the consistency of obedience we maintain daily. There is a direct correlation between our enjoyment of God's blessings and our obedience. It isn't that God is stingy with his blessings, he just knows we will enjoy them so much more when we aren't trying to fill up on 'cheap substitutes'. 

I went to a restaurant just before Christmas with a couple of friends. I enjoyed a nice meal with them, but as we were about to pay the bill, the waitress asked if she could bring us a dessert specially prepared for us by the chef. It was complimentary - something new he was trying out to see if he'd add it to the menu. Now, if you are like me, although you are trying to be 'good' in watching what you eat, when a waitress offers you FREE creme brulee, you don't pass it up! After all, three spoons in one tiny dessert cannot put that many extra calories in one's belly, right? When you expect creme brulee, complete with that nice crispy layer of 'fired' sugar on the top, but are delivered a dish with kernels of corn in it, what do you think? You might think you have been scammed! This isn't creme brulee! This is a cheap substitute, where someone has taken liberties to 'change things up', and it isn't the same!

Yes, it was 'tasty', but it wasn't 'as advertised'. God's blessings are always 'as advertised'. His desires for us are always 'as advertised'. There are no cheap substitutes in his house! If we are offered any cheap substitute for his grace, we need to run from it pretty doggone quickly! It might 'taste good', but it isn't the same as his goodness and grace. We focus on the 'taste', but God focuses on the 'integrity' of what goes into what it is that we get a taste of in life! Just sayin!

More than a new paint job

What does authenticity look like to you? When I see a classic  or historical era automobile restored to all the beauty it once had, parts gleaming and engine purring away without a sputter, I know someone has been hard at work. The work of restoration has cost them hours of endless polishing and patient fine tuning, but those parts that needed a little more restorative work, such as the finely sewn hand-tufted seats catch my attention the most. That level of intricate detail - the investment of such time and effort - this is what moves my heart as I behold the beauty of the whole. I wonder if God takes such a view of us? Looking at all those areas where he has invested such time and effort into creating every intricate detail and restoring it ever so carefully to the way we were designed.

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart...
(Jeremiah 1:5)

God wants us to be authentic. There is nothing more disappointing than to see someone trying to be something they are not. Try as they might, when what they are trying to be is not authentic, it just is not very convincing. They are trying too hard and what is coming across is just not all that 'real'. The 'work' might be good, but is it authentic? We are uniquely made - fashioned for a specific purpose. We have unique talents - mine do not match yours and vice versa. Even identical twins have a unique make-up of personality, temperament, and talents. So, why is it that we are often struggling to be something that we are not? It is really quite simple - we have never accepted our unique make-up and we are resisting the 'restorative' touch of the one who knows how we were made in the first place!

The uniqueness of each human is not to be mocked, envied, or feared. Yet many of us are not happy with our uniqueness - not very comfortable in our own skin at all. Not accepting the unique way we are made is really a complaint against God! We are saying we know better than God - that he did not create us as we should have been created. The more we find fault with the 'original', the less we will want the restorative power of God to work in our lives - because we aren't going to be content with ourselves no matter what God does! If we are to understand the unique call (purpose) upon our lives, we need to understand the make-up of our souls (our mind, will and emotions). We often find answers where we least expect to find them - when we examine the right stuff! It is when we stop focusing on what we see as "wrong" in our lives and begin to focus on what God sees as "possible" through our lives, we begin to get a revelation into the purpose of our make-up.

I am not a salesperson - I really don't like to have to 'sell' something to someone who may or may not really want it. I am good at some things that others aren't and I appreciate they are good at things I am not all that interested or good at, such as selling stuff.  When I explore how my mind works - analytical, organized, deliberate - I begin to see the possibilities God has created within my life and the ways he wishes to use me in this world. When I explore how my will is directed - focused, determined, and structured - I see even more possibilities. Add to those the way my emotions are formed - reasonable, not reactionary, balanced - I begin to get a picture of what my make-up really is.  I also begin to see just how much restorative work God may have to do in some of those areas of my make-up that got a little damaged by the wear and tear of time and choices!

I begin to see that I can function well in a couple of different areas - a good leader (balanced, fair, organized); a structured teacher (analytical, organized, focused); a reliable friend (true, loving, committed). The list could go on, but I think you might get the picture by now. I did not have to go to a lot of classes or spend months in counseling to figure this out. I simply asked God to show me my make-up and where he needs to focus his attention in order to make all that 'make-up' he created original needs in order to be fully restored to the brilliance he sees. Ask him to reveal how your mind functions - what is it that you seem to get the very first time someone explains it; what comes naturally for you when you first see it. Rely upon him to show you what it is that you have a will to do, to be involved in. But...don't forget to ask him what emotions are both your strength and your weakness. Learning what we are strong in is important - but also learning what we have a weakness toward can keep us from many a wrong pursuit! Authentic people please God! Learn what it is that makes you authentic and step out in the freedom of being who you really are! Just sayin!