Just a reminder that today is the 70th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. I was two yesr old. Thank a soldier for the sacrifices they go through to keep our freedoms.
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I am very pleased with the amount of daily hits I have been getting here. I now get over 900 a day. Thank you for dropping by each day to read. I would also like you to sign-up for the RSS feed. It raises the ranking on the Google Search Rankings. Just click on the icon right after title and sign-up, if you haven’t already.
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Just a reminder about ordering my book, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World.” You will need to order it by December 17th to make sure it gets to you in time for Christmas. This book reaches out to those who may suffer from anxiety, fear, depression, addictions, self-doubt, or hopelessness.
There is s special sale going on for now until Christmas. Just click on the “Bookstore,” tab above to take a look at it.
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I have another excerpt from my book, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World.” This chapter talks about how we spend so much of our lives searching for love and comfort. All we need to remember is that we are never alone. We are never forsaken, and we are never unloved.
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Chapter 11
Don’t Put a Question Mark Where God Put a Period
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,
neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth,
nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us
from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38–39
I wrote a letter to my kids and sent it to them by e-mail. I wanted to talk to them about acceptance. This is something I had trouble with for many years. I never knew if God really loved me.
May 12, 2005
Guys (and gals):
I have been thinking again (and I know that is dangerous!), but I want to share some thoughts with the most important people in my life.
As you can agree, I have spent much of my life seeking love and acceptance. It had been a constant struggle for me to feel like I am a person of self-worth. I always rode a roller coaster. I would do great for a while, and then I would be in serious trouble with deep depression.
I had an incident last week, and it was the worst timing. It was on our wedding anniversary. I was out of control. I couldn’t stop crying. It took a heavy toll onCharlotte, but she was beside me the whole time, letting me know she was there for me.
Why did I allow myself to feel unwanted, and unloved?????
I knew I was a Christian, but I didn’t know I was ACCEPTED by God because of my past sins. It is one thing to ask for forgiveness, but another to feel that God will accept you for some of the things you have done in the past. I knew He loved me, but did He accept me?
Let me give you guys an illustration:
I love you very much, but have you always known I accepted you? I know you are sure that I love you, but acceptance could be another thing. It would be easy for me as a father to wish that each of you had become a lawyer, or a doctor, and that those professions would let me accept you more.
RUBBISH!!! I accept you as you are. I accept what you have done with your lives, and how your lives have turned out. It means unconditional love—ANDunconditional acceptance!!!
That is exactly what I was struggling with!!! I knew God loved me, but did He accept me? I fell down every time I did just a little sin. I decided that I am not worthy of His love or acceptance.
The Bible has helped me a great deal with this. Greg and I have been hearing wonderful sermons on acceptance and love from God at Morning Star Community Church. I am also going to a Bible study on Monday nights, plus I am doing a great deal of reading. What is happening is that this 66-year-old dad of yours has finally come out of his cocoon, and is becoming a butterfly. It was a struggle, but I see many more good days than bad days, and it is getting better as I read God’s Word. I needed to feel righteous in God’s eyes, and I felt I was failing at that.
Let me give you another illustration I read in a book: 1
A man was doing a seminar with a group of men and he started his seminar with these questions:
“How may of you are as righteous in the sight of God as I am?” Every hand was raised.
“How many of you are as righteous as Billy Graham?” About half of the group raised their hands.
“How about the Apostle Paul?” About 10% raised their hands.
He then asked the final tough question: “How many of you feel you are as righteous as Jesus Christ?” Only three hands went up in the whole place!!!
Now the question could be how could those three people raise their hands? No one could be as righteous as Jesus!
He blew them away by saying, “If you are a true Christian, then you are as righteous as Jesus.”
He just had to read one passage from the Bible to clarify what he meant: “For if, by the trespass of one man [Adam], death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of THEGIFTOF RIGHTEOUSNESS reign in life through one man, Jesus Christ.” Romans5:17(emphasis mine)
Righteousness is a gift. WE DO NOT HAVE TO EARN IT!!!
What that is telling me is that if I accepted Jesus as my Savior, I am accepted, and I am as righteous as He is as long as I stay in His love.
A word in the Bible is “justified.” It comes up a lot in the New Testament. In Greek, it means “totally righteous.” Jesus used it often to say, “You are totally justified to be in theKingdomofGodby believing in me.”
It is that simple!!
We are loved! We are accepted just as we are!!! We are righteous, because Jesus is righteous!!!
I feed on these thoughts daily now. I want you to know that you are loved! You are accepted just as you are, and you are righteous because of your commitment to the Lord!!!
Love,
Dad
Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken.
Isaiah 54:10
Further Adventures
Parents, think about your own children. How do they perceive you as parents? Do they accept you for who you are, and love you unconditionally? Perhaps they don’t see you that way. What could you do to change that outlook? A Bible-based home with Christian values can make a big change in your whole family. It is up to you to take the first step.
Young people, do your parents accept you? If they do not, what do you think is happening? What steps could you take to turn that feeling around? Do you have peace in your own heart that Jesus accepts you? If not, seek Him right now. Ask Him to forgive you for any past sins you may have committed, and then you know you are accepted by your heavenly Father if not by your earthly father.
Something to Ponder
Isn’t it funny that when your newly born child first holds your finger in their little fist, you are hooked for life?