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[AllTheWay]

every morning i get up at 4 am and i get on my knees and pray. i then spend the next 30-40 minutes reading the word of God and journaling a prayer. after i am ready for work i then write a daily devotional that i post in my blog at bodybuilding.com. I will be posting them here as well. thank you for reading and for any thoughts and comments.




Rich

"do not be afraid when a man becomes rich. when the glory of his house is increased; for when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not descend after him. though while he lives he congratulates himself. and though men praise you when you do well for yourself. he shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see the light. man in his pomp, yet without understanding, is like the beasts that perish." psalm 49:16-20

it is so easy to get caught up in wanting more money. we think that more money is going to solve all our problems. children grow up watching their parents struggle and they think that if they can make more money than their parents than it wont be that way for them. i had this mentality myself. if i make more money, i will have more stuff and that stuff will make me happy and i wont have to struggle like my folks did. life will be great! right? the problem is that for 99% of us, we make more money and we spend more money and we are still always behind! yes maybe our house and our car is bigger and better but so are the bills that come with them. man in his pomp, yet without understanding. we do get so swelled up by our stuff dont we? look at me, look at all i have acquired. admit it, why else do we want the bigger and better stuff, recognition! but we fail to understand what that brings! it brings long hours of work, time spent away from family, sleepless nights worrying about how to pay for what you got or make more money so you can get something else. what kind of life is that? are you any happier than your parents or those who have less? the old saying you cant take it with you when you die is so true! like the beasts that perish. an animal dies and it goes in the ground. a person dies and they go in the ground. all the hours spent accumulating stuff meaning nothing! life is but a vapor! seems like the more stuff one has before they die the more fighting and discord that is amoung those who have to deal with it afterwards. i have come to know first hand that in worldly posessions, less is definately more! it is ok to have stuff but it isnt ok for stuff to have you! is your life is centered around getting more stuff? why? in 20 or 30 or 50 years, what will it mean? what will it prove? Jesus, thank you that you saved me from the desire for bigger and better! it was a very very hard lesson and one that brought me very low but i am so much happier now! continue to grow my heart into one that gives more to those in need and gets less for myself. for building up treasures in heaven for eternity, so much better than building up stuff that i cant take with me! what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and yet lose his soul?

[dtr98]

thanks for the nice post and welcome, make yourself at home.

[AllTheWay]

thank you!

[Ms.Wetback]

Awesome post ATW and I love "do not be afraid when a man becomes rich. when the glory of his house is increased; for when he dies he will carry nothing away;" A little reality check that money is not THE purpose of life......just a tool we use.

[\SHINE/]

So very true, anointed words, thanks for this post.


peace.

[MindlessWork]

Awesome post ATW and I love "do not be afraid when a man becomes rich. when the glory of his house is increased; for when he dies he will carry nothing away;" A little reality check that money is not THE purpose of life......just a tool we use.

Exactly, but sadly money becomes the tool that people use for getting the upper hand.

[AllTheWay]

The Helpless

"how blessed is he who considers the helpless; the LORD will deliver him in a day of trouble. the LORD will protect him, and keep him alive, and he shall be called blessed upon the earth; and do not give him over to the desires of his enemies. the LORD will sustain him upon his sickbed; in his illness, Thou dost restore him to health." psalm 41:1-3


i am not very good at considering the helpless. when i first read this passage i kind of skipped over the word considers. how blessed is he who is helpless. hmmmmmm that is interesting. helpless, who wants to be helpless. blessed to be helpless? ahhhhh debbie, read all the words. how blessed is he who considers the helpless. bam! whole new meaning and one that i needed to hear! we are told in james to visit the orphans and the widows in their time of distress, and to keep ourselves unstained by the world. think about it for a few minutes. if instead of pursuing things that we perceive will make us stronger, like a high position at work or a bigger car or better house, what if we spent our time helping those who cant help themselves? not the people who WONT help themselves but rather the people who CANT help themselves. interesting distinction there and one that i think we should dwell on. we should purpose to go and help the orphans and widows. how many of us do this on a regular basis? not me, unfortunately. look at the promise to those who do this, the LORD will protect him, keep him alive, bless him, sustain him when he is sick, deliver him in his time of trouble. are you struggling with hard times at work, or financial problems or attacks from the enemy? how much of your time are you dedicating to helping the helpless? think of the change if you spent a few hours once a week visiting people in a nursing home or going to an orphanage or delivering meals to people who are ill or homebound? think of the blessings from the LORD that you would bring upon your life! you think you dont have time and yet, how can you not make the time with promises like this! i tell you, this passage has renewed within me a desire to do more for those who are helpless! it will take some effort, trust me the enemy doesnt want me to find the time or to have the desire to do this! if he can keep me from it than he knows that i will be easier pickings for him. if i am helping the helpless than God is protecting me BIG TIME! i want Gods protection! i want His blessing! i want Him to deliver me from my troubles! what do you want? such a simple thing that makes such a huge difference, not only to us but to those whom we are helping! Jesus, forgive me for my selfishness in not doing more for the truly helpless. open my eyes to the opportunities that surround me to do more for them. to show them your love for them! they so need that and the joy that would come from doing it, i need, i want! change me heart from one of selfishness to one that thinks of the helpless!

[\SHINE/]

You've helped those with there pets that couldn't always pay,


Great post, absolutely, This is very inspiring. I think aslo even when you know some one that is in need of prayer and what ever it may be when you pray for them you are helping the helpless as well. God will direct theese prayers ,place upon your heart the prayer for that person. Intercessory prayer is a powerfull thing .

reminds me of theese verses.

13 Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor

Will also cry himself and not be heard.

Proverbs 21:13 (NKJV)

13 Those who shut their ears to the cries of the poor

will be ignored in their own time of need.

Proverbs 21:13 (NLT)

peace.

[AllTheWay]

Are you afraid?

"when i am afraid, i will put my trust in Thee. in God, whose word i praise, in God i have put my trust; i shall not be afraid. what can mere man do to me?" psalm 56:3-4


there are so many thoughts going through my head right now so i will ask you to forgive me if this wanders or gets long. when i was visiting my family a few weeks ago and sitting at my little sisters kitchen counter i made the comment that a recent study had linked mira lax to colorectal cancer in young children. her second daughter has had bowel issues since a baby and one of the things that she has given her for the past 4 years to deal with it is miralax. now i like to know information like that so that i can try and find something else maybe to use. i hadnt made the comment for any reason other than concern for her daughter. my mom made some comment and changed the conversation and on we went. later mom told me that my little sister struggled with attacks of fear. i was very suprised. my little sister has always been a 'good' christian. she never went off the deep end into the world like i did. she married a great christian man and they are involved in their church and she is doing several little bible studies and such. on the outside she is everything one would think a christian should be, so why would she suffer from fear attacks? as christian we shouldnt be afraid. yes, there are times when fear will come but we should be able to shut it down before it ever causes us any concern or worry. when i am afraid, i will put my trust in you! not i will worry and stress and cry out. but i will praise you, i will trust you! that should be our response. why than is it often not? because we let too much of the world into our daily lives without realizing it. i have stated many times that i dont have TV, i dont read many books anymore and i listen to christian music almost exclusively. what is wrong with TV and secular books? i think a lot depends on where we are in our relationship with Christ. if a we are struggling with fear, we need to figure out where it is coming from. as a child of God, we have nothing to fear! there is nothing that can happen to us that God doesnt allow! the enemy can not attack us unless we have sin in our life or have an opened a door for him to have access to our thoughts or God allows him to do it. job was a righteous man and God had a hedge of protection around him. God allowed satan access to job so that we thousands of years later would have the perfect example of how to deal with trials in our lives. when we are putting Christ first, when we are constantly striving to live according to His word than He is protecting us! we have nothing to fear! if you are struggling with fear than you need to find the fear source! i think most often the fear source is TV programs or books that we read that allow our minds to think upon things other than God. we get caught up in all the bad that can happen and we arent praising God and we arent focusing on God but rather we are spending time focusing upon the evil that is in the world. is it sinful to watch a TV show or movie or read a book that is about murder and evil? i dont know but i can tell you that if you are living in fear, maybe you sould stop opening that door to the enemy. a few months ago i was at the airport and picked up a book by jeffery deaver. i used to love his books. he is a great murder mystery writer. i read the whole book on the flight home but that night i was plagued with fear. why? where did that come from? i had a hard time falling asleep for fear that something or someone was going to cause harm to me or my family. after several hours of struggle i started praising God. i made the conscience choice to remember that God was in control and nothing could happen to me that He didnt allow. i will never read another one of those books again. why? because it opens a door for an attack from the enemy! it is one small fleshly pleasure and yet it leads to so much that isnt godly! when we are afraid, we are far from where God wants us! james macdonald says that fear is God repellant. when we are afraid, we are not trusting in our Father, we are not understanding the power that we have as His children! are you afraid? why? are you willing to give up something that you enjoy that opens a door to the enemy? Jesus, thank you that i never have to be afraid! thank you that you are greater than anything or anyone in this world! thank you that my life is firmly in your hand and it is my choice to leave it there or to open it up to the world with what i allow myself to see and hear! i do not need any worldly pleasures, i only need you!

[AllTheWay]

Are you singing?

"but as for me, i shall sing of Thy strength; yes, i shall joyfully sing of Thy lovingkindnes in the morning, for Thou hast been my stronghold, and a refuge in the day of my distress. o my strength, i will sing praises to Thee; for God is my stronghold, the God who shows me lovingkindness." psalm 59:16-17


i have failed to realize the significance of singing praises to God. it is so easy to get caught up in our lamentations to the LORD. oh God, things are so hard, my life isnt what i expected, my spouse doesnt love me, my children are wayward, my life sucks, nobody loves me, im all alone, i need this and i need that and i dont understand. on and on we cry of what we need or what we want or about our sufferings. but what about all the good things? are we praising God for the fact that we are alive? how about the fact that you are saved?! that alone is praise worthy all day! praise to God, are you doing it? are you starting your day the right way? do you take as much time and put as much thought into your time with God as you do your time with the iron? how many of us think about our workouts and everything involved with living this lifestyle? think for a second about how your day revolves around your time in the gym. first there is food, got to eat and get fuel for the workout. many of us are eating every few hours. then the supplements, take this supp three times daily and we have to take our preworkout 30 min before and then there is the intraworkout and oh my, lets not forget our postworkout shake. we prepare for our time with the iron daily. are we preparing for our time with God daily? do you put more effort into your relationship with the brother iron than you do with your Heavenly Father? do you wake up singing and praising God and preparing your heart to walk with Him? are you singing praises before work? how much prep time do you spend before your prayer time? i am very convicted by this today. yes, i wake up singing, i get on my knees to pray but i spend more time preparing for my time in the gym than i do my time with God! i dont want anything to come before my God! nothing should consume more of my thoughts and my praise and my time than my relationship with God! so simple it is to sing and praise God and yet how often do we not do it? what happens if you miss your preworkout? do you get as upset if you miss your time reading Gods word? Jesus, forgive me for putting my desires and wants of my physical body ahead of the needs of my spiritual body! show me how to change this. quicken my spirit to sing your praise all day! so simple a thing that takes nothing away from the rest of my day and yet has so much potential to make every part of my day exponentially better!

[AllTheWay]

Parched land

"God makes a home for the lonely; He leads out the prisoners into prosperity, only the rebellious dwell in the parched land." psalm 68:6

much of my adult life i lived in the parched land. so great are the promises of God and yet so often we go without them because we choose rebellion over life lived on Gods plan. yes, i was a christian. if one would have asked me i could come up with all the right answers and all the proper things to say but i wasnt living it. i was picking and choosing the things that i wanted. you know, i wanted all the promises and good things but i also wanted to rationalize my sin. i was living in the parched land because i was unwilling to deny myself the worldly pleasures that i thought i needed. parched land? what is the parched land? my life is going along alright, it isnt perfect but it isnt bad. i didnt get how great life could be. you see, when you live in the desert you forget how beautiful it is to be among the lillies of the field and the peaceful streams of living water. the desert has its false oasis of beauty. it keeps teasing us and putting it before us. look, if you just stay here for a little bit longer, look how beautiful it is up ahead. just stick it out, keep walking in the parched land because soon you will reach that spot up ahead that looks so amazing. the problem is that we never reach it. it is an oasis, it never materializes. we just get so used to walking in the desert that we no longer remember what it is like to be in the peaceful meadow resting beside the still waters. if i can just work hard enough and get enough money to pay off the new car, get the bigger house, buy the new toys, climb the corporate ladder. when i get to the top than i will be satisfied, i will have reached the oasis. the problem is that it is never what it seems to be. the new car gets old and needs to be replaced with a newer one. the house that seemed huge is now too small, the new toys dont satisfy, the top of the ladder is a lot of work and your never home and never have time for the family! the oasis is never realized! the parch land becomes our dwelling place! yes, we say we are christians but we arent living it. the israelites were the children of God and yet they wandered in the desert for 40 years because they wouldnt be satisfied with the promises of God and trust in Him. i lived for years thinking that more money would make my husband love me and that i could be all that i always wanted if i just got more! bah! it was never enough! i was never good enough! when i stopped doing for me and started doing for God, now that is when the oasis was no longer an oasis but actually attainable beauty! when i gave up my worldly dreams and desires and got on Gods plan i had sweet rest even though life wasnt perfect! God has a beautiful resting place for each of us but we must first be willing to leave the parched land of the world! Jesus, thank you for loving us so much that you are not willing to let us be satisfied with worldly desires. forgive me for my selfishness and my striving for worldly gain. there is nothing that is greater than living my life for you and putting you and your word first, no matter what! no compromise!

[AllTheWay]

How long?

"how long, O God, will the adversary revile, and the enemy spurn Thy name forever? why dost Thou withdraw Thy hand, even thy right hand? from within Thy bosom, destroy them! yet God is my king from of old. who works deeds of deliverance in the midst of the earth." psalm 74:10-12


when times are bad, we want them to end and to end ASAP. during my times of trial my prayer is most often centered around how quickly can you get me out of this God! im struggling and im hurting and i dont want to be here. save me O God! but think about it for a few minutes. whether it is in our daily lives, our christian walk, our physical journey, does the easy way ever bring satisfaction? in the gym we go daily and cause ourselves physical pain and discomfort so that we can strengthen and improve our outer body. many of us thrive on that pain, we enjoy the pain that we cause ourselves. hours are spent figuring out how to hurt ourselves in such a way to cause more muscle growth. we eat food that is bland, we deny ourselves what we really want and desire for the end cause of the body that we want. but are we putting that same thought process into our spiritual body? are you denying your flesh so that you can become stronger and better in your spiritual body? are you going through a trial and desiring to come out of it stronger on the other side? or are you begging God to end your suffering so that you can stay fat and out of shape in the flesh? i think most of us can say that our bodies are a direct correlation to the amount of time and information we accumulate to making it better. the more knowledge we possess the better our workouts the more we can damage the muscle to make it grow and respond. right? isnt that why you are here, on this site? to learn how to look better and make your body better physically? are you willing to cause physical pain to your body so that you can have a better one tomorrow? of course! but why is it that we dont carry that same desire over to our spiritual body? what about this body that we will have for eternity? are you asking God to get you out of that pain? in a hundred years which will be the better pain to have been through? what will good is the perfect physical body if our spritual man is weak and unable to withstand the trials of life? God is the perfect trainer, He knows exactly how much and what we need to acheive the best spritual body we can. Jesus, i want to be stronger spiritually than i am physically! instead of praying for you to get me out of the trial, i ask that you strengthen me through the trial that i will be stronger and more prepared on the other side! fill me with a greater desire to strengthen my spiritual body!

[AllTheWay]

"so i gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart, to walk in their own devices. oh that My people would listen to Me, that israel would walk in My ways! i would quickly subdue their enemies, and turn My hand against their adversaries. those who hate the LORD would pretend obedience to Him; and their time of punishment would be forever. but i would feed you with the finest of the wheat; and with honey from the rock i would satisfy you." psalm 81:12-16


we have a choice in everything that we do. often times we like to blame circumstances or someone else but the fact of the matter is at some point in time before our struggle, we made a choice and it was probably not the right one! at the time it might have seemed like the best one but it lead us down a path that ended up dumping us in the wilderness! years ago i chose to have a relationship with someone who was not a believer. yes, i knew what the bible said about it but i thought that the bible was not current for this generation. afterall, it was written thousands of years ago, how could it be right on task for me today! that one choice changed my life and the direction of my life forever! my fault, my choice, my seemingly simple decision and it is why i am where i am at. God does not make us do anything! He has given us His word and it is perfect! it is living and active! it applies as much to todays world as it did the day that it was written! the world promises us all this 'happiness' and look and see how great it is if you do this. look debbie, you are in your 20s and you have never even been on more than one date with the same person. you will never find that perfect christian man (one would have to probably go to church first ) this man is alright, you can change him, you can save him. here he is, go ahead, do it. it is kind of like that game show where the contestants got to have a choice of what they won or what was behind door #1, #2 or #3. here you have this promise, you are guareenteed this but what if there is something better behind the door? come on, God might promise you this but just think of how much fun you could have if you pick door #2! it might be some handsome man who works and supports you and oh by the way, he is never home and he will cheat on you and leave you emotionally scarred but hey, it will be good for awhile! and so, out goes the bible and open up the door to the world and all of its pain! we want to think that it isnt our fault, that our lives are the result of the world around us but it is only that way because we chose to live in the world instead of in the word of God! God will not force us to follow Him, He gives us over to the stubbornness of our hearts and our desires. He gives us free will to pick His promises or the promises of the world! i have chosen the worlds door and it always leaves me hurt and empty. now i will take the bird in my hand and live on the promises of Gods word! when i put Him first and choose His ways than He will bless me and my life will be amazing! He has already done this for me and i know that there is much more to come as i deny my fleshly desires and thoughts and desire God and His thoughts! Jesus, thank you that even when we do pick the world and its plan that you never leave us! you never tell us i told you so but rather you are waiting for us to return to you. thank you for your perfect love and your abundant blessings! i chose you!

[AllTheWay]

to be taught

"teach me Thy ways, O LORD; i will walk in Thy truth; unite my heart to fear Thy name. i will give thanks to Thee, O LORD my God, with all my heart, and will glorify Thy name forever, for Thy lovingkindness toward me is great, and Thou hast delivered my soul from the depths of sheol." psalm 86:11-13


how many times do we really seek God and ask Him to teach us? teach me Thy ways, O LORD! i spent years wanting the world to teach me. i would read secular books on how to do this or that. i would listen to secular radio and TV, learning from those sources. What? learning from them? yes, you see when we are spending more times viewing and hearing the things of the world than we do reading the Word and praying and praising God than we are learning the things of the world! it happens so simply. it isnt like it is a conscience thought process. there is a TV show that you really like, doesnt seem all that bad. the characters have sexual relations outside of marriage but come on it is the 21st century, everybody is doing it. the people gossip and judge and talk badly about each other, they lie and cheat and steal but come on, it is just TV. the problem is that we are desensitizing ourselves to the sin in our life! we are learning the ways of the world! the more we view that type of behavior the more we rationalize it in our lives. the more we rationalize it, the more like the world we become and less we fear God and consequences of our sin! it is so simple that we dont even realize it is happening. animals learn behaviors from watching the activity of the mother. you take a cat away from its mom when it is born and raise it on a bottle without other cats around and you create an animal that doesnt know how to be a cat. they have no respect for humans, they dont often get along with other cats. you take a christian and put them in the world, viewing worldly behaviors, reading worldly books, spending more time with the world than with God and you no longer know how to be a christian. you no longer fear God! we allow the world to teach us and not God! this is why it is so improtant to be reading your bible daily, to write its words on your heart and to bind them around your neck! we need to learn from God, we need to be thinking on the things of God! are you striving to know more about God and His ways or are you learning the ways of the world by default? Jesus, forgive me for not spending more time learning your ways! teach me your ways, Lord! place within me an overwhelming desire to know more of you and to want to learn and understand your ways and not the ways of the world! your ways are perfect! i want to learn them!

[AllTheWay]

Hardness of heart

"do not harden your hearts, as at meribah, as in the day of massah in the wilderness; when your fathers tested Me, they tried Me, though they had seen My work. for forty years I loathed that generation, and said they are a people who err in their heart, and they do not know My ways. therefore I swore in My anger, truly they shall not enter into My rest." psalm 95:8-11


i have hardened my heart against God many times. it saddens me in many ways as i think back upon my life. oh the difference i could have made! what if i hadnt spent 20 years wandering aimlessly in the world? what could i have done for the kingdom of God? how much more peace and joy would i have had? oh the blessings that i have missed out on! not Gods fault, my fault!! countless times when i hardened my heart against the Holy Spirit! talking to someone and agreeing to go out with them when they arent a believer and yet telling myself that it would be ok. having an ungodly conversation, be it gossiping with a friend or coworker or some exchange with sexual undertones with someone that you shouldnt be having such kind of talk with! that "subconscious" feeling that what you are doing is wrong and you shouldnt be doing it. if you are a follower of God you know what i am talking about. you know that what you are doing isnt right and yet the heart is hardened and you press the send button even though you know you shouldnt! the repeatedness of this type of behavior leads us to a hardened heart. once or twice maybe we can "get away with it" but the repeated refusal to obey that still small voice, the feeling within us that we shouldnt be doing something that we think we want to, the refusal to forgive, the unwillingness to give up something that brings us fleshly joy! every time we refuse to respond, we are hardening our heart against God. it is that simple! and if we do it continuely, God lets us go and do what we want and He is no longer for us! and sometimes He is even against us! the israelites wandered in the desert until they died because of their hardness of heart! God doesnt want any of us to be in the desert but if we continuely go against the urgings of the Spirit within us, He lets us go! and that is a bad place to be. we think at the time that it isnt. i went through two failed marriages and few other painful relationships because of my refusal to listen to the quickening of the Spirit within me! dont do this, dont go there, there isnt for you. "oh but God, im lonely, nobody is ever going to love me! i can bring them to Christ, i can make them love me and you! come on God, just let me........." and He will, He will give us over to the desires of our flesh and it will be just a matter of time before we are miserable and praying for Him to make it all better! the thing about it is that He tried to get us not to go there. He will strengthen us if we are truly repentant but we still have to go through the trial and the pain and heartache. the choice is ours! how many times this week have you debated with the Spirit within you and gone on and done what you wanted to anyway? i have already done it several times! i hate myself when i do. one would think that i would stop doing it! i am getting better, i am growing much in this area! daily i am before God in repentence! speaking out my sin, seeking His forgivenss. it isnt easy but i dont want a hardened heart ever again! Jesus, i fail you every day! thank you for working within me on the seriousness of not listening to your voice and your urgings! my life is not my own but rather it was bought by you on calvary! forgive me for taking so lightly the price you paid for my life! more of you and less of me!