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| Hello Friends, I welcome you to join me on this journey as I share this time in words of praise to God, devotion to Him for His faithfulness in my life and instruction I've received through my own time with God. I welcome you to come and relax with me, have a cup of tea and enjoy this time together. Justene |
| Hi All, I would also like to welcome you to join in our journey. I hope to bring you along with pictures of the people, places and things in our life. There are so many things to say, see and do and we pray that this little spot on the computer can give you peace and pleasure in the presence of God. Blessings, Jana |
| Hi, I'm Brenda. Welcome to our place of prayer, praise and peace. As we continue to come together in fellowship we pray you will join us. Come back often to see the things God is doing in and through us. |
JourneyThruFaith.com
Have It Your Way
by Mary Justene Martin
January 12, 2012
So Samuel told them, delivered God's warning to the people who
were asking him to give them a king. He said, "This is the way the
kind of king you're talking about operates. He'll take your sons
and make soldiers of them—chariotry, cavalry, infantry,
regimented in battalions and squadrons. He'll put some to forced
labor on his farms, plowing and harvesting, and others to making
either weapons of war or chariots in which he can ride in luxury.
He'll put your daughters to work as beauticians and waitresses
and cooks. He'll conscript your best fields, vineyards, and
orchards and hand them over to his special friends. He'll tax your
harvests and vintage to support his extensive bureaucracy. Your
prize workers and best animals he'll take for his own use. He'll lay
a tax on your flocks and you'll end up no better than slaves. The
day will come when you will cry in desperation because of this
king you so much want for yourselves. But don't expect God to
answer." (1 Samuel 8:10-18 MSG)
The people were insisting on a king to rule over them. They
wanted to form their own government. Sound familiar? But
Samuel warned them, telling them what God said, but they
would not listen.
We all know what happened. They got their own way, but
they didn't have much to show for it.
As a people we are just the same. We even have this
famous commercial “Have it your way.” which depicts our
selfish lifestyle. Having it our way, (in this case) can lead to poor
health, obesity, and even early death if we take it too seriously.
Here the prophet of God laid it out for them. They were
giving up their freedom in God and demanding their own
bondage. The king they got looked good at first, but eventually
he too became corrupt and eventually went insane. People who
are given such power, without the Holy Spirit to direct them
cannot rule unselfishly. The flesh is always against God. That
voice that keeps you from obeying God is really your idol
speaking, and it is in your own flesh seeking to destroy what
God has purposed for you to do.
Eventually our lust for power and things leads to our own
destruction. Had the people listened to Samuel, the outcome
might have been very different. A people who follow God, begin
to understand His mercy and grace, and begin to see that He is
the freedom they are seeking.
Each time we ask for another handout from our
government, we are giving government more power to rule
over us. The very things we are demanding “our way” are
keeping us powerless and imprisoned. What we worship or give
our attention to, is what rules over us.
It is time we wake up and realize that all this attention to
having it “our way” is leading us further and further from our
destiny and purpose. Without purpose, there is no destiny.
Without God, there is no purpose. We already have the King of
Kings to care for us and to lead us by love. Anything else is just
a mirage, invisible walls of prisons where we wait until we die.
This sounds like a life sentence to me. We have been found
guilty by our own mind and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Now might be a good time to change directions...ya think?
by Mary Justene Martin
January 12, 2012
So Samuel told them, delivered God's warning to the people who
were asking him to give them a king. He said, "This is the way the
kind of king you're talking about operates. He'll take your sons
and make soldiers of them—chariotry, cavalry, infantry,
regimented in battalions and squadrons. He'll put some to forced
labor on his farms, plowing and harvesting, and others to making
either weapons of war or chariots in which he can ride in luxury.
He'll put your daughters to work as beauticians and waitresses
and cooks. He'll conscript your best fields, vineyards, and
orchards and hand them over to his special friends. He'll tax your
harvests and vintage to support his extensive bureaucracy. Your
prize workers and best animals he'll take for his own use. He'll lay
a tax on your flocks and you'll end up no better than slaves. The
day will come when you will cry in desperation because of this
king you so much want for yourselves. But don't expect God to
answer." (1 Samuel 8:10-18 MSG)
The people were insisting on a king to rule over them. They
wanted to form their own government. Sound familiar? But
Samuel warned them, telling them what God said, but they
would not listen.
We all know what happened. They got their own way, but
they didn't have much to show for it.
As a people we are just the same. We even have this
famous commercial “Have it your way.” which depicts our
selfish lifestyle. Having it our way, (in this case) can lead to poor
health, obesity, and even early death if we take it too seriously.
Here the prophet of God laid it out for them. They were
giving up their freedom in God and demanding their own
bondage. The king they got looked good at first, but eventually
he too became corrupt and eventually went insane. People who
are given such power, without the Holy Spirit to direct them
cannot rule unselfishly. The flesh is always against God. That
voice that keeps you from obeying God is really your idol
speaking, and it is in your own flesh seeking to destroy what
God has purposed for you to do.
Eventually our lust for power and things leads to our own
destruction. Had the people listened to Samuel, the outcome
might have been very different. A people who follow God, begin
to understand His mercy and grace, and begin to see that He is
the freedom they are seeking.
Each time we ask for another handout from our
government, we are giving government more power to rule
over us. The very things we are demanding “our way” are
keeping us powerless and imprisoned. What we worship or give
our attention to, is what rules over us.
It is time we wake up and realize that all this attention to
having it “our way” is leading us further and further from our
destiny and purpose. Without purpose, there is no destiny.
Without God, there is no purpose. We already have the King of
Kings to care for us and to lead us by love. Anything else is just
a mirage, invisible walls of prisons where we wait until we die.
This sounds like a life sentence to me. We have been found
guilty by our own mind and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Now might be a good time to change directions...ya think?