THE INNER ROOM - "Learn and Grow - to Maturity". Please read the 1st Post.

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Thanks so much all!

It is a spiritual test of faith to whether we really trust the Lord and have died to our own wants and desires. Thank you so much for sharing these messages with us...sending HUGS your way today!!!
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There are days when I still need the stop signs out that is for sure. The thoughts can come racing in. But honestly each day I really am trying to get stronger. Just think how awesome one day if it is the Lord's will, what my future husband will be like! He is busy preparing him right now.. if that is his will for my life. But right now, the Lord has to be my Mr. Right.

Here is a great one on Secrets I wrote.. The secrets in are life will definitely kill us!

SECRETS​
​
Secrets​
A silent word​
One not to be heard​
A word that is ​
so deceiving in life​
​
One that causes ​
much guilt and shame​
The can be so hurtful​
they cause so anguish and pain​
​
​
The innocent ones of life are inflicted​
with the darkness and depths of them​
They are not shared​
The others are kept ​
in suspense, waiting and wondering​
​
But amazingly​
The secrets come out​
Come out in a flurry​
of what if’s and What was?​
​
When they are revealed to all​
The innocent ones always​
take the fall​
​
This innocent one has learned​
the secrets of within​
​
You tried to run and make ​
It all look like me​
​
What matters the most​
is the Truth​
and that I know​
I have the knowledge and wisdom ​
to now know-​
Don’t Look Back-​
Look Ahead​
Don’t let the secrets ​
Destroy my Doing All​
​
Buffy September 7, 2005​
​
Wow that was written back in 2005! My nickname was Buffy on another forum I was involved in for Non- alcholics ( me) in an alcoholic relationship. I did alot of writing way back then. Have a super day!​
​
This gal from NY is stompin in God's love and grace today! ​
​
Robin​
​
PS.. It is the truth we all should be seeking! :):)​
​
 
In the words of Bondman, "I am just plumb blown away!" Those poems were great!
I wrote some of my best ones in my "dark" period. Cant write poems anymore. Really dont want to, because I have to be in the 'dark' to be able to! ha! So I admire those that can, in joy!

Yes, purity is extremely important. Especially for singles. But its also important even for married couples. Keeping the marriage bed pure is a responsibility that a married couple share and must work at. That means that the focus should be on each other and not elsewhere. (there are many ways to take that. Take it as you will)

The more I learn about the covenant God has with us thru Jesus, the more I learn about Christ and the Church and the relationship between them, the more I appreciate marriage. It is a great mystery that is a joy to search out and discover. And, it bleeds over into my natural marriage, too. Hallelujah!:D
 
Great thoughts Fluffy and Worshipper.

I just sat here and wrote this one... how many of go roaming around looking for a place of belonging? This is in reference to roaming around the house of my gentleman friend:

The Mansion

I roamed around
For a few years
In that big ole house

Seeking to find
My own place of belonging
Amongst a strange place

So many things were shown to me
Things that were all of just a fantasy
I did not find reality

The ghosts kept whispering to me
Sex is carefree
Money is for pleasure
Whether it be wine
Or a peek on the net

They whispered
There does not have to be commitment
Nor love
You can call whomever

Let the bills pile high
Go have fun and ignore the duties
The duties and commitments to life

My heart would race
With each little find
Denial was riding high

Then one day
The spirit spoke high above the ghosts
Christ spoke and said you are not living of me
You are not living the life of the Christian woman I made you to be

It was a rude awakening
One I am so thankful for
It has not been easy
That is for sure

But suffering brings perseverance
Perseverance builds character
Character brings hope

It is with hope
That I now roam on
In this life
The life that Christ died and rose for me

Praises to him
On this sunny day!

Robin
August 21, 2008

I kow there is a special place to put poems on the forum, but I share my writings here for self reflection and messages of my own.. sure do not want to take away from any other important messages here though. By the way, when my head is clear, the words just flow.. within 5 min I have the poem done.
 
A glance of the eyes

Great message sent to me.. sharing here:


Francis Frangipane:
"With the Glance of Your Eyes"​
"Who is this that grows like the dawn, as beautiful as the full moon, as pure as the sun, as awesome as an army with banners?" Song of Solomon 6:10
In spite of all the controversy and strife in our world, regardless of the clashing opinions in today's religious wars, the focus of Christ still remains upon His Bride. It is our quest to turn our gaze toward Him.
Most of us sincerely love the Lord and are thankful for all He has done. However, too many are more comfortable celebrating what Jesus has done than accepting who He desires to be to us. We sing of His victories and teach of His mercies, yet rarely do we quiet our hearts and surrender to His presence. We want Him near enough to protect us but not so close that our consciousness is captured by His presence.
As awesome and liberating as it is to know what Jesus has done for us, until we actually surrender ourselves to Him, our religion will never be more than a "history lesson." Religion is not enough. It satisfies neither us nor Christ. Jesus wants to also know us.
You say, "But He does know us!" In His omniscience, He knows everything. But in His love, He seeks to know us as beings living in unbroken union with Him. He has the right to our souls, our secrets, and our dreams. He wants the person we are when no one else is looking. Yet, He will not force Himself. This is not the way of love.
This interpenetration of our lives in Him and His life in us is the only destiny with which Christ is content. At the end of the age, everything short of oneness with Christ will appear as sin.
God is Love
I know the fear of the Lord and that it is the beginning of true knowledge. But, like the apostle John, "I have also come to know and have believed the love which God has for us" (1 John 4:16). God is love. Let us consider that the apostle who fell before Jesus as a dead man on the Isle of Pathos, later wrote, "There is no fear in love" (1 John 4:18).
The Lord knows our fear of God is a strong deterrent from sin and a powerful ally in walking uprightly. Yet, to draw near to Him we must know more than the fear of God; we must believe in "the love which God has for us." God's love is perfect. It "casts out fear, because fear involves punishment." John tells us that "the one who fears is not perfected in love" (verse 18).
When it comes to entering the presence of God, it is to be expected that fear, guilt, or shame should seek to hold us hostage. But as we believe in the love God has for us, in the brightness of His mercy the shadows of our past cannot exist.
The Heart of God
Last week I asked, "If Christ were in the room, would you enter? How would you enter?" We spoke of our sin, fear and shame being barriers. These are due to our perception of ourselves. Yet, when the thought first awakened within you that you could enter His presence, something also awakened in Him. He says,
"You have made my heart beat faster, my sister, my bride; you have made my heart beat faster with a single glance of your eyes" (Song of Solomon 4:9).
Your glance, even if it was no more than the briefest anticipation of being with Him, made His heart beat faster. The King James Version reads, "Thou hast ravished my heart." Jesus is not returning simply to destroy wickedness; He is coming for a Bride. At the end of the age our task is not simply to prepare for the rapture or the tribulation but for Christ!
You see, there is nothing more important to Jesus Christ than His Bride, the Church. He died for her. He lives to make intercession for her. His love proved itself capable and worthy of winning our full redemption. Our most noble task is to surrender to the love that reaches to us.
Longing for Jesus
How shall we respond? I am thinking of Mary Magdalene's love for Jesus. Yes, here in the love Jesus has for Mary, and in her response, we see flashes of Christ's love for the Church.
Mary is at Jesus' empty tomb. The apostles came, looked into the sepulcher, and went away bewildered. But Mary lingered, weeping. It is noteworthy that Jesus did not immediately come to the apostles; He came first to a woman. This tells us Jesus responds to love more than position; He comes first to those who want Him most. The apostles went away wondering, but there was something in Mary's inconsolably broken heart that Jesus Himself was drawn to.
In her sorrow she did not recognize Him. He said, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" (John 20:15). Blinded by her tears, she supposes Jesus is the gardener.
"'Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.' Jesus said to her, 'Mary!' She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, 'Rabboni!' (which means, Teacher). Jesus said to her, 'Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father'" (John 20:15-17).
The instant Mary sees the Lord she clings to Him. And here is the most astounding event: Christ interrupted His ascent to answer this woman's love! Jesus said, "Stop clinging to Me...I have not yet ascended." In His next appearance, Jesus appears to the disciples. He tells them, "Touch Me." For Mary, He broke protocol; whatever He meant in saying, "I have not yet ascended," He stopped His progression to be with her!
I am staggered by this response of Christ to Mary's longing. This is the nature of His love. His passion for His Bride rules His every thought and action! We are the "joy set before Him" (Hebrews 12:2). For us, He endured the anguish of the Cross. In so doing, Jesus demonstrated that His love for the Church is the highest, most powerful law of His Kingdom!
It is His passion for the Church that compels Him to come for us in His second coming. Yet, as He broke protocol for Mary, so He reveals His heart to us. If we will be satisfied with nothing less than Christ, it is Christ we shall possess. He will come to us. Of all the marvels in this universe, the greatest is the love Christ has for His Church. Though He is standing behind our walls, the glance of our eyes makes His heart beat faster!
Oh Lord Jesus, forgive me for using Your gifts for myself, while withholding myself from Your love. Lord, I will love You with a perfect love, for my love is the love with which You first loved me.

Francis Frangipane
 
Fluffy said:
In the words of Bondman, "I am just plumb blown away!" Those poems were great!
I wrote some of my best ones in my "dark" period. Cant write poems anymore. Really dont want to, because I have to be in the 'dark' to be able to! ha! So I admire those that can, in joy!

Yes, purity is extremely important. Especially for singles. But its also important even for married couples. Keeping the marriage bed pure is a responsibility that a married couple share and must work at. That means that the focus should be on each other and not elsewhere. (there are many ways to take that. Take it as you will)

The more I learn about the covenant God has with us thru Jesus, the more I learn about Christ and the Church and the relationship between them, the more I appreciate marriage. It is a great mystery that is a joy to search out and discover. And, it bleeds over into my natural marriage, too. Hallelujah!:D
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Hallelujah indeed, sweetie!

I agree purity is ABSOLUTELY for us all. Married, single; old, young; NO DIFFERENCE. The enemy will get us into impurity if he possibly can. And man alive does this ever hurt our Lord! As well as disappoint Him I'm sure.

We guys have to take special care because our sexual demands are so strong and can be so immediate. We are never free of the temptations of our flesh, and I really do mean 'flesh'. Our eyes, then mind and thoughts can be into sin so fast it's almost in the blink of an eye. And once AGAIN we've sinned against the One Who had to give His life to secure forgiveness for this.

Let's all of us be not smacking Jesus in the face over and over by committing sin!

- BM
 

At the end of the age, everything short of oneness with Christ will appear as sin.

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(this is something we could meditate on and pray about for a while)
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Agreed! Plus DISCUSS also. For example, what does "oneness with Christ" actually mean?
 
Agreed! Plus DISCUSS also. For example, what does "oneness with Christ" actually mean?
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Ruth Bell Graham, the wife of Billy Graham, once met with a young student from India.
He said to her; “I would like to believe in Christ. We of India would like to believe in Christ. But we have never seen a Christian who was like Christ.”

Do you know what she said in reply? “'I am not offering you Christians. I am offering you Christ.”

I believe that a part of "oneness with Christ" comes when we stop comparing ourselves to one another, and realize our place in His universe, as His creation, with all of the individual gifts and talents, and degrees of faith that He has blessed us with. :)
 
Bondman said:
SERIOUS PRAYER REQUEST

We have a serious legal matter that unexpectedly hit us yesterday. I can't give details here, only to say that it's connected with the multi-millions we are waiting on God to release to us for ministry in the 10/40 Window, but some things went wrong that never should have, and now we're under legal threat because of this.

At this point in our life, the threat is ultimately one that concerns our very lives! We are nowhere NEAR well enough to be able to handle anything even remotely like this! The stress of it is certainly enough to push me over the edge and end my life (this I know, that satan would just love that). And Beloved is not in much better shape. Life is a daily struggle for us both, just to survive.

We're asking God to remove this matter completely! - which is as it certainly should be. HE can do this. WE cannot. I'm going to ask would you please pray with us - each day, until this is accomplished! I'll keep you up to date of course.

Thankyou for being such great supporters and caring so much. We sure don't EVER take this for granted!

- BM
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Today a totally unexpected and quite "impossible" answer presented itself that should (stressed) be able to solve this terrible problem. Our day became SO hectic with it all that we really could not cope and are utterly zonked tonight - but it's a 'good' zonked!!!

GOD IS GOOD! GOD ANSWERS PRAYER!! YOU PEOPLE HERE SURE CAN PRAY UP A STORM!!!

THANKYOU from the bottom of our hearts and minds and spirits!!!! I'll continue to keep you posted - stress will be ongoing next week, and maybe past that, before this can all be over. Much love from us both!!

- BM
 
THE MESSAGE BELOW...

... does not signal that I'm going back to writing constant messages as before! To my deep sorrow I simply cannot manage that.

I have realised (for those who were wondering! hee!) that some recent posts have basically been messages anyway (I probably will try to 'upgrade' them when I'm able).

REASON: The reason I'm writing this Message and the 'continued' is that I have tried on at least 3 occasions to write what I intend to in the 'continued' part or parts - but each time the Lord stopped me! I even wrote them, and then He said No! (He's my boss!!)

This time I don't believe He will - and so this time I believe that my HEART'S DESIRE TO TELL YOU WHAT'S IN AND ON MY HEART WILL be written! Some will read and act on it. Others will not. Those WHO WILL ACT - and profit MIGHTILY thereby - are who this topic is for!

- BM
 
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PRACTICAL NEW TESTAMENT CHRISTIANITY​


MESSAGE #128

THE QUESTION OF OUR PURITY BEFORE OUR GOD - Part 1

A. Faithwoman's testimony is so POWERFUL because she made the choice and followed through. We all know that physical intimacy in the wrong context is WRONG. The New Testament speaks against this in many places. It can be EXTRA HARD for us today because of our appallingly permissive society and the electronic media that portrays sexual sin as normal, to be desired, and a-okay to take part in. Sometimes I FEAR GREATLY for our KIDS brought up in this dreadful environment.

B. If we've come to grips with physical purity, the next major step to take is our SPIRITUAL PURITY. If this doesn't seem a very clear-cut issue then please carefully consider below, where God's Word makes absolutely no bones about this whatsoever:

James Ch 4:2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. 4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”? 6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “ God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” 7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts [of your spiritual adultery], you double-minded.

Our lust for worldly things and positions and standards in the West is legion. It pervades the church almost throughout. You are probably part of this - and that makes you GOD'S ENEMY! Is that what you REALLY want? HEAR WHAT GOD SAYS about this: friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. In doing this He calls you a Spiritual adulterer with NO purity!!!

Clear enough? So how's your SPIRITUAL PURITY? Wondering why your Christian walk is not what it should be? This is a likely reason. I've said that our worldliness - our love of ease and comfort and of materialism and 'things', our awful conformism to the world around us, and much more - IS AN ATTITUDE. A very, very, VERY BAD ATTITUDE that takes a strong and determined heart (with His help!) to break! But continuing with this ATTITUDE makes you an ENEMY OF GOD!!! Now there's a MAJOR motivation to bring much-needed change into your life, if ever I've heard one!!

Worldliness KILLS. It kills your spirit, it kills your Spirituality, it stunts your growth in Christ. It is WHOLLY DESTRUCTIVE!!! It constantly amazes me how we use our money on OURSELVES. We are so incredibly self-centered!! It seems like: I know Jesus, I'm a Christian Believer headed for heaven, so I'm a-okay - who cares a fig about others - like a few BILLION people in the world WHO HAVE NEVER HEARD THE GOSPEL?? QUESTION: Are YOU one of those who desperately want Jesus to return? - well ALL OF THESE have to be evangelised FIRST!!! Click the reference and read: Matthew 24:14.

... continued in Part 2 "Our Worldiness Simply Has To Go!!"

- BM, with his Lady
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TO GOD BE ALL THE GLORY ​
FOR EVER AND EVER! AMEN!​

​
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CSchultz said:
Ruth Bell Graham, the wife of Billy Graham, once met with a young student from India.
He said to her; “I would like to believe in Christ. We of India would like to believe in Christ. But we have never seen a Christian who was like Christ.”

Do you know what she said in reply? “'I am not offering you Christians. I am offering you Christ.”

I believe that a part of "oneness with Christ" comes when we stop comparing ourselves to one another, and realize our place in His universe, as His creation, with all of the individual gifts and talents, and degrees of faith that He has blessed us with. :)
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Welcome to the IR, CShultz! (I don't remember seeing you here before, but may have missed you). Your Profile says Date accepted Christ 00-00-33. I'm intrigued as to what that means...
 
Thank you for the kind welcome!

Date accepted Christ 00-00-33. I'm intrigued as to what that means...
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What I am referring to there is the day of Christ's crucifixion. Very often people will equate the day they accepted Christ with the day that they were "saved."

And so I used a little play on terms there. :) (I hope it is not offensive to anyone.)

I see that as the day I was saved.

To be perfectly honest, I don't know the day I "accepted" Christ. Although I have at times stumbled in my walk with Him. I have always had faith that my redeemer lives and has counted even the very hairs on my head.
 
CSchultz said:
Thank you for the kind welcome!



What I am referring to there is the day of Christ's crucifixion. Very often people will equate the day they accepted Christ with the day that they were "saved."

And so I used a little play on terms there. :) (I hope it is not offensive to anyone.)

I see that as the day I was saved.

To be perfectly honest, I don't know the day I "accepted" Christ. Although I have at times stumbled in my walk with Him. I have always had faith that my redeemer lives and has counted even the very hairs on my head.
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Haa, very 'tricky' CS! I guess the 33 should have given me a clue. It's a very interesting thought you've come up with: anyone who receives the Lord into their life is born into God's family at that moment in time. Yet they were actually saved way back there at Calvary. ALREADY DONE, HEY!! Maybe we could describe it as something like "every person was potentially saved then", all the work done - all we then gotta do is accept and embrace it as we accept and embrace Jesus!!

Thanks for the concept!

- BM
 
Oh, after reading Schutz's and BM's last post, maybe I finally "get" the timeline mystery of the dates. I found a timeline on the Old and New Testaments and never understood the dates the way they were. So, when Christ was born, that would be AD and the numbering started over? I may still be confused. Bonnie
 
SweetSurrender said:
Oh, after reading Schutz's and BM's last post, maybe I finally "get" the timeline mystery of the dates. I found a timeline on the Old and New Testaments and never understood the dates the way they were. So, when Christ was born, that would be AD and the numbering started over? I may still be confused. Bonnie
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I don't think you are. Basically it was BC (Before Christ) up to his birth (always counting DOWNWARDS - for example, 1,000 BC, then 500 BC, and down to his birth). Then it changed to AD (Anno Domini = The Year of Our Lord) and counted normally: for example 500 AD, then 1,000 AD, to 2008 AD today.

As a postscript, there's been a major move on for some time to change the historic AD and replace it with CE (common era) by those who hate Christ and Christianity and so hate what AD means. Sad, hey!

 
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PRACTICAL NEW TESTAMENT CHRISTIANITY​


MESSAGE #129

OUR WORLDLINESS SIMPLY HAS TO GO!! - Part 2

... continued from Part 1 "The Question of our Purity Before Our God"

With the help of God within us we can take the decision to CHANGE OUR ATTITUDE of our current love of the world and all the things it gives us. Brothers and Sisters of mine, IT'S TIME!!! Time for this change. No longer to just HEAR about it. We're to be DOERS of the Word, not just HEARERS – and it's easy to deceive ourselves about this: James Ch 1:22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

CHANGING OUR ATTITUDE

So if we're to cease being God's enemy, let's explore what this change of ATTITUDE involves? It will most likely lead you to a change of life-style - UNLESS you're actually called by God to be a money-maker for His work. But in either case ULTIMATELY YOU WILL HAVE 'SPARE' MONEY TO GIVE TO HIS WORK!

In the case of a life-style change TOWARDS SIMPLER LIVING, by giving up and/or changing our ATTITUDE to all the stuff we LOVE, you WILL ultimately have MONEY TO GIVE towards reaching and evangelising THOSE WHO ARE LOST BECAUSE THEY HAVE NEVER HEARD! If you're unusual and called to be a money-maker, then you will have MUCH money for this task. However, the AMOUNT is NOT the focus here at all: it's our changed ATTITUDE and our MOTIVATION that we must FOCUS on!

EASE AND COMFORT HAVE TO GO

Consider the Western world's LOVE AFFAIR with THE GOOD LIFE and AN EASY LIFE. We want the BEST, right, and WON'T put up with 2nd (or 5th!) best. We want a good home with as much room as we can afford. Our bed MUST be totally comfortable. No old lounge chairs are tolerated. In fact very little that's old will be tolerated. We spend the money and get good stuff. EASE and COMFORT, EASE and COMFORT - how much do you you reckon you spend on this? AND entertainment and recrecreation? Money is getting a little tighter in Australia, as in the U.S., and I read an article in the paper showing a family who reported that they would have to cut their holiday spending from $3,000 this year to $1,000. That's how THE WORLD sees life. THIS IS NOT FOR THOSE OF US who are COMMITTED to JESUS forever!!

THESE MESSAGES ARE ONLY FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO CHANGE

Look, I am NOT going to be carrying on and on about this. Either YOU'LL HAVE 'GOT' WHAT I'M ON ABOUT, or not. It's either go to the Lord to ask Him to help you understand your worldliness and how to change it, or not. Just please, PLEASE, PLEASE don't stay an ENEMY OF GOD by CONFORMING TO THE WORLD AROUND YOU!!

WANT vs NEED

Before leaving this, a final thought as a great GUIDE to this: THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 'NEED AND 'WANT'. What does our flesh WANT? – it wants exactly those things we already own – the ones we've ALREADY spent our money on!! That's EXACTLY why we are all living in the richest possible affluence (by world standards - even those of us at the bottom of the chain), and SO ARE NO DIFFERENT FROM THE WORLD AROUND US! Which is utterly TRAGIC!!

OUR CHOICE

So here's what we did: over a period of time, by specific decisions in the Presence of our great and mighty God to Whom we owe EVERYTHING, and BEFORE WHOM we'll soon stand to give ACCOUNT for the whole of our life, our life-style these days is now based firmly on NEED alone.

If it's a life-need we spend the money, ensuring best value for the money too - we're always buying at the bottom of the price chain. If it's NOT an ESSENTIAL it is deleted from thought and discussion. (We've not had a holiday for 19 years and so far we haven't 'died' from this.) I'm sure we all know that what's TOTALLY EASY is SPENDING MONEY on OURSELVES! Which is almost all PURE worldliness! What we're CALLED to do INSTEAD is to be INCREDIBLY WISE with our money and ensure EVERY DOLLAR POSSIBLE remains to go to Him!! (Haven't we 'got' YET that both WE and OUR MONEY are all His anyway?)

FEELING TERRIFIC!

Because our pension income is one-quarter of the average Aussie wage we don't have a lot of extra as you can well imagine. Nonetheless every month some of our money goes to Asia to bring the Gospel to those WHO HAVE NEVER HEARD! I can't possibly describe how fabulous that feels!!

Coming: how to set yourself up to make your life-style change really COUNT FOR GOD!

continued in Part 3 "Introducing the Need" ...

- BM, with his Lady
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TO GOD BE ALL THE GLORY ​
FOR EVER AND EVER! AMEN!​

​
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