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God's Words For US
by Cecelia Lester
Back in the 1960’s, a comedian on television had a sort of a trademark line he used in his monologues; he’d look into the camera and say, “What you see is what you get.” When he uttered his phrase the audience, those in the studio and the TV watchers, would laugh.
In our present day world, we hear preachers speak of authenticity. One of the associate pastors we had spoke of our need to be ‘the real deal.’ In living the life God desires for us, He spells out how we are to live our lives. God gave us Ten Commandments to try to shape our lives into what He wants them to be. Jesus boils them down to two.
Sometimes, we put on a happy face and tell people we are ‘good’ when we are hiding something. Our reasoning is that: 1.) If those around us knew our needs, they wouldn’t like us. 2.) It is a sign of weakness to talk about our shortcomings or our needs. 3.) The issues we face are things that nobody else has encountered.
What we have to realize is that all the reasons stated above are not true. 1.) The issues in our lives do not fall into a like/dislike range of qualities. 2.) Those who recognize they have a problem and their need for help are the strongest people. 3.) The trials we encounter in this world are ‘common to man’ (1 Corinthians 10:13). Someone may have gone through a similar circumstance or experienced pain akin to what we have gone through. We may be asked to help them.
God watches over his children. He sees all that we do, say or think. Prayer Warriors pray to have God’s eyes and to have discernment about certain circumstances they know of or may even face themselves.
When we model godly lives, we can have a transparency about ourselves so that we can be seen as caring, yet human individuals.
Sometimes, we who care about others and their circumstances can’t talk about those issues to anyone else because they ask us not to. It takes courage to honor that kind of confidence but honor it, we must. If we should happen to betray a friend, we forfeit a lot of respect that friend had for us. God guides us to honor the confidences. It takes God to repair any breach of friendship that may happen. Maintaining confidences is part of our integrity.
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Cecelia Lester has been serious about her writing for over two decades..
She composes Christian essays and posts them to her blog quietspirit-followingmyking.blogspot.com/
She has served in a faith-based organization, Grace In Action by writing two newsletters and searching for possible grants.
In July 2017, she published her first book, 'Times of Trouble Bring Rays of Joy.'
She and her husband of 54 years live in central Indiana. They have one grown son.
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