When most of us decide to give our life to God — we think we immediately have to change everything we do and walk some “holier than thou” lifestyle. But God tells us that we are NOT saved by works, but by his grace. In other words, there is not one thing you can do to be saved except trust in God.

Even some of the followers of Satan are good people. They contribute money to help feed the hungry. They love their children and spouses. They work and make a decent living, pay their taxes and do good for the community they live in. So what you do does NOT save your soul. Therefore, your only responsibility as a Christian is to give your total soul to God and allow his spirit to enter your body and mind and work through you.

And God's spirit will work through each one of us in different ways. He said in the Bible: “Can't a potter make one vase to hold flowers and the other to hold garbage?” This doesn't mean that you are garbage — it means that the purpose God designed you to fulfill may be totally opposite than the Christian down the street. You have no way of knowing what your purpose is — but God's spirit, working through you will accomplish a goal that only you have been created and designed to fulfill. Therefore, throw away those beliefs that mankind enforce as rules and regulations that a Christian person are to follow. Instead — communicate with God and allow him to do his work.

Some people lose faith and get angry when God doesn't answer them — even though they fully believe in him and have faith. But look at it this way: Do you give your child everything they ask for? If your 5-year-old son came in and asked for the keys to the car would you give him his wish? Of course not. You would know that the possibility of him having a wreck and killing himself would almost be guaranteed since he doesn't know how to drive.

As an adult, you can see far enough ahead of the situation to know the outcome. All the 5-year-old boy can see is his wants and desires at the present time. He can't conceive the idea of having an accident and certainly doesn't understand what a car wreck is, or getting killed or going to the hospital is all about.

This is the same way God, our Father deals with our wants and desires. If we ask Him for something that would NOT benefit us, He really is doing us a favor by not giving us what we want and we should thank Him.

Sometimes though, God does give us what we want to teach us a lesson. Again, think of your children. Suppose you are at the grocery store and Timmy asks you to buy him a new toy. You say, "No." However, Timmy starts whining and begging, "Please, get me a new toy. I really want it." You again say, "No."

Timmy then starts trying to find ways to corner you into buying him this new toy. He will ask, "Why can't I have it." You normally will say, "Because I said, no." "But, why?" Timmy continues. "You can take it out of my allowance."

As you can see, Timmy is doing his best to corner you. He will whin, cry or begin to threaten your authority. You will either end up giving in to his wishes or punishing him if you feel strongly enough about the issue to deny him the toy.

God does the same with us. If we are saved and ask Him for something that is not in our best interest, He will say, "No." However, if we keep whining, praying and begging for it, after awhile He may give in — just to show us WHY He originally said, "No" and we'll learn a lesson from it.

Therefore, be careful what you ask God for. You should always ask for something but add, "Not my will, but your will be done." Jesus prayed this in the Garden of Gethsemane when He prayed and asked God to not let Him live through the terrible pain of crucifixion. But if you recall, He ended his prayer with: "Not my will, but thy will be done."

So don't get upset with God because He doesn't grant all your wishes at the exact time you ask for them. Be content in knowing that He knows what is best for you and will only give you things that will benefit you at the present time. Be at peace! Trust your Creator. He knows exactly what he's doing! We're the children who only can see a small piece of the picture.

The AV 1611 King James Bible

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