ࡱ> (*'5@ bjbj22 XX   1$$$$$$$$$R9$$$$ttt$$ttt$ p\xFj01 T  $$8tF R$$$D$j Is there anything that is keeping you from recklessly obeying the Lord? The answer I have for the Lord this morning is, "no!!!" Where last week, I would've hesitated and said, "...my parents." Today I can say, "Whatever He wants, wherever He wants me to go, I am totally and completely, absolutely free to obey..." There is nothing that is holding me back, nothing to fear! It took the final "death" of my "self" yesterday. The willingness to forsake all the fears I had about proclaiming to my dad what I believe and just plunge in. The "plunging in" meant facing head-on past pain/rejection and diving in deeper into His glorious presence... So last night, I got a chance to share a lot of things with my dad -- that the God I believe in is rich and will provide for me for everything, that He loves my dad, that my life has been changed by Him, that I live by a different standard now. That "God loves us so much that He sent His son to die for our sins so that we could be with Him forever." I was able to say all these things to my dad with confidence. Where once I would've stood in the presence of my father and just melted, trembling in fear of him, in fear of stating my own opinions and being crushed; last night God held me up, made me firm and unmoving. I hardly know what came over me -- except that it was Him. For Christ's love compels me. As Oswald Chambers says, I was "...overruled, overmastered, held as in a vice, by the love of Christ." The other night I asked the Lord, "Lord, would you still love me if I didn't do this thing?" And He said, "Don't even ask such a question. It is by doing this thing that I want to show you how much I love you." I didn't understand what He meant at that moment but I understand now. When we lay ourselves down - our own fears and tears - and choose to step out in faith to obey Him, that is when we can really see Him. There is a gloriousness to God, a beauty, that cannot be measured by anything in this world. When we are willing to trust Him at His Word even if it doesn't seem to make sense, we always find Him there -- with "everlasting arms" to hold us up. (Deut 33:27a) And we see that He brought us through the pain of dying to ourselves so that we could find true life. He loves us so much that He wants to set us free from whatever fear or bondage we might have. He keeps His promises. Always. I can't hold it in anymore: I am freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!! It's like living in a whole new world. I'm not afraid of anything anymore!! Last night, I realized that I don't fully understand what transpired in the spiritual realm last night; it will take these following days hereafter to experience the impact of what happened. This morning, I am beginning to feel the impact. My heart is feeling the thrill of it. I never knew how chained I was until I was set free!! It is good to die like Him -- and then find life! There is agony in the death of self, but afterwards is the resurrection in glory, the sweet freedom of being set free through Him... and it is glorious! so wonderfully glorious! amen. Thank you for your prayers. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Without which I would've remained silent - to the detriment of my own life. The battle was fought mostly by you who prayed for me. Thank you. Please continue to pray for my dad. He listened to what I said but was mostly unresponsive. Pray that the Lord would soften his heart & turn him toward Himself. His, Mary Ann p.s. i can give you more details on the conversation if you want. :) (2/6/02) H{}]aǾha0ha0CJha0CJOJQJ^JhuCJOJQJ^Jha0ha0CJOJQJ^J"ha0ha06CJOJQJ]^J gda0/ =!"#$%<@< NormalCJ_HmH sH tH DA@D Default Paragraph FontVi@V  Table Normal :V 44 la (k@(No List POP u HTML Body 7$8$H$OJQJ_HmH sH tH   00 O90   RG4  8*urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttagsdate 220026DayMonthYear =Fp~J Q   N S 33333333  maryanna0$tu@  `@UnknownGz Times New Roman5Symbol3& z Arial"1h2bf2bf2bf  !24 3H)?uFIs there anything that is keeping you from recklessly obeying the LordmaryannmaryannOh+'0 $4 DP l x  GIs there anything that is keeping you from recklessly obeying the Lords tmaryannaryaryNormalmaryann3ryMicrosoft Word 10.0@F#@WF@zҊ=@WF ՜.+,0@ hp  UCSD Cancer Center A GIs there anything that is keeping you from recklessly obeying the Lord Title  !"#$%&)Root Entry F`wxF+1TableWordDocumentSummaryInformation(DocumentSummaryInformation8CompObjj  FMicrosoft Word Document MSWordDocWord.Document.89q