I thought I would share the devotion for today that I got in my email. Its pretty relevant to me in my walk.<P>From: "Terri Main" <terrimain@att.net><P>"I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot...because thou art<BR>lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth."<BR>Revelation 3. 15-16<BR>There's a popular Christian song out that says, "I don't want to be a casual Christian/ I don't want to live a lukewarm life/ I want to light up the night /with an everlasting light/I don't want to live a casual Christian life." <BR>However, many of us do live casual Christian lives. Fr. Thomas Dubray refers to this type of life as one of "refined ediocrity." We go to church on Sunday morning, maybe even Sunday night, say our prayer mechanically over dinner, have a big, ornate, family Bible laying on the coffee table (we keep it dusted regularly), but that's the extent of our Christianity. It's like another club to join and be a part of like the Kiwanii's or Exchange club. <BR>For many of us, Christianity has become safe and comfortable. As long as there is no risk, I will serve God, in moderation. But we are careful that the people at work never find out that we are Christians. <BR>We have good friends in the world who know we go to church, but know nothing about Christ. We go to church, but we stay clear of the ministries in the church. OUr prayer lives consist of quickie, now-I-lay-me-down-to-sleep prayers. Church becomes just nother event in our social calendar. <BR>But what does Jesus ssay about this kind of Christianity. He says, it makes him sick. He wants nothing less than total commitment. After all, he totally committed himself to us on the cross. Can we afford to<BR>do anything less for him?<BR>Lord, keep the fire on in my life. Never let me laps into casual Christianity. Set me at the front of the battle so that I will be there to see the victory first hand when it comes. Amen From Your Daily Inspiration - eprayer.com<BR> God’s will be done. No matter how noble the intentions are, we don’t know what God has in store for others. Thank God for the chance to help others. Thank Him for the desire to give of self to others. But<BR>ask God for the power to trust in Him enough so that our prayer will be that His will be done…not ours.

Thanks AW,<P>That is something we all are capable of lapsing into, better known as complacency or lethargy in our faith. God calls it being lukewarm and his reaction is to vomit!!!!!!!!! Pretty Powerful!<P>If anything comes out of this ordeal we all are going through it certainly is that God has got our attention.<P>I have thought alot of times that God wanted to do something in my life which only living through this horrible demise of my marriage could accomplish. It is pretty scary to think that He needed to allow my H to stray to get my attention! I have asked his forgiveness in this issue and realize that I had to of had a hand in things going astray.<P>No! I didn't cause the affair! I do need to put God first in my life though and not my H. When I love God first I can love my husband better.<P>God Bless, Taj<P>

I hope it is ok for me to put this here, it was my lesson from yesterday from the book "Lord, Heal my Hurts" by Kay Arthur. It is long, but so much of what i have read here the past 2 days seems to fit in with this.<BR> Yes, as Taj said, this disaster has gotten our attention. but we are not alone.....<P>"Suffering is one of God's primary means of conforming us to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ. As the God-man, Jesus suffered. As children of Fod, we will suffer.<BR> When i suffer, it is always a comfort to know I'm not alone and my suffering has a purpose. ..the author of Hebrews writes of Jesus: 'Although He was a son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.' (Heb. 5:8) (Phil 1:29, Rom. 8:16 too)<BR> Suffering and glory go together. You can't have one without the other. Thus, God likens our suffering to the purifying of silver and gold. Neither metal is pure in its natural state. both are mixed with all sorts of things which make them impure.<BR> Isn't that the way it is with us? We are born with a sin nature that constantly attracts all sorts of impuritites: thoughts, beliefs, destructive actions, and habits. We are influenced by our environment---an environment permeated with sin.<BR> Silver and gold need to be refined before they reveal their beauty. So do we! The process of refining includes the melting down of the metal by fires designed not to destroy the metal, but to bring forth its beauty.<BR> Let's look at how silver is purified. The silver is crushed into small pieces and placed into a crucible. The silversmith places the crucible over the fire that has been prepared to just the right degree of heat, and then he watches carefully as the silver melts.<BR> Eventually impurities will rise to the top of the crucible. These are scraped off carefully by the silversmith. Then an even hotter fire is built. Once again the silver is subjected to the heat. Now, under this new intensity of fire, more and different impurities are released.<BR> The silversmith never leaves the silver unattended in the fire, lest the silver be damaged by too much heat. Each time the fire is increased and the imputities are removed, the silversmith bends over the crucible to llok at himself in the melted silver. At first his image is dim...his face barely discernible. However, with each new fire his image becomes more distinct. When he finally sees himself clearly, he knows all the impurities are gone. The refining is complete.<BR> So it is with you, Beloved. God breaks you and puts you into the crucible of suffering for one purpose and one purpose alone--to make you into His image. He is preparing you for glory. Whether you have known it or not, God has been there through every trial, pain, and hurt. He has carefully watched so that it would not destroy you, all the while knowing that eventually it would work together for your good.<BR> Listen to His words: "In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ." 1 Peter 1:6-8<BR> Learn to see every trial--past, present, and future - as part of God's refining process to make you like Jesus."<BR>

Wow, that was awesome! It hit me right in the heart and brought tears to my eyes. I have thought this all along in the back of my head throughout my marriage that I am in the trials so that I can learn to be closer to our Father in Heaven. Thank you so much for sharing this. I particularly like the last two paragraphs. I wish I would have discovered this insight 3 years ago when my husband was unfaithful then. I wish I had known about marriagebuilders then. I truly believe I was led here by the Lord so that my eyes would be opened to see the errors I have made. He has been trying to tell me what I've been doing wrong for a long time but I wouldn't listen. I learned my lesson though. My motto is now "Shut Up and Pray".

Today's Neil Anderson devotional seems to fit in to our discussions on prayer to thwart Satan's attempts to bring us down. Check it out at: <A HREF="http://devotionals.crosswalk.com/NeilAnderson\" TARGET=_blank>http://devotionals.crosswalk.com/NeilAnderson\</A>

Thanks AW I have that devotional sent to me by e-mail everyday, that site is awesome.

here are some more devotional sites... "Our Daily Bread", "Campus Journal" and "My Utmost for His Highest"... I love starting each day with the daily bread and have found the other two also very edifying, uplifting and at times correcting... I need it all!!you can get to these all through this link..<P> <A HREF="http://www.gospelcom.net/rbc/" TARGET=_blank>http://www.gospelcom.net/rbc/</A> <P>I have enjoyed all of your links too... We all share in girding each other up for the task we have ahead... Thanks... <P>------------------<BR>Jesus is the only answer!<BR>His blessings, Cozy

Here's another pertinent devotion. We should be like the widow in this parable, keep asking and asking of our Lord: From: "Terri Main" <terrimain@att.net><BR>[devotion] Inspiration On-Line January 17, 2000 <P>"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it<BR>shall be opened unto you" Matthew 7.7<P> Today, I had the day off. I needed it after the first week of classes. I teach public speaking at a local community college. Every class was filled<BR>to capacity with students who put off taking the class until the end of<BR>their college stay. There were also massive waiting lists of 15-30 for each<BR>class. In public speaking I can't add students over the class limit because<BR>of the time involved. Each student takes up an hour of class time doing<BR>speeches. While a few drop out over the course of a semester, I still end<BR>up with 25 or more students in each class. So, I don't add anyone until the<BR>second day of classes when I can see which students didn't show up two days<BR>in a row. This gives students who may have missed the first day because of<BR>an unavoidable event a chance to save their seat in the class. It also does<BR>one other thing. By the second class session I lose half or better of my<BR>waiting list. They simply do not perservere.<BR>This time in one class even after the drop outs I had four or five students<BR>left over I had to turn away. One student asked if he could sit in on the<BR>class through the week just in case someone dropped. I said, "Sure" and<BR>didn't think much of it. I hear this one often and never see the students<BR>again. Well, this one did come back two times. He even did the homework<BR>and took the quiz. Talk about faith! Well, needless to say Friday I added<BR>him to the class even though I was overloaded. Why? Because I know if this<BR>student will persevere in trying to get into class he will probably be as<BR>diligent when he gets to class.<BR>The Greek text of Matthew 7.7 might be translated "Be seeking, be asking, be<BR>knocking" It implies a continuous and repeated activity. I am reminded of<BR>the story of the unjust judge and the widow. The widow came seeking justice<BR>and the judge just turned a deaf ear to her pleas, but she kept coming back<BR>again and again and finally he gave in. Jesus gave this parable implying<BR>that when we desire something of God we may need to come back again and again.<BR>Why? Well, maybe like me, God wants to see how serious you are about this.<BR>Is it important enough for you to remain in prayer for days or months or<BR>years to see it accomplished? If so, then you may handle that blessing of<BR>God wisely.<BR>Of course, I am also reminded of my student in this. The student hung in<BR>there in order to get the class, now he has committed himself to weekly<BR>quizzes, homework assignments, exams and four major speeches. He worked<BR>hard to get into a class to work even harder. So, it may be with the<BR>blessings of God. You may pray hard that God provide you with a car only to<BR>find out that when you are given a car that there is a family in your<BR>neighborhood who needs a ride to church. Receiving a miracle is one thing,<BR>managing that miracle wisely is quite another. In praying for your miracle,<BR>God may be preparing your heart to receive it as a tool for service.<BR>So, do you need a blessing of God? Pray and keep on praying, and be ready<BR>to use your miracle for His glory when it comes Lord, today let me not lose faith in you. Remind me once again to persevere until I am ready to receive my miracle. Amen