My Cross to Carry

8/2/2019 My Cross to Carry

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MyCrossToCarryIts Meaning and its PurposeBy Dan Mason

God wishes all of us to walk in the freedom of knowing

Him, as a Loving God, who Cares for His Children. Many

don’t realize this, only to wander into all types of sins,

avoiding the truth that they are Loved and Adored, by the

Lord Jesus Christ. My Cross To Carry shows us how to

surrender to the hurt, and pains life some times brings.



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M MM My Cross y Cross y Cross y Cross

To Carry To Carry To Carry To Carry

Its purpose and Meaning

By Dan Mason



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Letter from Dan

I would like to thank the Lord, Jesus Christ,

for the words given to me for this book.

I would also like to dedicate this book to the

body of Christ, and its believers. May we all

grow up to be like Him, in love and

character.

I would also like to thank all the pastors,

who have given their lives, to help all of us

find Jesus Christ, as Lord and Savior.

Special thanks to my wife Pat, for standing

by me, with her support and love, all these

years. You have been a great encouragementfor all that have met you.

Love, Dan

Hebrew 12:2; Looking unto Jesus the

Author and Finisher of our Faith;



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My Cross To Carry

Its Purpose and Meaning

By Dan Mason

Reference: King James Bible

Copyright: 2011



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My Cross to Carry

Contents:

Sit

The Vision

1. The Story2. The Story of Mary

3. My Story

Stand

1. Your Relationship with God

2. The First Step to Growth

1. Not My Will, but Yours be Done

2. The Story of the Assistant

3. My Will or His?

4. The Story of Shawn5. The Walk of Love

The Second Step to Growth

1. I thought I knew you?2. The Story of Saul



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Contents:

The Third Step to Growth

1. What’s taking so long?

2. Hearing the Voice of God

3. The person called, Charles

The Forth Step to Growth

1. Weapons Of Our Warfare

2. The Cross You now Carry

The Witness

1. The Vision, and the Call

The Study Group Work Shop

1. The Story of Love

2. The Story on Relationships

3. The Story of Forgiveness4. The Story of Faithfulness

5. The Story on Commitment



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Forward

This book was written, in order to help

struggling Christians find their way forward,

to a successful life. The book will help you

find and hear God, as He leads you from the

cross, to promotion and service. After

reading Appreciated, Valued and Loved, by

the same author, I hope to explain the road

from salvation to the cross, and its value in

life. The book contains God’s plan and

growth process, which has been written for

all of us, as His children. In each chapter, I

hope to bring across the understanding of the walk, called commitment and surrender,

blessings and joy. However, it’s all up to

you. You’re the person doing the walking,

and you’re the one that has the right to say

yes, or no to God.



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Remember, God gave you free will.

Therefore, if you ever want God’s best, youwill first have to learn how to follow, and

appreciate God’s decisions for your life. He

has a direction and a plan, designed just for

you.

You can sit, stand or walk, it’s up to you.

However, if you are willing, God will open

up a new world, designed and created by

Him. You’ll be amazed at what you see,

hear and taste, when it comes to thegoodness of God.

In each step, or climb you take, God will

make a move for you, in a greater

understanding of His Will, and purpose for

your life.



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SITLearn, watch and listen

The vision

Years ago, I was given a vision of the inside

of a church. The church was rather large,

and could sit hundreds of people. As I

looked at the center stage, I could see many

steps, climbing higher to a platform where

the musicians gathered, and the pastor

taught from. On the back wall, where theplatform ended, was a cross for all to view,

as the people sat inside the church. This is

like most churches of today, and therefore,

you and I can easily picture this in our mind.



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The story

Like most Christians, we, God’s children,always start at the bottom, where all the

seats are in the church. We sit week after

week, listening to the music, and taking in

the Word of God, spoken by the pastor and

guest speakers.

However, there are a few of us, that want

more of God than this. There are a few

people that seek, and want more of the Holy

Spirit, and a greater fellowship with God.They want a deeper understanding of God’s

will and way for their lives. This type of

person will pray, worship and read the word,

on a daily basis. Still, this is not enough.

Their hearts long for more of God than just Ineed, or give me type of relationship. They

long for the voice and presence of God in

their lives, wherever they go. They want to

know what He is up to, and where He is

going. They long for the love and fellowship

of the Heavenly Father.



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These Christians desire so much to be a part

of God’s life, that they are willing to die out

to self and surrender their ways to Him, for

whatever He wants. These are the people

that will be most used by God, everywhere

they go.

You can’t help but notice them. They are thetype of person that stands out in a crowd.

The anointing of God rests upon them. They

are positive people, speaking the Word of

God, with evidence of the gifts of the Spirit

flowing freely. Their hands burn with the

healing anointing, and they are more than

willing to say no to self, and yes to Him.

They love the Lord in every way possible,

and give from the heart, not the pocket.Their lives belong to Him. They show it

with praise and lifted hands, and positive

witness to the fact that God is very real in

their lives. They have found out that God is

Love, and in Him is no condemnation. In thehard times, as well as the good, they have

found Him to be faithful.



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Therefore, the only thing left in their lives, is

to be faithful to Him. Their reply is always;

“Yes, Lord. “

The story of Mary;

Mary, in the bible, was one such person.

When the angel told her she would have a

child, and that the child would be called

Jesus, Mary’s comment was; “According to

your word, let it be done unto me.” It wasn’t

an easy life, but it was God’s chosen life for

her.

Many times, we, God’s children want only

the good that comes from the Father, and

protection from the hardship of this world.

Mary, on the other hand, could only see

God’s will.

Here is a young girl, who is about to give

birth to our Savior, moving from town to

town with her husband Joseph, in order to

save the child. Later in years, after His

mission was about to be completed, and His



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ministry was coming to an end, she had to

watch as Jesus was beaten, shamed and hung

on a cross to die. Her pain was great, yet her

joy was filled to full, for she knew He had

risen from the grave. Mary was in God’s

plan, even though there was pain and sorrow

along the way.

No one likes pain. It hurts. Depending on

how deep the wound is, the pain could last

for years, or until the person gives over the

offence, grows up, and allows God to heal

them. It’s only then that a person starts to

see God’s plan.

I, myself know this to be true. You’re a

child one day, and an adult the next.

One example, is when a child is over

protected by their parents. This results in the

fact that they may never have had a chance

to grow up. They have never learned to

work through their struggles, and learn fromtheir mistakes. I’ve seen this in many



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families, as the children are given

everything in life they ever asked for.

The child learns to look to the parents for

answers, and not God. In some cases, the

parents have even become their God.

Is there any reason then, why the now older

adult does not seek God, only self and

federal agencies for help? They have

become a product of what is called an

undisciplined life, with the unwillingness to

ever say no to self. Their life is all aboutthem.

I know it hurts to hear this, but it hurts me

more than it does you. You see, I’m 58 years

old, and I also had to come the hard way. I

liked being the only child, and I liked

getting all the special attention. I looked to

others for my needs, and yet, never thought

of God, unless I needed Him for something

greater than what my parents could provide.



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I thank the Lord for turning my life around

from this kind of lifestyle.

When I was going the wrong direction, God

stepped in and said, “I’m going to make

myself known to him,” and He did.

My Story: It happened in 1982. I had

listened to a Billy Graham Crusade on the

television, and had accepted Jesus as Lord

and Savior. It was then that I did the first

part of the vision, I started to attend church,

and then I sat and watched as God led the

way for my life. I viewed other Christians,

their talk life, their walk life and their

actions. I found out it wasn’t anything like

mine. I was wild, and full of self. I felt that

God was too far away, and I couldn’t reach

Him. For this reason, I sought the helpful

prayers of others, rather than relying on my

own. Eventually, I walked toward Him forservice, by helping out in study groups. I

made a lot of mistakes! I tried to live the



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surrendered life, but each time I found this

constant need on the inside of me, to please

my flesh or self by demanding perfection for

worth. The more I found myself perfect in

actions, the more God must approve of me.

Little did I know that this is not God’s way

by grace.

What I had really done, was take the world’s

ideas of works and performance for value

and worth, and extended it into the church,

for acceptance and value.

Most people call this the making of a

religion.

I had not yet learned how to walk and live

by Grace and faith. It wasn’t until years

later, that the Lord spoke to me concerning

this. He was just pleased that I was moving

forward, and learning about Him.

Still, something was wrong. I continued

doing things out of my own strength. God

had had enough! He pointed out the fact



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that He had died on the cross for my sins,

and that nothing could replace the value of

what He had done. Once a person accepts

Jesus Christ, they have accepted God’s

freedom and love, to be called a child of

God.

This is how He pointed it out to me. He toldme about the word called GRACE. When

you spell out the word Grace, you get the

meaning of God’s freedom.

G—God so

R – Richly

A – Accepted us at

C – Christ’s

E – Expense



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Do you understand what that means? God

approves of you, accepts you, loves you and

values you, not by your works, but by His

work at the cross. This new found freedom

set me free from condemnation, for my

imperfect actions called mistakes and

failures. I like the way Eph 2: 8-9 says it.

For by Grace are you saved by Faith not

of works for it is a gift of God less any

man should boast. You see, it was a gift.

This gift called salvation was freely given,

without cost to you, or I. The cost was byHim dying on the cross, for you.

Therefore, if something is without cost,

there is nothing I can do to improve upon

it’s worth. All I’m required to do, is follow.The process is called learning to listen, and

surrender my ways to a walk called faith.

Faith gives substance, or a walk toward the

prize, knowing you’re accepted and loved.

Therefore, as each door opens by Him,you’re given the opportunity to step

forward, and into His blessing. This



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surrendered attitude allows you to walk

toward your goals, and also toward His

higher calling. Your movement only

requires you to take one step at a time. I

know you’ll make mistakes, and mess up.

We all do, but if you keep walking forward,

you will always find His peace and strength

in the fullness and presence of God. Again,

this is your choice. It’s up to you to walk.

He gave you freedom to sit or grow. You

can either sit and never move forward, or

you can stand up, and make yourself knownas willing to be trained.

This will require something of you, as a

person. Even though you’re scared and

unsure of yourself, God’s in control. As youcontinue walking, your faith will increase

when you see God working. It takes

boldness to set your sights on a direction

that has never been seen before, but it’s

worth it. Therefore, remember this: Tinysteps are better than no steps at all.

Believe me, God will help you stand, and



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eventually walk forward, into those

unknown goals or areas. It’s called spiritual

growth for learning, as well as learning to

trust in Him. Remember, He is your Daddy,

Father.

STANDIn faith toward understanding Him.

You’ve learned to sit, now it’s time to stand,

and then learn how to a walk toward the

platform in the vision of the church called

promotion.

Well, you’ve started your walk by standing

in faith and not by sight. You’ve learned to

follow the steps of peace that is on the

inside. You’re not swayed by the loudness

of the world and men’s voices so much.That gentle small voice on the inside of you,

is leading you, and you’re not driven by fear



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or emotions. The word of God is now your

direction and pathway for success.

What you have done, is gone from a sitting

position to a standing position. By now,

you’ve learned to believe in God’s

willingness to talk to you on a personal

level.

This part of faith could take months or

years, depending on your spiritual training

and church background.

Fear or Faith.

By now, you’re more than willing to walk

toward your calling, but first, you will have

some deeper training by God. This is going

to require you, as a child of God, to castdown fear, and stand your ground, by faith,

in all circumstances and situations.

Remember, small steps are better than

none, and faith sees the road where fearpoints out the obstacles in the way. Fear

also finds faults in self and others, and is



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more than willing to point out the

negative wrongs in the way called life. For

this reason, many will destroy their own

blessings by condemning it to death,

instead of praying over it in favor and

acceptance.

Have you ever tried walking toward God’sgoal for your life, only to find out you’re

going the wrong direction? This happens to

all of us. It’s called learning to hear from

God and not following your thoughts and

emotions. You have to learn to follow

before you can ever make the journey

toward the steps that lead to the platform

called the surrendered life. The process

takes time, and no one comes to asurrendered life overnight. If you’re willing

to admit it, we all need to let go to His ways

and not follow our own. Then, and only

then, can you say; “ I’m walking by faith.”

Remember, faith is a position taken by

believing in, and relying on the one you call



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God. It knows Him by more than the word

savior.

Your relationship with God.

By now, you have started a relationship

beyond hand outs and I need and I want. By

now, you’ve started to ask Him the road to

take and what is my cross to carry. What is

His will concerning my life. As well as what

has He chosen for my life?

This will be your first step to know Him as

Lord.



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Obedience

Our first step

toward the

platform

Let’s see what it takes to step up or climb

higher. We know that it was the acceptance

of Jesus Christ that got you to sit in church

and learn of His ways. We also know that

your faith has grown to the point that youare now willing to stand and make yourself

known as a follower of Christ, but now,

you’re doing something even more

challenging. You’re walking upward toward

a beginning surrendered life toward His will,and now you’re ready to take your first step

of obedience.



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Step One, the climb upward

It’s not my will but yours be done.

Those are challenging words aren’t they?

Wouldn’t it be great if God said; “I’m here

to fulfill all your requests and none of

mine?” We would never have to surrender,but instead, He would have to surrender to

us! You know what would happen? We

would all turn out to be spoiled, fat babies,

destined to go to the Kingdom of God in

Heaven. Yet, at the same time, we wouldhave never learned discipline, or to respect

others, or to follow authority figures.

Therefore, the first step upward has to be

called the Surrender of Self.

“I don’t want to die!”, you cry. “I like all my

fleshly toys and habits!” Believe me, you

won’t die, but you will give up a lot of your

old life style. If you’re like me, you’ll have

to admit you’ve made a lot of mistakesbecause of those fleshly ideas, and some you



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don’t care to talk about. You’ve made these

mistakes in relationships, money, children,

jobs and choices in life. You’ve been over

demanding, critical, and life has basically

been all about you. You! You! You! You’ve

judged others and told them what they had

to do, and never gave thought as to what

they wanted. You most likely thought

you’re always right and everyone else is

wrong. Therefore, you didn’t listen.

Everyone else is the jerk and they don’t

listen.

For this very reason, it’s caused you to make

so many mistakes that you would like to

bury your head in the sand, so to speak. This

is the reason why this step seems to be thebiggest and most important step you’ll ever

take in your life. Without this step, you’ll

go no further with God. If you don’t learn to

say yes to God, and no to self with all those

fears, you’ll end up like a china glass doll orobject sitting on God’s shelf, not being used

or blessed. It’s not God’s fault but your



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choice. Again! Nice to look at, but not really

being used very often, or you may not be

used at all. Be careful! If you don’t start

walking in your training, and develop faith

muscles, you may go back to a stand

position again. The next thing you may see

is you, sitting in the back row of the church,

wondering where you fit in. Then your

thoughts may turn negative, and you may

start saying; “I don’t belong here. Maybe I

belong somewhere else, and need to go to

another church.” This type of thinking willlead you all over the place. If the thought

lasts long enough, you’ll keep on moving

from church to church to church. You know

where that thought came from don’t you?

Fear! Fear of surrender, fear of submission,and fear of authority figures. It stands to

reason, since you’ve always had a better

way of doing things. You’ve always been in

control, up until now, and it scares you. If

you’ve developed and worked this stubborn

mind set long enough, you’ve probably



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learned how to manipulate and control

others with your anger, by using fear tactics

with thoughtless words, or comments that

hurt.

The story of the Church Leader:

I know this to be a fact. I met a person a

long time ago who was requested by a

church leader to do a certain thing. But,

because the person didn’t think this was a

good idea, and the person was looking for a

way out, the person rebelled. This personwas found going to several other leaders

until they could find someone to back up

their hidden fear of lack of responsibility.

What happened next was totally from the

Lord. I watched and prayed about thesituation, and asked the Lord what He

thought. What He told me, made me glad we

are saved by grace and not by the works of

our hands. Therefore, let’s not rebel and

walk away in fear. Know that you’re a part

of God’s plan, and that you do have a



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purpose. Remember, God will help you. So,

take that first step of faith to let someone

else have control over your life, God.

This first step of faith is also called learning

to trust, and you learning to let go. If this is

the first time, I can tell you right now you’re

afraid.

You’ve never let go before.

You’ve always had control of things. In your

thinking, you will be telling yourself, “If I

let go, that means I’m then out of control,

and if I don’t have control, there’s a good

chance that something might crash.” Well,

you’re right. Something is going to crash,

the flesh. What will happen, is that your

fears about self will have to fall to the way

side, and you will have to come in line with

God’s word and will. You will no longer be

able to rely on your skills and education

alone. You will have to seek God first ineverything. The bible says; “I’ve come not



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to do my own will, but the one who sent

me.”

My will or His?

Will is part of the first step. Will I do what

God wants? Or, will I surrender to fear one

more time. Will I believe in me, and Him

with me, helping me all the way? Or, will I

seek the advice of others, who use these

same fear tactics to protect themselves from

having to move forward? You see, the

question is really yours to answer, and notmine to give. I can’t make up your mind.

You are the one that can step out and make

yourself available to God.

The walk of faith.

Let’s look at fear the way those of faith see

it. Those of faith choose to believe in God’s

word, instead of what man would say. They

take the path of hardship, rather than the

easy way out. Those of faith also prove

themselves loyal to the King of King’s and



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the Lord of Lord’s, up unto the end. They

would rather die for their faith in God, rather

than run in fear.

They pray in reverence to Him, the all

knowing God. And they stand their ground,

as the Lord’s chosen.

Does this remind you of anyone? You’re

right, it’s you. You see, I believe in you, and

God believes in you. All the angels in

heaven believe in you. All of us are just

waiting for someone like you to take actionin your faith, and walk in love.

Oh sure, you may fall or trip along the way,

but I know you’ll get back up and make it

this time. Even if it means falling 10 times,

God still forgives and delights in those who

keep trying, and keep seeking Him for

strength. So, step up and be known as His

chosen, like those who followed Him in the

past. He’s not judging you, He is helpingyou. The only one who judges, is the one



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who wishes your fall. If I were you, I

wouldn’t listen to him.

So, have you walked through any, or some

doors of opportunities yet?

Maybe you surprised us all, and completed

each assignment given and directed by God.

That’s great! In either case, you most likely

would have developed spiritual skills along

the way. Skills most needed in casting down

the imaginations of the enemy. You may

have also stopped looking at situations orproblems with a negative outlook. And now,

you’re hearing the voice of the Lord, instead

of self.

If you have developed these spiritual skills

or gifts, you most likely gained great insight

on the walk of Love. You are starting to

understand that others around you have the

right to make choices and directions

according to the way they feel God isleading them. They may not be dong it your



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way, but they are doing it theirs with God’s

help.

The story of my son, Shawn.

My son had grown up to be a strong man of

God. Now, it was time for him to get

married. As I thought about it, I said to

myself; “I’ve given him all I could give to

him in advice and love. Now, it’s up to

him.” There was one little problem. I had

never learned to let go as a parent. It

happened when my son was making plansfor his upcoming wedding, with his soon to

be new wife. I’ll never forget it. I was

listening to him tell us what they had

planned. Just wanting to help, I said; “If I

were you, I would….” Shawn cut me short,and said; “Dad, I didn’t ask you.” Boy, did

that hurt, but, he was right. Shawn didn’t

ask, and I was being opinionated. Had he

needed my help, he would have asked. I

probably should have said to both of them

that if they needed any help or advice, my



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door is always open, and left it at that, but,

no. I always had an idea, and always had a

better plan. Do you know what the problem

was? It wasn’t him, it was me. You see, in

the past, Dad was always right there as the

man of God, but now, my son needed to be

respected as the man of God. After that day,

I always have. My son had grown up, and

Dad needed to also.

My friend was looking for a home.

This is another story of someone, outside thefamily, that needed my respect also. Often

times, each of us have viewpoints that never

match each other’s.

One time, I went out to look at a house that a

friend was considering to purchase. My

friend thought it best to have me along for

support and encouragement. After looking

at the house with my friend, we each went

outside to discuss the situation. I told myfriend that I thought it best to buy an older

home with 2 x 4 walls. The person I was



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with didn’t see it my way. They wanted this

new modular home with no repairs to be

made. As I was thinking about this dilemma,

God spoke to me. He said; “Dan, what is

right for you, is right for you. What is right

for them, is right for them.” I guess I never

thought of it that way. It makes sense,

doesn’t it? I just needed to encourage

people, not correct people.

You see, we as people, fight and argue about

the dumbest things. Why fight over all types

of differences? Take, for example, a section

of carpet that is going down on the inside of

a church. It isn’t the carpet or the color that

is the issue. Pride is really the issue, and

someone who is not in authority over thedecision, wants their way and control. You

see, pride always has a better way of doing

things. Pride is also quick to cut down and

show others what is wrong, and who is in

the wrong. Pride also murmurs, complainsand becomes angry if challenged.



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Therefore, if we are ever going to learn to

get along, we each will have to understand

that we all have opinions, and that we each

have been given choices, with God helping

us along the way.

Edification and encouragement is what is

most needed in order to build up theKingdom of God. However, if you like to

control others, you’re the type of person that

uses all types of negative, fearful comments,

with a variety of angry looks, to get your

own way. Some aggressors even feel the

need to lower the worth of others by harsh

comments, in order to make self look or feel

good. Their low self esteem deprives the

rights of others to excel. A stable personwill not exalt self. A stable person will

rejoice in helping others reach their dreams

and goals. A stable person sees possibilities,

not challenges in life or challenges by

others.



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How many doors have you gone through

since your first step of faith?

Are you walking in love?

Love is the only road that leads to success.

Each step you take surrenders self, and

signifies your ability to trust. You no longer

have to fear about lack of worth if you’re

walking in love. Even if fear does try to

stop you, you do the love walk anyway.

Always remember that submitting to God,

who is love, and resisting the devil, causesthe devil to flee. The enemy can not stand

love. It contradicts what they want to do,

which is kill, steal, destroy, as well as

manipulate and control you in every possible

situation. So, let’s stay on this level calledlove for a while.

It’s here, on this level, that we develop a

solid walk, and learn to help others. By

doing so, we see God’s plan for each of us,also. Walking in love accomplishes many

things for the Lord. He will always direct



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you in life because of your love walk. Now,

having walked by faith and not by sight, and

having learned to cast down the thoughts

and lies of the enemy, God is ready to move

you forward again. It’s now time to take

another step of faith.

Our desire to find more

of God

The second step toward

the platformThe second Step upward

I thought I knew you.

That’s what I said many years ago. I thoughtI had arrived. Was I ever wrong! I could

quote lots of bible verses, was doing so



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much for the Lord, teaching all types of

classes and groups, when all of a sudden,

God told me I needed to know Him on a

new level.

You see, I had never let go of all the hurts

and pains of what had been done to the

character of the person called me.

What about all those angry attacks people

had done toward me, with words I felt I

didn’t deserve? What was I suppose to do

with them?

I held on to these offences like a prize

possession. Some hurts were so deep and

old, that I didn’t even know they were there.

I was about to find out. I had done so much

for the Lord, but a lot of it was in my own

strength, and I didn’t even know it. A long

time ago, a set pattern was placed in my life

by wrong upbringing, which kept playing

like an old familiar song, day after day.What was that song?



40

I didn’t believe in me.

For this reason, I would never stand up formy rights as a person, or Christian. I let

people talk down at me, and I allowed them

to take what belonged to the kingdom and

use it for their own glory. You see, I had not

yet learned to walk with boundaries, and inauthority and power. I had given up my

rights to uphold theirs.

I recommend that if you do not have

boundaries in your life, you need to read any

and all resource material in this area.

There was a reason for me not having any

boundaries. I had been abused as a child bymy parents. They had beaten me down with

their words, actions and life style, which

was totally non Christian. For this reason, I

learned to follow the world, and the old

pattern taught to me in life. This pattern set



41

me on the road for self-destruction, that was

created by pride.

It wasn’t until years later, and after

accepting Christ, that this would come out,

and I would have to repent. Unknowingly,

for years, I had followed my parent’s

insecure ways for approval, by demandingperfectionistic works for worth. For this

reason, my main concern was all about self.

It was when I accomplished something

great, or was wealthy enough to prove to

others I had arrived in this great world of

toys, that I felt good about me. Along with

this, I had an overpowering need to be

acknowledged as a great authority figure in

my little world of self.Little did I know, but before Christ had

entered by life, I was best described as a

self-made man. You see, without things or

toys in my life, I felt like a loser, and I

always thought I had to prove myself. Little



42

did I know I had become a workaholic for

man’s approval, not God’s.

The story of Saul

Read first Samuel in the Old Testament, on

how Saul belonged to God. He was God’s

chosen king. Yet, he lost his position, wealth

and life, because he feared man, and not

God. For this reason, he refused to obey God

when God told him to do something. The

word is called obey. This alone will make

you want to fall on your knees for yourrebellion, and repent for not walking after

God’s ways. If you fear man more than you

fear God, you will never be promoted by

God when He wants to promote you. You

will constantly think you are in the wrongchurch again, and will, therefore, move on

one more time. Or, you will move on

because of your fear of commitment to men,

women, and most of all God.



43

Pride and fear make a product in a person’s

life called rebellion, and rebellion, given

time, leads to rejection.

The end result will be you, listening to all

the winds of man’s breath. This causes you

to be tossed in every direction when

circumstances change in your life, but thereis hope. It’s when you let go and pray, and

begin to trust God, that you become rock

solid. This alone will stabilize you. Confess

your fear to Him. He is more than willing

to take it away. Where is your heart right

now? Is it stable? Or, are you being tossed in

all directions?

If you feel like wavering, it could mean

you’re right where God wants you. Pray,don’t run. Now, stand still, and see the

salvation of the Lord.

He hasn’t moved, why should you?

Remember the story when Jesus was in theboat, and the waves started to come in?

Jesus just got up and rebuked them. His



44

followers sat there in fear and awe at what

had just happened.

How could such a man calm the sea? Little

did they know it, but later on in life, they

would be required to do the same type of

movement in the lives of others. His chosen

would calm the hearts of men by showingthem God’s strength and willingness to heal

and set free.

It could be that this is your time and calling

for today. You’ll never know until you try.Try to step out and find out. Find out where

God is in your life. Are you being tossed?

Stand still and know that He is God. He is

not going to let you down, and He doesn’t

want you to sink in your circumstances.

The bible says; “He will never leave you or

forsake you.” Why not start now by letting

go of any hurts, and all that left over debris

called pain, that you have treasured all theseyears. You know the items that are hidden in

your mind and heart. It could be those



45

treasured mind sets are what’s holding you

down from God’s next step of glory.

Let’s pray.

Lord, help me to forgive, and to be forgiven.

Help me to let go of yesterdays past

mistakes, and of the sins that were done to

me. Help me to forgive myself for all the

mistakes I have made, because of this. I’ve

chosen wrong avenues and roads that led

away from you, by respecting man’s wishes,

and not yours. I have allowed pain to makeme shy away from your call and love, also

your blessings.

I also, unknowingly, sought after fleshly

restitution from wrongs that I felt had been

done to me in life. I now forgive each and

every person, by name, that has ever hurt

me, and I set them free from owing me

anything. I also ask you, Lord, to bless, and

set both of us free from our mistakes andwrong doings. I realize that if I don’t, the

bitterness that I hold within me, will show



46

up in the form of health issues, such as

obesity, or alcohol and drug abuse. Keep

me from hurting others with a slanderous

tongue, or a critical heart.

Thank you for forgiving my sin, and for

paying my debt, in full, on the cross. I

accept your forgiveness, and I forgivethose who have hurt me.

In Jesus Name, I thank you.

If you feel led by God, you may want to say

the person’s name that has offended you,

and forgive the sin. In each case, where that

hurt was, you may need to talk with that

person as if that person was with you in the

very room you’re sitting in. Talk to the

person about the memory of what they did,

with confronting forgiveness. You see, they

don’t have to be with you in person, and

often times, its better you do it without

them there. Sometimes, it’s better not tobring up something of the past, where no

one remembers the incident.



47

After all, they may not be ready to deal with

the subject just yet, only you need to be set

free.

Confronting them in person sometimes

does not work. They may not even

understand. Often times, some people don’t

realize you’re hurting, or in pain. It justdepends on where their heart is. For this

reason, I confront people only when it

happens, and only in Love. I never devalue

them, or cut them down, I just tell them,

very simply, that what they did or said hurt.

At the same time, I let them know how

valuable they are as a person, never shaming

them. Most of all, I don’t do any confronting

in front of others.

Well, it looks like you’re finding your value

as a person, and at the same time, the value

of others with God. For this reason, it’s time

for another step toward God’s call.



48

I’ll step up to your call

The third step to the

platform

The step called Preparation andUsefulness.

Preparation is such a big word. It starts

when you first accept Christ, and usefulness

ends when He calls you home to be withHim. It’s a work that will be done in you

every day, and, at the same time every day

in the lives of every Christian. As you

develop skills in the spirit and in life, you

become more useful every step of the way. Iknow this to be a fact. When I first started

my walk with God, I gave myself a couple

of years, and then declared myself ready to

take on the world.



49

What’s taking so long?

Boy, was this a laugh! I was used in someareas greatly, but in others, where I knew I

was being called, I couldn’t help but wonder

why it was taking so long. I knew my

calling, but I just wasn’t getting there. It

seemed like I was forever climbing, butnever getting to the place called promotion.

Little did I know it, but the reason why it

was taking so long, was because I had yet to

develop all my spiritual skills. Also, mytrusting faith walk with God needed fine

tuning. You see, I had a lot of insight, but

little understanding of the whole bible in a

lot of areas.

What I needed was to learn patience, and

develop the willingness to follow God. You

see, I was still demanding immediate results

out of others, and expected others to follow

my advice. Little did I know it, but Godworks on a time table, His time table, not

yours or mine. I had forgotten to let Him be



50

God, not me. I was demanding and hard

nosed. I saw things black and white. I had

forgotten that God sees the whole story

when it comes to someone else’s life.

He knows everyone’s hurts, as well as their

trials and their accomplishments. He knows

what you went through yesterday, whereyou are today, and what you will face

tomorrow. All I could see was the need.

Hearing the voice of God.

For this reason, I needed spiritual ears to

hear God’s voice for direction, and an

understanding heart toward others. This is

called the fruit of the spirit, and the walk of

love. It’s having patience for, and with

others. It’s called long suffering in the bible.

It’s believing in, and hoping for, not being

demanding, or self willed towards God’s

authority. Remember, your authority means

nothing without God’s Spirit involved in it,or with us.



51

Therefore, seek His will and direction in

everything you do. Learn to listen to the

Spirit of God, and walk with understanding

love. It’s that still, quiet voice inside of you

that is doing the talking. Wait and find out

what He is saying to you, and others. By

doing so, the situation just may change.

Often times, in my own life, the Spirit of

God would say something that was totally

opposite of what the mind would think up.

For this reason, higher education and skills

has to take second and third place, by

understanding God’s love on any situation.

It’s called listening to the Spirit of God.

To do this, I often times enter into my prayer

closet, to get alone with God, so I can hearonly Him. The second way is by reading His

word. The third way is by praising Him, and

flowing in the Spirit of Worship. This way,

I’ll not be led by the flesh, only the spirit.

Remember, His spirit never contradicts the

Word of God. If in doubt on hearing God



52

correctly, ask for a well grounded Christian

to help pray with you concerning your

situation.

Spiritual understanding, with God speaking,

always leads to success, no matter how hard

the situation is.

The person I’ll call Charles.

God is leading you. He is speaking to you.

All you have to do is follow. Let me explain

it this way. A long time ago, I had a person

call me on the phone, to report a bad

situation that had just happened. I was just

about to get off work, so I told them I would

be right over. As I left the parking lot, I

started to pray. I heard nothing from the

Lord concerning my friend’s problem.

It was then I told myself that God does not

leave us alone. He is always with me. I also

told myself that, if I’m not hearing anything,

it is not God’s fault, it is mine.



53

This told me I was in the flesh, and not in

the spirit.

Therefore, I needed to come to Him, not

Him to me. I was the one who needed to

draw near, so He could draw near to me.

While I was driving down the street, I

started to call out to God by praising Him,and seeking His face. I quoted bible verses

that proved He was with me, and sought

Him with all my heart. Within a few

minutes, I started to hear something, but it

wasn’t quite clear. I continued to praise and

sing songs of love to my Heavenly Father.

After a few more minutes, I was hearing

God very strongly and solidly inside of me.

It was then I was told to do nothing, and thatHe has wanted this person to surrender to

Him for years. I was only to tell them that

this is what the Lord has said over their

situation. God told me that the reason why

they had such a problem was not because of God, but because of their own bad choices

in life. I was stopped in my tracks, so to



54

speak. You see, I was willing to help in any

way I knew how, even with money, but

now, God told me not to. I had to obey.

You see, it took me praising and thanking

God over and over, until I got out of the

flesh, and into the spirit. God was always

there, but I wasn’t in tune with Him. It waslike taking an old dial radio, and trying to

adjust the radio to the proper station, and

then fine tuning it to hear God perfectly.

That’s the way it is for all of us.

We have to leave self behind, and enter into

the flow of God’s Spirit and presence. He

isn’t going to come down to our level, we

have to come up to His. He said; “My ways

are higher than yours.” Therefore, if I haddone what I thought I should, there would

have been a fleshly result, and I would have

messed up God’s plan, resulting in the

person never hearing what God had to say

about their life.



55

So what happens to this person’s life?

They listened to God. They had to gothrough some rough times, but in the end,

they prospered and succeeded at what they

had wanted in life. Wow! God is great! His

mercy is new every morning. We are

refreshed each and every day, when we getinto His presence. It is there that we find His

strength. This is where we find assurance

and value of knowing that we are His. His

presence overtakes our fears, and His voice

shows us the direction to go. We are His,

and we are never alone.

Now that you know you can hear from God,

the next step will dress you for promotion.

It’s just before you take your position thatGod has been long awaiting to give to you.

What is the next step? It’s called the

Priesthood.



56

Who I am in Christ

The forth step to the

platform

The story of the ring.Many years ago, I had become sick with the

flu. I was so bad that all I could do was rest

in bed. It was in the early afternoon of the

first day, that I started to get up and walk toward the hallway. All of a sudden, I heard

the Lord’s voice. He said; “Dan, go put your

ring on.” I said; “What?” So, the Lord spoke

to me again; “Dan, go put your ring on.” I

turned around, went over to the dresser, andreached for a gold ring that had 5 small

diamonds in it. As I placed the ring on my

finger, the Lord spoke to me again. He said;

“Such are the riches of this ring, such are the

riches of my priesthood.

PUT IT ON!”



57

It was then that I stopped everything I was

about to do. I tried to understand what He

meant, but I had no real understanding of the

priesthood, as of yet. So, with God leading

the way, I believe I know what He means.

See yourself in Solomon’s Palace in Old

Testament times. You belong to the King.You’re his adopted child.

You’re robed in fine clothing, you wear a

robe, and you have on a ring, given to you

by your Father, the King, to show yourposition within the household. As the

servants run in all directions, you just stand

there. Your power and authority is great, but

only as the King decrees, and within the

confines of the King’s word. Therefore, toknow the King means a lot, but to belong as

part of His family, is even greater. You, my

child, are part of the family. You’ve been

given the authority, and, also His power, as

His adopted child. You only need study His

word and decrees to show yourself



58

approved, and to find out what the King

believes in, and desires for all His Kingdom.

For this reason, you are allowed to

understand the meaning of all He has

written, and all that He requires. This is the

greatest gift one could ever receive, because

His servants take care of the chores of the

household, but you get to lead it.

So, your training begins. You study to

obtain wisdom and understanding. Through

your readings, you find that the King

The vision for the

witness

Several years ago, I used to go door to door,evangelizing for Christ, using a well-known

program, taught to us at the church. The

program used was very effective in bringing

people to Christ. During its use, I saw many

people accept Christ as Lord and Savior, but



59

there was one thing missing, they would

never go to church after the conversion.

This concerned me a lot, so I sat down and

prayed about this. This is what the Lord

showed me, and said.

The Vision:

In a vision, I saw a woman that the Lord

called Sue. He then showed me how I

looked to Him, when I brought someone toChrist. I saw myself pull the lady up in the

air. I told the lady to stand up and walk,

because she was now saved, and set free. To

my surprise, the lady fell to the ground, and

her leg was broken. The Lord told me that itwould be a long time before she could ever

walk again. He said that her needs would

be great, because of the fall. It was then that

I saw myself get down on the floor, and start

to tend to her needs and feelings. The Lord

said that it was I, who had broken her leg, by



60

lifting her up to my level of faith, and then

letting go of her. He told me I should have

allowed her time to sit and learn about Him

and his love, before ever starting a journey.

I didn’t even allow her time to enjoy being a

new born, in Him. When I started to think

about it, even new born babies have to learnhow to crawl, before they can walk.

I, on the other hand, came right in with the

gospel, explaining how she needed to attend

church, get involved, and do things forChrist.

It was then that the Lord showed me why

she had no strength to stand up. He showed

me her home life. As I looked, I noticed that

the lady had very unhappy surroundings.

Her husband was having an affair with

another woman. Along with this, her child

was on drugs, and running the streets late at

night. It was then that I started to understandthat I had never formed a relationship with

the individual, beyond my need to get them



61

saved. I had not considered that many

individuals need more than just preaching,

they need love, comfort, support, prayer and

help. You see, I didn’t even know her

middle name. This was when the vision

ended.

I believe I learned my lesson.

People need to feel that they can trust you,

rely on you, believe you, and seek you for

help. It’s the same way with God. It’s the

same way with you, and I. You see, we areHis witness. You are God’s tool to build

faith, hope, and life. You’re more than a

witness. You’re a contractor to help build

lives for Christ.

If we will ever reach the lost, we will need

to get involved. We need to love them, as

well as care for them, and, also, give them

our prayers. It’s true, every person we meet

in life needs to hear the gospel of JesusChrist, but they also need your prayers, and



62

understanding care, to develop the strength

needed to keep on believing.

This second part of the book was made for

just that purpose.

Thank you for taking the time to pray.

Love, Dan.

WelcomeIn the study group work shop, it’s my hope

that each born again believer can find their

place with God, and become solidly

grounded in the fact that God loves, and

cares about His children.

Feel free to add, or subtract any area you

want to. It’s your group, or personal study.

If this is used for a study group, you might

try meeting at least once a week, to help

everybody get to know each other, and start

to form a bond of trust.



63

Each of us needs to grow up in the Lord, in

order to find our place in Christ, and its

body of believers.

Try bringing a pie or cake to the meeting,

with a beverage, to be served before starting

each meeting. Then, give the lesson, and

pray as needed. It’s your group, lead it thebest way you think possible.

May God Bless you as you teach each study,

and may your group and church grow in

numbers.

My Cross to Carry Work Book on Love

Believing that everyone in the study group

has accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and

Savior, the next step would be to learn of theLord, and study the fundamental teachings

of Christ, in order to develop a strong

biblical character of body, soul and mind,

through an intimate relationship with God.

If someone has not accepted Jesus Christ as

Lord and Savior, now is a good time to



64

introduce Christ into their life. Read

Appreciated, valued and Loved, by the same

author, for help, if needed.

God desires a relationship with you. He

doesn’t want tiny little robots, that look like

Him, and act like Him. He wants you to be

you. The only thing He requires, is that, asthe relationship grows, so does the

understanding of sin awareness. He is not

pointing out faults in you. His desire is to

create within you, the power of Himself.

God desires a church that follows after Him,

in a walk of love and obedience. His heart of

love always says, you are approved and

accepted. Remember, it was not by works

that got you saved, it was by faith, in whatJesus did for you at the cross.

It’s my hope that you will learn to love

yourself and others, as you take this course.

Most likely, you have joined a church, andare listening to the sermons every week.

This is probably the most awkward feeling



65

in a new born Christian’s life. You’re just

not used to it. You may even think people

are looking at you, as well as you looking at

them. You’re new, what can I say? They just

want to make you feel like you belong, and

sometimes they just don’t know what to say,

or how to respond.

Let’s give each other a break, and just say,

“Hello, my name is ---------------, and I

would like to introduce myself to you. The

more often you make yourself available, as a

friend, the more often people will smile, and

associate with you. Hopefully, after

attending church for a period of time, you

will feel more comfortable in associating

with other members, and you will feelwelcome.”

That wasn’t so hard was it?

Oh, by the way, remember to use breath

mints, or chew gum. I had an older lady tellme, one time, that I had bad breath. It kind

of took me back a step, and, in some ways, it



66

made me mad. It wasn’t until the next night

at choir, that a small girl crawled into my

lap, and, with a smile, gave me a big hug. I

asked her how she was doing, when all of a

sudden, she turned to her mother and said;

“Mommy, his breath stinks.”

Ok, I got the message! From that dayforward, I always chewed gum at church.

You may want to do the same.

Remember, we’re not here to offend people,

we’re here to help them.

Even though your church group will be

known as the church of the gum chewers,

they will still compliment you on your

breath.

Are you ready to start? In five minutes:

With pen or pencil in hand, think about

someone, or turn to the one you’re with, and

write down five wonderful things about thatperson.



67

a.---------------------------------------------------

b.---------------------------------------------------c.---------------------------------------------------

d.---------------------------------------------------

e.---------------------------------------------------

Now, list five wonderful things about

yourself.

a.---------------------------------------------------

b.---------------------------------------------------

c.---------------------------------------------------

d.---------------------------------------------------

e.---------------------------------------------------

Did you find it harder to write about

yourself, more than the other person? Most

people do.



68

We seem to always think of others better

than ourselves. What you need to learn is

how to have a good relationship with you.

Then, and only then, can we have a good

relationship with God. This is dangerous,

because if you don’t see yourself of any

value at all, you’ll believe that God sees youof no value, also. Your wrong thinking, or

mind set, will cause you to form an opinion

of self that does not fit in with the bible.

Instead of reading the bible in a positive

way, about how much you are loved, and

valued, you will look at all the laws and

decrees, as if you failed to meet the grade,

and need to perform, for acceptance and

worth.You will see yourself under the curse, and

not the promise, punishment, instead of

grace. You may even condemn yourself for

sins, that are not sins at all. The worst case

scenario would be, a mindset that says, you

never measure up to God’s standards.



69

Let’s look at a few bible scriptures that point

to God’s love for us, and then, we’ll talk

about them.

God’s Love for us is unconditional.

Look Up:

1 John 3:16 16 For God so loved theworld, that he gave his only begotten Son,

that whosoever believeth in him, should not

perish, but have everlasting life.

1 John 4: 19 We love him, because he firstloved us.

2 John 1: 5 And now, I beseech thee, lady,

not as though I wrote a new commandment

unto thee, but that which we had from the

beginning, that we love one another.

6 And, this is love, that we walk after his

commandments. This is the commandment,

That, as ye have heard, from the beginning,

ye should walk in it.



70

1 John 4: 18 There is no fear in love; but

perfect love casteth out fear: because fear

hath torment. He that feareth, is not made

perfect in love.

Ask Yourself :

1. Why did God come to save us?

2. Am I really that important?

3. If God is Love, why don’t I feel

loved?

4. What if I mess up?

5. How can I be made perfect in love?

Let’s look at question number one.

Why did God come to save us?

1. God always felt you were important,even when you were told by others,

or by self, that you may have been a

mistake. God still wanted you. God

sees potential in each and every one

of us. Believing this is a walk of

faith. To not believe this, is to proveto others that your works for value

stand for something. If you don’t



71

believe this, look at Cane and Able,

and their sacrifice to God. Who’s

sacrifice was accepted, and why?Who’s wasn’t, and why not? You

see, Able brought a lamb offering,

that provided no works. Cane worked

hard in the field, to bring in a great

crop. His offering was rejected. If

God had accepted Cane’s offering, it

would have meant that our works

gives us approval.

Therefore, a bigger and better offering

would have to be sought, each and every

time we came to God, for greater, and

greater approval.

Pretty soon, somebody would come up

with the idea of a building, or a tower to

reach God.

Let’s look at question number two.

Am I really that important?

He thought of you enough to die for

you. With each blow He took, He said; “

Now they can be approved.” With each



72

stripe, He said; “Now they can be

healed.” When He carried the cross, He

carried your heavy burdens and pains.

He also carried all your mistakes and

sins, as well as all your hurt feelings of

sorrow. For this reason, when someone

was found hurting you, they were

hurting Him. All of this, and more, was

given to you, as well as heaven itself.

Remember, you’re also called a child of

God, with position and authority. You

stand among many in this world asgreat, but some of you don’t even know

it.

Let’s look at question number three.

If God is Love, why don’t I feelloved?

Many people don’t feel loved, because

they listen to the wrong voice. That

inner voice, on the inside of them, calledthe Holy Spirit, says they are, and

always will be, His, by position, power,



73

and by authority, given to them, through

Christ.

But, if you listen to the world, and all

the people whose walk in life leads

away from God, you will hear nothing

but sin, doubts, loss and pain.

Condemnation runs high, along with

performance, with its higher demands of

self that never stops. It’s like a ladder

that reaches to the heaven, and you can’tget off, you just keep on climbing.

Works for approval will always make

you feel less than loved or approved.

God gave you grace, to end the works

cycle.

Let’s look at question number four.

What if I mess up?

What if you mess up? You’ll mess up.No one is perfect, Only Jesus, God.

That’s why He came to save us. Look at



74

Romans 3: 23: For all have sinned, and

come short of the glory of God;

24 Being justified freely by his grace

through the redemption that is in Christ

Jesus:

25 Whom God hath set forth to be a

propitiation through faith in his blood,

to declare his righteousness for the

remission of sins that are past, through

the forbearance of God;

26 To declare, I say, at this time his

righteousness: that he might be just, and

the justifier of him which believeth in

Jesus.

Let’s look at question number five.

How can I be made perfect in love?

To be made perfect in love means to be

like Him. He is love. He sought after

others in love. He knew He was love,

and therefore, found no condemnation



75

within Himself. He wants you to love

yourself, and then, and only then, can

you really love others.

He was not prideful, only submissive to

the one He called, Father in Heaven. He

gave His life because of love. He did not

look for any other way, but by theFather’s will, because He saw your

need. Again He chose love.

Look at Romans 13: 10: Love worketh

no ill to his neighbour: therefore love isthe fulfilling of the law.

Ask yourself, and others, if in a group:

1. How can I show love to my wife, or

husband, or family members, orfriends?

2. How can I show love and respect to

others, at work, or gatherings?

3. How can I show love for myself?

4. Explain love in your own words,

when it comes to yourself. In what



76

way could you improve in loving

me?

5. Each one of you, start this statementby saying, “I love me because, ------

-----------.” Now, you fill in the

blanks. One example would be: I

love me, because God loves me,

approves of me, and called me His

own.

Love is the greatest gift you can give to

each other. The second greatest gift, is

forgiveness. Ask yourself this question,Am I forgiven? If so why? These are two

great questions to talk over, because each

person thinks they have to do something,

in order to get something. Remember, it

was a gift, a free gift. All you had to do

was ask for it. All He had to do was

supply a way for you to get it. That way,

was Jesus Christ.



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REMEMBER:

You don’t have to be perfect to beaccepted, only accepted to be perfect.

(God’s rule, by Grace, when you accept

Jesus Christ, as Lord, and Savior.)

There is no other way. It costs you

nothing, and yet at the same time, gives

you everything. You now belong to Him.

Remember, belonging to Him is not like

owning an item, and now He owns you.

Belonging is a place you now stand, like Inow belong to a new family, with all its

rights, with position and authority. You

were once outside the family, with no

rights. But now, you belong inside the

family, and have the same rights andprivileges as others. No one can take that

away. Once you accepted Jesus Christ as

Lord and Savior, you accepted His right

to forgive you of all your faults, mistakes

and sins. If you make a mess of things

again, just pray, and get back into your



78

daddy’s arms, once again, and do His

will. Who is your daddy? God, Himself.

He likes being called Aba Father, that’s

what He is.

He wanted so much to save you, that He

came as the person Jesus Christ, to die on

the cross, just for you. There is no otherway to Heaven.

You may have more to discuss on the

area of love. Feel free to add at any time.

It’s your group, open it up for discussionat any time.

My Cross to Carry Work Book on

Relationship

My Story:

I’ll never forget when I first met my wife,

Pat. I had been single now for about 10

years. I had just started a new job, and was

required to take the inter-office mail down



79

town, once a week. After working for the

company for 5 months, I walked into the

billing department one day, and saw a new

female employee sitting at a desk, for the

first time. When I saw her, my spirit said;

“There’s love.” I could hardly believe I said

that, but I did. It was then that I decided to

ask her out. It took a while for her to finally

say yes, 7 years to be exact, but after 3

months of dating, I proposed, and she

accepted. That was almost 20 years ago, and

each day, when she comes downstairs, I stillsay; “There’s love.”

It’s amazing how God works. One minute,

you think to yourself, you’re destined to be

alone, and the next minute, God introducesHimself as the gift giver, and adviser for

your life. At least, that’s the way it was for

me. I had spent most of my life feeling

rejected by my parents, and other

individuals, that had put me down in life, butthis time, it was different.



80

God was in control, and He was about to

change my whole way of thinking and

living. Little did I know it, but God would

lead me into the greatest relationship of my

life.

And, of all things, He was going to use my

wife to show Himself, and change the way Isaw relationships, completely.

So, let’s start building a relationship with

God as Father, Love, Friend, Helper,

Provider, Comforter, and Wisdom Giver, forour lives.

God wants to be your provider and healer in

life, but the first thing we’ll have to do, is

learn to trust in someone you hardly know.

Meeting God for the first time is like a

dating relationship. You’re hopeful, yet

scared. You wonder what he or she is like,

and can only imagine. You heard from

others about this person, and now you’vebeen given a chance to find out for yourself.



81

In the past, many people, who did not want

to know God, gave a false word on what He

was like.

They reported Him to be a task master, and a

law giver, someone who manipulates others

with fear, and condemnation. Therefore,

these false brethren caused others to stayaway from the fellowship of knowing Him,

as Lord and Savior.

Those who did call on Him as Lord and

Savior, reported just the opposite. He wasn’tlike what the false brethren reported at all.

Those that did know Him, reported Him to

be a support, and a right arm to lean on,

also, a great friend in life. They found Him

constantly encouraging His children, andlifting them up every time they fell. This last

statement is true, for you will always find

Him as more than a friend and comforter,

helper and provider. For this reason, this is

where we will spend most of our time. We

each need to go beyond a dating



82

relationship, and start to know Him as lover,

companion and friend, but to get to this part

of the relationship, it will require something

of you. Something that you have never done

in life, it’s called stepping out and finding

out where God is, and where He hangs out

at.

To do this, you will have to start attending

activities He likes to show up at. In some

cases, you’ll have to do things you’ve never

done before, like go to church. That’s the

way it is in every relationship, when it first

starts out, you have to get to know them in

all types of environments.

This was the way it was with Pat and me. I

still remember taking Pat to events, where

she and I would feel comfortable at. It was

at these events that we each started to form a

relationship of trust, as friends. Later in life,it moved forward into love, and then, total

commitment. You see, I never pushed



83

myself on Pat, and God will never push

Himself on you. He will be a gentleman, at

all times. His commitment toward you is

solid, and does not waver. At the same time,

God encourages you along, but always

walks your pace of life, because He knows

what you’ve gone through in life. He is

never forceful or full of self. He always has

your best interest in mind. This is proven as

you watch Him in His surroundings, for the

more you see His character and His

personality in operation, the more you seewhat He is really like. As you watch Him

take care of the needs of His children, and

how great His love is for them, the more you

will open your heart to the one called Father.

This is where He wants to be. He wants to

live inside of you, in your heart and

thoughts, every day. He wants you to speak

to your spirit, and understand that He has

nothing but good thoughts toward you, asHis child. His motive is always a walk of

love toward you.



84

He also wants you to know, He is right there

when it hurts. When you’re in need He

wants you to look upon Him as you’re

helper, healer, and provider. He assures you

with His presence, that He will not leave

you like others have, in the past.

When you are being attacked by others, Hewants to be your defender, and encourager.

Many who give up when life hurts,

withdraw, and run to past feelings of not

being valuable or lovable. Don’t believe this

about Him. He loves you, and is more than

willing to help you along. Remember, we

each need to seek Him first, and not self,

and all its bad feelings.

This is totally up to you. If you’re willing totrust and wait on Him, you’ll find Him to be

more than just a friend, and a help in time of

need, but, in order to prove all these

things, there is one thing you will have to

do, you are going to have to go to the place



85

where He hangs out, and spend time with

Him.

The first place He hangs out at, is in His

word, for, if you really love Him, you’ll

believe Him at His word.

The second place he is always found, is in

the Holy of Holies. This is where you’ll

have to seek His presence. In order to reach

Him here, you’ll have to learn to praise Him

on His level, and leave self behind.

The third place, and easiest way of getting

His attention, is to pray, because He is

always listening to you.

It’s true, whenever I read His word, He is

always there. Whenever I praise Him, He isalways there,

and whenever I pray, He is always there.

I have yet to have Him ever leave me, and

I’ve found Him faithful, in all my situations.

Therefore, since He is always with me, I



86

know He will always be with you. And I

know that’s what you have always wanted,

someone to believe in, and count on. You

have also wanted someone who believes in

you, and wants to support you in life.

You know someone who loves you, for who

you are, not someone who finds faults and judges you, in everything you do. You want

someone to encourage you. That person is

God.

God does not condemn you, He loves you.He only wants to help you out of all those

wrong situations, and lifelong patterns that

keep hurting you, and others, on this road

called life.

He wants to help clear your roadway, so to

speak, of these destructive emotional

choices of selfishness. You know the

choices that seemed right and fun at the

time, but later on lead you into one sinfulargument after another, with others who

care.



87

If you’re not willing to give up your choices

as of yet, you may have even informed

everyone that this is your life, stay out.

What you’re really doing, is protecting your

sin and choices on how you are going to

live.

God will respect your pattern of living, eventhough it leaves Him out, and pushes Him

away. You see, He gave you free choice.

It’s up to you on how much you want God in

your life, and where you will allow Him in.

You may say no to Him when it comes to

money or giving, but yes to Him when it

comes to comfort.

Some trust God in every part of their life,

and some are very strong willed, and onlywant Him as their savior.

Ask yourself :

1. Is God always with me?



88

2. Is He faithful to me when I do

wrong?

3. After doing wrong, I feel so guilty.How can I stop this feeling of guilt

from hurting my relationship with

Him, because I seem to want to run

away, so to speek, and give up?

4. Learning to trust is hard. I need to

see Him. Where is He when I feel

alone, and am afraid?

5. Is He really helping me? Leading

me? Guiding me? I want to know

where He is.

Let’s start with question number one.

Is God always with me?

The answer is, yes, Always. He invested alot for you, only you. He loved you so much,

that He was willing to die for you, just so He

could have a relationship with you. He

wanted to take you out of the enemy’s hand,

and hide you in the presence of His love.

Look at Hebrews 13: 5 – Romans 8: 39 –



89

Let’s look at question number two.

Is He faithful to me when I do wrong? The answer is, yes. The reason is, because

He can never go back on His child. He loves

you. You have been given the free choice to

walk away, but He will never leave you.

You are His child. He knows you are not

perfect, a child never is. A child starts out in

life, learning how to crawl before he, or she,

ever learns how to walk. Even if they have

developed skills and strength to run the race,some have fallen and have had to get back

up, dust themselves off, and start over. We

are not here to judge, but to support, and

encourage others along the road called

success.

If you think you can’t be forgiven, then I

would say you’re walking the road by way

of a culvert. This is where all the water,

rocks and debris lay. A culvert follows theroadway, but does not live on a higher plain.

If I were you, I would climb up onto the



90

roadway, which is that straight, and narrow

highway that leads to Him. That road is

smooth and free of obstructions. God never

wanted you, as a Christian, to think of

yourself higher and more perfect than

anyone else. At the same time, God never

wanted you, as a Christian, to think of

yourself below another Christian, as a

failure, with less value than anyone else. At

the same time, don’t pridefully raise

yourself above others, learn to encourage,

and exalt each other, as God’s children.

We are all equal as God’s children, if you

have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and

Savior, some just don’t realize it. Read the

story of David in the bible, where Davidsinned many times, yet God called him a

man after God’s own heart. 2 Sam 7:21 on.

And, don’t forget Peter in the New

Testament, where he denied Jesus three

times, and later on, was encouraged back into the ministry. Luke 22: 61.



91

For some reason, we, as people, are quick to

blame, but slow to forgive self and others.

God is just the opposite.

He is more than willing to forgive when we

call on Him, because He does not want any

to have to face punishment, that’s the reason

why He died on the cross. God wanted tosave lives by the cross, not punish them.

Therefore, there is only one thing left to do.

Confess your sins, repent, and ask

forgiveness. Read 1 John 1:9.

Let’s look at question number three:

After doing wrong, I feel so guilty. How

can I stop this feeling of guilt from

hurting my relationship with Him,

because I seem to want to run away, so

to speak, and give up? I feel like such a

failure.

We all do this. We’re up one minute, and

down the next. Wouldn’t it be great if we

could have just one perfect day in life?



92

Well, you can try, but I don’t know how

successful you’ll have it. Life is full of

trials and tests, some light, and some very

hard. How you react to them is your

choice. The same trial, when you weren’t

a Christian, was probably acted upon in a

very worldly way. You became angry and

threw things, and said words you wish

you could have taken back.

After you became Christian, the same

trial was responded to by you in,

probably, a less worldly way. If the same

trial came to you after being a Christian

for more than thirty years, you probably

responded in total love, and not worldly

at all. What was the difference? You, yougrew up, but in each case, the trial

brought forth some type of guilt. The first

time, you may not have had any guilt at

all, because you weren’t even aware of

sin, as of yet. The second time the trialhappened, guilt over took your life, to the

point of feeling over whelmed. The



93

reason is that there is a need deep down

on the inside of us to feel perfect and

right, by some act of what we could, or

should have done. The guilt from failing

causes us to want to give up, and think

we can’t live the Godly life. We base our

performance on self, without grace. For

this reason, only after being a Christian

for a period of time, do you develop the

understanding of perfect love casting out

all fear. Look at: 1John 4:18, Roman 8:1,

Let’s look at question four:

Learning to trust is hard. I need to see

Him. Where is He, when I feel alone

and am afraid?

You’re right, learning to trust is hard. I

know this to be a fact. Some of my own

personal trials have lasted for years, and

it was my day by day, of putting away

childish things, that allowed me to climbover top of each situation as it came.

Some of the trials people face in life are



94

very large, but remember this, He will

never give you anything beyond what you

can handle. If you’re in a trial right now,

do this one thing. Draw close to Him, so

He can draw close to you. You will also

need to remember this to:

Each trial you walk through in life bringssurrender to the flesh, and an increase of

your spiritual awareness, as you draw

close to Him.

You see, your flesh never surrenders onits own. It likes being in control. It likes

sin, fleshly toys, and habits, but trials, on

the other hand, make us grow up and

resist earthly ideas, with all of its wants

for self. You see, the spirit within you iswilling, but the flesh is weak.

Believe me, He is right there, watching,

waiting, and helping you become a better

you. You are His instrument for service,where timing and usefulness is totally in



95

His hands. Look at 1 John 20:25, 1 Cor

13: 11, Mark 26:41, 1 Peter 1:7.

Let’s look at question number five:

Is He really helping me? Leading me?

Guiding me? I want to know where He

is.

I know you feel alone right now,

especially if you’re going through a trail,

but He really does have your best interest

in mind. I have had to cry over some of

the things I had to go through in life, also.

It hurts, but remember this, if you hurt

because of some of the actions done by

someone else, then remember, God has to

work on more than one person. Not only

does He have your interest in mind, He

has the other persons, also, and where

you may be more than willing to listen to

God, and have a change of heart. The

other person may take longer, and thatsometimes means a very long time

period. It could be many, many, many



96

years before they respond correctly, or it

could be just a few days. Therefore, let’s

never stop praying, but let’s, you and I,

keep moving forward, as God calls.

This way, God can work on them alone,

and on their timing of willingness to

respond to Him. Remember, God is Love.The same love He has for you, with

patience and understanding, is the same

patience, understanding and love that He

is willing to show to others. All they have

to do, is accept it. Give them time. Lets

look at: 1 Isa 12: 2, Hab 3:19, 2 Sam

22:13, Psa 59:9.

My Cross to Carry Work Book On

Forgiveness

Let’s talk about forgiveness, when it

comes to self and others. This is the

hardest part of growing up in the body of

Christ. After being saved, take a guesswho might offend you, you’re right, other

Christians. We don’t mean to, but we’re



97

all human. We live each day with trials

and situations, just like the world. We

have problems and wrongs done to us,

just like the world. There is one thing that

is different. We have God on our side, the

world doesn’t. We, as Christians, can

pray and forgive others, but the world

wants to get even. We can ask for help

from the Heavenly Father, the world, on

the other hand, exalts self and demands

acknowledgement.

There is one thing God wants from each of

us, and that is to forgive each other of our

faults and wrong doings. To not hold onto

the hurts of the past, but to let go of what

happened yesterday, so that you and I can beset free today. Isn’t that amazing? I’m set

free, by letting go of someone else’s sin.

Even if it hurts, I still need to forgive.

What does forgiveness do for you? It

gives you access to the Father, and

answers to prayers.



98

It also unloads the mind of torment, and

sets the heart free to enjoy life. This

alone, will give you a good night’s sleep.

Why forgive?

God commanded us to forgive. You see,

He wants you to grow up to be just like

Him, perfect in love. Also, you’ll have to

remember, your Father, in Heaven,

forgave you of your faults and sins,

maybe you should forgive the person who

hurt you also. Let’s look at some bibleverses on forgiveness, and then we’ll talk.

Luke 6: 37 says, Judge not, and ye shall

not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall

not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall

be forgiven: 38 Give, and it shall be

given unto you; good measure, pressed

down, and shaken together, and running

over, shall men give into your bosom.

For, with the same measure that ye metewithal, it shall be measured to you again.



99

Mark 11: 26 If ye do not forgive, neither

will your Father, which is in heaven, forgive

your trespasses.

The story of Joseph.

Let’s now look at the acts of forgiveness

from a brother, who could have, by all

rights, had his older brothers killed for what

they had done. The story of Joseph and his

brothers is about envy and trickery that takes

place in the desert. Joseph is sold into

slavery by his brothers, because of jealousy,but God, later on in the bible, delivers him

out of bondage and makes him second in

charge of Egypt.

During a time of lack throughout the land,

the brothers seek help in Egypt for food and

provision. Little do they realize it, but the

man they are bowing to is their brother,

Joseph, who has become second in charge of

Egypt. Joseph, later on in the story, is aboutto make himself known to his brothers.



100

Gen43: 45:1 Then, Joseph could not refrain

himself before all them that stood by him;

and he cried, Cause every man to go out

from me. And there stood no man with him,

while Joseph made himself known unto his

brethren.

2 And, he wept aloud: and the Egyptiansand the house of Pharaoh heard.

3 And, Joseph said unto his brethren, I am

Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his

brethren could not answer him; for theywere troubled at his presence.

4 And, Joseph said unto his brethren, Come

near to me, I pray you. And they came near.

And he said, I am Joseph your brother,

whom ye sold into Egypt.

5 Now, therefore, be not grieved, nor angry

with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for

God did send me before you to preserve life.

6 For, these two years hath the famine been

in the land: and yet there are five years, in



101

the which there shall neither be earing nor

harvest.

7 And, God sent me before you to preserve

you a posterity in the earth, and to save your

lives by a great deliverance.

8 So, now, it was not you that sent me

hither, but God: and he hath made me a

father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house,

and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

9 Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say

unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God

hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down

unto me, tarry not:

10 And, thou shalt dwell in the land of

Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me,thou, and thy children, and thy children's

children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and

all that thou hast:

After reading the bible verses, you can seehow forgiveness brought the family back

together. Forgiveness by Joseph, also set his



102

brothers free. Joseph, for the first time, now

sees God’s plan for the nation of Israel, and

why he had to go through so much.

Ask yourself :

What would have happened if Joseph had

not forgiven his brothers? What would have

happened to the nation of Israel? Now ask

yourself : What will happen if you do, or do

not forgive the person who owes you, for

wrong done to you? How will it affect you?

How will it affect them?

Let’s look at forgiveness, when it comes to

that last question asked of you. This is the

way God sees it.

This is the story of the man who isconstantly wronged by a certain person. The

story also shows the acts of being forgiven,

and the act of those who do not wish to

forgive.

Matt 18: 21 Then came Peter to him, and

said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin



103

against me, and I forgive him? till seven

times?

22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee,

Until seven times: but, Until seventy times

seven.

23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven

likened unto a certain king, which would

take account of his servants.24 And when

he had begun to reckon, one was brought

unto him, which owed him ten thousand

talents. 25 But forasmuch as he had not topay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and

his wife, and children, and all that he had,

and payment to be made.26 The servant

therefore fell down, and worshipped him,

saying, Lord, have patience with me, and Iwill pay thee all.27 Then the lord of that

servant was moved with compassion, and

loosed him, and forgave him the debt.28

But the same servant went out, and found

one of his fellow servants, which owed him

an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him,



104

and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me

that thou owest.29 And his fellow servant

fell down at his feet, and besought him,

saying, Have patience with me, and I will

pay thee all.30 And he would not: but went

and cast him into prison, till he should pay

the debt.31 So when his fellow servants saw

what was done, they were very sorry, and

came and told unto their lord all that was

done.

32 Then his lord, after that he had called

him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I

forgave thee all that debt, because thou

desiredst me:

33 Shouldest not thou also have had

compassion on thy fellowservant, even asI had pity on thee?

34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered

him to the tormentors, till he should pay all

that was due unto him.



105

35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father

do also unto you, if ye from your hearts

forgive not everyone his brother their

trespasses.

Let’s also look at the Lord’s Prayer.

Luke 11: 4 And forgive us our sins; for we

also forgive every one that is indebted to

us. And lead us not into temptation; but

deliver us from evil.

Are you starting to understand about

forgiveness? It’s a two way street. We have

to forgive, and we constantly have to ask for

forgiveness, for our own sins. The last thing

in the world you want, is broken fellowship

with God. Even though you think you’re

justified for your angry actions or feelings,

you’re not.

We still have to forgive others, and at the

same time, take some of the blame for what

it may have done to our walk with God. I

know one such person, who never asks for



106

forgiveness. They think everyone else is

wrong, and they’re right. If this is you, cast

down your pride and rebellion, and pick up

the cross again. You see, we each make

mistakes and need forgiveness. No one is

perfect. Why put the blame on someone

else? It could be that you’re the one that has

the problem, not them. I know this for a fact.

Years ago, I lost my job. I blamed everyone.

It was several months later, God showed me

that it was my attitude and pride, that helped

set things in motion.

Sure, they had some part in it too, but so did

I. I had to face up to it, so I did. I called

each person, and apologized for my actions.

When I did this, I was set free inside. Myanger left, and so did the hurt.



107

Ask yourself:1. Who, or what offence am I holding

on to that is years old, that I need

to let go?

If you can’t remember, ask the Lord to

show you.

It’s time to Pray and Forgive:

Now, forgive, and ask forgiveness, evenif they are not in the same room with you.

Tell the Lord, and them, the debt is paid,



108

even if they are not there with you. Now,

ask the Lord to take the hurt and pain

away, with His love and forgiveness.

Finish the prayer, In Jesus Name.

Now, ask yourself:

2. What offence, or sin that I havedone in my lifetime, has caused

others to feel pain? Whom have I

wronged? Whom do I need to ask

forgiveness from?

____________________________________

____________________________________

____________________________________

____________________________________

____________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Having trouble asking someone to forgive

you? I did too, it’s called pride. No one

wants to be wrong, but your life style mayhave damaged the lives of others. It may

have cost others tears and financial grief.



109

Your wrong choices may have even cost you

your outlook on how you see self, and

others. The only way to repair this, is by

asking and giving forgiveness to self and

others.

I’m proud of you.

Love, Dan


Faithfulness:

God’s faithfulness, this is a very touchystory. Why? Because, God loves you, and

many people like to test Him, when it comes

to Him being faithful. You would think that

as his children, we would learn not to test

the Heavenly Father, but we do. I think it’sbecause we don’t know any better. We’re

like kids, playing with our toys in the

backyard, when all of a sudden, we hear

something outside the boundaries of our

protection. We look, and are so excited to

find out, that the ice cream truck is heading



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our direction. We’ve been told not to go

outside the yard or boundary, but we can’t

help ourselves. We’ll even take every penny

we have to get to its sweetness, only to find

out, we spoiled our parents dinner plans that

evening. Why did we do it? We’re a child,

that’s why. We think we have a better way

of doing things, and we haven’t learned to

discipline ourselves enough to say, no.

Even though we aren’t faithful, the Father is.

Even when we do wrong, the Heavenly

Father is still with us. You see, we really areHis, and He really does love us. He invested

a lot to adopt you, therefore He is not going

to let go of you, just because you fall, or fail

to meet the mark. His love and faithfulness

go hand in hand. His love is always there,and so is His faithfulness.

Therefore, you can’t have one, without the

other. I like the way the bible quotes it.

Romans 8:39 says; neither height, nordepth, nor any other creature, shall be able



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to separate us from the love of God, which

is in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

In other words, He is over shadowing you

and watching over you, with His Love. His

hand is upon you, to guide and direct you in

life. You see, He has plans for you, far

greater than what you could ever have

imagined, but we, like children, sometimes

only see the prize of a sweet ice cream treat,

outside our protection and home life. We gorunning astray, after some wild game, to

only get hurt in the end. The result being, we

blame God for not protecting us, even if we

weren’t in His will. We, as children, forget

to ask for permission, and need to seek theFather’s will in all things. He doesn’t want

to control us; He only wants to take us

through the right path to get there.

Some children are strong willed, whilesome learn very quickly.



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For this reason, it only takes a few times of

not getting their own way, for some of His

children to finally give up, and ask for help

and direction. God doesn’t want you to fail,

He wants you to succeed in life, and win at

every event, but we all must learn to follow.

This is where faith and His faithfulness go

hand in hand, to accomplish the journey.

It takes a constant fellowship of trust and

belief, in order to reach each goal, but

remember, it’s you that has to walk through

each door of opportunity, and it’s you that

has to follow the Spirit of God. For this

reason, life is what you make of it. It’s how

you believe, and who you believe in, God.

Therefore, don’t despise small beginnings,because small beginnings always lead to

larger steps of assurance, and then, finally,

the goal is reached.

He will never leave you, or forsake you.

You can always say, “God is my helper.”



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+My son Shawn:

Years ago, my son went to college. Everyquarter, my son received almost a 4 point

average, and was placed on the dean’s list.

After graduating from college, my son

expected to receive a position in the

computer field, making great money. Thisdidn’t happen. Instead, he was offered a job

with a computer repair shop, making a

considerably less amount. I saw the look on

my son’s face, when he told me what had

happened.

I reminded him that God was not finished

with him yet, and that this was only a

stepping stone to a larger adventure in the

journey. I then told my son not to despisesmall beginnings, and that God would

promote him later on, as he got more skills.

Sure enough, it happened just that way.

Within two years, he went from repairing

computers, to working with the school

system, teaching, repairing and training



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others in the field. The new job promotion

allowed him to receive a much larger salary,

and he was advanced to where he wanted to

be.

You see, God is always faithful. He just

doesn’t want your pride to get in the way of

your success. He always starts you off small,then, watches how you handle yourself, in

what He has given you. He loves a humble,

thankful heart, and is more than willing to

promote His children, when they are ready.

God often times looks like a mother eagle,

waiting for His children to fly. A mother

eagle does this with careful understanding

that one day, they will be like her. For this

reason, she watches day and night, until thechild is ready to fly on their own, but first,

the child must gain insight and

understanding on what it takes, to be like her

in flight.



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For this reason, she demonstrates herself to

her child, as she masters the sky, and shows

her faithfulness to the child she loves.

As the new born watches, he, or she

develops courage, and belief that they, and

the mother are alike, and it is not very long,

before the child believes they are ready, andthey jump from the nest, to try their wings

for the first time.

As each baby eagle takes off, mother

watches on, just in case someone needs help.Just like the parent eagle, God has His hand

underneath, you ready to encourage you on,

and to support you, when needed. For, the

breath of His Spirit lifts you up, and the

voice of His love, leads you to the waycalled success. Therefore, you can always

say; “God is my helper.” All you need to

do, is act like Him, in love and obedience.

Remember, it’s up to you, to take the leap of faith.



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In some cases, a person has had the training,

and the doors have been open for years.

They just need to step out, and respond in

faith. Some are just afraid to step out, and

find out what may happen. Wasn’t it God

Himself who said; “Prove Me.”?

Remember, God is Love. and He is notabout to let you down. He will always be

faithful. to the end. If you’ve missed it

before, try again. Remember, God is

always faithful to His word, because His

word is Him

Let’s look at John 1:1 to prove this.

John 1:1 says; In the beginning was the

Word, and the Word was with God, and

the Word was God.

You see, God can not lie about His word,

because He is the word. His character is in

the word. Therefore, truth is in the word,

and that makes the word reliable, because



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the bible says, that God can not lie. He is

truth.

The bible also says that God is the same,

yesterday, today and forever. Therefore, He

will not change in the middle of your

situation. He will never change, because He

has to be faithful to His word. The bible alsosays, that God is Love. Remember, Faith

and Love belongs together, when it comes to

God. The bible says in John 3:16, that God

so loved the world, that He gave His only

begotten Son, that who shall believe in Him,

shall not perish, but have ever lasting life.

That everlasting life is here, today. It waits

for you to step out. It is the faithfulness of

God, through Jesus Christ.All we have to do, is believe and receive. I

don’t know about you, but I think it’s time

for us to move forward in life. It’s time to

enjoy all the goodness that God has to offer.

It only takes someone like you, to say yes,

and then fly.



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Let’s look at:

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he isfaithful and just to forgive us our sins, and

to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Hebrew 10:23 Let us hold fast the

profession of our faith without wavering;

(for he is faithful that promised;)

Psa 119:90 Your faithfulness is unto all

generations: thou hast established the earth,

and it abide.

Phil 4:13 I can do all things through Christ

which strengtheneth me.

Mark 9:23 Jesus said unto him, If thou

canst believe, all things are possible to him

that believeth.

1 John 16;24 Hitherto have ye asked

nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall

receive, that your joy may be full.

25 These things have I spoken unto you in

proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall



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no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I

shall show you plainly of the Father.

26 At that day ye shall ask in my name:

and I say not unto you, that I will pray the

Father for you:

27 For the Father himself loveth you,

because ye have loved me, and have

believed that I came out from God.

28 I came forth from the Father, and am

come into the world: again, I leave the

world, and go to the Father.


Commitment

Although we as God’s children experience

many trials in life, the greatest trial we will

ever have to go through, is the trial of

commitment.

For, many give up, and walk away from

their dreams, believing that it is impossible

to reach the goal, or receive the prize most



120

wanted in life. Therefore, if we are ever

going to find success, we will first have to

let go of self, and its inferior belief that we

are not qualified, or capable of receiving the

gift God brings. God will always be faithful

to you and me, but when trials come, we

either move forward, or pull back.

I’ve seen this in many people’s lives, as they

resist the call, and move into a still life style

of doing nothing, when it comes to the

advancement of God, or self, in education

and skills. The real reason they do this is

doubt, doubt of self, doubt of God, and

doubt of others. Even if they wouldn’t

believe in self or others, God is always right

there with them. It is best to believe in Godalone, knowing our strength is positioned

and resting in God’s hands, for each and

every event that comes before us. Success is

not based on our ability, but on our

commitment to God’s word. Therefore,don’t rely on your own strength, but on

God’s.



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The bible says it so clearly; “For when I am

weak He is strong.” For this reason, we can

count on His word to pull us through

difficult times, and overwhelming trials, that

look beyond our strength. The bible says;

“God is not a man that He should lie,

neither the Son of man that He should

repent.” For this reason, we have a promise,

by God, that He will see us through. I know

this to be true in my own life, for many

times, I had fallen and felt like I couldn’t get

up, or even want to run the race anymore,but then, all of a sudden, here comes God to

the rescue. He pulled me up, wiped off the

dust I fell in, and helped me walk the second

mile of the journey called life. You see, it’s

not God that lets us down, it’s us. We eachhave a tendency to look back at failures

from years ago, when we had yet to know of

His ways. The reason why we failed, was

because of the self-factor in life, I will, I

want, I desire, with little respect to prayer,

and God’s will and direction, for each



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project we seek in life. If we would just turn

over every little thing we do to God, and

seek His face daily, we would have a greater

success rate, and less bumps and burses in

life. So, why do we fail? Well, there are two

factors that cause failure, doubt and sin. You

see, when we each sin, we fill our lives with

everything, but God.

When we doubt, we pull away from God. I

had one lady call it candy coated sin that

made her go wrong. She saw sin for what it

was. It was sweet to the taste, but after

eating it, sin turned bitter to her stomach.

Remember the ice cream truck a few pages

back? That’s the way sin is. The flesh

delights in what it is doing, and it loves tobring others on board, so it can party all

hours of the night. Sin has little regard for a

person’s mental, spiritual and physical life.

Only God wants your best. Many have even

said God doesn’t care or love me, but if theyonly knew how committed He was to their

lives, they wouldn’t do what they do. So, I



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have to ask you this one question, Was it sin

that lead you away from your goal and

vision, or was it doubt? Maybe it was both.

God promises us that He will never leave us

or forsake us, and that we can always

count on Him to help us. It’s up to us to

believe and commit our ways to Him.

Therefore, don’t count on others, count on

God. Every day, I have the right to choose

what path I take in life. I can either, sin,

doubt, or believe. I can do something with

what God has given me, or I can waste itupon selfish desires of the flesh. I can move

forward, or I can hold back, and listen to my

emotions. I can childishly demand, or I can

receive the goodness of God, in grace, to

give and offer my services, to others in need.

Life is up to you, and how committed you

are to it. God is not against you, He is for

you, but the choice is up to you.

You are the one that has to decide whether

or not you will commit to God and His



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ways. Commitment requires one thing from

you, and that is, that you don’t look back.

Yesterday’s hurts and pains should be

counted as steps to develop your strength

and character. Trials are not meant to defeat

you, but strengthen you.

Trials bring us closer to God, strengthen thespiritual man, and tear down walls of

resistance in the flesh.

It’s the enemy that wants to destroy you, not

God. If you really think about it, sin anddoubt caused your trial and pain, in the first

place.

Therefore, understand this one thing, God is

love. He is committed to you, and rejoices in

your success. Learn to follow Him. Let go of

self, and follow the peace of God within

you.

God is committed to you. He will always be

committed to you. His loving word proves

this.



Remember, God is always with you. He

never lacks in loving His children. You, my

friend, are His child. Learn to live like it.

Learn to follow, and learn to love yourself

and others.

God has set before us, a whole world to

conquer, in His Name. It’s yours for thetaking. Learn to Love, and learn to Live, in

the Glory of God.

Love, Dan Mason

P.S.

GOD LOVES YOU!

Documents

My Cross to Carry