KEEP A SOUND MIND!

by Pam Clark (12/12/99)

"For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

We need to not forget this! With all the hub-bub and hullaballoo over Y2K, the spirit of confusion will work hard to get a foothold. Just this morning in Houston, it was said that the Fire Dept. did a test run after paying a company three million dollars to fix their programs and it failed. That can seem possibly scary, but who was it who said that need was the author of invention?

I remember when there was the supposed oil shortage. Just about like now when the prices go up at holiday time and traveling is at a peak, right? Everyone wants their Christmas money! But with all that, we can't get skeptical that "the whole world" is here to do us in. It's true that greed abounds, but God's Spirit will also that much more abound.

It's in heavy pressure times that we often see what is good and what is not, or who is strong and who is not. Everyone likes attention; it's inside the inner child who only grew up and learned to put controls on it. And self controls can be good! We just need to make sure our overall big picture is good!

God has an investment in us. This is something Christian believers know, that the lost world does not know. When people choose to manipulate others by fear, because they can, they are only sowing seeds to their own confusions and life roadblocks.

I heard someone say that when a person tells a lie, everything in their body system works to line up with the words that come out of their mouths. So when the body malfunctions because of this, one should not be surprised because it will affect them negatively, knowingly or unknowingly. We were not made to live in lies.

Some lies can seem like relief and give euphoria for the short term, but the long term reality will still exist. A faulty life view, with no hope and no joy, will work hard to destroy the individual who carries in their soul the wrong message. We must choose our thoughts and lifestyles wisely!

As I just shared, we know as Christians that God has an investment in us. For Bible believers, we know that through every crisis and cataclysmic event, God has had a people and a word that would carry them through. Abraham's children and grandchildren had a promise. Noah and his family were spared world destruction. Jeremiah gave hope that submitting to the enemy taking over Israel would bring them safety, protection and prosperity.

There are many examples where God's word proved life saving and redeeming. Let us not forget that in this hour! I remember in the mid 70's "oil shortage" where a friend of mine said, "This will cause everyone to slow down! We have been moving too fast anyway!" And her words proved to be prophetic and true. We did have to slow down and it was a good thing! We met and saw our neighbors for a change!

Let's look at Y2K as a chance to reconnect to human values once again. Let us let our needs, whatever they might be, to be something that pulls us to work together and find the higher element of human value.

There will be opportunists who will try to gainsay their wares. But their profits will be short-lived and laden with the strife they promote. I am so sick of all these prophecy teachers who forecast doom and gloom like a persistant drippy faucet! So many tear down the government structures instituted by God for our good. It will be doom and gloom if you believe their lies!!! Wisdom knows how to overcome evil. But you can't know evil without knowing good!

If you know God, you will be able to participate in wonderful exploits if you will allow it. Your prayers and your witty inventions will make a wonderful difference! Look for ways to be a servant to the good of man. This is the character of God, and such a missing concept with so many "prophetic" leaders.

Believe me, God will protect HIS people! He will look for the people who love, and who have His nature and character attributes, and He will be with them to bless, protect and overshadow them with His Spirit! They will still be standing and praising Him in spite of hard circumstances.

Don't be panicked by those who say they have "the word" and you have to qualify in ways that go beyond reasonable service. Don't be deceived by those who say, "Our group is the only special and exceptional one." Faith can be supernatural but is obtained by those who in the natural just choose to believe and please God.

I had to fall for a lot of lies before I found the truths! But in doing so I found what will stand. And in doing so, I will pass it on to you, because it is the way of blessing. You have worth as an individual. Your humanness is you created in the image of God! It is tender and has emotions and feelings and delicate parts. Those who ignore this find life empty and painfilled. Those who seek God find wisdom in it.

Only when you see God can you discern good from evil. If you choose to stay blind, you will not see. Eternity is placed in the heart of man by God. If you deny those things that bring inner life, your outer life will surely perish.

Y2K? Bring it on and let us find the good in it! We can be happy!

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