We need to remember the Lord Jesus Christ in all that we do...whether we're astro-skating at the Skating Rink, or we're busting our chops on the job at Wal-Mart. I can say I remember the Lord in both, more-so on the job than at AstroSkate... And I can imagine that that's why I'm so trialed...I am dearly loved by Christ, and He wants my full attention - Because I have His.

I've found that it's often easy to remember the Lord in your tribulations, and far too easy to cry out for Him, but what's so hard is to remember Him when He's giving you good time. When you're out and about, skating... At the movie theater. Can you remember the Lord while seated in a theater watching Apocalypto? Or School of Rock? How's about Spider-man 3? Or Final Fantasy: Advent Children?

When I was young I shaped and fashioned an entire world out of my own insecurities and weaknesses, to compensate for them. I gave it a big flashy title, drew up characters... Had a good time making up storylines. I was unsaved. But I wanted to make it biblical. Because my friend wanted to make his biblical. Then I was saved by God. And though I've formed a good storyline, that would make a good book, I no longer need to write or to create this world because my struggles with my short-comings had come to an end in Jesus Christ. I no longer needed to do strange elementary-school imaginings like drive cars with 24 inch wheels or fling people across the room with my mind (I jest). I need to search the Word and go deeper in communion and fellowship and faith in my Lord Jesus Christ. The closer I get to Him, the further away I get from the carnal mind and the flesh. I've been set free. Truly!

You see, I wasted all of my teenage years thinking about women. Weird. It really is. And embarrassing. Shameful. I no longer want to worry about impressing women. And as that carnal thing in me loses its power and is given to the power of God being in me... I rejoice that the Lord is setting me free. That the learned behavior I had with what to do with my eyes when women pass has left. And the behavior of loving people despite how evil I know we are, not based on anything in me having any joy in anything worldly or carnal, but on the love that's been shown me... I've learned.

I've grown in Christ like a plant. He's pruned what He doesn't like, and He's blossomed what He does like. He's put in me what He wants and made it bear fruit.

A little while ago I heard a preacher that I greatly admire, Ray Comfort, give a sermon. He said that he grew tomato plants, and they turned out to be 6 feet tall!! Huge! But when it came to harvesting tomatoes, there were 2... one as big as his thumb-nail, and one as big as his big toe-nail. I went to my mum in her garden. She explained the matter: when a tomato plant grows, it grows these sprout-branches. If you don't prune the sprouts, clipping them off, the plant will waste energy producing another sprout-branch. But if you prune it, it will concentrate that energy on making a tomato. And so we have fresh tomatoes.

I finished typing the sentence above and went into my mother's garden that she gave guardianship to me over while she was away... Fresh tomatos. I picked a nice big one, and brother-in-law Billy suggested we make tomato sandwiches... But they'd be 6 feet tall ornaments of my mum didn't know to prune her tomato plants. So the Lord causes us to go to trials and tribulations, and persecutions, and hardships. And sometimes He makes us wait for His deliverance. He prunes/chastens every son that He receives so that they would produce more fruit. Big, healthy tomatoes that can be used for lunch. This is what He wants. 30-fold, 60-fold, and some 100-fold. So we're to have faith in the sight of tribulations, and to have patience and wait for the Lord, and we'll inherit those promises that He's left us, by which we become partakers of the divine nature. God says, I will neither leave you nor forsake you, in Scripture. He also says that Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these (your natural needs) will be added unto you, Matthew 6:33, and that we're to be content with what He's given us.

Something to chew on....The picture above was an idea from a book I was flipping through at the bookstore today... on Marriage... Light came through as love, and the rest of the fruit came out, which wasn't totally accurate, but that the fruit of the Spirit, as Galatians 5:22, etc., speaks, comes from the Holy Spirit being in us... the Holy Spirit who is the third person in the Godhead, and has a will, can think, feel. The idea of us being the Lord's prism... Isaac Newton carried a prism around with him all the time. He finally figured it out... visible light is all wavelengths of light and when it comes through the prism, the prism separates each wavelength and displays its constituent wavelengths as color. Something like that... I need to check my physics. But, each color is displayed, and the physics teacher joked and said it was invented by Pink Floyd (which is their band's logo, this prism thing).

So when the Holy Spirit is in someone, He manifests the Lord through them, and shines that light in all of its constituent wavelengths as love, joy, peace, longsuffering, goodness, gentleness, faith, meekness, temperance. And by this we'll know the children of God from the rest of the world... By their colors - their fruits. They'll shine the Light of Christ, and you will see their true colors. And those fruits and the love that they'll have that you can visibly see through them, wont be theirs, but it'll be sent from heaven, through the Holy Spirit. And God dwells within them, the temples of God.

With great love,

Isaac D.