Do Not Confuse Your Real Needs with

Your Carnal and Worldly Wants

Begun 1/6/02 and last revised on 1/8/02

Your flesh will always want more and better pleasures.

Your tongue will not tire of enjoyable taste sensations.

Your belly will seek better and more food -- regardless of the budget limitations.

Your eyes will not stop longing to satisfy some illusive internal desires.

Your feet will sometimes wonder from His paths of righteousness.

You will never afford ALL the latest and greatest things in the marketplace.

You can never have enough money or things to insure a problem-free life.

You cannot please all the people all the time.

You will never keep up with all the Joneses and their latest status symbols.

You will never have perfect relationships with imperfect humans.

You will never win all the competitions in the Rat Race.

You are mortal and thus your life will end someday.

You cannot take your possessions with you to Heaven.

Your flesh will always seek to avoid pain, discomfort and inconvenience.

Your price for following Jesus can include pain, discomfort and inconvenience.

You either choose your values, priorities and goals or you just react to life.

You receive millions of signals each year from the fallen world system.

You need to habitually renew your mind by the washing with the water of the Word.

You need to pray often and ask others to pray for you as needed.

You were not designed by God to live isolated from people.

You have what others need and others have what you need.

You need to humble yourself and to reveal your needs to the right persons.

You need to gently and graciously offer what you have to others.

You must never let pride keep you from relating with God and people.

You need to learn how to accept others just as they are.

You need to extend acceptance and unconditional love to all.

You need to love the sinner while hating the sin.

You need to love others as God in Christ has loved you.

You need to trust that God will convict, convert and cleanse those you love.

You need to become available to be used by God anytime and anywhere.

You need to communicate the truth in love with humility and compassion.

You need to regularly give and receive agape love; so that your joy may be full.

You need to pray like the outcome depends on God, while also being fully responsible.

You need to grow up and accept some more responsibility in the Body of Christ.

You need to be conformed to the image of Christ in all things.

You need to walk by faith and not by sight.

You need to fear God more and fear people less.

You need to choose to daily follow Jesus in trusting obedience.