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When I first moved into an apartment in Boardman I threw out my old mattress instead of moving it. After moving I kept putting off buying a new one and slept on the carpeted floor for some time. I was sleeping well so I saw no need for a mattress, but after quite some time I started having pain in my shoulders. So I broke down and bought a cheap mattress. That was over ten years ago.
Now that cheap mattress was worn and I was older and I was waking up during the night with shoulder pain. So I did some research on the internet about shoulder pain from sleeping on your side. All the sleep research sites seemed to agree that I needed a "Beautyrest" type mattress with coils that are not fastened together. Also they said there are new ones with 1000 small coils instead of 200 large coils that are far`better for side sleepers. They also recommended that one with memory foam on top was far better.
So I went shopping for one several months ago. I found one quickly but was shocked at the price. They wanted almost $2000 for one. In talking to the salesman he finally offered to sell me one for almost half price, but even that was out of my price range.
So I started to save but it looked impossible for me to ever get one. My shoulder pain in the meantime got even worse by the night.
But what is impossible for man is easy for The Lord. The Lord likes to show us that the more impossible something seems, it is nothing for Him to do.
We always tend to think why would The Lord act for me, because I do not deserve a miracle from Him. BUT did we deserve to be saved by Him shedding His blood on the cross for us ? Of course not, He did that to show us that He loves us, NOT because we deserve to be saved.
Out of the blue a young farmer called me and asked me if I could help him repair some of his farm machinery. He had stopped by the farm of another farmer that I was overhauling his six cylinder diesel engine. That engine is now the best running motor all of his tractors. So this young farmer thought of me and called.
I worked long hard hours. One day I left my place at 8 AM and returned home at 1 AM the next day. But I was able to buy the mattress that I needed. I was so thankful that I thanked the Lord on the way to pick it up and on the way home with it.
I slept on the new mattress the other night and did not wake up once with shoulder pain. I thanked The Lord for the mattress as I laid down on it and as I woke up. I woke up that morning with no pain and it was great.
The Lord says He will conform us to His image:
Romans 8
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
26In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
More Than Conquerors
31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us,who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns?No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Now how does The Lord conform us to His image ?
The Lord is not ungrateful in the least. There is no shred of that in Him as it is in us.
The Lord is humble and full of thanksgiving.
That is why He tells us this:
1 Thessalonians 5
16Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt 21 but test them all; hold on to what is good, 22 reject every kind of evil.
23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.
When I was young The Lord sent me to a very wise man who had one leg shorter than the other. He gave me the passage above and told me if I practiced the advice given it in, it would change my life.
I made large cards with this scripture and put them in the bathroom, the kitchen and on the dash of my car.
NOTICE that The Lord does NOT ask us to BE THANKFUL but TO GIVE THANKS.
We can not control our emotions BUT we can control our behavior.
I learned that if I gave thanks, it was the engine that pulled the caboose of feeling thankful into my being.
During this time I had an important appointment one day, but I got a phone call from someone who needed my help and I left later than I had planned. I asked the Lord to help me get there on time. I was asking the Lord to help me get a green light but it turned red instead. I started to feel anger, but then I looked at the card on my dash that said to give thanks in ALL circumstances.
I did not feel thankful ( but God does not ask us to feel thankful), but I gave thanks to The Lord in spite of my feelings.
It was right at that moment that His Holy Spirit came over me and filled me with THANKFULNESS. I was so thankful that He had saved me and filled me with His Holy Spirit, what else could matter.
BUT most important I was thankful for His presence. There is nothing that is better than just being with Him and even being able to feel His presence. I can not feel His presence with out being filled with thanksgiving.
It was then I looked back at the sign and realized what The Lord had done. I had been feeling ungrateful and angry, but when I obeyed Him and gave thanks He made me thankful. Now this made me overflow with thanksgiving and I worshiped Him at that red light.
Being thankful IS BEING CONFORMED TO HIS IMAGE. You can not be filled with thanksgiving and feel badly at the same time. There is no better feeling than being filled with thanksgiving.
So I am thankful for my new mattress, but I am even more thankful that He has filled me with thanksgiving. It brings me into His presence and there is nothing better than that.
His bond servant
Lou Newton
Now that cheap mattress was worn and I was older and I was waking up during the night with shoulder pain. So I did some research on the internet about shoulder pain from sleeping on your side. All the sleep research sites seemed to agree that I needed a "Beautyrest" type mattress with coils that are not fastened together. Also they said there are new ones with 1000 small coils instead of 200 large coils that are far`better for side sleepers. They also recommended that one with memory foam on top was far better.
So I went shopping for one several months ago. I found one quickly but was shocked at the price. They wanted almost $2000 for one. In talking to the salesman he finally offered to sell me one for almost half price, but even that was out of my price range.
So I started to save but it looked impossible for me to ever get one. My shoulder pain in the meantime got even worse by the night.
But what is impossible for man is easy for The Lord. The Lord likes to show us that the more impossible something seems, it is nothing for Him to do.
We always tend to think why would The Lord act for me, because I do not deserve a miracle from Him. BUT did we deserve to be saved by Him shedding His blood on the cross for us ? Of course not, He did that to show us that He loves us, NOT because we deserve to be saved.
Out of the blue a young farmer called me and asked me if I could help him repair some of his farm machinery. He had stopped by the farm of another farmer that I was overhauling his six cylinder diesel engine. That engine is now the best running motor all of his tractors. So this young farmer thought of me and called.
I worked long hard hours. One day I left my place at 8 AM and returned home at 1 AM the next day. But I was able to buy the mattress that I needed. I was so thankful that I thanked the Lord on the way to pick it up and on the way home with it.
I slept on the new mattress the other night and did not wake up once with shoulder pain. I thanked The Lord for the mattress as I laid down on it and as I woke up. I woke up that morning with no pain and it was great.
The Lord says He will conform us to His image:
Romans 8
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
26In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
More Than Conquerors
31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us,who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns?No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Now how does The Lord conform us to His image ?
The Lord is not ungrateful in the least. There is no shred of that in Him as it is in us.
The Lord is humble and full of thanksgiving.
That is why He tells us this:
1 Thessalonians 5
16Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt 21 but test them all; hold on to what is good, 22 reject every kind of evil.
23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.
When I was young The Lord sent me to a very wise man who had one leg shorter than the other. He gave me the passage above and told me if I practiced the advice given it in, it would change my life.
I made large cards with this scripture and put them in the bathroom, the kitchen and on the dash of my car.
NOTICE that The Lord does NOT ask us to BE THANKFUL but TO GIVE THANKS.
We can not control our emotions BUT we can control our behavior.
I learned that if I gave thanks, it was the engine that pulled the caboose of feeling thankful into my being.
During this time I had an important appointment one day, but I got a phone call from someone who needed my help and I left later than I had planned. I asked the Lord to help me get there on time. I was asking the Lord to help me get a green light but it turned red instead. I started to feel anger, but then I looked at the card on my dash that said to give thanks in ALL circumstances.
I did not feel thankful ( but God does not ask us to feel thankful), but I gave thanks to The Lord in spite of my feelings.
It was right at that moment that His Holy Spirit came over me and filled me with THANKFULNESS. I was so thankful that He had saved me and filled me with His Holy Spirit, what else could matter.
BUT most important I was thankful for His presence. There is nothing that is better than just being with Him and even being able to feel His presence. I can not feel His presence with out being filled with thanksgiving.
It was then I looked back at the sign and realized what The Lord had done. I had been feeling ungrateful and angry, but when I obeyed Him and gave thanks He made me thankful. Now this made me overflow with thanksgiving and I worshiped Him at that red light.
Being thankful IS BEING CONFORMED TO HIS IMAGE. You can not be filled with thanksgiving and feel badly at the same time. There is no better feeling than being filled with thanksgiving.
So I am thankful for my new mattress, but I am even more thankful that He has filled me with thanksgiving. It brings me into His presence and there is nothing better than that.
His bond servant
Lou Newton
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