Turn your heart

over to

Jesus!

A book for struggling Christians

By:

Dale Lee Gordon Copyright 2010

A Struggling Christian

I have been struggling as a Christian for as long as I

have been a Christian. I think a lot of us struggle

with maintaining a close relationship with God.

Often it is the little foxes that stir up a number in

our lives.

Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the

vines: for our vines

have tender grapes. Songs of Solomon 2:15

It is like the computer which I am writing this book

on. Back in 2007, it was a good computer. I noticed,

however, the performance kept getting worse. Now

I can’t shut it down without hoping and praying it

will start again. It crashed twice and crashed hard.

Just as my computer crashed so did my life. While I

do not want to dwell on my past negative life issues

because I would rather give glory to God, in this

book I will touch on a few personal issues that will

give struggling Christians hope.

In the past I used to dwell on all the negativity in

life, seeing the glass empty. I was a mouse in search

of cheese and that was all I wanted. I wanted the

fast and easy way to life but crashed so many times

on the way to where I was headed. Rather than

looking around for a better way I would use a

hammer and chisel to try and knock down walls. I

even talked about how love was like a hammer that

was needed to knock on my door to reach me. I tore

down more than I built up wondering if there could

be an easier way. The only easy way I found is by

hard work and turning your heart over to Jesus.

As we travel on the road to success we may fail

several times along the way. But we shall reap a

harvest if we do not faint. Often life is a struggle of

a trail of tears. I got off on a very rough road as a

new Christian, and later made a vow to become a

preacher for God if He would help me through a

most difficult part of my life. In my vows I have

often felt I needed to give something in order to be

loved. In other words, I felt I needed to earn love.

So I gave of myself so much that there was just

nothing left of myself to give. I quite literally out

tithed God’s requirements and instead of giving

tithe according to Bible teaching, I tossed my pearls

before the swine that so quickly turned and

rendered me.

Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither

cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample

them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

Matthew 7:6.

I refuse to dwell too much on my past since no one

wants to hear a person whining, instead I look to a

solid future; one where God’s love prevails ( I am

not just referring to heaven). When you give your

best to the worst sometimes your prize becomes

null and void. I gave of myself so much and it hurt

so badly. I gave to a pastor who later, and just as

Matthew 7 states, turned and attacked me. It was a

painful lesson that was not fully understood until

sometime later. I started seeking ways for the quick

buck, however, I learned that the quick and easy

way is the most unrewarding way. Satan’s idea of a

“silly season” isn’t fun nor does it last long. It is like

the artificial high a drug gives. It may be fun for a

season but it bites like a serpent in the end. I call

drugs “Satan’s candy,” though money can truly be

classified in the same category. Our silly seasons

abruptly end when Satan retracts his golden hand

and quickly robs you of what little pleasure you

thought you had. What you may find is that you are

sitting in a rubber room with only a safety smock, a

hole in the floor for a toilet, and three meals a day.

You think to yourself, “Reality has set in.” When the

silly seasons of life end and we are left holding the

empty bag, or worse, someone else holds it, and

you think to yourself, “What went wrong?”

Questions arise and there is often no answer.

The Shoulda Woulda Coulda’s

What should I have done differently? It’s the “if

only” stage. If only I had not cast my money to

swine maybe things would have worked out but the

path has been set. Perhaps you, like me, are headed

towards an iceberg on your maiden voyage. The

course is set and the speed is high. You think to

yourself, “I am the ship that cannot be sunk!” I have

said in my heart, “Satan doesn’t even exist,” but

God taught me a lesson; Satan is real and if Satan is

real, God must be real as well.

Smash!!! Your ship collides with a huge iceberg. The

damage is done and now your ship is slowly sinking

into the dark abyss. Cold waters are on every side

and it has become evident there are not enough life

rafts. Perhaps you, like me, created a nightmare of

your own doing. The ship you thought was Noah’s

Ark turned out to be another Titanic. You know of

the fearful sharks, and you know you can’t tread

these waters; what do you do? As you observe the

last life raft depart you know how this story is going

to end. You are in a trap and there is no way out of

this sinking ship. You should not have opted to go

on this horrible journey; but there is no turning

back now. What you thought was just a small

iceberg turned out to be the final voyage to the end

of life. Is there an answer? Yes! While others might

be drinking their last drink or running around trying

to save themselves by putting on a life jacket and

plunging into the water to prolong the inevitable,

hoping to escape, but in the end these are the

people crying out, “Oh, God, oh, God!” Meanwhile,

a poor, but content family gathers together, reading

the Bible, speaking of how they shall meet Jesus in

the end. They read their Bible that promises

everlasting life to those who love God, and they are

prepared. As for the others, all they could think of

was rescuing themselves.

Sometimes the damage is so severe and the gouge

so deep into the hull of the ship there are no

solutions. Sometimes God has to stand back and

say, “You didn’t need my help getting into your

problems, now you have to solve this one on your

own.” Though there are no life rafts left, there is

one life preserver left, and that is Jesus. He is the

one thing we have to hang onto. We have to

remember that God is still in control and He still

loves us.

…I WILL NEVER LEAVE THEE, NOR FORSAKE THEE.

Hebrews 13:5

God isn’t through with you yet. Are things in your

life as this Titanic? Then know that your only life

preserver is Jesus Christ. Are you sinking and don’t

know if you will be able to go on? Perhaps there is

one last place in the life raft. Perhaps there is just

one seat left with your name on it. I write in haste

because I know the time is short. I can’t be real

preachy adding a lot of verses because my

computer won’t let me download www.e-

sword.com an electronic Bible. My internet doesn’t

work very well and none of my USB ports are

working. My bank account has been closed and I

wonder if there is no escape from this impossible

nightmare. I am hoping to write my way out of the

damage done of casting my pearls before the evil

swine. God only knows the answers. As for me I

don’t have a clue. This is a problem that cannot be

easily remedied. All I know is God is in the business

of making the impossible possible and I have a

dream to achieve. There is a prize, restoration and

life at the end of the tunnel. I just have to find the

way there.

Exhausted Resources

I have lost almost everything and so little remains. I

have just enough of a computer to get this book

finished. If it fails it will have the same fate as all

other things in my life. They are piled deep under a

total loss of shattered dreams. In my quest for

making more money, I lost even more. All I had, I

gave away, and now what?

The most painful thing about disasters in life, are

the ones we know we created ourselves. I used to

live in a self-suicide of life where all that I had were

goals that failed. Have you ever had enormous

dreams only to find out they were not God’s will?

As for me I like to write. The problem is when I

made writing an

obsession and put it before God. I would go to bed

thinking of typing on my computer and how to

make something work. The very machine I loved

became an idol and essentially a god. God broke

this god and wiped the slate clean. I often blamed

Satan for the total loss, however, I realize now the

loss was due to my own folly. I was the fool that

said in his heart there is no God. The only true god I

found myself worshipping was the works of my own

hands. Today I sit in a trailer park having little

money to survive off of.

In just days more unpaid bills will hit, I ask, have you

ever been in this situation before? What little you

have is breaking whether it is a leaky roof, a

computer on its last dying leg, or a car that barely

runs. You already know there just isn’t enough

money but you press on praying that all will come

through. Thinking of the widow’s last two coins, you

end up doing the same, giving the last that

remained. Does this sound like you? Well, welcome

to our world. The ship is listing hard now, it is

beginning to take a plunge. It bucks and kicks like a

beast as it drifts off into the dark waters. You feel

yourself saying, “This is it, prepare to meet your

God.”

Cleaning the Slate

The hardest thing for me to do was to let go and let

God. It was a hard decision to make, just letting go,

but there were no other choices. You can hang on

to what you think you have, or you can reach out

and hold God’s hand, take off your shoes, get down

on the floor, and cry out to God. He will come

through. Looking back, I trusted in things that failed

me rather than in Jesus. I can’t sit here and expect

seeds to firmly plant themselves in the ground.

People may have hurt us but we must let go and let

God be the medicine made from the mud. As I sit

here I think of what I do have.

When I look at my past I like to see what led to the

slate being cleaned. It was me with the problem,

not everyone else. I had the beam in my own eye

while I was trying to clear the speck from my

neighbor’s eye. I forgot my own house was not kept

while I was keeping others. Because of my bad

mental state I was not being a good steward of my

money.

What God had been trying to tell me I did not want

to hear. Other good advice would go from one ear

to the other and I relied on my own

misunderstandings that were not from sound

advice. Many of the past books I wrote had the

entire scope off. The focus was strictly on me and

no emphasis on God.

One Step Forward Ten Steps Back

My dad told me never to sweep dirt into the tide or

it will come right back at you in greater force. Do

you ever feel in life that the harder you work the

quicker you fail? Right now as I sit and think of all I

have done, words escape me. I was always trying to

find some new way. There is only one way, and that

is Jesus.

Perhaps, if in the past I had thrown in the towel

after the first computer crash, I would not be sitting

here as broke and destitute. If I had not spent

money on trying to start a computer business but

rather on durable goods that could help me, I would

not be in this situation. Sometimes it seems that

God’s quiet gentle voice has faded and all that

remains are lies from the enemy. This is however,

not the end.

Changing Your Frame of Mind

The mind plays a critical part in life. It can be the

glue that bonds life together when times are at

their hardest. You can choose to build up your

mind, like building a muscle. I used to read Dale

Carnegie books and they put me in a stronger piece

of mind where I had more confidence. People used

to laugh at me for reading such books saying, “Why

try to win friends and influence people. Who

cares?!” The person receiving the love you offer

sure cares.

Thinking Things into Action

You can make up your mind to succeed or you can

set your mind to fail. It all depends on the old story;

is the glass half full or half empty. I’ve often thought

both are poor choices. The answer is given in the

Bible and it is simple.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of

mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my

cup runneth over. Psalm 23:5

Even Elijah, one of the greatest men of the Bible, at

one point just wanted to lie down and die. Look at

Jonah who lay in the hull of a ship thinking he could

hide from the face of the living God. He then went

from the hull of the ship to the depths of hell. Here I

am LORD, crying out from the pit of hell for

salvation from all I am facing. Often we think of

God’s saving grace as only being good for salvation

from damnation. However, the Word of God is open

ended when it speaks truth. It doesn’t say, “Saved

from hell,” or “Saved from your situations,” no,

rather, God leaves the equation an open format for

us to be able to provide what solutions we need

solved. The problem is we close our minds because

we think we already understand the truth and have

things clear in our head as to what we can and can’t

be saved from.

I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not

seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging

bread. Psalm 37:25

Could this be the reason we are begging God to

help us? Perhaps we are not righteous. Or could it

be that we suffer for a season and now the season

is ready to change. Furthermore the Bible tells us:

FOR WHOSOEVER SHALL CALL UPON THE NAME OF

THE LORD SHALL BE SAVED. Romans 10:13

I know I have called upon the LORD in the past and

He saved me from my enemies and from my own

destruction, but perhaps now He is allowing room

for a lesson to be learned. It is a hard lesson and

one that has been following me around for quite

some time. It is like sinful Israel in the book of

Judges. The Israelites would go astray and God

would jump in and save them after they repented.

Each time they would repent and the sin cycle

continued, the period of time of suffering increased.

This happened so many times until God was fed up

with Israel and finally took away their nation for

good and sent them back into captivity once and for

all. Though a new generation, almost entirely of

people who had never seen Jerusalem, returned to

Israel once again it was only for some to be witness

of the now destroyed Jerusalem from its glory days.

As they watched the temple’s foundation being laid,

some cheered while others cried. The ancient men

who remembered the former glory of Solomon’s

temple recalled its beauty and seeing the smaller

less elaborate temple being built, wept on its

behalf. I am experiencing the same thing in my life

and perhaps you are too. Though things are

different they just aren’t the same as the former

glory days when I was healthy and strong and could

get any job. When I look back to my life in the

Marines and all the former glory days when I had a

vehicle, I cringe knowing the bicycle I ride now is

not for pleasure; it is my primary mode of

transportation. The God-given finances that I was

supposed to nurture and raise, I gave unto my

enemy. A pastor took what I had for himself and

went on a spending spree, lavishing his friends and

lovers with my money. Though I don’t want to

whine or bore you with details, the lesson that can

be learned here is be careful who you trust. I feel I

took God’s very gift and despised it. Even the car my

parents gave me I allowed another to drive it who

then completely destroyed it. From here on out it is

all hard work, trying to rebuild my life from the

ashes of all the mistakes I made. I lived without

God’s blessing for so long thinking that what I was

doing was right, when all was wrong. There is an

answer I beg of this book and I will go on with the

answer.

A Sinner’s Cry to the Almighty God

Is there a sacrifice left for sins when a sinner does

so wrong? Do you find yourself in a bitter crossroad

wondering which way to turn? It seems like

everyone I know is broke. I go past fast food

restaurants smelling just how good the food would

be to eat, and knowing I cannot afford it. Movie

theaters are long a thing of the past. I look down

the road and there is a prize of a new life and life

more abundantly but in the past all I could see was

darkness. Do you have a sting of pain that you

cannot forget? We must learn to deal with it and we

must learn to forgive. What I can do is pray for the

men who wronged me so wickedly. Can God forgive

us? I am a sinner who really messed things up. I

took God’s blessing, and yes, even my parents

blessing and despised it. The question is, can I ever

be forgiven? Can I still have salvation and peace of

mind from the ever burdening question of where

will I spend eternity? They were mistakes and costly

expensive ones at that.

God is allowing me time to think about what I did; a

time out in the corner, so to speak. Do you want a

shot at the American dream but the possibility is

fading, falling, and failing. Are you tired of empty

cupboards and empty dreams? We want life and

happiness but we are miserable. Where do we go

from here?

One cannot know what the right thing to do is and

yet do what is wrong in such a way it harms others

at the cost of the other person’s expense. Is this

what I have done? Yes! I stand guilty as charged.

Confess your faults one to another, and pray one

for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual

fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

James 5:16

Please join me in the following prayer: I confess my

sins to you LORD. I have fought you, I have hated

you, I have been angry with you, I have not

understood you, and now I know my faults. I

confess the secret sins of my life. I am wrong and

you are right. You gave me the tools to survive and I

despised and rejected them. In folly and my own

madness I destroyed the love you gave me when I

first accepted you. I confess my sins and beg you to

restore this sinner to the level I was once at.

Restore the years that the locust have eaten. Your

Word promises the healing, the mud that becomes

medicine, and the healing of a broken heart. I ask

you to return me to my former glory, minus the

years of a foolish atheistic past. Remember my

vows I vowed on a night’s sky looking up to you.

Recall my words ten years ago before all things

really went wrong (another story). I vowed to be a

preacher for you, yet here I sit, life in shambles

wondering what to do or where to turn. LORD I take

full responsibilities for my actions, knowing it was

my fault for all I did wrong. LORD I want to live and

to love, please restore what was taken and remove

the curses put on me so long ago. I believe in your

promises to refill the storage vats.

I thank you, LORD, for the pain and trials. I thank

you for the years the enemy laughed at me while

robbing me right before my eyes. Grant salvation

and peace within the storm. LORD I recall the dream

last night. I recall the violent twister. In my dream

its path was nine miles long. It was a picture of the

destructive forces that terrorize our lives. I know

now I am a sinner and I come to you for mercy. Your

loving kindness I seek. Please help me to survive

and bless me with a future and an outcome.

LORD I am here to worship you. I repent of all I am

or all I ever thought I was. I am sorry. Please come

into my life and save me. AMEN…

Where to go from here?

In life there is nothing we can do to earn God’s

grace. The harder we work at it the more the Devil

will fight us. Your works aren’t good enough.

...My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is

made perfect in weakness… 2 Corinthians 12:9

It is in these weakened times our character is truly

tested. We can come out a victor or cowering under

Satan’s grip and his force of evil. We can go through

a trial to find out if we are made of gold or made of

unfired clay. Trials will come and trials will go. For

me I have lived in a season of trials. It took a lot of

prayers and GOD Almighty to bring me out of the

slump I was in. Now I can look into the mirror and

know I am a wonderful person, confident but not

overly proud. I know when I see my reflection in the

mirror that I am wonderfully and beautifully made

in God’s image. If I say I am ugly I am reflecting that

God is a horrible artist. Whatever state I am in, no

matter what I look like, or what I have done, I will

know from here on out that I am loved.

How to React When You Think God Hates You

This is a hard pill to swallow. You may think to

yourself, “Does God care about me? My life is

destroyed, He mustn’t care!!!” I lived this way for

years crying out “Why, why?” wondering what is

going on.

Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting

them to continue in the faith, and we must through

much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

Acts 14:22

God never did say life would be easy, and no, life is

not a box of chocolates. Life can be a series of

hurdles we have to overcome to get to where we

are going and in the end there is a prize, so keep

your eyes on the prize of life.

I know in my life there is a prize ahead and I know

its potential as long as God’s blessing is in it. One of

life’s prizes is the restoration of a sinner’s life, and

serving Him and others with the love of God. Is it

working out? Yes, because I believe in love. I believe

in a love so strong the gates of hell cannot

extinguish it. One of Satan’s greatest fears is the

love we have with GOD. It becomes the inseparable

threefold cord that cannot be quickly broken. It is

love with peace and hope.

Man wasn’t meant to live alone. I am beginning to

feel and see the importance of marriage. That is, of

course, one that honors God. Though I may not be

perfect in this matter, (explanations withheld and

details left vague) I still want a marriage that is

made of love. I have likened it to a building. The

foundation of a marriage is friendship and the trust

you build. This is the most important part of

courtship because without a solid foundation the

walls and roof will sink into the sand. The walls, of

course, are romance. I thought for a while that the

first kiss should be under the altar in front of a

minister, but seasons change. Just don’t let kisses

escalate into something they should not be. Make it

a passionate kiss but don’t act like you own the

donut shop unless you have purchased the building.

Make your marriage vows honorable to the Mighty

God who will help you keep your love from growing

cold. In a marriage there must be a chief

Cornerstone and that Cornerstone represents the

LORD who will guard you and bring peace to your

lives. The roof to your house is the icing on the cake

and that, of course, is intimacy. Being intimate in

marriage is a God given gift which should be valued

and guarded above all else.

God’s Word tells us the following:

Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed

undefiled… Hebrews 13:4

There is a beautiful love song by Garth Brooks. The

song is called “Shameless.” It is a story of how a

man can love his wife without shame or guilt.

Marriage should be a lasting relationship only

separated by death but reunited in God’s kingdom.

Many waters cannot quench love, neither can

floods drown it... Song of Solomon 8:7

There is a power in love beyond anything in this

world. Love opened the grave of Jesus and brought

Him back to life. Love heals, love protects, and love

is always there when you need it. Love will travel,

forsaking all just for a kind word. Love pleases and

love thanks. Love is the power to restore and to

rejuvenate.

All my life I have always wanted LOVE. Now I have

found it. Though we have the love of the LORD in

our lives we need human love. In the midst of my

pain, in the depths of hell, love found me. Love has

a power to win and rule over our lives. Love can and

will surprise you. I write this book with the love

Jesus Christ gave me, knowing I am forgiven. It is

like a young man who is given a brand new car. He

loves and cherishes it, yet in a fleeting moment

destroys it. Though his family forgives him, the

second car he will have to work for. I know because

that is my life story.

Only God can restore you. I can only hope that the

whirlwind I saw in last night’s dream was that of

Job’s answer to prayer. Our life cannot be restored

unless it is blessed by God. I know I can no longer

run ahead of God expecting Him to catch up. It may

not be in His will for me to run at all. I know God’s

will for us is to rest because in rest there is strength.

All we can do is pray and ask the good LORD to lead

us. If we have been given a second chance in life,

follow where the LORD leads. The children of God

were guided by a pillar of cloud in the day and a

pillar of fire at night, not by the wanderings of their

own way. Peter walked on water only when his eyes

were fixed upon Jesus. Like Peter I failed and

though I wanted to move forward and press on I got

bogged down with the demons, worries, and fears

of life. Soon I was sinking and crying out from the

billowing waves, “LORD, save me!!!”

I know there is a future for me and it won’t be

eternity in hell. I simply had a lesson to learn that

God is God and to let Him do what He does best. I

cast my burdens and cares to the mighty God to let

Him handle the things I cannot.

A Picture of King Solomon

Pride got a hold of King Solomon and as intelligent a

man as he was, he lived on his own, outside of

God’s glory. There is a little known fact about this

unusual king. It all began with the temple which

bore his name. Studying the names of the pillars in

front of the temple gives insight to who Solomon

truly was. Boaz was the name of the left pillar, but

the right pillar was Jachin. Yawkeen is the Hebrew

pronunciation meaning; “he or it will establish.” So

who is this he or it who established the temple?

Perhaps Solomon thought of himself as establishing

this temple. Could he establish it, giving honor to

himself, claiming the glory of his own? Well,

apparently he did and because of his folly God saw

that the temple and his very own pillar would not

be left standing. This may not make any sense, but

now I will clarify his folly in one word, Yekonehyah.

The meaning of this word is important. It means;

“Jah or Jehovah will establish.” Doesn’t it make

more sense to have Yahweh power our lives rather

than our own understanding? If we Yawkeen our

lives we see the results… destruction, chaos, fear,

and uncertainties. However if we Yekonehyah our

lives we allow God to be the creator and builder of

our lives. When we tend to rely on our own

understanding we fall short of the glory, however,

when we lean on the strong arm of God He catches

us when we fall. The question is what pillar would

you rather be called?

Solomon’s Repentance

Solomon was a man of much love. With his love he

married far too many women and pulled his heart

down and away from his loving Creator. Every time

he saw a beauty he added her to his harem.

Straying away from his loving Maker he sought the

gods of this world to please that many wives. As he

began to lose ground, he came to grips with the

God of grace and understanding. He was forgiven

when he wrote the book of Ecclesiastes. In

Ecclesiastes he writes of folly and the vanities of

life. It is evident when reading this book that

Solomon’s intelligence had become his own

destruction, and similarly, my ways that I thought

were honorable had become my own destructive

paths. It is interesting how we see what appears to

be righteous, in reality can be our folly. Solomon

finally saw his own hurt.

…There is a time wherein one man ruleth over

another to his own hurt. Ecclesiastes 8:9

Solomon saw his own folly and the LORD gave him

time to write it down and repent of his actions. In

my life I have done unspeakable things (again not

for the scope of this book) yet God has not only

forgiven but rescued me from my own madness.

There is one true God and His ways are holy.

Manasseh’s Madness

King Manasseh was a man of much speculation. I

have seen him categorized with King David which is

wrong. Manasseh means to forget. This king is the

example of someone who had the chance at

salvation but took the LORD’s forgiveness in vain. If

I was a betting man I would venture to suggest

Manasseh will not be in God’s kingdom. The reason

I say this is the idols he erected and once

worshipped, he forgot to destroy. King Manasseh’s

repentance was not complete. For one in the

Apocryphal book of Manasseh this wicked king does

not send this letter to every tribe and tongue as

King Nebuchadnezzar did in Daniel chapter 4. Three

times in the Bible God says He will do something

not once but twice. It is recorded in 2 Chronicles 33

that Manasseh repented, however, in 2 Kings 21

Manasseh is not seen repenting. Here a twofold

cord must be fulfilled to have full repentance. Since

he is seen in 2 Chronicles 33 repenting but not 2

Kings 21 his repentance was not from a fully

repentant heart. Here are the verses from 2

Chronicles 33. (2Ch 33:11) Wherefore the LORD

brought upon them the captains of the host of the

king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the

thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him

to Babylon. (2Ch 33:12) And when he was in

affliction, he besought the LORD his God, and

humbled himself greatly before the God of his

fathers, (2Ch 33:13) And prayed unto him: and he

was intreated of him, and heard his supplication,

and brought him again to Jerusalem into his

kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD he

was God. Here are the following verses that speak

of a twofold cord: (Job 33:14) For God speaketh

once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not. (Job

40:5) Once have I spoken; but I will not answer:

yea, twice; but I will proceed no further. (Psa 62:11)

God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that

power belongeth unto God. For Manasseh to

completely be forgiven his forgiveness would have

to been recorded in both Kings and Chronicles. In

this case God literally brought Manasseh to his

knees in repentance. This was so that he could

pave the way for King Josiah to be anointed as king

so that Josiah could lead Israel back to God. When

repenting we can learn from the mistakes of

Manasseh that we must fully pursue God with all of

our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Even in

Jeremiah God had this to say about King Manasseh:

(Jer 15:4) And I will cause them to be removed into

all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the

son of Hezekiah king of Judah, for that which he did

in Jerusalem. See from Bible language like this God

is still mad and though God forgave for a season to

see what Manasseh might do God did not fully

forgive the king. I look at my own life and wonder

what it is I am to do? I have idols that needed to be

destroyed and I went overboard and destroyed

everything from my evil past. These were the works

of my own creation and the folly I created before I

ever accepted Christ in my heart. King Manasseh

was much like me however, I learned from

Manasseh’s mistakes that I too must repent for real

or face God’s eternal judgment. King Manasseh was

much like me. He built his life on the shifting sands

of false dreams, a life of idolatry and violence. The

example here is spoken as I wrote above in 2 Kings,

chapter 21, we see the violent evil acts of this king,

however, in 2 Chronicles, chapter 33, we see a

picture of his repentance. Which is the truth and

which one is the lie? The answer is both. He repents

but not with a full heart. Manasseh is seen:

He took away the strange gods, and the idol out of

the house of the LORD, and all the altars that he

had built in the mount of the house of the LORD,

and in Jerusalem, and cast them out of the city. 2

Chronicles 33:15

Though he cast out his strange gods there is no

record of him destroying his gods. It was not until

later when the most righteous king ever, King

Josiah, came along and destroyed the idols of

Manasseh.

And they brake down the altars of Baalim in his

presence; and the images, that were on high above

them, he cut down; and the groves, and the carved

images, and the molten images, he brake in pieces,

and made dust of them, and strowed it upon the

graves of them that had sacrificed unto them. 2

Chronicles 34:4

Repentance is more than just half way actions; you

must do your full part of destroying the evil you

create. I may be just as guilty and that could be part

of the reason I failed. Does it ever seem that the

very hand of God is against you? Don’t blame God,

perhaps He has stopped us because our works need

improvement. Perhaps it was God’s plan to bring

me to this point in my life so He can show that:

The difficult can be done, the impossible takes a

little longer. Dale Lee Gordon

I want to prove Satan to be the evil liar he is but if I

can just step out of my own folly for a while I can

see the blemishes in my character. It becomes

evident our lives are a mess when we start seeing

the destructive forces coming in from every side.

An Example from King David

King David was said to be a man after God’s own

heart. He had gentleness on one hand and a

Goliath-sized strength on the other. He cared, he

loved, but he, like so many of us, later fell. It was

the pride of life, the “Oh, look at me” spirit. It was,

however, the times he was at his worst, were the

times he was at his best. With the words, “Thou art

the man!” it was then that King David became

repentant. He wrote Psalm 32 and 51, begging and

pleading with God to restore him to the glory of the

former years. Later on his wives were raped by his

own son in full view of everyone. It was at this

point, when his son was finally overthrown, that

King David had to make the hardest choice of his

life. Was he to morn over the death of his son or to

rejoice in the salvation and saving grace of the

LORD? After a bitter taste of reality he chose the

love of the Almighty God. The soured grapes he had

eaten truly had set his children’s teeth on edge.

Life is full of challenges and hardships. For King

Herod his fate was sealed at the death of John the

Baptist. Pontus Pilate had a chance to step down as

governor and gain salvation. When his wife spoke to

him of her dream of his folly, Pontus Pilate still

allowed the King of Glory to be tortured to death.

We have choices in life. We can go around as

Pontus Pilate trying to wash our hands in innocence

all the days of our lives hereafter, or we can do

what is right when the time comes. The question is

what will it be? Will you bow down from whatever

position of evil you are doing and will you follow

God’s lead and forsake all things? Temporary riches

can be elusive and so unfulfilling. Are you facing

some serious bills? Don’t let them beat you down to

the dust of the earth but rather we must learn to

press on. I have come to grips with life and its

difficult challenges. For so long I just wanted out,

but now I can see there is a prize waiting around

the corner and it is a ministry of blessing. God will

give you a reason to go on even if you do not have

one. God showed me His love, when love was

fleeting and seemed hopeless. God does interesting

and amazing things when it comes to life and love.

He warms our heart at just the right point and even

though we can’t earn God’s love, we need to show

Him that we do love Him.

I have often wondered how many people will be

saved.

And IF THE RIGHTEOUS SCARCELY BE SAVED,

WHERE SHALL THE UNGODLY AND THE SINNER

APPEAR? 1 Peter 4:18

It doesn’t say it is impossible to be saved it just ain’t

all that easy. Perhaps that is why so many Christians

struggle through life because they are still in the

oven waiting to be kiln dried. The question is; will

we explode because we did not take the time to

work out the bubbles or will we crack and be good

for nothing. Satan is looming around every corner

to tear your world apart. DO NOT GIVE THE ENEMY,

SATAN, ANY GROUNDS FOR ATTACK IN YOUR LIFE! I

recall some time ago I created a Power Point

presentation. I broke down in tears as I was

recording. I then told Satan to bring it on. Sure as

ever, he did. I invited Satan to attack me. What I

should have done was digested God instead. God’s

Word proves this in the following verse.

Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy

word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine

heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of

hosts. Jeremiah 15:16

We reap what we sow and if we sow bad seeds we

will reap a bad harvest. We have to learn to do

what is right and sow goodness into our lives. For so

long I felt I was undeserving of a good life so I

bound curses to me or made impossible vows,

which I later paid. For every action I reaped an

action similar but effectively worse. I could never

face the fact that God just simply loves me for who I

am. Nothing I can do will pay for the bloodshed at

Calvary! Nothing I can do will ever reach a point

where God will say, “Good enough.” There are no

works that God sees as good, for all they are, all

filthy rags. We are not on a point or merit system

with God. To indulge yourself in a pork chop or a

bunch of donuts is not going to make God hate you.

What God gets upset about is when we ignore Him,

rejecting His sound advice, and doing things our

own way and staying away from God. You see, God

wants to be a part of our lives. He stands at the

door knocking, yet it is our responsibility to either

let Him in or shut Him out. I could list verse after

verse about the follies of legalism but that is not

what this book is about. It is important to work out

your salvation, but not work for your salvation.

Nothing will please the Almighty God as much as a

genuine heartfelt prayer on your knees with shoes

off. Get down in that position now and renew your

love for God. Have you gone astray and walked

away from the love of the LORD? As soon as we

start becoming a servant to sin, and its enticing

lusts, we lose track of who we are. We lose our

meaning of serving God and soon we come crashing

down as reality takes a full grip, knowing we fell

away from our one true God. The only way to get

right and get out of the pit you dug for your own

burial, is to slowly start filling it back in, cover it

with grass, walking away from the sins of our lives.

Start a new life free of your sins. Sometimes God

cleans the slate because we won’t return to Him. An

example is Lot’s wife who became a pillar of salt

because she wanted that one last look into a sinful

past. Her heart wasn’t made clean and God knew

she would always hold on to the past with

admiration and lusts. The two husbands-to-be of

Lot’s daughters perished along with the city, all

because of unbelief. Not believing God is a sin I am

guilty of. God could have struck me down for so

many things, but never did.

An Example of Aaron

When I cook a meal I often joke around saying that I

cook “Aaron style.” I throw all this stuff together

and out comes a great meal and if you don’t know

the story, find it in Exodus, chapter 32. I used to

think of salvation with Pharisaical thinking, that I

could gain it by some kind of point system. Then I

looked at the picture of Aaron in the following

verse:

It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that

ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that

went down to the skirts of his garments. Psalm

133:2

Here is an example of someone who had really

blown it but God showed him favor in the end. God

can and will show you the same favor. The question

is, will you give up the idols you are carrying and

hand them over to Jesus or will you try to hide them

in your tent by lying and sitting on them? My friend,

tell the world or just simply someone you know,

about what Jesus has done for you. Share this book

and share the love Christ has given you. Don’t be

like the person I used to know who was always

complaining about the church wanting money. He

never paid tithes but was quick to want a handout.

Now he sits in a wheelchair, unable to walk.

Perhaps it was God’s way of getting his attention, I

don’t know. What I do know is it was a freak

accident, and one that could have been prevented

had he said and done the right things. The man

hanging on the cross next to Jesus, though he said

few words, his words will forever be remembered in

the greatest book ever, the Holy Bible. By our words

we can be justified or condemned. It just depends

on our sincerity. What I tell you is; God knows your

heart. My best advice is not to listen to the

preacher, but rather the spoken words of God’s

book, the Bible. The most important thing I can tell

you to do is: Turn your heart over to Jesus. AMEN…

God is so good! Much has happened since the

writing of this book in late winter of 2009. My web

site www.coloryourworldwithlove.com, which is a

ministry that GOD gave me to help people, has

blossomed and is continuing to be blest by GOD. My

computer runs great and my life has improved as

GOD restores and rebuilds me. GOD is setting up

pillars all around me, recreating me brand new and

uplifting my life. My dream of creating a ministry of

blessing has come true. GOD is doing more things in

my life than you can possibly imagine and in ways I

never could at one time believe. GOD has protected

me from the worst. GOD truly lives up to the name

of LOVE as we turn our hearts over to Jesus.

I have to apologize for the formatting of this book. I

had to convert the original pdf back to Word 7.

When I did so the formatting would not work and as

a result I lost half the pictures. Nothing I could do

would change these errors. This book was fought

from day one when I originally wrote it. I worked

with a computer that was barely working. Within

that time the computer crashed completely and

that is when I lost the original Word document.

Fortunately I had a pdf file uploaded to my server

on my website otherwise this book would be lost.

The good news is Satan hates this book. That must

mean I did a good job on it. Thanks to my editor she

did a great job on the grammar and wording of this

book. She made what was good even better.

Amen

Turn Your Heart over to Jesus…

Hearts shatter but they rebuild.

Love matters and love can be refilled.

It is the heart that God sees, not the appearance.

Though love flees, it stands a second chance.

God is the victor as you shall find.

Love can last forever, though sometimes love is

blind.

Just turn your heart over to Jesus for He has paid

the price.

Give your Heart to Jesus my friend, this is the best

advice.

Written by, Dale Lee Gordon

See www.dalegordonbooks.com May come up as:

www.dalesbooks.org