Consequences

One morning in church, Pastor spoke from Matthew 16:13-19
Matthew 16:13-20 (King James Version)
13When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
14And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
15He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
16And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
17And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
18And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
19And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

...and here are a few of the tidbits I got out of it... besides some of the obvious things I was SUPPOSED to take away from this, like the rock that Jesus refers to isn't Peter himself, but the revelation from God that Peter recieved.... hence, the 'rock of (revealed by God alone) revelation' is the rock He will build His church on....
God and I have conversations all the time. Yes, I know some of you may think that odd. Not so much that I talk to God, but that He talks to me and that I hear Him, but yesterday morning He showed me that according to verse 19 whatever I allow, God allows. Plain and simple. So I had to ask myself, What am I allowing???? I'm allowing way too much negative junk in my life. And if I allow it, how can God stop it? He gave those keys to ME! Lord, open my eyes. Show me the lies I've believed, and show me plainly what I've been allowing that I need to bind up and get rid of!!
I control what goes on in my heart. No one else. God told me that He is calling me into accountability. I'm accountable for what I know. And I know way too much to let satan beat me down!
God also showed me that my actions have consequences. Duh, I know. But sometimes we get so haughty we think that some of our own actions should go without consequences. Maybe just because we're Christians? I don't know... but I really didn't think it was fair that I gained back so much weight while we were on vacation.... but, my actions had consequences. I ate whatever I darn well pleased, and didn't exercise at all.... duh, no brainer. But my SPIRITUAL actions have consequences as well...... that's even BIGGER! My spiritual actions (or lack thereof) will have spiritual AND physical consequences. I can't afford to be lazy with God...... I need to start declaring God's Word, with boldness!
I love you all. ~Helen!