Amen! Sometime ago, the topic revolved around Oprah and her various ways to get to heaven. I held the position and still do, that her position is wrong. But I continue to maintain that while Christ is the only Way to heaven and eternal life, there are as many ways to Christ as there are those carrying out the Great Commission. There are as many paths - from abject sin and false religions to reversals of fortune to modern day individual miracles. All these help bring believers finally to understanding.

We who believe in our Lord today came by way of our own Damascus roads. One day the light may go off in Oprah's head too and we should pray that happens, but until then we must continue to reflect the Light in us and seek to find ways to lovingly bring others to the Damascus road. - Don

Well said Don. We each have our own story of how we were brought to Christ. Underlying them all is the fact that we were awakened by the Grace of God, drawn to Jesus and nurtured by the Holy Spirit. Jesus asked today's devotional question quite simply; "Who do YOU say that I am?". It is a very personal question, but results in a very public answer. Certainly not only in words, but in everything we do. None of us will ever lead a perfect life. Noway, nohow, not even close. It just isn't in our fallen nature. But, if we try to live as Jesus would have us live and trust God to help us through the hard parts, the difference in our imperfect lives will shout to the rest of the world. Many will find if offensive and many will argue against it. Jesus never said it would be easy. I know that it is not for me. Satan offers the easy way; the wide path. It is so good to have Christian friends, like you here, to share the walk. But even when I am alone, I have Him. Have a blessed weekend. - Grant

Don and Grant, I can't say anymore than you two have said and so eloquently, thank you. However, this is my main concern, as the message states. So many are wanting to combine them all and it simply isn't so ! I pray for their lost souls and that somehow they can KNOW that the only way is through our Lord - jenny

Yesterday's message has been on my mind a lot. Anger is probably the thing I struggle with the most. Not just the anger, but the residual bitterness that just eats away at you like acid. I have read and listened to more messages on this issue than I can count. I know that being bitter and resentful really only hurt me, but it's still there. What do you do with it when someone really wrongs you, doesn't acknowlege that they have done anything wrong and they are someone you see or deal with as a continuing necessity.

I have prayed that God would take this away from me. I have been through counseling. I have talked with the person. Just when I think I have it behind me, the scab gets ripped off again. This is an eight year burn! Does anybody else have issues like this? I would be so relieved to find a way to "let this go"! - Grant

Grant, In considering your question I have a question for you. Is this something that only happened once in the past or is the person continually repeating the hurtful behavior so that the wound never gets healed because it is always reopened? Are you reopening what happened in the past on your own or is the person who wronged you somehow throwing it up in your face to reopen it? That would make a difference in my response if I knew that. - Janice

Janice, It's complicated. The "trigger event" was one that had significant and lasting negative effects on my life and that of my family. Dealing with the change in our life has been ongoing. Unfortunately, the person who put me in this position is a person with whom I must continue to interact. For the most part, I simply accept that they will never change and I/we just need to get on with our lives. But, during times of stress interacting with this person brings out all the pent up anger and bitterness that I thought was put away. I probably shouldn't have brought it up on this site, but the timing of yesterday's message and recent events coincided. I would appreciate all of your prayers. Nothing lasts forever, and I feel better just sharing my frustration. As someone once quipped, "I know that God promised not to give me more than I can handle.........I just wish He didn't have such a high opinion of me!" - Grant

Grant, We are thankful that Christ said he would never leave you nor forsake you. Yes he did say he would not put more on you than you could handle,and that is why he said to cast your cares on him, he is not putting this on you it is of the devil. You do not need to tell anyone what happened unless you have someone who you know can keep it to themselves and who will give you good advice and who will stand by you in prayer. I believe there are some good brothers and sisters who post on this site and those who just read on this site who can and will take your need to our Father in prayer. I will be praying for you and I will trust that you will be an overcomer in this situation. It is an awful thing to be wronged by someone and then have to interact with them, I know by experience, so my advice to you would be to just trust in the Lord and he will bless you. I can tell from your posts that you are not an average believer but you are an above the normal so you just wait on the Lord, I believe some prayer warriors are about to do battle for you. - Jerry

Jerry, Thank you. It's Sunday morning now. Last night I during my devotional time I think the Lord spoke to me is a way on this that has not happened before. I think that this happened because my heart was more ready as a result of of the last 48 hours of seeking His will for me. Thank you all for your prayers. Please continue. I am feeling a new hope in how God will help me grow from this. - Grant

Grant, I will pray for your situation. One thought that comes to mind because I have just been through the Son Rise Bible Study at Walk Thru the Bible and we looked at the life of Joseph. Would you be able to look at what happened from that angle of what they meant for harm God meant for good? There were many delays before Joseph could come to see the good in what had happened to him. You are probably still in the delay mode but eventually with trusting in God to make good come out of bad for those who believe and are called by Him I think with all my heart that God will turn this into a blessing. Maybe when you see the person you could take an internal attitude of, "You are a blessing in disguise that God just hasn't yet revealed." One thing that has helped me, too, is to try to go through my mind and put each item of contention on an imaginary sail boat and once the boat is loaded with all the bitterness and resentment then I send the boat out to sea to never come back. God helps me in that process. I hope these ideas may help in some way. God bless you in this struggle. - Janice

Grant, I'm a little late to this devotion to comment & you probably won't see this, but I just wanted to say I think all of us at one time or another have experienced what you describe. For me it was actually my father who constantly hurt me one way or another with verbal and emotional abuse and it was made more difficult because he was extremely well known & respected in our community. He was always giving people things, but I would hear what his real motives were for it. He was only trying to gain favor or favors from people and didn't really care for them. Anyway, it was really difficult when people were constanly approacing me and asking or telling me about what a wonderful father I had. It wasn't that I wanted to spew anything bad about him, but it was really hard for years trying to smile and thank them and agree. I felt like such a hypocrite and that was really the only area that I was that way. Anyway, I finally was able to reconcile it by sort of borrowing that new age saying that it was their truth. Most of the time I don't agree with that saying, but in this case I realized that to them he was a wonderful person and that was their truth, so I wasn't actually being such a hypocrite when I smiled and said thank you. To make a long story short, right before my father passed away he finally sort of apologized by saying he was sorry in that he knew he had always loved me in a selfish way. Not exactly a huge or detailed apology, but an apology nonetheless. It did give me some comfort. Anyway, I guess I'm saying all this to say that there is always hope that the person will come to the realization of at least some of what they've done to you and if not maybe you can just be satisfied with your trying to do what is right to them and in God's eyes. I hope and pray that things will get better for you in your situation with that person. God bless. - Christ follower