WEBVTT

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Well, are you ready for another Heart to Heart

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Talk? Ready or not, here it comes. You know,

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sometimes I think that some folk really do not

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know how to live a daily, consistent, victorious

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Christian life. Always remember something. We're

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living not only a spiritual life. That's wonderful.

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Oh, this spiritual life is marvelous. But remember,

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after you've been born again, and after you've

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had that wonderful experience after you've been

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filled with the Holy Spirit, never lose sight

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of the fact that you're... Still in a body of

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flesh. You're still an old material world. Your

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neighbors haven't changed. The folk with whom

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you work have not changed. The enemy of your

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soul has not been converted. You still have to

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work for a living. You still have to eat. You

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still have to sleep. You have the same husband.

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You have the same wife. You've got the same children.

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Or maybe you wish that you didn't have, but you

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do have. And sometimes I think, you know, we

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get so carried away with the ecstasy of our experience

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that we expect that everything has changed. Our

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neighbors have changed. Members of our family

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have changed. And then when we come to the realization

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that they haven't changed... then we start working

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on them, not with wisdom. And we can't understand

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why they don't see the same way that we see things.

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And we try to force our experience upon them.

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All for wisdom. For divine wisdom. Make that

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a part of your daily prayer the very moment that

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you open your eyes in the morning. Dear God,

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give me wisdom. And usually the folk who need

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wisdom most are those who do not see their lack

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of wisdom. I repeat. We're not only living a

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spiritual life, but a bodily life. We're still

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in a world with trouble and heartache and sorrows.

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We're in the world, not of it, but we're still

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in the world, a bodily life, and whether we like

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it or not, A very large part of our time and

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interest is taken up with things which concern

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the body. I'm going to tell you something that

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I feel that is so seldom brought to our attention.

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I don't know whether it's because we don't realize

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how important some of these things are or not.

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A mother sat searching her Bible. Sat reading

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her Bible. She'd been reading for some time.

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Seeking after the deeper things of the Spirit.

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She was so hungry for the baptism of the Holy

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Spirit. And she was seeking the Word of God for

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light on the baptism. She spent so much time

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seeking spiritual help that the duties of a household

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became irksome. And were... either just hurried

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through, many times neglected. The homeliness

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was soon gone until it got to be so that the

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husband wasn't always too happy to come home.

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Remember, if your husband gets to the place where

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he'd rather be away from home than to come home,

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you'd better search your own life. Search your

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own heart. I'm talking about those who profess

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spiritual things. I'm talking to God's children.

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And I repeat, a man's home should be his... Every

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man who has a family, who has a wife and children,

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should desire to come home, spend the evening

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at home, happy to come home. And it's the duty

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of the wife to make such an atmosphere, to bring

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about such a wonderful hominess in the home.

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that the husband will hurry home, that the children

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will want to come home. If your children would

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rather be at the neighbor's house than home,

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then the neighbor has a nicer home life than

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you do, and there's something wrong with you

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someplace, and you're failing. It's just like

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that. I like mama's cookies better than... Any

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cookies that any of the neighbor women baked.

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And I'm not so sure those cookies were so good.

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I can remember Papa saying, when Mama would apologize

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for the burnt toast, and Mama was awful good

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at that. And Papa would say, well, Emma, I'd

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rather have your toast burnt than to... eat anyplace

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else. It was just kind of like that. We never

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went to Aunt Belle's, never. And Aunt Belle was

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a show -off. I might just as well tell you. That

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was Mama's sister. And Aunt Belle was the kind

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that when it came to desserts, cake wasn't just

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enough. She had cake and pie and probably something

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else. She was kind of like that. You went there

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and... Maybe you'd have a couple of different

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kinds of meat. It was just like Aunt Belle. We

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had never gone to Aunt Belle's house yet when

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I was a kid. Her table just loaded with good

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things to eat, and she'd keep bringing on more

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and more and more. There was never a time but

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what the next day after we'd been to Aunt Belle's,

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Papa would say, Well, Emma, I'd rather eat at

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home than to eat at Belle's house any day. And

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it wasn't because Mama was a good cook. She really

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wasn't. She didn't like cooking, you know. She

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really didn't like it. And my Mama wasn't a slave

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to her. kitchen. I can remember as a kid, she'd

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be sitting out on the porch swing, on the front

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porch. She'd say, quick, quick, quick, quick,

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quick, quick, put the tablecloth on and put the

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coffee pot on. Here comes Papa. You know? And

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as long as Papa saw the white tablecloth on the

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table and the coffee pot was on when he entered,

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he didn't know for what Mama had slaved all day.

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to get whatever she had on the table at night.

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But Mama made a nice home. And we'd rather be

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home. We'd rather sit at our table. Papa would

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rather eat Mama's burnt toast. I'd rather have

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Mama's cookies than any of the neighbor's cookies

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or any of Aunt Belle's food. These are some things

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we need to think about. Well, so here is this

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mother searching her Bible, reading the Word

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of God. She spent so much time with her head

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buried in the Bible that one day she was very

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deep in study and her little girl, just a baby

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girl, toddled up to her side with a broken doll

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and said, Mommy, please mend my... Dolly for

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me, please? And with an impatient gesture, the

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mother just pushed the little one aside and said,

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Honey, I have more important things to do than

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to be troubled with your dolly. Go on, honey.

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Go on. Can't you see that Mama's busy with her

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Bible? And the little one turned sadly away.

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And the mother continued her search for holiness.

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But the search was a fruitless one. And the mother

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closed the Bible with a sigh and sought the little

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child. And she found her little baby girl lying

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on the rug with her little doll. in her arms,

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with the tears still wept on her pretty little

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face. The mother's heart was smitten with conviction.

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God spoke to her right then and there, and tenderly

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stooping over the little one, she caressed her

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with her kisses, and taking her in her arms,

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she breathed a prayer to God for forgiveness.

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She said, come on, honey. Mommy will fix your

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dolly for you. She saw that holiness could not

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thrive on neglected duties. Her devotion to her

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Lord was henceforth seen in her care of her family,

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her husband. her children, her household. And

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that house became a home again. And the very

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page of Scripture was lighted up with a fresh

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glory. There is a holiness in being a good mother.

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There is a holiness in being a good wife. Holiness

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also means being a good husband. You cannot say

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that you are deeply spiritual and following the

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Lord in holiness if you are neglecting your children,

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if you are neglecting that son, that daughter,

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that husband. That wife. I'm saying something

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that is as practical as the word of God. Do not

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neglect your family. Do not neglect your children.

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You are a living example. to them. You may be

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the only Bible that they are reading right now.

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In neglecting them, they may lose confidence

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in you as a spiritual individual, as a godly

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mother, and years later point an accusing finger

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at you and say, you. were so busy reading religious

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magazines, religious books, that you didn't have

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time to be a spiritual mother to your child.

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We believe that the Lord Jesus, who watched the

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children at the play, and the fishermen and the

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farmers at their work who worked himself and

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yet made time to be present at a wedding feast

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wishes you and wishes me to take a real interest

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in all the concerns of life our own and those

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of our friends he's given us a capacity for pleasure

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and he longs to see us enjoy his gift of life.

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Whatever we do, beloved, there must be joy in

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what we do. You know, I was thinking again of

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the daughter who came to me and said, Miss Cooma,

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do you have to teach fasting? Because I resent

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fasting so much. Is it in the Bible? And I said,

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yes, fasting is in the Bible. It's something

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that's very wonderful and something that the

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Bible teaches and God honors. But I said, why

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do you resent fasting so much? And really the

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look on her face. This young girl was distressed.

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And it was something that was vitally important.

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And it was something she resented and something

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that she hated. Even when she spoke the word

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fasting, she almost spoke with vengeance. I said,

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why do you hate fasting so much? She said, well,

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I'll tell you exactly why. She said, every Friday,

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my mother fasts. She attends your miracle services.

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in the First Presbyterian Church here in Pittsburgh.

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She's been coming to your services. And every

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Friday is her fast day. And honestly, she says,

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she makes us all so miserable that we hate to

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come down to the breakfast table Friday morning.

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She said, I hate Friday. Dad hates Friday. My

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little sister and brother. hates to see Friday

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come. Because we know that when we sit down at

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the breakfast table, Mom comes in with a long

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face. She pours Dad's coffee. She serves the

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eggs and the toast and cereal. But she does it

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with this long face. Every minute she does it,

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she reminds us that she's fasting. She would

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love to have breakfast, but it's her consecration.

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She's fasting. She pours Dad's second cup of

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coffee, and with it there's always a little sermon

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about fasting. And her face is so long. Miss

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Goodman, couldn't you just please leave out fasting

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in your teaching? I said, Honeybunch, I can't

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leave out something that's in the Word of God.

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It's your mother who has to know that there's

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joy in fasting. And when it becomes a drudgery

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and she fasts with a long face. and it becomes

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kind of a form and ceremony with her, then she

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might just as well sit down at the breakfast

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table on Friday mornings and eat two eggs instead

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of one. She might just as well eat breakfast.

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Because it doesn't mean anything more to her

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than just a form, a ceremony, a duty, for the

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real joy has been taken out. And she's... only

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making it a burden to her family and something

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they'll hate all the rest of their lives. It's

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like that. You know, God has given us a physical

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frame which needs food. It needs work. And that's

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something, listen, a part of God's great plan

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for humanity is work. He never expected us to

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be happy without work. And man is made for work.

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And man is happiest when he works. It's no disgrace

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to work. It's a part of God's plan for a healthy

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human being. He's made us for work. He's made

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us for food. He's made us for exercise. He's

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also made us for relaxation. He wants us to enjoy

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our meals. He wants us to enjoy our work. He

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wants us to enjoy our recreation. The marvelous

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realm of nature. He made it for us. All things

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bright and beautiful. All creatures great and

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small. All things wise and wonderful. The Lord

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made them all. And for our pleasure as well as

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for his glory. But the world, dear Lord, that

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you have made for us, the world that you made

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for us to live in peace, we've made into an armed

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camp. We live in fear of war to come. We're afraid

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of the terror that flies by night and the arrow

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that flies by day, the pestilence that walks

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in darkness, and the destruction that wastes

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at noonday. We are the one who has changed all

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of these things. Not God. God made these things

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beautiful for us to enjoy. Oh, I just love those

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words. all things wise and wonderful the lord

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god made them all for our pleasure as well as

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for his glory the world is so full of a number

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of things i'm sure we should all be as happy

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as cakes God expects His children to be careful

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about their dress and their manners. Surely He

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desires us to be attractive Christians. Sometimes

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I've seen God's children look so unattractive

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that I think even God's a little ashamed of them.

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I mean that. I remember how hard Mama used to

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work when I was a youngster. She'd sew late at

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night, even after Papa had gone to bed, to make

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me nice little dresses because she delighted

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in me. I was her child. She wanted me to look

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nice. She was proud of me. I wore a bonnet when

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I was a youngster so that I wouldn't have so

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many freckles. so that when she would take me

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out, she could be proud of me. I think my Heavenly

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Father wants me to dress and look and act so

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that he could be proud of me. I really believe

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that. I look my best. I try to look so well.

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that my Heavenly Father would be proud to say,

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that's my.