Meee??? A Prophet???

When Nurture Needs Are Unmet

If you would prefer to listen to this message or watch it, (You can see my amazing face in all its wrinkly glory), in the video below. Otherwise! Read on.

As a consequence of being invited to teach the healing approach found in The Quiet Heart to a group of ministers, I became acquainted with some women prophets who are deeply involved in the prophetic movement. Lovely and mighty women of God whom He has called into the office of prophet.

One of the ladies suggested that I am also a prophet, a suggestion that made me laugh as I shrugged it off. Even if she is right, I don’t know what to do with that.

A few days later, I was chatting with God as I drove to the grocery store and I brought up the subject of being a prophet. I told the Lord that it would be really cool to be a prophet, have big gatherings where I proclaim astounding prophetic pronouncements that are always accurate and always true! I told Him, “How cool would that be? All that attention and excitement.”

Here is how the Lord responded. He said, “Sweetheart. There are no prophets or prophecy in heaven. How about you ask me for something eternal and of everlasting value?” (1 Corinthians 13:8)

Alrighty then.

Seriously, I don’t have any ambition to stand in the office of prophet. I don’t have any desire for that kind of attention. It just seemed like it would be fun. Probably not as fun as I think it would be.

But that conversation with God did get me started asking Him what is eternal and of everlasting value? What should we be seeking and what are we seeking that we shouldn’t be seeking?

Short disclaimer here. I fully believe all of us are able to prophesy as the Lord leads. And I believe that prophecy is very valuable. And I do prophesy from time to time. Nonetheless, not many are called to the office of prophet.

BUT all of us have God-given needs—the need to be cherished, nurtured, protected, valued. We all need acceptance and belonging. We all need a secure attachment to a safe and loving person. Sadly, those needs have often gone unmet AND many of us have given up on having them ever met. But we really cannot ever escape the needs that are built into the human design. So, even if we have given up, the needs are there, simmering beneath the surface.

Sometimes we will try to get our nurture needs met by achieving some kind of position or recognition. Oh! If I were a prophet, then people would love me. I would belong! I would be accepted! For example.

1 Corinthians 13:8 tells us that all the spiritual gifts will eventually pass away. I think all compulsion to get our unmet needs met will also pass away, because they will be met by the one thing that endures; that never fails. That one thing is love.

Let me make a distinction here. Not our fallen carnal ooshe mooshe love. Only God’s love will endure forever. Ah ha! I have figured out what is eternal and of everlasting value.

Perhaps it is time for us to ask the Lord some questions. For example, let’s ask Him what we believe deep within our hearts that is pushing His love away. What is seated in the heart that keeps us hungering for recognition; keeps us anxiously performing instead of sinking into His goodness, attaching to Him and resting in Him, secure in the knowledge that He will find a way to meet all of our unmet needs?

If the only thing that never fails is His love, let’s make a decision to invest the rest of our journey here in the fall exploring the heights and the depths of His great love.

nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. ROMANS 8:39

God bless you!

Susan

thepool@thepoolministries.org

http://www.thepoolministries.org

Tsk! Tsk! Ye of Little Faith.

This is Part Four to the series Scary Things Jesus Said. The following story happened a while ago, as in years, but I don’t remember exactly how many. A ministry was advertising healing miracles, so my buddies and I took a friend who suffered from cerebral palsy to an evening meeting. The young minister was of the faith movement persuasion. You may be familiar? If not, the faith movement emphasized that the believer’s level of faith acted on God to answer prayers. If you had no faith or little faith … well too bad for you. Or, at least, that is the depth the movement sank to. It didn’t start there. Not to go off topic, but going off topic, have you been paying attention to how quickly a new prayer tool or strategy, after it’s given to the body of Christ, becomes the latest and greatest answer to all our problems?The new thing quickly fills the mouth of a multitude of preachers, who begin churning out sermons and books. Oh! The books! Book sales are off the charts! Now, whether these sudden experts understand the new strategy or have applied it beyond a quick dip of the toe; that is, they have read someone else’s book or listened to someone else’s sermon, is questionable. Nonetheless, the drums will be pounded until the next strategy comes down the pike. Have you noticed? It’s a pattern. Back to our topic. As this up-and-coming minister enthusiastically exhorted his audience to believe that God wanted to heal our illnesses and injuries, his eyes would slide sideways to where we sat with our obviously crippled friend.When it came time for the altar call, we eagerly came forward, expecting the Lord to perform a healing miracle. Instead, the minister sharply questioned our faith. He wanted to know if we had faith. If we had enough faith to heal our friend. Because his prayers would not work for her unless we had faith. Apparently, we failed the faith test, because nothing happened after he prayed. I can’t help but be suspicious that the minister had found a way to wiggle off the hook. That we tend to blame shift and squirm our way out of the corners we have backed ourselves into isn’t today’s topic. And neither is this next observation, but it is an important one. So, I will digress. If God had healed her in that moment, then we would have believed we had purchased a miracle with our faith. We would have celebrated our faith. We would have thought that we made God obey us with our faith.Here is the sad thing. I know that God longed to heal our friend, but He will not be manipulated by manufactured faith. And God doesn’t sell His miracles for any coin, including the faith coin. (See Acts 8:17-20). Now forward to our topic: Scary Things Jesus Said: Part Four! When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. And behold, a violent storm developed on the sea, so that the boat was being covered by the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep. And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing!” He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm. Matthew 8:23-27 Does “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” sound a little judgey to you? Because it does to me. Was He saying they shouldn’t have disturbed Him? Did He expect them to just keep on believing and rowing even though the storm was so violent that waves were covering the boat and they were going to drown? Now, Jesus isn’t stupid, so I don’t believe He was calling his guys out about the weather. I think He was asking them this: Why did you wait so long to wake Me up? Why wait until we were on the point of drowning? I get that you are afraid of the weather. But why are you afraid of Me? Do you really have so little faith in my kindness? My great aunt once told me that she didn’t pray about her concerns because she didn’t want to bother God. She said that He had enough to do without being worried with her little problems. Even as a new Christian, I wasn’t fooled. She didn’t believe that He wanted to help her. That is why she didn’t ask for help. Let’s not be like the guys in the boat or like my great aunt. Let’s not wait until we are drowning in fear or trouble or sin to ask for help. Even if you don’t have much faith in God’s goodness and willingness to help, take what little you have—even if it feels like nothing—and ask for help. Start with this: Lord, I don’t have any faith in my faith. And maybe that is a good thing. But please help me, because it feels like I am drowning and I don’t know how to help myself. I’m putting down the oars of self-reliance. It isn’t working anyway. Show me your lovingkindness and rescue me. Amen. God bless you, Susan You stilled the roaring of the seas, the pounding of their waves, and the tumult of the nations. Psalm 65:7 Visit The Pool Ministries at thepoolministries.org Visit the ministry YouTube Channel at The Pool Ministries Susan Bowman The best way to contact The Pool is by email thepool@thepoolministries.org

But I Don’t Want to Hate MeeMaw!

Scary Things Jesus Said: Number Three

This series is called Scary Things Jesus Said because all of us have struggled with scriptures that 1. Don’t make sense. 2. Are impossible to do. 3. Seem awfully harsh. This one falls into the “awfully harsh” category. Here it is. “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.” Luke 14:26 Yikes! What on earth are you saying, Jesus? On the one hand the Bible instructs us to honor Mom and Dad and on the other hand … this? Personally, I avoided this scripture because it just did not compute. Until one day, while ministering to someone, it hit me—right in the eye, like a big pizza pie—that this scripture is about order. And that (follow me through the convolutions of my brain) led me to Genesis 3 and the fall. Question. Who did Adam choose when confronted with his very first free-will choice? That’s right! He chose his wife, knowing that he was putting her and his love for her ahead of God. He was scared of losing her. What followed that choice? The Woman: You will bear children in anguish. Your desire will be for your husband, yet he will rule over you. Genesis 3:16 The Man: The ground is cursed because of you. You will eat from it by means of painful labor all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you. Genesis 3:18 Disorder resulted, “Because you listened to your wife’s voice and ate from the tree about which I commanded you.” Genesis 3:17 Now, I am well aware that some misguided people have used the above scripture to enforce subjugating women. Let me assure you that Genesis 3:17 is NOT about gender. It is about choices. It is about using free will in such a way that godly order results or using it so that chaotic disorder results. Adam placed his allegiance to his wife above his allegiance to God. The chaotic disorder that resulted caused this mess we are living in; that is, the fall. Every time we choose our spouse, children, parents, friends—even MeeMaw—knowing that we are putting them ahead of God … we are adding disorder to disorder. Is that really what we want to do? To make the fall worse than it already is? Jesus isn’t telling us to hate our family. He is telling us to use that amazing and dangerous gift of free will to choose God above ALL else. I have a friend who spoke this wisdom to me some time ago. She said that choosing God is the very best thing for everyone. Don’t you wish that Adam had done that? Think of all the suffering that would have been avoided if Adam had loved his wife enough to have chosen God. Don’t be like Adam. Don’t let the fear of losing a loved one become your god. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. Matthew 16:25 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5 Let’s pray. Father God, I come to you in the name of your beautiful Son, Jesus Christ, asking your forgiveness for all the times that I have used the gift of free will to create disorder. Please forgive me for the times that I have been too afraid to choose you, because I thought it meant losing a relationship. Please teach me the value of godly order. Show me that choosing you first is the very best thing I can do for those I love. Please give me a longing and desire to live within your order because it is good for me, and not just for me, but also for those I love. Amen. God bless you. Susan The Pool Ministries Website link https://thepoolministries.org/ The Pool Ministries YouTube Channel link https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=susan+bowman+the+pool+ministries

Heads Up!

This is for those who are experiencing one or more of the following:

1. An exaggerated awareness of your flaws and shortcomings.
2. Intensified pain over unanswered prayers.
3. Amplified misery over stressful circumstances.

If it all feels darker and more hopeless than ever before, listen up. This is for you.

As the political narrative of the last two years crumbles before our eyes, the enemy is shifting his strategy. Instead of compelling us to anxiously focus on everything that is wrong with the world, he is trying to concentrate our attention on the personal negatives in our lives. This shifting strategy is affecting many of God’s beloved people.

The Lord is strongly urging us to resist this illusion of the evil one and to turn our faces, resolutely, to the light. Because, hallelujah! Heavenly light is breaking through. Something big is happening!

Let’s begin to glorify God now, for He is doing a new and wonderous thing in the earth!

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Isaiah 43:18-19

Update

The ministry is busy as usual. I haven’t been writing, although I have started a new book, because Sam underwent major surgery in November.

Note to self: Do not schedule major surgery before the holidays.

We are recovering nicely, but it has been a challenging recovery!

God bless.

Susan

Overcoming the Spirit of Premature Death

Blessed are the merciful

Dear friends, I recently published an article on the topic of premature death. Perhaps you have read it, repented and prayed the prayers. I hope so. I passionately believe that we must get the word out about what is empowering the spirit of premature death. To help spread the word, I made a video. Here is the link. Please, please, please share with family and friends. Overcoming the Spirit of Premature Death God bless. Susan The Pool Ministries The best way to contact The Pool is by email at thepool@thepoolministries.org. If you would rather call, you must leave a message and I will call you back. I am happy to answer questions or schedule prayer ministry over the phone, but because of robo calls we do not answer the landline unless you have an appointment. That number is 205.556.4555, country code 01. Remember to leave a message.

Have You Noticed?

Have you noticed what I have noticed? Are you seeing a disturbing upward trend in premature deaths? I’m not talking about deaths due to the virus. I’m noticing lots of other kinds of deaths: peculiar illnesses and accidental deaths taking children, teens, and young mothers and fathers. I checked with some of my friends living in other areas of the States and they reported noticing the same thing. Hmm.

I was troubled; it felt off, even demonic, in some way. So, I asked my prayer team if they would approach the Lord with me, asking this question:

What is making us vulnerable to the spirit of premature death?

We presented our question in a heavenly appeal. A heavenly appeal is a formal petition presented to the Lord, asking for His advice and intervention in an earthly matter.

The Lord showed us this:

This is a mercy season. Yet, the expression of the pure and wise mercy of God is extremely lacking. Why? Believers are the vessels of His mercy, but the sudden and threatening shifts in the culture hasn’t brought mercy forth. It has brought forth the hidden fear and unbelief in our hearts which is being expressed in angry condemnation. This condemnation is being directed toward people in positions of power and influence: politicians, educators, media, big tech, healthcare providers, and the unbelieving world as well as those believers who do not agree with us.

During our appeal, we were convicted to repent for our wrong responses to the confusion and division all around us. I encourage you to read through this article prayerfully, asking the Lord if you need to repent for responding with condemning judgement instead of mercy.

What to repent for (if convicted by Holy Spirit):

√ The wrong response to pain: Refusing to embrace suffering as an opportunity to mature. Tribulations offer an opportunity to choose God in suffering.

We celebrate in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also celebrate in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Romans 5:3-5

√ The wrong response to pain:

Praying for death (personal and that of your perceived enemies); the rapture, and the second coming from the wrong motive, which is only to escape pain. Turning to death as savior from suffering. Christ is our Savior.

Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death, And with Sheol we have made a pact. Isaiah 28:15

√ The wrong response to pain:

Rather than responding by intentionally seeking to enter into His rest and then responding under His direction, we attempted to escape discomfort by ramping up our anxious performance. We prayed more; fasted more; met more; decreed and declared more. We hoped that somehow through our own efforts we could convince God to do what we wanted. The motive for this fear-based striving is fear and unbelief.

“And when you are praying, do not use thoughtless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. Matthew 6:7-8

√ The wrong response to pain:

Fear and unbelief were hidden in the heart. The change in circumstances caused the beliefs held in the heart to surface. Instead of repenting for harboring fear and unbelief; instead of asking the Lord to help our fear and unbelief, we turned to complaining and blaming (those in positions of influence and leadership; unbelievers; other believers, etc.) for making us feel the pain of these previously hidden beliefs.

The fear of death — any kind of natural death, including the death of lifestyle, comfort zone and status quo — surfaced, enslaving our hearts and minds, so that we forgot who we are in Christ Jesus.

Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, so that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. Hebrews 2:14-15

√ The wrong response to pain:

Responded to others we viewed as our enemies or the cause of our suffering with blame, bitter judgement, criticism and condemnation. We did not pray that the Lord would touch them with His mercy, which has the power to turn them away from darkness toward His glorious light.

Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy. Matthew 5:7

He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. Now go and learn what this means: ‘I desire compassion, rather than sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Matthew 9:12-13

What to pray:

Release mercy!

Lord, please touch those in positions of influence and power (government; healthcare; education; media; big tech, etc.) with Your mercy, so that they know that it is safe to turn to You. No matter the depth of their sin, may Your mercy turn their hearts to You so that none is lost.

Touch the people who don’t know You, who have rejected You, with Your mercy. Touch those believers who are weak and confused. Touch the believer who has rejected the truth of your Word, embracing cultural and worldly perspectives that are contrary to life and godliness. Release mercy into the earth, Lord. I ask in Jesus’ name.

Lord, help me reject blame and condemnation; anger and bitterness. Help me to trust in You and Your love for me, that I may follow where you lead, day after day. Teach me to walk in Your mercy. Your mercy does not deny truth and does not fear speaking truth, yet offers hope to the fearful and lost. You have given us the ministry of reconciliation. Help us live as ambassadors for Christ. For you have reconciled the world to Yourself through Christ.

Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their wrongdoings against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 2 Corinthians 5:18-20

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

For judgement will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgement. James 2:13

I pray you will join me my team and I in releasing mercy into the earth.

God Bless,

Susan

https://thepoolministries.org/

Squeezing Through the Narrow Gate

Scary Things Jesus Said

Ok. Here is a tough one for you. Jesus said: “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Matthew 7:13-14. I don’t know about you, but squeezing through a narrow gate sounds pretty challenging to this girl. I can’t even squeeze into my jeans these days. But it gets better! Not really. It gets worse. Read this: And someone said to Him, “Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?” And He said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.” Luke 13:23-24 Do these words make you say “Yikes?!!” I had some students of mine approach me about these very scriptures, which took me by surprise because, as a convert to the faith, I intuitively understood what the Lord was saying. I had been romping through the wide gate and down the broad way all my life. I didn’t know any other way. After receiving Christ, I knew I had found another way — the right way — and never gave a thought to the possibility that other believers might find His words scary. But then I wasn’t raised with lots of religious rules and regs. I was raised by wolves, metaphorically speaking. Let’s put to bed the fear that you, as a believer, might be missing the narrow gate and constricted way. Jesus explains His words here in John 10:7-9. Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” And again, He makes it clear in John 14:6: Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.” Now, I want you to think about the people Jesus was addressing. Who was in His audience? There were the everyday people, mostly Jewish, and the devout religious clergy of that time. Those who were “out” because of birth or failure to follow the religious rules and those who believed themselves “in” because of birth and a strict adherence to law. Everyone was measuring their acceptability by the performance (behavior) ruler. Everyone was failing, of course, but some didn’t realize it. Jesus was announcing that performance isn’t the way. That He is the way and that there is NO other way. That makes it a narrow and constricted way in this fallen world of ours. Now let’s add another layer: The will of My father. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.” Matthew 7:21 Please don’t start biting your nails. Instead, ask this: What is the will of the Father? Jesus tells us in John 6:40: “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” Dearest believer, if you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord, then you have found the narrow gate and entered the constricted way. Keep following Him the best you know how. And know this, that in all your messy imperfection you are loved and acceptable to the Father because you have kissed the Son. God bless, Susan Kiss the Son, that He not be angry and you perish on the way, For His wrath may be kindled quickly. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him! Psalm 2:12 The series on Hearing God is finished. You can find it on The Pool YouTube Channel. Find The Pool YouTube Channel here Visit the website here and look over our products page. The Pool Website The best way to contact The Pool is by email at thepool@thepoolministries.org.

Taking the Fear Out of Revelation

I was chatting with a student who was attending my class on Your Identity and the Heart when I suggested that she might also benefit from Sam’s class on the book of Revelation. I was shocked by her panicky response. No way was she EVER going near the book of Revelation!

Scary end times and fire-breathing false prophets are the stuff of nightmares, but please know that John’s visions were given to encourage believers. Not terrify them.

By comparing the symbols found in Revelation with how they are used in the rest of the Bible, Sam cracks the code of this book, revealing the encouraging message hidden within the symbolic language.

If you have any fears or questions about the message of Revelation, please please please watch the video series and study the book. You will be blessed and set free.

Symbols of Revelation Series

A Bible-based Interpretation
Symbolism and Visions
Symbolism and Numbers
The Seals, Trumpets, Bowls
The 144,000 and The Great Multitude
The Two Witnesses
The Two Women
Satan Exposed
Is There a Millennium?
The New Jerusalem

I pray that you find the teachings helpful. If you do, please subscribe, like and click notifications.

We are happy to answer questions, or try to, if you shoot us an email at thepool@thepoolministries.org.

Blessed is the one who reads, and those who hear the words of the prophecy and keep the things which are written in it; for the time is near. Revelation 1:3

God bless,
Susan

The Pool Website

If you call the ministry, you must leave a message and I will call you back. I am happy to answer questions or schedule prayer ministry over the phone, but because of robo calls we do not answer the landline unless you have an appointment.

That number is 205.556.4555, country code 01. Remember to leave a message.

If The Pool is a blessing to you, please consider blessing The Pool with your prayers and donations.

Ears to Hear

One of the saddest things happened during a recent visit to Children’s Church. I was attending with my grandson who, because he lives out-of-town and isn’t a regular, requires the support of his grandmother. One of the older girls, maybe 11 years old, sat next to me and, after chatting, told me that she wished she could hear God talking to her. Under the circumstances there was little I could to do to help her.

But I can help others who desire to hear God for themselves. The series Hearing God is finished and available on YouTube. Here is the link and the topics in the series.

Hearing God Series

God Enjoys a Good Conversation
The Speaking Word
The Inside Guide
Prophesy
Thoughts and Voices
Voices of the Self
The Enemy’s Voice
Dreams
Dream Language
Visions
Creation Communication and Prophetic Actions

God wants to talk with you. It is His desire. And He isn’t counting your sin against you. How do I know that you may be asking. Because He sought out Adam and Eve. He sought out Cain, and it was Cain who walked away. Not God. And there is this:

… God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their wrongdoings against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5:19

I pray that you find the teachings helpful. If you do, please subscribe, like and comment. I am happy to answer questions, or try to, if you shoot me an email at thepool@thepoolministries.org.

God bless,
Susan

Please visit the website and look over our products page. Sam’s book, My Birding Adventures with God, contains many examples of God speaking through His creation.

https://thepoolministries.org/products

Really? Be Perfect?

In case you haven’t noticed, Jesus said some things that might sound a little … ah … scary. Take for example Matthew 5:48. Therefore you shall be perfect, as your Father is perfect. Here is my question. Did not one person listening to the Lord’s Sermon on the Mount raise a hand and ask, “Really, Jesus? Did you just tell us to be as perfect as Father God?” I had it explained to me from the pulpit that what Jesus meant by perfect was mature. Of course, being as mature as God sounds just as impossible, so that explanation wasn’t helpful. Since I’m better at being an abysmal failure than at being as perfect (or mature) as God, I decided to do a bit of research on my own. Here is what I found. Verse 48 is surrounded by other verses! WHAT! Yup. That means we should consider the context. I started at vs. 20 which reads thus: For I say to you that unless your righteousness far surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. The people of Jesus’ day would have considered the scribes and Pharisees as ultimate examples of religious perfection. The scribes and Pharisees certainly considered themselves in that light. But the list of dos and don’ts that Jesus launches into next is rather comprehensive, leaving no one out, even religious people who are trying really hard to be perfectly perfect. Kind of a gotcha list. To be perfect, we can’t sin in any of the categories the Lord listed, except we all do. We have to love our stinking enemies. (Did I say that?) And he winds up with this: Love people, even wicked ones, like God does with perfect justice and kindness, then — drum roll, please — you shall be perfect as God your Father is perfect because you have perfectly fulfilled, with the right attitude, all of God’s requirements. Oh! One more thing. Don’t do any of your righteous acts for attention (Matthew 6:1). I don’t feel any better. Do you? Looks like we really, really need a savior. And I think that is the point that Jesus was making, because there is only One whose righteousness far surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees. When I read the Sermon on the Mount, I see myself as that confused lady in the back who raises her hand and says, “Really? Perfect? That’s impossible!” And I imagine Jesus turning his beautiful eyes to me, smiling and saying, “Exactly.” For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 God bless you. Susan I am finishing up the series on Hearing God. You can find it on The Pool YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=the+pool+ministries+susan+bowman Visit the website here and look over our products page. https://thepoolministries.org/ The best way to contact The Pool is by email at thepool@thepoolministries.org. If you would rather call, you must leave a message and I will call you back. I am happy to answer questions or schedule prayer ministry over the phone, but because of robo calls we do not answer the landline unless you have an appointment. That number is 205.556.4555, country code 01. Remember to leave a message. If The Pool is a blessing to you, please consider blessing The Pool with your prayers and donations.