Excellent -
Excellent -
“… the greatest detractor from high performance is fear: fear that you are not prepared, fear that you are in over your head, fear that you are not worthy, and ultimately, fear of failure. If you can eliminate that fear—not through arrogance or just wishing difficulties away, but through hard work and preparation—you will put yourself in an incredibly powerful position to take on the challenges you face" - Pete Carroll.
He says.... "you honor me with your lips but your heart is far from me."
That is exactly the point I was making when I said, "God knows what's in your heart." So even if you're not a church goer, or a proselytizing super Christian, your relationship with God is personal to he and you, and if you have love for the Lord in your heart, he knows, and there's no need to be constantly trying to convince others of it.
I know there's a power there, and we call it God. But I have seen it at work and I've felt it, and this, for a person that has never been a church goer, never lived as a particularly good Christian. I've hung with outlaws, done some bad things, but yet I don't coinhabitate with women, I don't lie, I don't steal or cheat, but I do imbibe drinking now and then and even puff a few cigs. But for whatever reason, God has decided to take me under his wing despite my faults and sins. I have witnessed a couple miracles in my life that have no other explanation other than being a miracle, and one of them saved my life. But I'm also a born again Christian and have never denied it. I have also read the Bible cover to cover. Don't remember all that much of what I read, but then, how much do you have to remember?
My point is, again, all this preacher talk, church talk and the like, it is MY opinion that you don't NEED any of that to know the Lord or get to heaven. It is my opinion that really, for intents and purposes, in the beginning and the end, your relationship with the Lord has nothing to do with other people, or what they say, or a church, or congregation, or ANY of that. It depends solely on YOU.
If the freedom of speech is taken away
then dumb and silent we may be led,
like sheep to the slaughter.
George Washington (1732-1799) First President of the USA.