Remember the Word

By Doug Poole

This book provides stories and testimonials of experiences discovered from the Word of God in my personal life. It brings lives of biblical characters into real-time applications and the challenges they encountered. Practical solutions are provided to the reader and appear throughout the book with reflection on both failures and triumphs woven into the many categories it covers. Experiencing the Lord is as common today as it was in biblical times. Our culture is quite different but principles and applications of God’s Word still apply today.

Don’t judge a book by its cover has been a rule taught to many generations. Its origin is ancient but the same applies in the modem world in which we live. Looking at the cover of a Bible may look ancient but its contents and principles will amaze you. Get under the old cover you see on the outside and get into its contents and discoverer its wisdom for yourself on the inside.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Feb 25, 2020
• ISBN: 9781973684923

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Copyright © 2020 Doug Poole.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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ISBN: 978-1-9736-8491-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-8490-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-8492-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020902327

WestBow Press rev. date: 02/21/2020

Unless noted otherwise, all Scripture quotations are taken from the

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015

by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House

Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version®.

Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from The Holy Bible,

New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by

Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified® Bible,

Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994,

1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

CONTENTS

Dedication

Introduction

Chapter 1 Life’s Struggles

Chapter 2 Does It Really Matter

Chapter 3 Where Do You Get Your Strength?

Chapter 4 What a Mess

Chapter 5 Do You Ever Doubt

Chapter 6 The Way Things Are

Chapter 7 Gifts of the Spirit

Chapter 8 Healing Today?

Chapter 9 Reaching Out

Chapter 10 Is Your Door Open?

Chapter 11 Spiritual Wisdom

Chapter 12 The Flood and the Blood

Chapter 13 What Might be Standing in the Way

Chapter 14 Two Friends

Chapter 15 His Word

Conclusion

About the Author

DEDICATION

I dedicate this book to my late wife Leavern and our 42 years together. We traveled life’s roads together and our gratefulness to the Lord carries on. My adventures with her changed my life for the better and the lessons we learned together are wonderful milestones from our past.

When the Lord took her home to be with Him, He got a great believer that followed Him closer and closer as the end drew near. Her example helped me and encouraged me all throughout our time together. She was my helpmate, friend, lover, and girlfriend and co-conspirator in crime. Nothing major, they were minor crimes and nothing the Lord would disapprove.

She was my straight-man in humor, most of the time. There were times she took the lead and forgot, on purpose, to tell me until after the funny was presented. By then I already knew I’d been had, so it didn’t come as big of a surprise as she might have planned.

We visited much, planned a lot, traveled a great deal to see family, and we would return home with wonderful memories that we treasured together. Her family, I’m sure, never thought she would turn out to be so wonderful, but they got to find out what the Lord can do for a stubborn girl with anger issues that loved Him.

I used to tease her mother that I was having problems keeping her on the straight and narrow. Her comment was: ‘Hey — I did all I could do when she lived at home. It’s your problem now.’

I would expect, now that she’s back with her mother, I will hope I remain the number one son-in-law. I do have a brother-in-law already there who’s probably trying to change my status before I go home to be with the Lord. Hopefully he won’t be successful so I can remain number one for all eternity.

INTRODUCTION

M any different applications of His Word have been experienced in my life over the years. Because of that, they have completely changed my thinking. They have illuminated and broadened my understanding, instilled wisdom, and provided direction to my actions, and have proven to keep me on the path to receive many blessings.

His Word has given me a life filled with freedom and peace, never before thought possible. I will discuss several applications and life experiences in this book to give examples. I want to share my excitement and gratefulness to the Lord and pass on to you what I’ve encountered and find fascinating and extraordinarily advantageous for living life.

It has always seemed reasonable to me when someone shares a nugget of knowledge that it might catapult others forward and save them from finding out the hard way. Life would be much better if we learned before a mistake was made.

We all know that life brings many struggles requiring us to choose which path to follow. Hopefully, we will accept God’s best path to travel life, and His guidance, so we utilize the best wisdom and knowledge of God for solutions throughout our journey.

As long as we are breathing, our life on earth will continue and many challenges and decisions will need to be made. Our choices will either prepare us to go on and be successful or leave us sorrowful, grieving excessively, maybe mad at God, even broken in spirit, or emotionally traumatized. Our choices will either leave us swamped with too many burdens or give us an alternative to receive help from the Lord. Doing life alone makes us unable to relieve ourselves from the hardships life brings. I think sorrowfully, many suicides today are beautiful people without the hope that God has generously provided freely in Christ.

May you find hope and practical applications that will bring insight and guide you to live a more full and blessed life. The Bible used to be just a confusing book that I thought never had anything to offer because it was written so long ago. But life has proven to me that the principles it contains have given me hope and a purpose.

At first, the Bible seemed so difficult to read so I decided against reading what I didn’t understand because it made no sense to me. Oh, it had a few good stories, but I didn’t think it had anything that would help me in my own life. Surprisingly, I have found a rich source to learn from with its many examples to apply that have helped me in my own life.

I don’t look at the Bible the same today, because the Lord has proven He is alive and guides me. As I seek His wisdom, ask for guidance through prayer, and learn to apply His principles in my life situations — life is so much better.

May you relate to my experiences in your own life and benefit from the knowledge the Bible provides. We all will experience loss in our life, and it is difficult to understand fully. The death of a loved one (a spouse, a family member, friend, pet, etc.) puts us in a position we would rather not be. But, it’s a part of life we can’t avoid. The difficulties and trials encountered in life are familiar to us all (1 Pet. 1:7, 4:12).

Knowing other’s have similar challenges and experiences helps us realize that difficulties are common to all. We are not alone and to find someone else to share with can be very comforting and encouraging. It helps us appreciate other’s as we live life and that our journey is surrounded by people with similar struggles and challenges. We find that humanity is more alike than different because common situations exist. We may live in different locations, speak a different language or were raised with different family members, but commonality is more the norm than we might think.

My mom told me just before she died (96 years and 353 days old) that getting old was difficult. She told me you have to be tough to make it so long. That was her warning to me from her years of experience. I thought this comment was a rather a dim view of old age, but I thanked her since I was in my seventies and aging just like we all do.

My view about her age was quite different. I felt I was being blessed to have my mother and enjoy her company for so long in my life. I didn’t realize she viewed life so differently. I was thinking — How many people still have their mother in their seventies?

The loss of my father was a surprise because we thought he was doing so well after heart bypass surgery. Then, suddenly, he passed away from a completely different problem. He was only 78 and very active. I learned that life has many suddenlys, and we must all deal with them.

My view overall was that I was given time to know my parents much better in their later years. Enjoying them both during this time in their lives allowed me to let them know how I felt about each of them before their passing. Also, the hope of seeing them again when I pass is exciting to me because then we will all spend eternity together. The Lord’s Salvation Package explained in the Bible is my assurance and hope of life after death (John 3:3; 1 Pet. 1:23).

For sure, letting your parents know how you feel and working through any issues before they depart will bless you immensely. I had several areas that made me angry and affected me greatly in my younger years. As I applied Scripture to each situation, it became clear my issues had solutions. And, dealing with them scripturally would release me from their strongholds and the adverse effects they had on my life.

My strong emotions and angry feelings were erased over time, and my quality of life significantly increased as I applied these biblical principles. Today, the blessings that came as a direct result of using these principles have released me from the burdens I once carried.

Once I applied God’s principles, it provided the help I needed to overcome my issues. Before this, I relied on feelings, emotion, and wrong thinking to guide me through the many obstacles that cluttered my path. We each have a cluttered path, but help is available with the Lord!

May you also apply Scripture in your life and receive from the Lord all He has for you! Each person is uniquely different but in general, the same. We all together make-up humanity through each generation. The fullness God’s wisdom brings, will forever change you and bring the peace of God that passes all understanding (Rom. 8:6).

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CHAPTER 1

Life’s Struggles

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A s we all learn, life brings many struggles. People around us bring hurt and discomfort from every side and from every angle. No one escapes a hurting remark, an offense against them or actions that can cut to the depth of our inner being.

These offenses directly affect our feelings, emotions, thinking, and, if relived later, can cause our thinking to become increasingly more painful and even distorted. Many times when we continue hashing these hurts over again and again in our mind, it makes them grow, and develop. Each rehashing causes them to become even more hurtful — more cuts and digs, causing more wounds that keep our spirit and soul in misery.

Usually, as we relive each hurtful moment in our mind, the resentment and bitterness continue to grow deeper. And somehow, the event worsens over the years, which continues to cut deeper into our spirit.

If left alone, the deep wounds fester, and before long, we see evidence on the outside in unwanted actions and words. Because our soul and spirit are hurting and sensitive, we seem to hold our emotions back and they pressurize internally. Then, our inner self expresses itself outwardly from all the turmoil we have stored away. It is compressed in us and looks for relief to eliminate the pressure.

My particular outward expression was anger, and it worsened as I grew older. I did not know this reality at that time or how to deal with it. As I matured, I longed to find relief, but no one was around to help or guide me. Anger was evident in my life and growing, and I soon could not control it. When I finally let the Lord in, I discovered His principles could be applied to my life and help in this area.

First, I discovered several issues from my growing up years on the farm that had been stored away inside, screaming loud in my spirit, and they were:

• Dealing with being bullied.

• Being alone — No-one around to play or converse.

• My dad was too busy farming and always seemed mad at me.

• No-one wanted me around and outwardly let me know their feelings by their actions and words.

My response turned to anger building up inside, and it came out in physical and emotional outbursts, resistance to authority, and frequent acts of deception. My grandparents, who lived across the road, were my sanctuary from life’s struggles, and I clung to them and how they welcomed and loved me. Their presence was very soothing and reassuring. I had found a safe place to be normal without reminders of rejection all around me from my family. I was accepted and included by them. I was someone they did not shun or push away.

When I turned twelve, we moved to the city. This move brought me to a place where I felt entirely on my own. I soon learned that city boys did not welcome country boys, and I began fighting to defend myself to survive. I had to fight much of the time to protect myself from others trying to show me who was the toughest.

Coming from a farm was seen in their eyes much differently than I expected. They viewed me as stupid and let me know verbally of their superiority and higher position. This treatment put me in a defense mode never before experienced.

Since anger was now my explosive internal defender, fighting became easy and was temporarily rewarding. I depended on anger to overcome my fears and neutralize any resistance to my well being. This reaction in anger took care of the new attacks from the outside and stopped the verbal rejection and hateful comments. I thought fighting was the answer to my problems. I discovered anger was my safe guard and defense to all opposition.

Because of my success in fighting, I decided I could take care of myself, and the result was that no-one bothered me once the exhibition of physical strength and verbal battle was enacted. I learned that I depended on anger (adrenaline), to give me additional strength, which was very helpful in getting my point across. It wasn’t a very good way to live though. Still, it protected me from bullies, gave me lots of worldly friends, and, hopefully, made my dad proud with my being tough and independent.

During all this time, I had been going to church regularly, became a believer because I had prayed to accept Christ, but I still could not control my emotions of anger and feelings of rejection. I felt like I was a good kid on the inside, but life just wouldn’t let me be myself.

In high school, I determined to stop fighting and control my anger. I wasn’t very successful. Still, I strived to be better and express myself by letting the good come out whenever possible.

It was hit-and-miss most of the time, but I was learning that anger controlled me more than I wanted. It had become my full-time protector. It was my defense against any force coming against me. When fear entered an instant rush of adrenaline was immediately released. I became out of control, and my actions, if continued, would lead me where I didn’t want to go.

I thought accepting the Lord at seven and going to church would have taken care of this problem, but it didn’t. I struggled for years, realizing all along, I needed something more to help me overcome this problem with anger. After getting married at twenty-five, my wife and I both realized we each had an anger problem. It was a good thing we loved each other!

Shortly after we married, our independence and anger became very dominant in our relationship. As life together got worse, we sought out a Christian Marriage Counselor. It didn’t take long for him to realize our problem, and he applied biblical principles to our several issues. The first thing he did was tell us we needed to make Jesus Lord of our lives. How do you do that, we asked?

When we gave up our protector, anger, and said we would do it the Lord’s way, everything started changing. We learned about forgiveness, the Holy Spirit, faith, grace and mercy, spiritual gifts, and all that had been in the salvation package we knew nothing about. We were puzzled because we had both gone to church our whole life, but had not learned about God’s many provisions or application of spiritual principles.

Learning about God, and His love (agape), unconditional acceptance, undeserved favor, and a plan for our lives changed our thinking. I learned firsthand about forgiveness from my wife. She had a lousy childhood and told me she was going to apply Scripture to her past.

Not knowing what she meant, I took her to the gravesite of a relative, and she forgave this person for his hurtful actions toward her while he was alive. I asked her — How does this work? She explained that if she didn’t forgive him, those volatile emotions and feelings in her would not go away. Her comment to me was, I’m not going to let a dead man affect me the rest of my life?

Then I read: Even if that person wrongs you seven times a day and each time turns again and asks forgiveness, you must forgive. (Luke 17:4 New Living Translation)

As I looked back in my life, I knew I needed help because my feelings and emotions were in direct opposition to any forgiveness. I had to be obedient and respond to what the Bible said by faith and not choose my feelings to accomplish this needed relief.

She