Is the bible to be taken literally?

Which verse do you mean? Do you refer to Luke 9v57 which you have quoted?

God gave of His Son, His all. We, as His children, should do the same.

I don't know if you are male or female, married or unmarried, or what your situation is. However, obedience to the word of God is paramount. For it was to the apostles, as seen in Acts 6v4 where they gave themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word.

God bless.

Quote: 'What do I do?'

What you have already said. You said God is telling you to wait and be still and to seek Him.

So, do just that.

No one can tell you what to do. You can also seek advice from godly men who fear God. But even then, it is only advice, what you do is in your hands.

Simply be obedient to God and His word and He will direct you.

God bless.

This is a very impotant subject. And I believe that it should be taken literally. When He calls we forsake all and follow Him. However he requires different things from difference followers. Take Paul for instance. He preached the gospel and wrote much of the New Testament, but he was still employed as a tent maker. It is an individual thing based on what God speaks to us. And as far as prophecy goes it needs to witness with what God has spoken to you.

I would suggest you read this "The Cost of Discipleship" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. It is filled with insight into your question. It is one of the best books I have ever read and will surely have some answers for you. Here is a link so you can read it online.

http://www.crossroad.to/Persecution/Bonhoffer.html

"The more pressing issue is that on top of all this. I developed health issues. I developed high blood pressure over the last year and I'm currently on meds. The doc told me that I have to lose the 25lbs I gained over the last 5 years and it should go away. I'm running out of meds and cobra got screwed up because the company I worked for merged with another company.

But I feel that God is telling me to not worry about this. I'm in the wilderness and he is telling me to wait and be still. My vision is getting blurry which is a symptom that I might get diabetes and I might have glaucoma(a rare chance) but still a possibility."

I had some of the same issues. I had blurry vision and thought all the same things you said, but finally went to the eye doctor and guess what, I just needed glasses with the correct prescription. It would seem that computers really put stress on the eyes. I was having lights with reflections at night and bluriness so bad I could hardly read, even with my reading glasses. Well with a new set of the right glasses that is all gone. I had been praying about all this and figured God would just heal my eyes, but He has answered my prayer by glasses. I can see great now and no problem with night vision. Hey all my fears about diabetes and glaucoma were just that, fears. He has not given us the spirit of fear, but of love, and of power, and of a sound mind. Since you don't have to worry about feeding anybody else try eating mostly fruits and vegetables and a small amount of lean meat. Get the bad stuff out of your house so you won't be tempted. I can drop weight fast, and real easily, by doing this. Make fruit smoothies. I will tell you this even helps your vision. Carrots really are great for the eyes because of vitamin A.

I will be praying for you brother.

that's what I hear but a friend of mine jokingly says it's dangerous. It might not be something I want to hear.

Jesus is dangerous.

*Edited

On further inspection the link I gave you isn't the entire book but this is:

[url=http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=11776095]Bonhoeffers The Cost of Discipleship[/url]

Hi Codek
Can I please advise you to take mens prophesies over your life with a pinch of salt! You have ears to hear what the Lord wants in your life - a prophesy will confirm what God has already spoken to you, not the other way around, this has to be one of the most misused and abused gifts, don't forget that all gifts can be counterfeited - but you cannot counterfeit the fruit of the spirit. This is why we know God's people by their fruit and not their gift.

We do not have a relationship with someone and then get a third person to pass on a message of importance - we talk direct, the same with God, He will lead you personally as you grow close to Him and learn to recognise His voice.

I have seen lives ruined because of prophesies with supposed direction from God that was followed because someone said 'the Lord says to you' - don't make big decisions until the Lord speaks to you personally.

No, God does not want a man to quit his job and read and pray all day - That is irresponsible and places added burdens on those who would have support you - even the Devil finds work for idle hands!
I'm sure many Christians would love the opportunity to pray and study whenever they liked, even all day if they could, I know my husband would! but he has a responsibility before God to care for the family God has given him.

Everything we do in life we do as unto the Lord and to give Him honour, even housework, looking after the kids and dad! it is all honouring to the Lord.

The Apostle Paul took on work and paid his way, he paid for his upkeep so he would not be a burden on those he ministered to and to also support his home church who sent him out on these missions.
Read through the book of Proverbs which has excellent advice for young men.

The verses above speak of Jesus calling folk to follow him, but there is always a 'but' - let me do this first, let me do that that first - making excuses of why we shouldn't respond to the call of God at that moment, hankering after things in the past instead of keeping looking forward. If the plough hand doesn't get the first furrow straight, then all the other furrows he ploughs after that will be wobbly lines and off centre - that's why we keep our eyes forward - towards the goal, being careful not to leave stumbling stones in the path for another following behind to trip over.

If you have a gifting for the business world then you should be using that gift and being salt and a light in the area where God has placed you. Don't bury and waste your talents.

codek: As I read your post, a few things come to mind.

First, personal prophecy is never to be directive, but rather will confirm. In other words, I never base decisions on a personal word of prophecy, but God has used prophecy to allow me to war a good warfare (See 1 Tim. 1:18) by confirming and strengthening things that He has already spoken to me. God desires to lead you by His Spirit. Continue to seek Him as to His will for the future, but be careful not to live there. He desires to use You for His glory today, not just in the future. Be sure you are in His will today, do the same tomorrow, and to a large degree the future will take care of itself. You do need to hear from Him for the decisions of the day.

Second, giving God everything means that you are in total submission to His will. Prayer and time in the Word are important disciplines, but if all we do is spend time in the word and prayer, we will have no impact on the world around us. Likewise, if we neglect the word and prayer, we will have no impact on the world around us. Remember when the apostles were spending too much time in waiting tables when God was leading them to devote themselves to the word and prayer so that He could use them to do the true work of an apostle? They appointed spirit filled men as deacons to oversee the work. We are all called to ministry, but some of us are called to do it in a setting where the word and prayer are the focus, and some of us are called to do it in the marketplace. So it is not like you need to join a monastery to have given God everything. You can be an effective minister in the business world having given God your life to use as He desires. You can never give Him too much of yourself. All is all you have to give, and I can guarantee that you will live your entire life continually giving Him areas He reveals to you that are not totally His. The thing is, you need to be in love with Him and be willing to say yes Lord whenever He deals with you.

I don't know what you should do brother. Just understand that you don't have to worry or fret about it.

Travis

No this happened in recent years and I am just about to reach 56. However the eye doctor wants to check me again in July to make sure I don't have glaucoma and gave me some reading material to see what will help keep one from getting it and what do you know, less fat, no sugar, and fruits and vegetables. Here you have it. A healthy diet gives health to your eyes.

Having said that I believe healing is the childrens meat and I stand believing that I am healed by the stipes that Jesus bore and I will get a good report in July.

Enjoy Bonhoeffer's book, it is a treasure.

My other favorite book is Art Katz' " Apostolic Foundations" Wow what a gift from the Lord.