The Power of the Cross

Thank you Father for the power of the cross.

Thank you Lord Jesus for the sacrifice You endured for us on the cross.

Please Spirit, help keep the cross foremost and central in my life.


But as for me, I will never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Galatians 6:14

Enough To Disgrace

I don't know about you, but I mess up. A lot.

This morning I was blessed to find the reference in Scripture describing the exactly theme of my pleas before the Lord recently:


⁵ God, You know my foolishness,

  and my guilty acts are not hidden from You.

⁶ Do not let those who put their hope in You

  be disgraced because of me,
  Lord GOD of Hosts;
  do not let those who seek You
  be humiliated because of me,
  God of Israel.

Psalm 69:5-6

Has this ever been the cry of your heart? I honestly believe we should all feel this way at times- especially those who are living vibrant lives in Christ. I guess the important question would truly be, "Are  you living for Him enough to where it would even make a difference in Christ's reputation with the lost if you did stumble?"

Prayer Request

Please pray for my health.

We have the pest control guy spraying for spiders and ticks right now. Kevin has reacted very bad to the last few tick bites, so when we saw one crawling in the house knew it was tine to spray.

The problem? I react very poorly to pesticides. This past spring I even ended up going to the emergency room and the local spraying their fields had a lot to do with it. Please pray that I don't have any odd reactions. I've already been having some problem with a few specific issues and I'm afraid this may send me over the edge.

Thank you all!

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The intense prayer of the righteous is very powerful.

James 5:16

...So "My" Eyes Are On The Lord...

I have grown to deeply love this Psalm: Particularly verse two.

Take a few minutes to meditate upon and digest this short Psalm. I pray it will touch and smooth your heart today.

Psalm 123

1. I lift my eyes to You, 

the One enthroned in heaven.

2. Like a servant's eyes on his master's hand, 

like a servant girl's eyes on her mistress's hand, 

so our eyes are on the Lord our God 

until He shows us favor.

3. Show us favor, LORD, show us favor, 

for we have had more than enough contempt.

4. We've had more than enough scorn 

from the arrogant 

and contempt from the proud.

Back Up A Verse Or Two

There are so many wonderful verses in the Bible that Christians know and quote. They are great encouragement, reminders, and comfort to us. They only problem is that sometimes, when we haven't read the text around them in a while, we start taking them out of context. The majority don't do it intentionally, but it is still doing it.

While reading today, I came across one of these verses which will help to end that vicious cycle. We all have hear John 8:32 "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." That's a great verse. Christians tend to look at this as a cry of freedom for those who chose to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, and that's true. But - there is an IF right before Jesus says this. Let's back up and start at verse 30. Pay close attention to whom Jesus is speaking to and what the "if" declares:

As He was saying these things, many believed in Him. So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in Him, "If you continue in My word, you really are My disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
John 8:30-32


Jesus was not talking to the masses in general here. He was speaking directly to those who had declared that He was the Messiah. So why did He feel the need to add, "If you continue in My word, you are really My disciples"? Emphasis Mine Isn't just believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and came to die for our sins enough? No. It really isn't. How can I say this? Let's look at the book of James. I will use several verses to show you the context, but pay special attention to the verse 19, which I highlighted.


James 2:14-20
 ¹⁴ What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith, but does not have works? Can his faith save him?
    ¹⁵ If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food, ¹⁶ and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well," but you don't give them what the body needs, what good is it? ¹⁷ In the same way faith, if it doesn't have works, is dead by itself.
    ¹⁸ But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without works, and I will show you faith from my works. ¹⁹ You believe that God is one; you do well. The demons also believe—and they shudder.
    ²⁰ Foolish man! Are you willing to learn that faith without works is useless? 
(See also Matthew 8:29 and Luke 4:34)


Even the demons believe and know He is the Son of God, but that does nothing for them. They had made their choice when they sided with Satan, and their works deceived them. I'm not saying that we should base everything on works, for then we try to earn our way into heaven. "For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God's gift—" Ephesians 2:8


So what do we do with these two seemingly opposing truths? 


1. We believe, by faith, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came to pay the price for our sins cleansing us by His blood sacrifice so that we can enter into the presence of our Holy God for eternity.
2. We humble ourselves, knowing there is nothing we can do to earn the gift which is freely given to us by Jesus the Messiah.
3. We prove our faith by submitting ourselves to His will daily and produce much fruit through the studying and living out of His Word. (John 15:8)


The root of where we fall short as Christians is in choosing which few verses of Scripture we will cling on to. 


I'm putting out a challenge for you today: Think of one of your favorite Scriptures which you quote to yourself quite often. Go look it up, and read the entire chapter in which it is placed. If it is one of the very first verses, read the chapter before it as well. If it is one of the last, read the chapter after. 


Now, take some time to ponder whether you have been quoting the context correctly.

My Bed

I love my bed.

Sometimes at night when I lay down I thank God over and over for my bed. It really isn't anything fancy. In fact, we were given the mattress about 6 years ago by friends who were getting a new one, but it is so comfy. There are times during the day when I think about how wonderful it will feel to crawl in bed that night. I must say I tend to dwell upon it so much at times that I have to go lie down for a few minutes. I really love going to bed.

Now my bed time is suppose to be 10. I need a lot of sleep to keep healthy and sane, and I know how important it is to get there. However, I seldom make it. It's usually around 11:30 before I actually lie down. Why? I'm not really sure. A little of this and that. Watching or listening to something. Busy nothingness. It amazed me how I so seldom get there as much as I love doing it!

I decided my bed is a lot like Jesus.

I love Him SO much. (Yes, more than my bed. Just go along with me for a few minutes...) But how often do I put Him off with trivial things? Before I know it I've pushed Him back to an unhealthy level, just to get what amounts to a bunch of nothingness done. I truly love talking about Jesus and going to Him daily in prayer. I really look forward to reading His Word. But it gets pushed back by life. I can't let that happen if I truly love Him, can I?

So I'm spending time with Him in His Word and am going to bed at 10 tonight. Or at least I'll be reading my Bible in bed right then...

You've Seen God, Where?!?!

I truly believe that God is in everything and can teach us lessons through everything. That's not to say that He causes everything - our free will has a great effect on that - but He can use all of it for our benefit if we allow and look for it.

One of my favorite ways to see the lessons of God is though kingdom principles in secular society.  It amazes me when they are so excited about a "new idea" that works wonders. Most of the time it was written as an instruction 2 to 3 thousand years ago in the Bible. Ah well, proof once again that "...there is nothing new under the sun."(Ecclesiastes 1:9)

Where have you found some kingdom principles in secular places? It's fun to see what and whom God has used to speak to us. What's brought this topic up? A favorite one I've found:

"I find your lack of faith - disturbing."    -- Darth Vader

It's A Choice

I've had to make a difficult decision: I can't even turn on the computer until I read my Bible for the day.

Now that we have internet at the house, I found that way too much time is wasted "checking" things. I check the weather, my email, Facebook, the weather, the school lunch menu, my blog hits, research on an interesting idea/topic, the weather... It's amazing how I think the weather is going to change in 10 minutes, but i love it.
I was so close to becoming a meteorologist...


With all this time wasted I realized that reading my Bible was sliding further and further down the list. Not good. The Spirit also reminded me of a verse in Mark that talks about how Jesus dealt with a busy and hectic lifestyle. He had taught in the synagogue all day and then had healed a multitude of sick since sundown - since it had been the Sabbath (Mark 1:21-34). Mark 1:35 is the verse that came to me. "Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, He got up, went out, and made His way to a deserted place. And He was praying there."

Jesus, after being exhausted from the day and evening before, made sure He put His Father as the first priority during the day. Even if it meant getting up very early and having to go a distance to find a quiet spot. Can't you just see Jesus sneaking past the sleeping masses, stepping carefully and quietly so as not to wake them? Any parent of toddlers knows exactly what that's like. Yet that is the choice He made. Did Jesus have the right to be sleepy and stay on the mat a few extra hours? Couldn't He have just said His prayers lying there? Sure He could, but then His full attention wouldn't have been with His Father.

I want my Father to know I choose to follow Him and hear what He has to say to me each day. That should be my first priority. If not hitting a simple computer button gets me one step closer to that goal, is it really such a difficult choice to make?

Embarrassed

Don't you hate it when something goes terribly wrong? That's what happened to me yesterday. I had planned to play a small joke on someone to lighten their mood since they have had a lot going on in their life recently. However, being a woman, I had not thought of the possible implications, and in front of a group of men at church embarrassed myself and another poor, innocent young lady to no end. Ugh. I don't handle that well. I've been in a wretched mood ever since.

That, of course, is when God spoke to me. There is one aspect recently He had been telling me to give up which I hadn't. That played a part in this. I wouldn't have been there if I listened months ago. The amazing thing about God is that He can use our mistakes, that He warned us about in the first place, to teach us another lesson: I forgot how much I fear being embarrassed. Yes, it was a mistake, but honestly it wasn't that bad. But, boy can I beat myself up about it and give up on other things I shouldn't just to avoid being discombobulated. 

Then a friend posted this on her Facebook page this morning..

"And (if) My people...respond by humbling themselves, praying, seeking My presence, & turning their backs on their wicked lives, I'LL BE THERE ready for YOU: I'll LISTEN from heaven, FORGIVE 
their sins, and RESTORE their land to health."- 2 Chronicles 7:14 (MSG) 

I know this may not seem entirely appropriate for this situation, but I think it works. When we get embarrassed, the first thing we must do is discover the source. "Was I doing something that glorified God or not?" If we were, there is no reason to feel ashamed. We have stood firm for our Lord. "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory and that of the Father and the holy angels." Luke 9:26 

If we were not glorifying God, then there are some changes which need to be made. This is where 2 Chronicles 7:14 comes in. We must humble ourselves before the Lord....and He will forgive and restore us. I take this to mean our fragile egos as well. How amazing that He can cleanse us of embarrassment! 

Being a little embarrassed at times is good for us. It keeps our pride in check. But we must not dwell on it. We ask for forgiveness, learn our lesson, and then let Him keep it. 

It's All French To Me

I am learning French.


The funniest thing to me is I always said that would be the last language I wanted to learn. No particular reason, I just didn't care for the sound of it as much. Gaelic was my first choice, though that doesn't seem to be coming up any time soon unfortunately.


Because of the mission trip my husband and I will be taking in October, our group decided to get some of the basics of the French language down since that is the predominate language. When beginning to listen to the Lesson 1 of 30 CD, I was overwhelmed with the task of learning a whole new language. I felt as though my mouth had been shot full of Novocaine and stuffed full of marbles! However, at the end of the lesson, I could "understand: Je comprends " and say a few simple sentences. Yea! And I had only listened to it 5 times...


As the definition of each phrase was explained to me, I found it interesting that what was a bunch of noises a few moments ago now had meaning. I could hear it and now comprehend. Ah! That is so like the things of the Spirit!



¹³ We also speak these things, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual things to spiritual people. ¹⁴ But the natural man does not welcome what comes from God's Spirit, because it is foolishness to him; he is not able to know it since it is evaluated spiritually. ¹⁵ The spiritual person, however, can evaluate everything, yet he himself cannot be evaluated by anyone. ¹⁶ For:
    who has known the Lord's mind,
    that he may instruct Him? 
    But we have the mind of Christ.
1 Corinthians 2:13-16


It's funny how we expect the world to act like they know Jesus Christ when there is no way they can truly understand without the help of the Spirit. It's really just a bunch of noise to them. It has no meaning. So our goal is not to make them behave in certain ways, but to introduce them to the best "language class" ever: Jesus Christ! Then as we learn together, our Tutor will teach us what to say. 


¹¹ Whenever they bring you before synagogues and rulers and authorities, don't worry about how you should defend yourselves or what you should say. ¹² For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what must be said.
Luke 12:11-12

Rich

I had a really neat experience the other day. I had gone into my local grocery store to get some forgotten things on the shopping list and decided to get a fancy flavored water I love and a LARABAR which is the only prepackaged bar I can eat. While getting into my "'Check Engine Light' is not on" mini van, chewing on the fruity bar, and popping the freshness seal on my cherry/mint water, I had an overwhelming feeling: I am so rich.

I'll be honest that being able to get those few luxuries doesn't happen very often. We live pay check to paycheck, but are always blessed by God to be able to get everything we need. Yes, there are many times where we do without, but when it gets down to the last clean set of clothing, there is alway enough to get the detergent. And it's usually on sale...

As I sat there feeling so wealthy, I praised God for it: Thank you, thank you, thank you Father that you have taken us so low that we can be appreciative of the little blessings. I never want to take it for granted- no matter the cost.


Shouldn't we feel the same way about salvation? We have to reach the point where we truly realize to the marrow of our soul that we are sinners deserving of eternal punishment and separation from God. (Revelation 3:17-18) We are as poor and wretched as can be. But, by the grace, love, and mercy of God through His Son Jesus Christ we have the option of being completely cleaned up through the blood sacrifice of Jesus. Once we accept His rule over our lives we are so very rich...


 ¹ And you were dead in your trespasses and sins ² in which you previously walked according to this worldly age, according to the ruler of the atmospheric domain, the spirit now working in the disobedient. ³ We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and by nature we were children under wrath, as the others were also. 
⁴ But God, who is abundant in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us, ⁵ made us alive with the Messiah even though we were dead in trespasses. By grace you are saved! ⁶ He also raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavens, in Christ Jesus, ⁷ so that in the coming ages He might display the immeasurable riches of His grace in [His] kindness  to us in Christ Jesus.
⁸ For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God's gift—   Emphasis mine
Ephesians 2:1-8

Second Chances

We serve a God of second chances.

You blew the "I'm perfect" position the first time you sinned (Romans 3:23), so Jesus Christ came to earth - God made flesh - to live out that perfect life for us. He took the punishment for the sins we have committed on Himself as He hung on the cross, had God turn away from Him (Mark 15:34), experienced death for three days, and then rose to conquer death for us! NOW we have our second chance...

Most of us know this. It is the essential essence of our salvation. But did you know He also gives us second to obey Him.

I've heard several stories this week from Christians who felt God leading them to speak to someone or do some task through the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Yet, as so often happens, we've rationalized away that still small voice to carry on with our daily busyness. If we are willing to admit it, what we have done is chosen to disobey God because we were more afraid of being "weird" than of disappointing Him.

Though because of His great love for us and desire to bless us, He gives us second chances. Those are the beautiful stories I heard this week. I truly believe the blessing is not as great when we wait, but at least we still receive a portion. There really is nothing more fulfilling and joyful than giving something in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am so guilty of putting off my own blessings He desires to give me for the sake of excuses.

I'm determined to change that: Though I'm glad He offers it, I don't want to have to use that second chance. Do you?

Blah

What do you do when you're feeling blah? That's where I am.

I've had some health issues for the last two weeks, I can't seem to think straight, and things just seem...well, blah.  (That is such a descriptive word, I know, but when you feel this way the synonyms just aren't coming to you.) Even reading my Bible yesterday didn't cure it. So what do we do?

My first instinct was to go play a game or watch a movie. Do something that could take my mind off the yucky-ness and fact that I've not written a blog in a while since I just couldn't come up with anything: Another "Blah" factor.

That's when I remembered that worship and belief in God is not an emotion. It's a choice. Do I feel like reading my Bible? No. But I will. I certainly don't feel like praising Him with worship songs, but that is the best time to do it. So, pop a CD in and at least listen if you can't actually sing yet. You will eventually. God will honor the effort because that is what we are suppose to be doing.

I choose to love Him because He first loved me. And He even felt like it.

A Real Bible

We are real people trying to serve a real God in a real world. I'm so glad we have a real Bible.

Psalm 58  A cry for God's vengeance
Verse 6: God, knock their teeth out of their mouths;....

The Psalms cover every human emotion and teach us how to deal with them. It's comforting to know the writers experienced so many of the same up and downs, joys and frustration that I do.

Thank you God that your Word is so relevant. 

THE Super Glue

Super Glue and I have a love/hate relationship. It works great for broken toys and knick-knacks. It's also good for paper cuts. Instead of a band-aid, just apply a small amount of super glue to hold the skin together. It works great!

On the other side, there have been countless paper towel pieces and bits of random fuzz which are permanently glued to many of our household items. And just in case you might need to know for future reference- if you glue three of your fingers together and/or to the broken object in question, soaking in professional grade fingernail polish remover works. In about an hour....

Did you know though, that Jesus Christ is the ultimate Super Glue? He brings us together, as brothers and sisters, through the blood He shed for us. We are now attached to Him so well that even acetone can't do the trick. But Christ not only brings Christians together...

 ⁶ When Pilate heard this, he asked if the man was a Galilean. ⁷ Finding that He was under Herod's jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem during those days. ⁸ Herod was very glad to see Jesus; for a long time he had wanted to see Him, because he had heard about Him and was hoping to see some miracle performed by Him. ⁹ So he kept asking Him questions, but Jesus did not answer him. ¹⁰ The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing Him. ¹¹ Then Herod, with his soldiers, treated Him with contempt, mocked Him, dressed Him in a brilliant robe, and sent Him back to Pilate. ¹² That very day Herod and Pilate became friends. Previously, they had been hostile toward each other.
Luke 23:6-12

We need to remember that there are those who will gather together just to oppose Christ: This is spiritual warfare. When everyone seems to be against you, yet you know that what you are standing for is the Gospel, do not grow weary or be afraid. Their acetone is coming, yet you will be one in Christ:


Just one thing: live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or am absent, I will hear about you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, working side by side for the faith of the gospel... (Emphasis mine)
Philippians 1:27