Written in April 2, 2009
About a week or two ago I was listening to a Paul Washer sermon. In his sermon he asked some questions and wanted those who were in the audience and listening to journal through them or answer them in their own minds. Well, these are some really good questions that I believe need to be asked by all of us. Please feel free to share this with others.
You can find the sermon by clicking the following link: . It is really great, God was speaking through him straight to my heart and helped me start seeing things a little differently. Hopefully the sermon will do the same for you girls!
1) What did I do over the last year to advance God's kingdom?
2) What were the fruits of what I did?
3) What am I doing within the fellowship of the church?
4) What are my plans for this year? What am I praying about for this year?
5) Either you go down in the well or you are holding the rope, either way you go you are gong to have scars. Where are your scars?
6) Am I holding the rope for those who have gone down in the well? (Meaning for those who are doing active mission work over seas and in other ways am I aiding in that ministry) What does that look like for me? Explain how I hold the rope.
7) What did I do in the great commission this year? What were the fruits?
8) What are my plans within the great comission this year? How am I going to advance God's kingdom this year?
9)Am I in love with missions or am I in love with sharing the Gospel to those who do not know?
10) Why do I go to church every Sunday? Wednesday?
Monday, October 25, 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Sweet Surrender
Written: April 24, 2009
I am seeing how fellowship is used for spriritual growth and how sharing things with our brothers and sisters in Christ helps us so much more than we could know (or admit). So I thought I would share this with you guys.
Last semester a sweet friend of mine shared a conviction of hers with me that I basically wrote off as something just for her. The more I thought about it and prayed about it, the more I saw that it was not just for her, it was for all. My convictions are greater in this area now as well and thought you guys might be blessed in this also.
What started the conviction in my friend was the playing of secular music at evangelical meetings. Her heart was set on not having that type of music played there. The arguements made here were "we are to become all things to all men" yet the other side of that arguement was "God needs nothing added to attract people to Him." What to do in this case...
My thoughts (and I believe my friend would agree with me) on this are we really should not have to add anything to draw people in to hear God's word. Yes, we are to become all things to all men. However, Jesus did not become a drunkard to the drunkards nor did He become a gambler to those who gamble. So why should we conform to the world "Therefore I urge you, brehtern, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." Romans 12:1-2
A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael (by Elisabeth Elliot)
Pg 126
"Saral came one day with an idea for drawing the women to hear the Gospel. She would teach them to knit with some pink wool she had been given, "and they will love me more and like to listen when I talk about Jesus."
Amy could not say yes to that. She explained that the Gospel needed no such frills. It is the power of God for salvation. Saral protested that there was nothing in the Bible which bore upon pink wool and knitting needles. Indeed there was-- Zechariah 4:6 'Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.' There was no need for tricks which might open houses-- houses were open. No need for methods of helping to humanize and fill bare and empty lives-- 'these women have a full day's work.' To try to help God with pink fancywork was, she felt, plain unbelief."
If it is not pushing us closer to God then it is pushing us away from Him....no matter what we think, it is pulling us away. So in thinking, praying, and searching the scriptures I have found that it is not for me to listen to any more. Psalm 1:1-3 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers. What seperates us as Christians from those who do not follow Christ?
What in our lives seperate us from others? Are we walking in the same counsel as the world or of Christ?
Music
Movies
TV
Attitude
Speech (the things you say)
Actions
Clothing
Books (the things you read)
Our delight should be in the law of the Lord and not in the world. We should be meditating on God's law day and night. By doing this we will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water yielding its fruit in season...and whatever we do it will prosper. Honestly, I want things to prosper in my life and my bet is that you want yours to do the same. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. Psalm 1:6 If we truly understood how great God is and what He did/does/will always do then we would not spend so much time, energy, and money on things that do not matter. We would spend more time worshipping and rejoicing to God with reverence and trembling (Ps. 2:11), we would spend more time evangelizing and fellowshipping and seving as we have been called to do so.
May God bless you!
For I have come to have much joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.... Yes, brother, let me benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. Philemon 1:7,20
I am seeing how fellowship is used for spriritual growth and how sharing things with our brothers and sisters in Christ helps us so much more than we could know (or admit). So I thought I would share this with you guys.
Last semester a sweet friend of mine shared a conviction of hers with me that I basically wrote off as something just for her. The more I thought about it and prayed about it, the more I saw that it was not just for her, it was for all. My convictions are greater in this area now as well and thought you guys might be blessed in this also.
What started the conviction in my friend was the playing of secular music at evangelical meetings. Her heart was set on not having that type of music played there. The arguements made here were "we are to become all things to all men" yet the other side of that arguement was "God needs nothing added to attract people to Him." What to do in this case...
My thoughts (and I believe my friend would agree with me) on this are we really should not have to add anything to draw people in to hear God's word. Yes, we are to become all things to all men. However, Jesus did not become a drunkard to the drunkards nor did He become a gambler to those who gamble. So why should we conform to the world "Therefore I urge you, brehtern, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." Romans 12:1-2
A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael (by Elisabeth Elliot)
Pg 126
"Saral came one day with an idea for drawing the women to hear the Gospel. She would teach them to knit with some pink wool she had been given, "and they will love me more and like to listen when I talk about Jesus."
Amy could not say yes to that. She explained that the Gospel needed no such frills. It is the power of God for salvation. Saral protested that there was nothing in the Bible which bore upon pink wool and knitting needles. Indeed there was-- Zechariah 4:6 'Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.' There was no need for tricks which might open houses-- houses were open. No need for methods of helping to humanize and fill bare and empty lives-- 'these women have a full day's work.' To try to help God with pink fancywork was, she felt, plain unbelief."
If it is not pushing us closer to God then it is pushing us away from Him....no matter what we think, it is pulling us away. So in thinking, praying, and searching the scriptures I have found that it is not for me to listen to any more. Psalm 1:1-3 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers. What seperates us as Christians from those who do not follow Christ?
What in our lives seperate us from others? Are we walking in the same counsel as the world or of Christ?
Music
Movies
TV
Attitude
Speech (the things you say)
Actions
Clothing
Books (the things you read)
Our delight should be in the law of the Lord and not in the world. We should be meditating on God's law day and night. By doing this we will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water yielding its fruit in season...and whatever we do it will prosper. Honestly, I want things to prosper in my life and my bet is that you want yours to do the same. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. Psalm 1:6 If we truly understood how great God is and what He did/does/will always do then we would not spend so much time, energy, and money on things that do not matter. We would spend more time worshipping and rejoicing to God with reverence and trembling (Ps. 2:11), we would spend more time evangelizing and fellowshipping and seving as we have been called to do so.
May God bless you!
Thursday, October 7, 2010
The Things of This World
“But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.”
--I Timothy 6:6-9
My friends and I have this joke about me leaving the state of Arkansas. It seems as if the past 2 years God has not allowed me to leave for more than 7 days at a time. I had an opportunity to be apart of a mission team going to Indonesia for 8 weeks. The next year I began praying about moving to another state to pursue a short-term degree in culinary arts. Then later that year I began to pray about an opportunity to be apart of a mission team going to Brazil for 12 days. There are many other things I have been able to do. However, all of those things had to be 7 days or less. Today I jokingly asked a friend if she thought God would allow me to move out of the US sooner than what we originally expect, that expectation is roughly 4-5 years from now. The whole point of me asking the question had to do with the fact a co-worker and I began looking at pictures Peace Corps volunteers had taken over the years. My heart immediately went out to all of the people in those countries. Many of them have no idea who Christ is, those that do have misconstrued ideas of who He really is. Many believe Jesus was a prophet or a very moral person. God has placed something on my heart that has been there since the time I came to know Him. However, lately He is pressing it on my heart. I cannot be content with the things of this culture, nor can things of this world satisfy me. He does not let me forget that this world is not meant to be my home. My home is with my Father in heaven.
I have no reason to be concerned with things of this world. There is nothing here that I can take with me when I die, except for the salvation that is given to me by Christ Himself. The Lord has placed upon my heart to not be worried about cars or money or higher education or expensive things. I am concerned with the souls of those around me. God has given me a unique opportunity to work with over 900 people from 68 different countries. Hearing about the way a majority of people live in the countries that are represented makes me extremely sad. For the most part I do not know anyone from those type of areas, the people in the US from other countries are here because they can afford to be here (I am referring to the students I work with). It breaks my heart to see so many girls more worried about how well their hair and make up are done and what they are wearing to this or that party. It makes me sad to hear the amount of money spent every year at fast food chains. It tears me up to know that we chose to forget about the rest of the world when so many are perishing without know who Christ is. We are leaving them without clean water to drink; yet we have indoor water parks. We leave them without food to eat; yet we buy groceries and forget about them two days later. We leave them with no hope, dying in various parts of the world from things we do not take the time to educate them about. We are no better than they, we have the answers and do not share. I am speaking to myself here. There are so many ways that I could be helping and chose not to.
God has allowed our country to have access to some of the most amazing resources, wealth, knowledge, etc. Our poor are wealthier than the rest of the worlds poor. A friend was telling me about a guy taking a poll in soup kitchens. He walks into a soup kitchen and asks everyone in the room “how many of you have cable television?” Every person in the room raised their hand. All of these people could avoid the soup kitchen if they simply did away with cable. However, we as a whole would much rather try and keep up with the Jones’ than feed the hungry, clothe the naked, share the water, and educate those who have no chance. We are a self-centered people. Our everyday choices show this.
We are so wrapped up in sports and big cars and new computers and the latest phone and the nicest house in the subdivision. God has not allowed me to be content with these things. Last year I bought an iPhone. I just “had” to have it. Honestly, I thought I deserved it, I thought all of MY hard work and MY hard earned money had earned ME a new phone. From the time I bought it until the time I sold it, that thing was a lemon! I bought it with selfish intent and it showed. My work began to take over my life. I would answer emails at 2 am (or whenever my phone would beep and tell me I had an email). I was constantly holding on to that thing, I could not let it go. It was more important to me then…well…almost any other thing. That is called idolatry. My phone was my idol. How dumb is that?! Well, a friend helped me sell it. Which was awesome because it sold for 3 times what I paid for it. Apparently it was “worth” more than I thought, monetarily anyway. God used that instance in my life to show me a phone is a piece of junk. No matter what type of phone I own, I will not be taking it with me when I die. No matter what car I drive (if any) and no matter what clothes I wear. He has not allowed me to be content with the things of this world.
God is the only thing that matters in this world. We, as Christians, seem to be the first to forget that we were not made to impress those around us. Not even other people, God does not want us to try and impress Him either. He can see straight through everything we think, say, and do. He knows us completely. He knows more about us than we could know about ourselves. We are selling ourselves short. If we live only to keep up with the Jones’ we are missing the point of life…
Are you missing the point of life? Think about what your daily thoughts, words, and actions say about what you believe. Are you truly living out what God has called you to? Do you value God more than you value your possessions?
**Please know that I am not saying you should go sell your phone, car, clothes, etc. because you are “unspiritual” for having them. These are just the things that God has shown me.**
Monday, August 30, 2010
The Wise Fool
“He who restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding. Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is considered prudent.” –Proverbs 17:27-28
Every word has a meaning. Simple enough, right? The way each word rolls off our tongue, out of our mouth, and into someone’s ear. Each and every tiny little word has meaning. The way we say things can confirm or contradict the very words we speak. There are wise, loving, hurtful, shocking, funny, strange, made-up, serious, and so many other types of words. So what do our words say about us?
There are so many verses that talk about our words. There are at least 11 in Proverbs that I know of. In Proverbs 17:27-28 it says that even a fool can be considered wise when he keeps silent. “Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken in right circumstances,” –Proverbs 25:11. A word spoken in the right circumstances is like gold and silver! Fools can be considered wise and words in the right moment are like gold and silver. Wow!
Our words are powerful. We should mean what we say…say what we mean…build each other up. All we have to do is be kind hearted in our speech. As a woman in a “leadership” position in my job I often struggle with how I am to handle certain situations. Proverbs 31 tells us we are to open our mouth in wisdom. We are to teach with kindness on our tongue. God has told us how to use our words. So are we willing to use our words as they were meant to be used? He has told us that we are to build one another up (I Thess. 5:11), speak with kindness (Proverbs 19:22), gentle in answer (Proverbs 15:1), keeping your word in accountability and not spreading gossip (Proverbs 11:13). He has told us that we are to keep silent until the opportune time to speak.
So if our words have so much power, what are our words saying about each of us? What do we spend most of our time talking about? One of my favorite things to remember is a simple phrase I heard someone say “we speak most of the things we love, what do our words say we love?” Just like with a married person, within minutes you will know if someone is married. You do not have to look on their hand to see a ring, just have a conversation with them. The person you talk to will start talking about their spouse. That is the same way we are to be with our Father. It should not be something that we have to force into a conversation. If we truly love our Heavenly Father our conversations will naturally reflect what we love. Our love for Him will overflow from our heart to our speech and from our speech to our actions. It spills over into our choices of movies, music, televisions, and friends.
I dare you to ask yourself (and your accountability partner or friend) what your words say about you.
Every word has a meaning. Simple enough, right? The way each word rolls off our tongue, out of our mouth, and into someone’s ear. Each and every tiny little word has meaning. The way we say things can confirm or contradict the very words we speak. There are wise, loving, hurtful, shocking, funny, strange, made-up, serious, and so many other types of words. So what do our words say about us?
There are so many verses that talk about our words. There are at least 11 in Proverbs that I know of. In Proverbs 17:27-28 it says that even a fool can be considered wise when he keeps silent. “Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken in right circumstances,” –Proverbs 25:11. A word spoken in the right circumstances is like gold and silver! Fools can be considered wise and words in the right moment are like gold and silver. Wow!
Our words are powerful. We should mean what we say…say what we mean…build each other up. All we have to do is be kind hearted in our speech. As a woman in a “leadership” position in my job I often struggle with how I am to handle certain situations. Proverbs 31 tells us we are to open our mouth in wisdom. We are to teach with kindness on our tongue. God has told us how to use our words. So are we willing to use our words as they were meant to be used? He has told us that we are to build one another up (I Thess. 5:11), speak with kindness (Proverbs 19:22), gentle in answer (Proverbs 15:1), keeping your word in accountability and not spreading gossip (Proverbs 11:13). He has told us that we are to keep silent until the opportune time to speak.
So if our words have so much power, what are our words saying about each of us? What do we spend most of our time talking about? One of my favorite things to remember is a simple phrase I heard someone say “we speak most of the things we love, what do our words say we love?” Just like with a married person, within minutes you will know if someone is married. You do not have to look on their hand to see a ring, just have a conversation with them. The person you talk to will start talking about their spouse. That is the same way we are to be with our Father. It should not be something that we have to force into a conversation. If we truly love our Heavenly Father our conversations will naturally reflect what we love. Our love for Him will overflow from our heart to our speech and from our speech to our actions. It spills over into our choices of movies, music, televisions, and friends.
I dare you to ask yourself (and your accountability partner or friend) what your words say about you.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Rope Burns - Letting Go of Things in Our Lives
This weekend I was able to enjoy a trip to the lake with a wonderful family and a couple of friends. While we were there we had the chance to swim, wake board, water ski, tube, cliff jump into the water below us, and many other things. However, it was not until we returned that God showed me some amazing truths and parallels to His way of working in us and the very things we were able to do.
Being the control freak that I am I grab on to situations and things in my life rather than let them go and allow God to work. He has shown me it causes me far more pain to hold on then to let go. One of the things I enjoyed doing this weekend was wake boarding. I only tried it a couple of times and failed miserably. Yet, I loved it! When trying to wake board you are supposed to hold on to a bar connected to a rope that is connected to the boat while you are floating in the water with a board attached to your feet. The driver of the boat will then take off at a significant speed to get you standing vertical in the water, similar to surfing only you are attached to a boat. Well, during one of my few attempts the boat started to go and I was pulled under the water. If I would not have let go I could have drowned myself. Yet, I realized being under the water was not a goal and my body screamed, “LET GO!” So I let go. I did not want to drown or get rope burn from the rope attached to the bar. Often times in life I try to control my situations and try to hang on to a particular area of those situations until I get rope burn from holding on so tightly as God tries to show me that it is just going to drag me under. My stubbornness turns into scrapes, bruises, cuts, burns, and eventually scars. Just like a parent God cannot make those burns and such go away. Our parents try and treat the wound and keep it from scaring as badly. We will always have a memory of whatever happened that caused that scar. God is not going to just take all of it away, what would we ever learn if He just took it away? We would continually do the same thing over and over again because we did not ever learn the lesson He intended for us to learn. Just like in science, “for every action there is an equal reaction.” It is the same in life. For every action we take or thought we think there is an equal reaction. God is a graceful and forgiving God. He is also a just, righteous, and holy God. In Habakkuk 1:13 we are shown that God cannot look upon evil “Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, and You cannot look on wickedness with favor.” Since God cannot look upon evil with favor and realizing that sin is evil and realizing that being controlling is a sin we realize that being controlling also is evil. God cannot look upon my evil with favor. Any sin that we commit is evil. He cannot look on any of our sins with favor. Thus we have to repent. Once we repent we are still going to have to deal with the affect of the committed sin. Just because we repent does not mean it will go away. Just like when we get a rope burn or other injuries. Once you treat it with Neosporin or a band aid, does not mean it is immediately going to go away and leave no scaring.
We are left to deal with our junk even after going to God. He is the one who walks us through and shows us how to avoid situations like the one we were involved in that caused the need for repentance. God does not want us to suffer, just like our parents do not want us to suffer or go through things that are difficult. God wants us to have faith in Him and trust that whatever it is that we are clinging to that it is far better if we let it go. We are basically saying that we are afraid to let the God of the universe take care of our problems and would rather try and fix it our self. God is just waiting for us to ask Him for His help. He is not a controlling father who is going to jump in and completely take over what we are doing. We have to ask Him for help. And when we ask Him for help we have to completely let go of the situation and give it to Him. We cannot be trying to touch or control any part of it. Once we ask for God to be in control, we need to get out of the drivers seat and sit in the back. We are along for the ride. Matthew 7:7-11 tells us if we ask it will be given to us. It also tells us about a good father providing the needs of his children, “how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” James 4:1-8 tells us that we cause arguments and we fights because we do not have things, yet we do not ask God for these things. We are missing what God wants us to do. He does not want us to try and cling to things, He wants to be a loving Father. We just have to ask Him for the things we want. We have to be willing to let them go for a while and wait on His timing.
God is perfect. He has perfect timing. Even when it is hardest for us to see why He has us in the season we are in, we have to trust that He is doing something. We should continue seeking Him and spending time in His word and being around His people and sharing with those who do not know Him. We are only to give up the things we are clinging to and lay them in His possession to take care of the matter for us. He is the ultimate mechanic who can and will fix the things we give Him. He will give us guidance. He is the greatest Father anyone could ever ask for. He will pull us into His arms and let us sit in His lap as we whimper from the wound. He will comfort us and hold us as we heal, as He heals us. Healing is a process and therefore takes time. He is with us for all of that time.
Being the control freak that I am I grab on to situations and things in my life rather than let them go and allow God to work. He has shown me it causes me far more pain to hold on then to let go. One of the things I enjoyed doing this weekend was wake boarding. I only tried it a couple of times and failed miserably. Yet, I loved it! When trying to wake board you are supposed to hold on to a bar connected to a rope that is connected to the boat while you are floating in the water with a board attached to your feet. The driver of the boat will then take off at a significant speed to get you standing vertical in the water, similar to surfing only you are attached to a boat. Well, during one of my few attempts the boat started to go and I was pulled under the water. If I would not have let go I could have drowned myself. Yet, I realized being under the water was not a goal and my body screamed, “LET GO!” So I let go. I did not want to drown or get rope burn from the rope attached to the bar. Often times in life I try to control my situations and try to hang on to a particular area of those situations until I get rope burn from holding on so tightly as God tries to show me that it is just going to drag me under. My stubbornness turns into scrapes, bruises, cuts, burns, and eventually scars. Just like a parent God cannot make those burns and such go away. Our parents try and treat the wound and keep it from scaring as badly. We will always have a memory of whatever happened that caused that scar. God is not going to just take all of it away, what would we ever learn if He just took it away? We would continually do the same thing over and over again because we did not ever learn the lesson He intended for us to learn. Just like in science, “for every action there is an equal reaction.” It is the same in life. For every action we take or thought we think there is an equal reaction. God is a graceful and forgiving God. He is also a just, righteous, and holy God. In Habakkuk 1:13 we are shown that God cannot look upon evil “Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, and You cannot look on wickedness with favor.” Since God cannot look upon evil with favor and realizing that sin is evil and realizing that being controlling is a sin we realize that being controlling also is evil. God cannot look upon my evil with favor. Any sin that we commit is evil. He cannot look on any of our sins with favor. Thus we have to repent. Once we repent we are still going to have to deal with the affect of the committed sin. Just because we repent does not mean it will go away. Just like when we get a rope burn or other injuries. Once you treat it with Neosporin or a band aid, does not mean it is immediately going to go away and leave no scaring.
We are left to deal with our junk even after going to God. He is the one who walks us through and shows us how to avoid situations like the one we were involved in that caused the need for repentance. God does not want us to suffer, just like our parents do not want us to suffer or go through things that are difficult. God wants us to have faith in Him and trust that whatever it is that we are clinging to that it is far better if we let it go. We are basically saying that we are afraid to let the God of the universe take care of our problems and would rather try and fix it our self. God is just waiting for us to ask Him for His help. He is not a controlling father who is going to jump in and completely take over what we are doing. We have to ask Him for help. And when we ask Him for help we have to completely let go of the situation and give it to Him. We cannot be trying to touch or control any part of it. Once we ask for God to be in control, we need to get out of the drivers seat and sit in the back. We are along for the ride. Matthew 7:7-11 tells us if we ask it will be given to us. It also tells us about a good father providing the needs of his children, “how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” James 4:1-8 tells us that we cause arguments and we fights because we do not have things, yet we do not ask God for these things. We are missing what God wants us to do. He does not want us to try and cling to things, He wants to be a loving Father. We just have to ask Him for the things we want. We have to be willing to let them go for a while and wait on His timing.
God is perfect. He has perfect timing. Even when it is hardest for us to see why He has us in the season we are in, we have to trust that He is doing something. We should continue seeking Him and spending time in His word and being around His people and sharing with those who do not know Him. We are only to give up the things we are clinging to and lay them in His possession to take care of the matter for us. He is the ultimate mechanic who can and will fix the things we give Him. He will give us guidance. He is the greatest Father anyone could ever ask for. He will pull us into His arms and let us sit in His lap as we whimper from the wound. He will comfort us and hold us as we heal, as He heals us. Healing is a process and therefore takes time. He is with us for all of that time.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
The Power Behind Dry Bones
The Valley of Dry Bones would not have been the most ideal place to visit in the world. Yet God sent Ezekiel there. God's hand was on Ezekiel and He took him to a valley that was filled with dry bones. I can almost picture an extremely sandy, dry, desert like valley filled with bones scattered about God, told Ezekiel to prophesy and He would cause the bones to come together, the He would allow sinews (tendons) to form on the bones, then He would cover the bodies in flesh, and then He would give them breath to breathe. (That would make a sweeeeeet movie! I am just saying, come on hollywood!) So Ezekiel did what God told him to do. God made the bones come together. He put tendons on the bones and covered them with flesh. Then He put breath in the bodies so that they could breathe. God made these dry bones come together and make living things. Dry bones, do you get that... DRY BONES! This is not like Juliet who drank potion that would make her appear dead temporarily. This is not like something you see on CSI where a person was buried because they were thought to be dead. These were dry bones. God's power is never ending. He can do anything. Romans 8:38-39 says nothing can come between us and God. He is too powerful for anything to separate His people from Him. He can not be defeated.
Just a chapter before God makes a beautiful promise to Ezekiel for Israel. "I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes and be careful to obey My rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be My people, and I will be your God..." The promise keeps on going. God has so much power and shows it in the best of ways, by loving His people. Even when His people were in the midst of sin to the point they had completely turned away from their Father and worshipped statues made of the very things God had given them. Although He disciplined them, He did it out of His love for them. He told Ezekiel that He was going to bring His people back together. Not only that He was going to that, but He was going to give them a new heart and a new spirit. He was going to give them a piece of Him.
God has the power to change dead people who have become dry bones into living breathing people. That means God also has the power to move mountains, the power to bring you through whatever tough time you are in, the power to save the souls of those you are praying for, the power to bring in support for foreign missions. God loves showing His power to His children. All we have to do is have faith in Him that He can do it. Ezekiel was obedient and faithful to God. God told him to prophesy and he did. There does not seem to be a break between God telling him to do it and him doing it, which leads me to believe that it was an immediate reaction. We are sinful and may not immediately be obedient when God commands us to do something, but your act of obedience and faith can show you just how powerful God really is.
CHALLENGE: Seek God on an area of your life to be obedient and faithful in. See God shine His glorious power into your life this week. (It is Wednesday so let's say from Wednesday-Wednesday). Try it, I double dog dare you to. See what God will do in your life this week as you are obedient and faithful to His call in your life.
God bless!!
Just a chapter before God makes a beautiful promise to Ezekiel for Israel. "I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes and be careful to obey My rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be My people, and I will be your God..." The promise keeps on going. God has so much power and shows it in the best of ways, by loving His people. Even when His people were in the midst of sin to the point they had completely turned away from their Father and worshipped statues made of the very things God had given them. Although He disciplined them, He did it out of His love for them. He told Ezekiel that He was going to bring His people back together. Not only that He was going to that, but He was going to give them a new heart and a new spirit. He was going to give them a piece of Him.
God has the power to change dead people who have become dry bones into living breathing people. That means God also has the power to move mountains, the power to bring you through whatever tough time you are in, the power to save the souls of those you are praying for, the power to bring in support for foreign missions. God loves showing His power to His children. All we have to do is have faith in Him that He can do it. Ezekiel was obedient and faithful to God. God told him to prophesy and he did. There does not seem to be a break between God telling him to do it and him doing it, which leads me to believe that it was an immediate reaction. We are sinful and may not immediately be obedient when God commands us to do something, but your act of obedience and faith can show you just how powerful God really is.
CHALLENGE: Seek God on an area of your life to be obedient and faithful in. See God shine His glorious power into your life this week. (It is Wednesday so let's say from Wednesday-Wednesday). Try it, I double dog dare you to. See what God will do in your life this week as you are obedient and faithful to His call in your life.
God bless!!
Friday, July 2, 2010
My Wily Heart- desiring purity in heart, mind and soul.
Written by: Caitlin
This is an article written by a sweet friend of mine. Enjoy!
“How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word.”
Psalm 119:9
"No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth."
Luke 16:13
“For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.”
Galatians 1:10
As a warning beforehand, this is going to be a completely honest article. Often when many of us Christian girls get together to talk of purity, it is easy for us to get on a high horse about the subject. Let’s not look down our noses at sisters who appear to be struggling, let us be honest: we are all struggling no matter where we are in life! No matter how many pledges we sign, rings we put on our fingers, groups we join, no matter if we even avoid the company of men entirely-temptation finds a way to creep in. Even if we maintain a physical purity, can we honestly say, when we examine our hearts, that we are truly making the best efforts possible to guard them?
Often times, when I look at my heart, I feel like the psalmist, as in regret he exclaims:
“Thus my heart was grieved, And I was vexed in my mind.
I was so foolish and ignorant; I was like a beast before You.”
Psalm 73:21-22
What a struggle it is for a young woman to guard her heart against the dreams and hopes that allude to romance. How easy it is to say with our lips that we stand for chastity, while in our hearts there rages a desire to find acceptance in the eyes of men. Who can’t deny enjoying the sensation one receives upon realizing you have a man’s attention? Yes, I want to be cherished! I want to be sought after, I want to be thought beautiful! If we look at so many of the things we do on a daily basis and examine them closely, how many things would we find that we do in the name of the Lord, but for the approval of others? Or, namely, just to be noticed by guys? I can think of words that I have said about purity of all things, that truly, I only spoke so someone would think I was some righteous goody tushu, who would make the perfect 50’s housewife.
I can only speak for myself on this. It is as though I serve the Lord with a secret agenda, as if I think, “If I keep putting the right amount of change in the coke machine, eventually I’ll get what I’m wanting soon enough!” I will read every Joshua Harris book, study my Bible, seek to adorn myself with modest apparel, and all the while say I’m honoring God. I’ll say I’m waiting to date, waiting for God to open up that door, contenting myself in the relationship I have with Him, and am in no hurry to seek a romantic relationship at all. Yet within, my flesh screams: “When is it going to be time Lord?! I’ve been waiting, I’ve been doing what you ask, when are you going to give me what I want?!” And here lies my problem. What do I want? Do I really want to be fulfilled in Christ Jesus? Or, do I do what I think He wants of me, in order to achieve what I think will make me happy?
In the back of my mind, the Spirit tells me how wrong my thoughts are. My heart groans; I want my relationship with the Lord to not be so! It is here that the words of Paul come to mind:
“For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?” Romans 7:15-24(NASB)
What would our lives look like, if we could view our flesh as God sees it? To utterly, despise it?
“Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience, and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them. But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him— a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.” Colossians 3:5-10(NASB)
In our hearts, we often have our ‘old man’ rising up, trying to gain dominion over the ‘new man’ we have received in Christ. We believers, are sealed in Christ. We belong to him, and by His grace He is daily transforming us. Daily leading us to see which passions we have clung to, that aren’t the fruit of His will. He has triumphed o’er those things which held us captive before, put to death the power that ‘old man’ had over us, and given us a new life in Him. I am a new creation, Christ has given me a new identity. Nevertheless, that ‘old man’ wants me to think he still has power. He wants me to think that I really can’t be free from him, that I have to just ‘put up’ with his ways. He wants me to think:
“I’ll always struggle with this, it’s just who I am. I’ll just go on doing the best I can, while knowing that this trial will always be a part of my life.”
What an awful lie to buy into! Yet how easy it is to convince oneself of this. We have become so accustomed with the way our society cheers for a woman to seek out the attention of men, that we can hardly imagine living any differently. How humiliating a realization it is, when we come to grips with how deceitful we truly are. How extremely humiliating when we realize the many ‘good things’ we do for the wrong reasons, as well as the many times we judge our spirituality by what other’s think of us, rather than what God thinks of us. How sad a realization it is when we see how we have empowered the old self to reign in our lives, and even influence the areas in which we think we were trusting God with. It is frustrating to no end! How can it be overcome? When faced with these truths of myself, I feel like echoing the words of Shakespeare: “Get me to a nunnery!”
So, what are we to do? Is running off to France and joining a convent really the only escape? I doubt it. Under that delusion I can easily see myself fancying finding true love with a monk from a nearby monastery, or being whisked away to care for a handsome widower’s children who stole my heart as he sang ‘Edelweiss’. (See how wily women are?!) Isolation isn’t the answer, even; though sometimes I wish it was.
Through a sermon that was preached at our church last Sunday, I believe God has given me a mindset in which to view this circumstance in a way that will enable me by Christ’s power, to resist this ‘old man’ when he tries to rise up. What would it look like, as I said before, if we could view our flesh as God sees it? To realize it is dead, old, and decrepit. To view it as an adversary. No longer as a part of who we are, but something that despises who we have become in Christ. Something that covets our relationship with Him, something that wants to take the rug out from under our feet and laugh at us as we lay on the floor in confusion in bewilderment. Something that wants us to doubt the freedom and assurance we have been given in Christ!
Recognizing a temptation as an enemy rather than a part of our makeup, enables us to deal with it as an enemy ought to be dealt with. Christ has given us the power to overcome, though how much we desire to be free from these things is up to us. Will we let something so weak and powerless, reign in our hearts? Upon feeling the temptation to act out according to the old man’s character, I pray God gives us the strength to be filled with rage. May we turn to Him in those times, fully conscious of His power keep us safe. Turning into His embrace is like charging a sword into the stomach of our adversary.
Earlier, I quoted Psalm 73:21-22, though there is more to this passage that I would like to share.
Psalm 73:23-28 :
Nevertheless I am continually with You; You have taken hold of my right hand. With Your counsel You will guide me, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but You? and besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For, behold, those who are far from You will perish; You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You. But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, That I may tell of all Your works.”
In the two verses prior to these, the psalmist expressed his disdain for his circumstance before the Lord, referring to himself as foolish, and a beast. Yet afterward he proclaims: “Nevertheless I am continually with You; you have taken hold of my right hand.”
God was never away from him, even during his folly, God was near. How sweet a thing to remember! When we act out of our ‘wily ways’ God does not shake his head and say, “You’re on your own here, I’m too holy to be with you when you act this way. Let me know when you get everything straightened out…” God takes us by the hand when we are utterly beastly. When we have gone whoring after idols, He takes us by the hand amid our very shame, counsels us, and receives us unto glory.
I pray for myself, and my sisters as well, that we would be so utterly filled with love for Him, that the romantic idols our fancies seek after so often would fall to dust when we view them in light of His greatness. May He give us humility to see where we have fallen, and the strength to turn to Him in realization that only through His power, can we overcome.
It is also my prayer that we can encourage one another in this area, and be honest with each other amid our struggles. It is such a liberating feeling to share your heart with a trusted friend. Not only will your friendship deepen, but your eyes will be opened to areas in your life that need to be changed as you seek honesty with your sisters in Christ. Let us lift one another up in love for our King, and truly desire to be filled with Him. Not so we can snag a ‘righteous’ help meet along the way, but wholly for the sake of fulfilling what we were created to do; live for God.
Through a selfish mindset, it seems hard to imagine that surrendering our romantic ideas to Him could be more fulfilling. Here, we truly need to ask ourselves what it is that we want; fleeting moments of excitement? How many relationships have we made for the sole purpose of self-gratification? It’s a scary thought.
So often when we try to define purity, we talk of it in the context of guy/girl relationships, and it seems like this is the first place where we go wrong! If I am vowing to be pure for the purpose of honoring someone who struggles with the same things I do--if my sole purpose in striving for purity is to please another human, I think I need to re-evaluate my priorities.
Before I was given the name daughter, sister, friend, ect, my identity was with Christ. I belonged to Him before any earthly person had any claim upon me, and this still rings true today. How can we endeavor to do good things in the name of sinful people? If I ever was to marry, I would pray that whomever God brought into my life would desire me to seek God’s will more than my will, and his will. I pray for a desire to do good, to pursue purity, because my God is pure. Anything that tests my integrity threatens the unison of my walk with Him. How could I ever dream of fulfilling God’s will, if I am doing the things He desires of me for someone other than Himself?
May purity, modesty, humility, and all those traits we so desire to own, be a natural outpouring from hearts that care more for our Creator’s concerns, than the world’s.
This is an article written by a sweet friend of mine. Enjoy!
“How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word.”
Psalm 119:9
"No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth."
Luke 16:13
“For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.”
Galatians 1:10
As a warning beforehand, this is going to be a completely honest article. Often when many of us Christian girls get together to talk of purity, it is easy for us to get on a high horse about the subject. Let’s not look down our noses at sisters who appear to be struggling, let us be honest: we are all struggling no matter where we are in life! No matter how many pledges we sign, rings we put on our fingers, groups we join, no matter if we even avoid the company of men entirely-temptation finds a way to creep in. Even if we maintain a physical purity, can we honestly say, when we examine our hearts, that we are truly making the best efforts possible to guard them?
Often times, when I look at my heart, I feel like the psalmist, as in regret he exclaims:
“Thus my heart was grieved, And I was vexed in my mind.
I was so foolish and ignorant; I was like a beast before You.”
Psalm 73:21-22
What a struggle it is for a young woman to guard her heart against the dreams and hopes that allude to romance. How easy it is to say with our lips that we stand for chastity, while in our hearts there rages a desire to find acceptance in the eyes of men. Who can’t deny enjoying the sensation one receives upon realizing you have a man’s attention? Yes, I want to be cherished! I want to be sought after, I want to be thought beautiful! If we look at so many of the things we do on a daily basis and examine them closely, how many things would we find that we do in the name of the Lord, but for the approval of others? Or, namely, just to be noticed by guys? I can think of words that I have said about purity of all things, that truly, I only spoke so someone would think I was some righteous goody tushu, who would make the perfect 50’s housewife.
I can only speak for myself on this. It is as though I serve the Lord with a secret agenda, as if I think, “If I keep putting the right amount of change in the coke machine, eventually I’ll get what I’m wanting soon enough!” I will read every Joshua Harris book, study my Bible, seek to adorn myself with modest apparel, and all the while say I’m honoring God. I’ll say I’m waiting to date, waiting for God to open up that door, contenting myself in the relationship I have with Him, and am in no hurry to seek a romantic relationship at all. Yet within, my flesh screams: “When is it going to be time Lord?! I’ve been waiting, I’ve been doing what you ask, when are you going to give me what I want?!” And here lies my problem. What do I want? Do I really want to be fulfilled in Christ Jesus? Or, do I do what I think He wants of me, in order to achieve what I think will make me happy?
In the back of my mind, the Spirit tells me how wrong my thoughts are. My heart groans; I want my relationship with the Lord to not be so! It is here that the words of Paul come to mind:
“For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?” Romans 7:15-24(NASB)
What would our lives look like, if we could view our flesh as God sees it? To utterly, despise it?
“Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience, and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them. But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him— a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.” Colossians 3:5-10(NASB)
In our hearts, we often have our ‘old man’ rising up, trying to gain dominion over the ‘new man’ we have received in Christ. We believers, are sealed in Christ. We belong to him, and by His grace He is daily transforming us. Daily leading us to see which passions we have clung to, that aren’t the fruit of His will. He has triumphed o’er those things which held us captive before, put to death the power that ‘old man’ had over us, and given us a new life in Him. I am a new creation, Christ has given me a new identity. Nevertheless, that ‘old man’ wants me to think he still has power. He wants me to think that I really can’t be free from him, that I have to just ‘put up’ with his ways. He wants me to think:
“I’ll always struggle with this, it’s just who I am. I’ll just go on doing the best I can, while knowing that this trial will always be a part of my life.”
What an awful lie to buy into! Yet how easy it is to convince oneself of this. We have become so accustomed with the way our society cheers for a woman to seek out the attention of men, that we can hardly imagine living any differently. How humiliating a realization it is, when we come to grips with how deceitful we truly are. How extremely humiliating when we realize the many ‘good things’ we do for the wrong reasons, as well as the many times we judge our spirituality by what other’s think of us, rather than what God thinks of us. How sad a realization it is when we see how we have empowered the old self to reign in our lives, and even influence the areas in which we think we were trusting God with. It is frustrating to no end! How can it be overcome? When faced with these truths of myself, I feel like echoing the words of Shakespeare: “Get me to a nunnery!”
So, what are we to do? Is running off to France and joining a convent really the only escape? I doubt it. Under that delusion I can easily see myself fancying finding true love with a monk from a nearby monastery, or being whisked away to care for a handsome widower’s children who stole my heart as he sang ‘Edelweiss’. (See how wily women are?!) Isolation isn’t the answer, even; though sometimes I wish it was.
Through a sermon that was preached at our church last Sunday, I believe God has given me a mindset in which to view this circumstance in a way that will enable me by Christ’s power, to resist this ‘old man’ when he tries to rise up. What would it look like, as I said before, if we could view our flesh as God sees it? To realize it is dead, old, and decrepit. To view it as an adversary. No longer as a part of who we are, but something that despises who we have become in Christ. Something that covets our relationship with Him, something that wants to take the rug out from under our feet and laugh at us as we lay on the floor in confusion in bewilderment. Something that wants us to doubt the freedom and assurance we have been given in Christ!
Recognizing a temptation as an enemy rather than a part of our makeup, enables us to deal with it as an enemy ought to be dealt with. Christ has given us the power to overcome, though how much we desire to be free from these things is up to us. Will we let something so weak and powerless, reign in our hearts? Upon feeling the temptation to act out according to the old man’s character, I pray God gives us the strength to be filled with rage. May we turn to Him in those times, fully conscious of His power keep us safe. Turning into His embrace is like charging a sword into the stomach of our adversary.
Earlier, I quoted Psalm 73:21-22, though there is more to this passage that I would like to share.
Psalm 73:23-28 :
Nevertheless I am continually with You; You have taken hold of my right hand. With Your counsel You will guide me, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but You? and besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For, behold, those who are far from You will perish; You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You. But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, That I may tell of all Your works.”
In the two verses prior to these, the psalmist expressed his disdain for his circumstance before the Lord, referring to himself as foolish, and a beast. Yet afterward he proclaims: “Nevertheless I am continually with You; you have taken hold of my right hand.”
God was never away from him, even during his folly, God was near. How sweet a thing to remember! When we act out of our ‘wily ways’ God does not shake his head and say, “You’re on your own here, I’m too holy to be with you when you act this way. Let me know when you get everything straightened out…” God takes us by the hand when we are utterly beastly. When we have gone whoring after idols, He takes us by the hand amid our very shame, counsels us, and receives us unto glory.
I pray for myself, and my sisters as well, that we would be so utterly filled with love for Him, that the romantic idols our fancies seek after so often would fall to dust when we view them in light of His greatness. May He give us humility to see where we have fallen, and the strength to turn to Him in realization that only through His power, can we overcome.
It is also my prayer that we can encourage one another in this area, and be honest with each other amid our struggles. It is such a liberating feeling to share your heart with a trusted friend. Not only will your friendship deepen, but your eyes will be opened to areas in your life that need to be changed as you seek honesty with your sisters in Christ. Let us lift one another up in love for our King, and truly desire to be filled with Him. Not so we can snag a ‘righteous’ help meet along the way, but wholly for the sake of fulfilling what we were created to do; live for God.
Through a selfish mindset, it seems hard to imagine that surrendering our romantic ideas to Him could be more fulfilling. Here, we truly need to ask ourselves what it is that we want; fleeting moments of excitement? How many relationships have we made for the sole purpose of self-gratification? It’s a scary thought.
So often when we try to define purity, we talk of it in the context of guy/girl relationships, and it seems like this is the first place where we go wrong! If I am vowing to be pure for the purpose of honoring someone who struggles with the same things I do--if my sole purpose in striving for purity is to please another human, I think I need to re-evaluate my priorities.
Before I was given the name daughter, sister, friend, ect, my identity was with Christ. I belonged to Him before any earthly person had any claim upon me, and this still rings true today. How can we endeavor to do good things in the name of sinful people? If I ever was to marry, I would pray that whomever God brought into my life would desire me to seek God’s will more than my will, and his will. I pray for a desire to do good, to pursue purity, because my God is pure. Anything that tests my integrity threatens the unison of my walk with Him. How could I ever dream of fulfilling God’s will, if I am doing the things He desires of me for someone other than Himself?
May purity, modesty, humility, and all those traits we so desire to own, be a natural outpouring from hearts that care more for our Creator’s concerns, than the world’s.
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