Time

Well, I'm at the next hurdle. I knew when I quit smoking that that wouldn't be it. I mean I have had a lot of other road blocks besides the cigarettes but they, quite honestly, paled in comparison. I felt that every time I got up and put that cigarette to my lips I was being disobedient and defiling a temple of God. I could envision satan laughing in Gods face while I got up at least ten times a day and ignored God's will to feed my flesh. But the struggle to be freed from that nicotine prison was worth every moment.

When that weight was finally lifted off of my back I entered into an even closer walk with my Lord. With that huge stump in my path gone I spent the next year clearing some of the smaller debris I couldn't see before. I knew eventually I would come across another big one and today I have finally reached a new large dead stump labeled with just one word, time.
I've known it was here for months. I walked right up to the then pewny branch with every confidence of chucking it out of my path as I had been doing with everything else up to this point, but there was a problem. It would not budge. I have been at this thing with all my might and have not gained an inch. You see I hadn't notice, but as I have been clearing the road I have been getting bigger along the way and as I reached this stump it's true size had been distorted. As I have been in this place pushing and shoving I have gradually shrunk back down to my true size.

Time, I recently heard a man say that we are really only created equal in one way, that is we all only have twenty four hours in a day. I have never sat down and really evaluated the importance of the time given to me. You had better believe that people who have just been told they are going to die think long and hard about how they will spend the time they've got left, but why do we wait until then? Why isn't it until time runs short that we realize how valuable it is?

What I as a Christian should know is that there is no such thing as my time. I can't be a living sacrifice passing the hours as if my time is my own. I believe that God wants to give me some time of my own but why should he when I am stealing his.

One of the twigs behind me was tithing and I can relate these two things (maybe because money is time) but anyway, once you realize that all your money is God's it's not so hard to give him ten percent. But the biggest thing I have learned in tithing is that God can do more with ninety percent than I can do with one hundred, the same goes for time.

For months now I have felt like I could get no rest, but I haven't been doing more, in fact I have been doing less. Now, finally, I am facing time head on, little me in the arms of an almighty God. I just pray that when I see the other side I remember to stay little this time.

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us Hebrews 12:1

Baptism Testimony

I made the decision to be re-baptized on Sunday and was asked to give a testimony explaining why. Here it is.

Those of you that heard my life testimony know that I was already baptized as a child but while I knew I was publicly declaring my faith in Christ at that time, there were a lot of things I didn't understand. In the past few weeks I have done an extensive study of Baptism in my Bible and would like to be baptized again this morning now that I have a clearer idea of what all a baptism symbolizes.


Romans 7:18-19 says, For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.

I used to really relate to the defeat in that verse. As I look back now I realize what a copout it was to try and use that verse to justify my never ending submersion in sin and self pity. I would say, "If Paul felt this way, who am I to expect any better of myself?"

What I failed to see was that this was Paul's explanation of a life trying to live by the law with the limited abilities of our flesh. It was never impossible for my flesh to be overcome, it was only impossible for me to do it on my own.

Romans 7:6 says, But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.

When I gave up my life, my selfish pursuits, and let God take control I was able to see the victory of Romans and what Paul was really getting at. I was not just saved from an eternal hell. I am saved right now from a life enslaved to sin. My eternity started the moment I accepted the Lord as my savior, I just wasn't letting Him perform His perfect work in me.

Romans 6 says, What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin.

It is only now, in the past few years that I have begun to understand the power of God over the sin in my life. Now instead of relating to those few defeated verses in chapter 7, I relate to the many verses given to me like Romans 6:6, telling me that my old fleshly man has been crucified with Him and I am free to walk after the spirit. This is true Christian liberty, the freedom to be a servant.

I know I will not, in my mortal lifetime, be freed completely from the influence of sin. But I can honestly say that sin no longer reins in my life, sin does not control me, Christ does and with that in mind, I would like to be re-baptized by Pastor this morning.

The kite

A young boy was out flying a kite one morning. On this particular day though it was windy there was some low lying clouds and fog that made it difficult to see too far into the sky. AS he watched the kite rise higher and higher he eventually lost site of it.

Pretty soon a man came by and asked the boy what he was doing. He said, "I am flying a kite." The man followed the string as far as he could and then turned to the boy and said, "I don't see a kite, how do you know there's one up there?"

The boy replied, "I can't see it either mister, but I can feel it tugging on the string."

Bible? Or just some guys commentary

What have you got in your home? I have nothing against a good commentary but I would prefer people made it clear to everyone that the Bible is the word of God and a commentary is some guys take on it. We need Gods word not mans. The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Psalm 12:6. Let me ask you this, is this true of the words of man? We need to wake up right now and put a stop to the practice of changing Gods word to mans.

I struggled with Matthew 19:17 at first. What if my first impression had been printed and labeled a Bible. People would think Jesus said “I’m not good, only God is good.” That is not what Jesus said. He said, “Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God:”. Yes, that sounds like He is saying He isn’t God, but when you realize that He is talking to people who don’t believe He is God it makes perfect sense. If they don’t believe He is God they shouldn’t call Him good.

These dynamic equivalency http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formal_equivalence and paraphrase versions are stealing Gods word from the hands of Christians around the world and we are heading straight for the prophecy of Amos 8:11-12, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.

But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Matthew 4:4 That does NOT give us license to do a thought for thought instead of a word for word translation.

Check out what this guys got to say about the proper way to Bible study. “For your main reading and study, use a dynamic equivalent translation (strikes a balance between literal and paraphrase). The most widely used Bible today is the New International Version (NIV), which is a good choice. Select a type with good explanations, either a Student Bible or a Study Bible. Then augment it with a free translation (paraphrase) style such as the New Living Translation (NLT) or "The Promise" (CEV).” http://www.swapmeetdave.com/Bible/BibleType.htm If he doesn’t think we need every word of God I would take the rest of what He’s got to say with a grain of salt.

I’m tired of hearing people say, “I can’t understand it.” Stop wining and figure it out. It’s important. It’s Gods word. He will help you understand what He needs you to understand. If you can’t trust Him for that you need to work on your faith. Also the longer you are submerged in a language the easier it is to understand, it’s shear laziness to change Gods word because it’s too much work to read it as He gave it. You know what, not understanding every word immediately keeps you from a superficial read. When you have to look up answers God knows you are serious.

I’m also tired of hearing, “but the unsaved won’t understand it.” Yup, but making it readable to a four year old isn’t going to change that. The bible says they are spiritually discerned. He is an all powerful, almighty God and if they truly have a heart for the knowledge of Him, if they are truly seeking, He will open their eyes to His word, no matter how old the English is.

In Acts 8 when the Ethiopian was attempting to read the word of God and told Philip he couldn’t understand it, did Philip run to the other apostles and say, “Hey, this guy says he doesn’t get it. We need to change the word of God.”??? No! He guided the man. The Holy Spirit Himself sent Philip to him.

We need to stop thinking we know better than God does about how to reach people. What seems right to us can always really be satans tactic to snare souls. That is why we must stay grounded in Gods EVERY word.

And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 2 Corinthians 11:14

God's work in our lives

In a recent forum topic we were talking about God changing lives and the point was made that many people change their lives for the better without a belief in God. I replied with the following and a friend said I should repost my response here.

Of course lives can be changed through other means but that does not mean God isn't changing ours.That being said, faith in Jesus Christ is not going to wipe clean trouble in your life. My life is not immune from hard times, what has changed is my view of life. With the blessed assurance that God is in control I can rest. With the promise that this is not all there is, and that I am a child of God my life has purpose. My love for the people around me has given me the drive to make my life a living sacrifice to God so I can help to bring as many people to Christ as humanly possible. The change in me is not external (though it does show through) it's like the chemical makeup from my head to my toes has turned inside out and backwards.Circumstances may change for the better in peoples lives all the time without Christ but this kind of change in me, only the one true God could manifest.

For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Romans 8:6

KJV good for your health

"Just as physical activity keeps your body strong, mental activity keeps your mind sharp and agile. One way to do this is to continually challenge yourself by learning new skills. If you continue to learn and challenge yourself, your brain continues to grow, literally. An active brain produces new connections between nerve cells that allow cells to communicate with one another. This helps your brain store and retrieve information more easily, no matter what your age."
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/memory-loss/HA00001

One more reason to always use your King James Version. What better way to exercise your brain. I like the fact that sometimes I don't understand the meaning of a word or phrase in my Bible. I've learned much more about my Bible when forced to look into verses a little further and more often than I would with a modern translation. One of the things I have found fascinating is finding out the meanings of much of the Hebrew and Greek words used. Many times I have had to go back and read the reference verses to understand, and that has given me a much greater appreciation of the miracle that this Book written over a period of 1600 years can tie so well together.

Worship

Wow, it has been over a month since I wrote anythin gon here. Time flies I guess. I am still Going through my Bible. I just got done with the Gospels and I will be heading back to Joshua.

The reason I am on here today is because I just sent an email to my pastor and as I wrote it I felt it was something worth sharing here.

I would like to be involved in the music ministry at church so I have been researching what kind of music is appropriate and acceptable to God for worship. The church I was raised in made a switch to contemporary praise music so that was what I was used to when I went on a search for a church of my own. I actually put traditional worship on the negative side of my list when balancing the pros and cons of a church. I finally decided that doctrine was more important than music and when I came to First Baptist the pros far outweighed this minor "con"

My worship was part of my regular prayers because I still wasn't sure I was able to grasp what real worship was supposed to be like. As I attended First Baptist I began to feel a real appreciation for the old hymns. I still didn't see anything wrong with contemporary worship, I just felt that my personal preference was changing to come in line with my church family. (one of the things I had asked God for) Then I was asked by my brother to attend a service at his church. He said they were going to gather at the park. He thought it would be nice if the family would all go the same church that day and have lunch together afterward. I had only recently decided First Baptist was the church for me and was very excited about that and didn't really want to miss the service that week but I didn't want to shun my family either so I went.

This is where my attitude about contemporary music changed. First of all it was apparent that this was not a church service but a concert. I was upset that I had missed the opportunity for a lesson. It was music from beginning to end and not the kind you can sing along with either. After a few songs they would throw you a bone and sing a praise song that you could remember and join in with but for the most part it was obvious we were just suppose to listen to them. I felt dooped into attending a concert and skipping church on a Sunday morning. I thought if they had wanted to have a concert they should have had it on Saturday. Then they did something all together out of line . They sang "spirit in the sky" and even the lyrics "I'm not a sinner, I've never sinned" I don't know how a Christian could even let those words escape their mouth! Since then CCM has bothered me. I had a few CD's at work I used to listen to and I tried to see the worship in them but it just wasn't there. I think the emotions that came with that music was from just that, the music. It had nothing to do with the Holy Spirit. I really see no difference between them and the secular music industry and we are not suppose to be of the world, we are suppose to be a peculiar people.

After all this I knew what wasn't worship, but I still didn't know what was worship. I decided to fast and meditate on the Psalms. What a great experience! I never realized how many of our hymns came from this book. One day I was driving home from work and I was super joyful about my blessings and one of those songs ( I don't remember which one) came bursting forth out of me. There was the difference plain as the nose on my face. The contemporary music was always a tool to produce a feeling I wanted for myself. This worship I had experienced in my car was different. The song came forth because of my admiration for Christ. This was truly for Him. I wasn't after something for myself, I was realizing what he had already given me and I was giving Him something in return. Now my worship has finally become what it should be. Songs burst forth out of me on a regular basis.

(I just wish to add that this is not a settled issue with me. I do not believe that all new contemporary worship is wrong. There will always be new music created for our Lord. I just feel that we need to take a closer look and such music to be sure it is spiritually sound. We must remember that just because something has a Christian label on it, does not mean it is always edifying.)

Exodus

Ok, I am through Exodus an a little ways into Leviticus. Last night I am reading and thinking, " I'm sorry to say this about your Word Lord but it seems so pointless to be reading all this law. I'm glad the tabernacle was explained in detail because now I can look at an artist rendering and see what it looked like and I understand why all the laws for sacrificing needed to be documented for the Jews but Lord it feels like such a waste of time sitting here reading all the mundane details of law I don't have to follow." Then the last five words hit me. I DON'T HAVE TO FOLLOW! What was I doing complaining about reading the law. They had to live it. I thanked Jesus with a new found appreciation for the law I have been freed from.
I wondered as well, this relationship have with my Lord and Saviour is my primary motivator for following His law. It is out of love for Him and I am able to rejoice to follow it. How miserable it would be to follow out of obligation or because of the inconvenience of a sin offering. How lucky are we that when Jesus died His law was to be written on our hearts so the desire of our soul could be to follow Him.

I think the key verse in Exodus for me was chapter 34 verse 9, "And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance."
I come from a long line of non-Christians, and I have been praying fervently for the salvation of my whole family. I know I missed the memory verse on Sunday (whoops) But I feel I must memorize this one and add it to the beginning of my prayers for my family.

Genesis Chapters 1-40

Right now I am reading through Genesis. I have realized that I have never read through the entire Bible and God has impressed upon me the importance of doing that so I am not going to read any other books until I get through His Book. I got a new Bible in the mail on April 24th. I had one from the time I was a child and it was falling apart so this is my first Bible since I have taken to Bible living rather than just Bible believing. I started with the Psalms as I have already said. Since getting done with them I have read 1 Corinthians, Philippians, and Romans. Now I have jumped back to Genesis because I bought this book that I would highly recommend called “Unlocking the Mysteries of Creation” I found it in the kids section of my local Christian book store and it has been fascinating! One of the most interesting things I found out by reading that book was about the Chinese language having Biblical origins. Here is a website that explains http://www.wbschool.org/chinesecharacters.htm

What I have learned so far from Genesis (some of this I’m sure most of you already know but I am new to) First, it didn’t rain and we didn’t eat meat before the flood. There was a layer of water “above the firmament” that kept the worlds atmosphere like a greenhouse. So I assume when God makes a new earth this is how it will be? I guess it is not Gods perfect plan for us to eat animals but (I can only assume) because of the damage to our atmosphere caused by the flood and the continental divide we now need to. One other thing from the creation book that was interesting was that there was a timeline of the lifespan of men from Adam to Jacob. I noticed that the lifespan of man shorted by about half after the flood and again by half after the continents divided. Did you know that the Bible speaks about the dividing of the continents? Genesis 10:25, “And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided;”

I was also interested to learn that tithing goes way back before Jewish law. In Genesis 4:4 Abel is told to have brought the first of his flock. “And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:” And ten percent is established in Genesis as well. Genesis 28:22, “And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.”

I also found another reason you cannot believe in the inerrancy of scripture and evolution (maybe someone else has noticed this before but I haven’t) Six times during the creation God said that His living creations would bring forth offspring after their own kind. It is as if God put that there just for those who would try to change His word to fit “science” falsely so called. (1Tim 6:20)

I have to say that I won’t be posting those long, in-depth studies as often as I have been in the past. I love doing them but I am a mother and have a part time job. One of the things the Lord showed me over the last month is that doing my own personal things on company time is stealing. I was researching and writing these papers at work when I had finished my work and had time left before I had to go home. The Lord told me this was wrong and that since I was being paid for that time I should find something to do for my employer if I get done early. I also have added some things to my schedule here at home in keeping with what the Lord wants of me. My serious Bible studying is to be kept to the morning and evening. During the day I am to focus on my families needs (with the exception of naptime). I am going to attempt to keep my house in better order for my husband and do drop everything at the top of every hour to spend 15min filling my kids love tanks. During nap time I pray for about 20 people and before bed I pray for my personal needs. So as you can see I won’t be able to spend as much time on this blog. When I come across something I wish to share with you I’ll be sure and post it they probably just won’t be so long anymore.

2 Peter 3:3-7, Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

Testimony and memory verse

I’m back!!! I am so refreshed and it’s testimony time!!!! I needed that time of reflection. Thank you for being patient with me. He granted my prayer. If you will remember…….

Just a closer walk with Thee
Grant me Jesus is my plea
Daily walking close with Thee
Let it be dear Lord
Let it be

I have had a wonderful month and I must say year at that. First of all, I have to share with you that I was a smoker for 17 years. For the last three of it every drag was a scream of my disobedience to my Lord. As you can imagine, those where some miserable days. I knew in my heart that no matter how much I wanted to get closer to my Saviour it just wasn’t going to happen while I stepped out side every hour of my day to put sin to my lips. I tried for two years to quit. Every method I could afford. At some point I just said “Lord I cannot do this. You have got to do something because I just cannot do it!!!” I prayed this prayer for two months and every time I ran out of cigarettes I tried to go as long as I could without buying a new pack. I always failed eventually until one day. I don’t even know what was so special about that day. I ran out of cigarettes and said “well here we go again” I never expected anything different. But for some reason it was different. I made it this time. That was a Tuesday and I had one slip that Saturday April 24, 2005 and now one year later I am still smoke free! I never wanted to pray for my habit in the past because deep down I knew that God would come through. I would get a craving and God would say pray and I would ignore Him because I didn’t want His help. I wanted my cigarettes no matter how much I hated them. So this has been my first smoke free year since I was 10 years old! What a baby I was! How awful!
Anyway, the last year has been amazing, you wouldn’t believe the amount of fleshly junk that was hiding behind that cigarette habit. Filth I didn’t even see because I was so preoccupied with those darn cancer sticks. My eyes were opened boy howdy, and they were opened big time. I don’t think I can list all the changes God made in me over the last year. All the years I tried to grow and just could not move forward it took God one year and all it took was a little obedience. I LOVE OBEDIENCE!!! What a gift of God to just do what He says and it will all turn out. No more laying awake at night struggling over how to fix this or that problem.

Because He lives I can face tomorrow
Because He lives all fear is gone
Because I know He holds the future
And life is worth the living
Just because He lives

As you may be able to tell, over this last month I was going to study the Psalms to strengthen my worship. Craziness!!!! It worked like a charm!! When I’m I going to stop being surprised by Gods grace? (I’m giggling, I hope your giggling) This is so fun. When I think back at all the times I didn’t want to change because I’d have to give up all my fun I just can’t believe how stupid I was! Ok, off topic again, the Psalms. Yes I was raised E Free, but back in those days we sang the real hymns so somewhere in the back of my mind are all these really beautiful testimonies of the wonderful works of God. Well as most of you know but I have learned, a lot of them are taken right from the Psalms. So as I am reading I will come across a song that I recognize and I will start to sing it. Oh my soul the songs that flow out of me today. I wish I could make my own songs. Sometimes when I am praising God for something I will sing the prayer now, even if it doesn’t rhyme at all and the tune sounds strange. Make a joyful NOISE, see it doesn’t have to be pretty. I also found in the Psalms my favorite verse so far, “I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.” Psalm 16:8 I don’t have it memorized yet so I guess this should be the next memory verse.

Like a tree planted by the river
I shall not be moved

Laziness and sabbatical

I have been suffering from my own laziness the past week. I have been neglecting my housework and the love tanks of my children to lay around on the couch. I have been listening to sermons by others in place of doing my own Bible studies. There are several excuses I could site for the reason for my laziness but I know that God could overcome them if I would just move my body and trust Him to supply the energy. I know He has many times in the past so there really is no excuse for it.

Anyway, I know I am in the middle of a study on the fruit of the spirit but I am going to have to put that on hold for a bit. Starting Sunday I am going on a 30 day sabbatical from the internet. I am going to allow myself to check my email and read the daily paper each morning but nothing beyond that. I will be keeping a paper journal during that time and may transfer it here after the 30 days is up if the Lord calls me to share it. My focus over the next 30days will be to meditate on the Psalms to improve my worship, to establish better prayer time, and to learn to give EVERTHING over to the Lord joyfully.

I’m going to fight tooth and nail against mediocrity. I see so many people with a fire for the Lord only to see it eventually fizzle out. I don’t believe this has to be the case. I think we just aren’t fighting hard enough to keep our faith ablaze.

“ Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.”

Problem with "Left Behind"?

I know this is off subject. I'm not quite done reading all my verse on joy. The family has been under the weather lately. I found these verses in 2 Thessalonians and felt they were important enough to share even if they are off topic.

2 Thessalonians 2:10-12, "Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."

Strong words and ones I have never looked closely at before. In the "Left Behind" series my favorite parts where when people came to Christ but these verses clearly state that those who heard the truth and denied it will have past their opportunity for grace. I always wondered, how on earth could people still not believe after the rapture happens just like we have been saying it would? Anyone who ever heard a Christian tell them about this upcoming rapture would have to be saved at this moment. You just couldn't deny it any longer. These verses clear that up. It is a sad fact, but those of you out there who are thinking, "Well if all the Christians disappear one day, then I'll believe." must realize you cannot count on this. The time of the rapture will be like death to some, no turning back.

"But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign;"(Matt 12:39) Seek Him before it is too late.

Memory verse for week 3 of March

Philippians 1:6, "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:"

Fruit of the spirit part 3 (love part 2)

There is no better explanation that love is an action not a feeling, than when you study how we are to love God. First of all the entire first part on love must be included here. Matthew 25:40, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” After all, why are we here? If it were merely for our own salvation He would have taken us home the moment we asked for His grace. We are here to serve others, to be fishers of men, and in doing so we serve Him as well.
Joshua 22:5, “But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.” To keep His commandments is to love Him. Jesus says this again in John 14:15, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” In my study on the shield of faith I discovered that Jesus’ commandments were the old commandments and more because true brotherly love goes far beyond the 10 original commandments.
Matthew 10:37-39, “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” No, our God is not a selfish God who cares only for His worship and not for our loved ones salvation. He is not willing that any should parish. I think this verse is here because sometimes we get the idea in our heads that we are trying to save someone in particular so much that we abandon Gods way and revert to our own. The problem with that is WE don’t save anybody. God says love Him first. In loving Him first and doing what He asks of us we will have a greater chance of reaching our loved ones for Christ. His way may seem harsh and unloving at times but we are to trust Him. “And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.” What would be involved in carrying a cross? Pain, ridicule, abandonment, humiliation, and exhaustion are just a few that come to mind. Whoever decided that if you have trouble in your life you aren’t walking with the Lord right, could not have been reading the same Bible as I do. Job was described as perfect and upright. Paul was stoned almost to death and thrown in prison more than once. That cross is heavy indeed but it is lighter than satans (Mat 11:30) and when it is for the Lord our God we can rejoice in it (Matt 5:11-12). Who else is able to rejoice through difficult times but the children of the one and only God? No one, what a privilege! “He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.” Losing our life is what we struggle against when we are called to give our all to Christ. What we need to realize is that what we are holding so tightly to isn’t our life at all. Our true life is waiting to be given to us by our Saviour.
This brings me to the benefits of making this effort to love. Love brings; faith (Gal 5:6), grace (Eph 6:24), His mercy (Ex 20:6), His love (Prov 8:17), crowns (James 1:12, 2 Tim 4:6), a kingdom (Matt 25:34), “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28. There are probably many, many more I could find but I should say these are good enough for me.

Fruit of the spirit part 2 (love)

Mark 12:30-31, “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.” I am going to start with the second commandment, brotherly love.
Romans 12:9-21, “Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality. Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”
I found a long list of the qualities of love. There are probably many more but these are the ones I have been able to come up with so far. Love is not jealous, prideful or selfish (1 Cor 13). Love is work (1 Thess 1:3), patient, kind, slow to anger (1 Cor 13), better than wealth (Prov 15:17), forgiving (Col 3:13), and sincere (1 John 3:18, Rom 12:9). Love does not gossip (Prov 17:9), rejoice in iniquity, behave unseemingly, think evil, or fail (1 Cor 13). Love does hold accountable (Heb 12:11), meet needs (1 John 3:17), sacrifice liberty (Gal 5:13), rejoice in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, and endureth all things (1 Cor 13)
So who are we directed to love? Luke 6:31-35, “And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.”
Doesn’t that seem almost impossible at times? I have found four things to remember that will help me to accomplish this sometimes difficult task. The first one is pretty self-explanatory Leviticus 19:18, “thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.” Luke 6:31, “And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.” The second is to put yourself in their shoes. Deuteronomy 10:19, “Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.” Thirdly, submit it to the Lord. Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Since bitterness is my struggle I have had to put 2 Corinthians 10:5 to good use in my life, “bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” If I am to truly love even those who seek to destroy me, I must first rid my thoughts of anger and replace them with forgiveness.
The last tool for brotherly love is to think eternal. Matthew 25:34-40, “Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” Look forward to this day with Christ when your efforts will be rewarded by being put with the sheep.
This last scripture reference brings us right to love part 2. Brotherly love is an important aspect of loving God.

Fruit of the spirit (part 1)

Galatians 5:22-23’ “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”

Since an important part of examining our faith (2 Cor 3:5) is knowing our fruit (Mat 7:20) I decided my next study should be about these fruits.
First of all, in order to bear fruit you must first be born again. John 15:4, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” As I have posted already in the second part of the shield of faith study, when we are born again we are given the free gift of imputed righteousness and imparted righteousness which is the ability to walk in the spirit rather than the flesh (Rom 8:4), to put on a new man (Eph 4:24) I found a few more verses in Philippians where it is revealed that these fruits are defiantly part of this imparted righteousness “Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.” (Phil 1:11) “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”
Proverbs 11:30, “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.” I think this verse is saying that the fruit we bear is for the salvation of others. As we have read before in 1 Peter 2:9, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:” seeing the difference God has made in our lives is how we testify to others of the truth of Christ. I believe this fruit is what makes us a peculiar people.
The first fruit listed is love. I have been studying love from the Bible for a few days now and still am not ready to write about it and move on to joy. It might have to be in two parts like faith was. I should have at least one part done in the next few days.

Memory verse for week 2 of March

This new memory verse comes from a new habit I m forming for my children. From now on when I tuck them into bed and say prayers I am tacking on this verse.

Numbers 6:24-26, "The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace."

Spring is here!!!

Probably not to stay but I'll take what I can get. I haven't written much because the Lord has blessed me with a few days break from the whipping winds of Minnesota winter and I have been out side enjoying it with the chilens.

Speaking of Chilens, I'm reading a great book right now I would love to recommend. The Five Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman.

My next study is going to be on the fruit of the spirit but it will probably be a few days before I get a paper written.

Have a wonderful weekend!!!!!

Armor of God part 7 (sword of the spirit)

Ephesians 6:13-17, “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:”

So, I made it finally to the last piece of armor mentioned in these verses, the sword of the spirit/Word of God. I figured our best example of how to use this sword would have to be the temptation of Jesus in Matthew chapter four. I have made several observations about the three temptations satan put before Christ and how Christ handled them. How did satan tempt Jesus? The first was with pride. In verses 3 and 6 he asks Him to prove who he is. The second thing he tries to use is the physical needs of the body and chooses the thing Jesus appears to weakest to at the moment, food. Third, in verse 6 he tries to use Gods own Word to make Jesus stumble. The fourth and last attempt toward tempting Christ is his use of greed. If I look at my life and the people around me I can see that satan still uses these four basic tactics in his temptations of us today.
Next I looked at how Jesus responded. First of all, what he didn’t do was defend Himself. This sticks out to me most because I have always felt this need to defend myself and it is something I have been trying to learn to let go of. Exodus 14:14 tells me that I need to let God be my defender. The second thing I noticed is that Jesus spoke the Word with authority. “It is written” and basically since it is written that is that and the end of the discussion of the matter, the final authority is the Word. Luke 4:36, “And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out.” Thirdly, He uses scripture that fits the situation. If we are to do this scripture memorization is important. I have started to write down scripture as I come across it. I have a couple of notebooks that I keep nearby when I do my Bible studies and I write down the verses that speak to me or that I think might help someone else. The fourth observation I made about how Jesus handled satans temptations is that He repeatedly rebuked satan, He waited until the last temptation to command satan to leave Him. I think He waited in order to allow satan to reveal to us his mode of attack.
There is one more thing I wondered about when reading about Jesus using the sword of the spirit against satan. Was he quoting scripture to satan or to Himself? In verse 7 He seems to be speaking to satan, “Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” But the scripture He quotes in the verses before and after seem to me to be speaking to His flesh not satan. “But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” (Mat 4:4) “for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” (Mat 4:10)
I think this is the explanation of what twoedged means in Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
Not only can the Word of God cut away the attacks of satan but it can also show us the intents of our hearts and cut away the parts of our flesh that are in conflict with our spirit.
So that concludes my study on the armor of God. You may notice that our backside would remain uncovered. This is addressed in Isaiah 58:8, “thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward (rearguard).”

Armor of God part 6 (helmet of salvation)

Ephesians 6:17, “And take the helmet of salvation,”

This is going to be a more in depth analysis of what I touched on briefly in update, which is the imputed righteousness of God, the free gift of saving grace, the only means of salvation. It is impossible to put any one piece of the armor of God to use if you do not first belong to God. This armor is just not available to you until you have been born again.
The first step to receiving salvation is recognition of your sin. Matthew 19:16-17, “And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.” He didn’t say just wait a little while and I’ll die for you then you believe in me and you will be saved. What Jesus did was point the man to the Ten Commandments that he had not kept. In doing this he was basically trying to get this man to recognize his sin. He said no one is good but the God. Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”
What are the Ten Commandments? Exodus 20:3-17, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.”
We may say, “Well I could have taken the Lords name in vain a few times but I have certainly never murdered someone.” It doesn’t matter. If you break on commandment, you break them all. James 2:10, “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”
We may say, “I am basically good, I don’t deserve hell.” How could we possibly know that for sure? Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” I often wonder about when I was living according to the flesh how many times I deceived myself into thinking I was doing something good when in fact it was evil. How many times did something happen that seemed bad but in the end turned out to be for the better. The point is, only God is good. If any good is done through us it is just that, through us by God. It is not of our own volition.
John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Second to knowing you are a sinner in need of grace is believing in Jesus Christ as your one and only savior. Knowing that Jesus Christ is who he said he is. He is not just a prophet from history but the true son of the most holy God. That he was sent here as a perfect sacrifice for our sins and that in his death and resurrection he gave us the ability to die to our flesh and be born again into the spirit. You must be willing to present yourself a living sacrifice, knowing that only by Gods grace and guidance can his perfect will for your life be realized. Romans 12:1-2, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
Once you know your desperate state away from the grace of God you need to openly and humbly admit this in prayer and ask for the grace of Jesus to cover your sins. Invite the Holy Spirit to reside in your heart as a guide to keep you in the will of God. I’m not going to give you some word for word prayer to recite. Ask God what he wants you to say and he will write it on you heart.
Once you have done this, go to work putting on the full armor of God for the battle that lies ahead.

Armor of God part 5 (shield of faith part 2)

This is an examination of the examination in 2 Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?”
Why is it important to examine ourselves? Matthew 7:22-23, “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” I for one want to make absolutely sure that I am not one of the many who think they are in the book of life and tragically find out in the end they are not. 2 Timothy 2:15 says, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
Knowing you are approved unto God does not come by a feeling, it comes by knowing what the Word of God says. He has given us this perfect instruction manual and if we come to the end of our mortal life and find ourselves built upon sand when the instructions called for rock we will have only ourselves to blame.
So how does the Bible say we are to know we are truly a child of God? You know because you are a new man. Romans 6:1-6, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” Is this to say we will never sin? No, 1 John 1:8, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” There is a difference in committing a sin and living in or being a servant to your sin. Romans 6:12-13, “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.” Jesus came and died for us, not because the laws of God were bad and needed to be abolished, but because in our present state of slavery to our flesh it was impossible to follow Gods law. When Jesus died and rose from the dead he gave us the free gift of the imputed righteousness of God. That is the covering of our sins by Gods grace and mercy. But when we sincerely repent of our sins and ask for the Holy Spirit to enter our lives we are not only given the imputed righteousness of God that saves our souls but we are also given the imparted righteousness of God to continually perfect us to his will. Recognizing this imparted righteousness is how we know we have been given the imputed. Romans 2:14, “For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:” Romans 7:6, “But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.” Romans 7:23-25, “But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.” Romans 8:1-5, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.”
So how then do you know you are walking in the spirit and not in the flesh? This brings me first of all the the verses in 1 John that I had trouble with 1 John 2:7-8, “Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning. Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.” I found in Romans 13:9-10, “For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” The new commandment of love is the same as the old. It’s like the old hymn we used to sing “They shall know we are Christians by our love.” Even so WE shall know we are Christians by our love and we already established in the first part of neo-evangelicalism that love is not the same as flattering.
There is another way to know we are truly saved and that is by our fruit. Romans 6:21-23, “What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Examine your fruit, do you bare the fruit of the flesh, Galatians 5:19-21, “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” Or the fruit of the spirit, Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”
In, closing a reminder, do not seek your salvation by these things but only seek to RECOGNIZE your salvation by these things. Romans 9:31-32, “But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;” Only by putting you faith in the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ can you walk by the spirit and leave your slavery to flesh behind you.

Memory verse for week 1 of March

"Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Psalm 139: 23-24


Rejoice and be glad, for this is the day that the Lord has made.

Update

I don't even know if anyone is following along with me on this study of the armor of God. I haven't gotten any comments so I think probably not but I am going to give an update just in case.

The subject of faith is just so big and this examination takes some time and patience to understand fully. It is important and I don't want to be to quick to post something for fear it may be wrong or not the whole story. I do know some definite points that I think we all know. I have started with 1 John and have read it a few times doing my best to clearly understand every word. Some things are clear and there is no dispute. First is a recognition of our sin (1 John 1:8-10) second is a belief in Christ and His blood being shed for our salvation (1 John 4:15)
You may say that I have gotten that backwards and that first should be Christ but what brings us to Christ but the knowledge of our filthiness. When someone asked Jesus in Matthew 19:16-17 what good thing he must do to have eternal life Jesus didn't say believe in me, He said that no one but God is good and pointed him to the commandments he hadn't kept.

My trouble with 1 John as a complete guide to how we examine our faith is chapter 2 verse 7-8. I think the key to understanding the whole book lies in these verses. "Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning. Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth." What does he mean when he says it is not new commandment and then in verse 8 says it is. When he says the beginning does he mean the beginning of the old testament or the new beginning with the sacrifice of Christ Jesus.

He has impressed upon me to read James and Romans so that is were I am going now.

Feeling, Faith, and Fact

I got this in an email the other day and thought it was cute.

Three men were walking on a bridge, Feeling, Faith and Fact; when Feeling took and awful fall and Faith was taken back. So close was Faith to Feeling that he stumbled and fell too, but Fact remained and pulled Faith back and Faith brought Feeling too.

Still working on the second part of my study on faith. This one is taking a little longer because I needed an extra day of rest this week.

Armor of God part 4 (shield of faith part1)

Ephesians 6:16, “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.”

Faith is more than just belief alone. “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” James 2:19. One man put it this way, “Faith involves trust and reliance. I may "believe" that a stool can hold me. I exercise my faith in the stool when I rely on it by sitting on it!”
Matthew 6:30-31,33, “Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? ………But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
The greatest chapter I have found so far on the subject of faith is Hebrews 11. It starts out in chapter one telling you just what the definition of faith is. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Then there are several examples of great faith. Abraham; Hebrews 11:8, “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.” Moses; Hebrews 11:25-26, “Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.”
One of the most interesting examples is Jericho; Hebrews 11:30, “By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.” This to me is one of the greatest examples to us that we are to trust Gods way to accomplish a task, even if it seems ridiculous.
All through the Bible we see that faith is not just a belief but an exercise of trust. Not just lip speech that God can do anything but living as if He can.
It is a matter of looking to the eternal not the temporal. That is what our sermon was this last Sunday. Our pastor held up two bills. One was a “$1,000 bill” and one was a “$10,000,000 bill” he said, “If I were tell you that you can either have this $1,000 bill now or this $10,000,000 bill in a year with another $10,000,000 every year after that, what would you take? “ He continued to explain that we would all wait a year and although we had nothing that whole year, what would our attitude be? We would be joyous!!!
The shields of the Roman soldiers were often damaged. They were always doing repair work on them before battle. In the same way we are not to ignore the health of our faith.
We are to pray, and thank God for what he has done for us. In doing so we remind ourselves of the power he has had in our lives in the past and keeps us from forgetting to trust Him for the future. Col 2:7, “Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.” Philemon 1:6, “That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.” 1Tim, 4:6, “If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.”
That last verse adds another tool for repair to our shields, the Word of God. Romans 10:17, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
Another important way of keeping our faith strong is by not only our membership in a local church but our involvement as well. The roman shields had on the side of them hooks. They used these hooks by huddling close together and hooking their shields together to form a sort of impenetrable tank. We accomplish this in our churches by sharing our gifts (Rom 12), praying for each other (1 Thess 3:10), and comforting each other Romans 1:12, “That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.”
Another way our faith is strengthened is by the testing of God. We all know the story of Job but there are many more examples of this. One of them is the first chapter of James. James 1:3, “Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.”
Lastly we are called to test ourselves to see if we are even in the faith. 2 Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” If we are not in the faith to begin with there is no way of accomplishing any of the above mentioned areas of growth. I’m sorry if I have to leave you hanging there. I have some idea of how we test ourselves but I haven’t done a sit down and dig for the answer study on what the Bible says about the matter. Actually, I came across a few aspects of faith that need a further study so this may have to be a 2 parter.

Defending yourself

Exodus 14:14, "The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace."

Armor of God part 3 (footwear)

Ephesians 6:15, “And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;”

You may wonder what part peace would possibly play in warfare but the peace of the Bible is far from passive. Romans 16:20, “And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.” Lev 26:6-7, “And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land. And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword.”
There are a few different uses for the word peace in the Bible. One is a peace between two parties, then there is peace offering, there’s hold your peace, and finally go in peace. The last is what I think we are to shod our feet with.
If you look at Ephesians 6:15 you will see that the purpose of adorning our feet is preparation, preparation for battle. What do you need of your feet during battle? I think you need balance and positioning. God promises us this in Psalm 18:33, “He maketh my feet like hinds' feet, and setteth me upon my high places.”
The peace we are to use during spiritual warfare is a strength acquired in the absence of fear. John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” Judges 6:23, “And the LORD said unto him, Peace [be] unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.” Psalm 29:11, “The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.” Jeremiah 30:5, “For thus saith the LORD; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace.” Danial 10:19, “And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me.”
How do we shod our feet with peace? First of all by a fear of God. Romans 3:17-18, “And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
Once you realize that there is really nothing to fear but God you will be free of the fears of this world. John 16:33, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
The second way to peace is having a light on our feet. Luke 1:79, “To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” Where do we find this light? I close with a verse we all know well. "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." Psalm 119:105

My youth (edited)

(edited because of self-centered post. See defending yourself)





To those of you out there like me, don't be discouraged. The Lord lead me today to 1 Timothy 4:12-13,15-16, "Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine...... Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee."

Armor of God part 2 (breastplate of righteousness)

Ephesians 6:14, “……and having on the breastplate of righteousness;”

I really like this one. I’ve been reading a book that I would recommend to anyone needing help in this area. It is “Victory Over the Darkness” by Neil Anderson. I actually haven’t finished it yet (sidetracked again) but I have read most of it and it is a very eye opening book about realizing your identity in Christ.
Say you have a friend who has made a lot of very bad decisions and sinned against God (as we all have) many times over. They know they have sinned and have asked God for forgiveness but now they are sitting on their butt seemingly paralyzed to change anything in their life. What is going to happen if you go to that person and say, “You are a miserable, worthless, human being. Why don’t you get off your butt and change yourself?” Do you think comments like that would motivate change in the person? Absolutely not!!!! This is another tactic of satan to keep us from moving on in our walk with the almighty. We may have asked for forgiveness of our sin but satan keeps that thought in our mind that makes it difficult to actually accept the forgiveness that He hands to us. You think, “I would love to do the Lords work in that ministry but who am I to do anything. I am just a no good sinner. I can’t reach anyone for Christ. There is no way I can change, I have tried and it doesn’t work. I’m too weak, I can’t do anything.”
This is not what God says of who you are. Here is a list of verses telling you what you really are in the eyes of God. (I got them from Neil’s book)

You are a citizen of Heaven (Phi 3:20)
You are a child of God (John 1:12)
You are a saint (Eph 1:1)
You have been redeemed and forgiven (Col 1:14)
You are a work in progress that will be perfected (Phi 1:6)
You are born of God and the evil one cannot touch you (John 5:18)
You are God’s temple (1 Cor 3:16)
You have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit. (John 15:16)
You are a personal witness of Christ (Acts 1:8)
You may approach God with freedom and confidence (Eph 3:12)
You can do anything through Christ who strengthens you (Phi 4:13)

That’s only the tip of the iceberg on the words God has for us in his book. What a pep talk!!! Hebrews 4:16, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Once we have been given this gift of grace we are clothed in the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. “
That righteousness within us will affect what we do, but what we do will not make us righteous. Crossing over to that line of thinking will bring you into self-righteousness. It is not possible to change of our own will, only through putting on the righteousness of God will this be accomplished. Romans 8 1-4,” There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

So to put on the breastplate of righteousness you must first accept the grace of God, then realize who you are in Christ, and finally allow yourself to be lead by the spirit.

Memory verse for week 4 of Feb.

In my learning about the armor of God it was brought to my attention that the only item of offense is the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:17) This impressed upon me the importance of scripture memory in spiritual warfare. So this weeks memory verse is

Psalm 18:39 "For Thou hast girded me with strength unto battle: Thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me."

Rejoice and be glad today, for this is the day that the Lord has made.

The Armor of God part 1 (belt of truth)

I’ve started today my bible study on the Armor of God. I have wanted to do this study for a long time but I keep getting sidetracked for one reason or another. Ephesians 6:11-13 says, “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”
The first piece of armor we are to have is the belt of truth. Ephesians 6:14 "Stand therefore having your loins girt about with truth."There are two main purposes for the belt worn by the roman soldiers of Paul’s day. One was to protect the loins, the most vulnerable part of the body, and the other was to tie down loose articles of clothing so the soldier doesn’t get tripped up. So when I started my study on the belt of truth I had this in the back of my mind when looking for verses to teach me how to put this belt to use in my spiritual war.
First of all I think we are to keep in mind what a vulnerable part would be concerning the forces of the spiritual world. I believe them to be weaknesses we have in areas of sin. That is where satan gets us. Maybe your struggle is bitterness. What then would satans strategy for attack be? Maybe he would send people into your life who will cause conflict and stir up this bitterness to cause you to slip and give him a foothold. This would be an area you would need belted up with truth.
Truth is written many times over in the Bible and has more than one use. One of the uses I came across is the one I think is the belt.
Psalm 119: 140-141 “I am small and despised: yet do not I forget thy precepts. Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth.”
Proverbs 16:6 “By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil. When a man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.”
I can here your mind buzzing, “There she goes with the law again. We are not under the law anymore.” I know we are not under the law but that does not mean the law is abolished. It means the law is now in our hearts. It is not a weight on our backs but a part of who we are in Christ.
Truth is in Gods law just as much as it is in the gospel and the truth of the law is what you need to guard your weakness toward sin.
Psalm 40:11-12 “Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O LORD: let thy lovingkindness and thy truth continually preserve me. For innumerable evils have compassed me about: mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head: therefore my heart faileth me.”
To put on this belt of truth I think we have to pray and ask God where our loose clothing is. What are the things in our life that could trip us up in our walk with the Almighty God.

Beverage Alcohol and the Bible

I have always, since I was legally able to, enjoyed having a few drinks from time to time. It's relaxing and it makes the pressures of the week melt away for the night. When I decided to not just be a Bible believing Christian, but a Bible living Christian, one of the first things I did was look to the Bible to justify my drinking. I found several restrictions but nothing that I considered a command from God for me to abstain. As long as I followed these restrictions I would be good to go. The problem with that is when your born again you are literally changed. It is almost impossible to ignore when your flesh is in opposition to your spirit. There is a tug of war and at some point you have got to decide what is going to win, your flesh or spirit. One of the great gifts of God in my life is when he nudges me. I had been in this inner tug of war for quite a while (and at the moment letting my flesh win over) when I got one of his loving nudges. I went back to my Bible and this time I said show me what is best. This is the result.

First of all the word wine in the Bible comes from a word meaning fruit of the vine. It is used to describe fermented wine and grape juice. I had been told before that wine just meant grape juice in the Bible but I brushed it off as preposterousus because there was no way Lot's daughters gave him grape juice. But if it means both, well that is another story. So I came to the conclusion that when reading about drinking alcohol in the Bible I must exclude verses condoning the use of wine as it may have been referring to juice. That left me with two verses that seem to condone drinking.
The first is Deuteronomy 14:26" And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth."
The second is Proverbs 31:6-7 "Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts. Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more."
But the Bible also says in 1 Corinthians 6:12 "All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient." As for the verse in proverbs, we are happy to say we are no longer under the law of the old testiment but isn't it just as likely that this also no longer applies now that we are to cast all our cares upon Jesus?
Secondly, when I first read Leviticus 10:9 I assumed it meant that priests weren't to drink in the temple but if I had continued to read verses 10-11 I would have seen that it was to show a difference between holy and unholy. It was not implying that they may drink outside the temple, it was saying that even though unclean outside the temple, it was punishable by death if they entered the temple under the influence. It also said that remaining sober made them better teachers.
When I considered 1 Peter 2:9 "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people: that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." I am given this question of myself; Am I, as a part of this royal priesthood and holy nation, also expected to abstain from alcohol for the reasons stated in Leviticus 10:9-11?
This is also applied to Proverbs 31:4-5 "it is not for kings to drink wine, nor for princes strong drink: lest they forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted. " Revelation 1:6 says that Jesus has made us kings. I know that we are not under Jewish law but these verses have given me this question of myself; If Jesus has made a king of me, is it not possible that alcohol may cause me to forget Gods word to others and cause the judgment of God to come down on them?
The third point I have come to in my Bible reading is the reason I have continued in my study on the subject. I have not been fully persuaded to the side that claims its innocence. I have tried to convince myself to settle the matter but I have found it impossible.
Romans 14:5, 23 tell me, "Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind......He that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin."
That last section of verse 23 brings me to my fourth point, neutrality. The Bible is pretty clear that there is sin that is not necessarily named as sin clearly in the Bible. Romans 14:23 says anything that is not of faith is sin. James 4:17 says that if you know something is good and don't do it you commit sin.
Romans 14:6 says, "He that eateth, eateth to the Lord." 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." I have asked myself; Is my alcohol consumption, even in moderation, at all to the glory of God? My answer to that question is an obvious, big, fat, no. In fact I find that it is the exact opposite.
That brings me to my fifth and final point. Romans 14:21 says, "It is good neither to eat flesh, nor drink wine, nor anything where by thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak." Romans 15:1-2 says, "We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves." Point being, my Christian liberty is to be sacrificed for the good of those around me.
Proverbs 20:1 says, "Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise." It is plain to me that people all over this world are being deceived this way. Families suffer, lives are taken, and souls are lost everyday to this self-indulgence.

I have decided to take my place as a king and priest and teacher for Christ, to refrain from drinking alcohol or putting my money towards the sale of it to the masses of people being destroyed. And you know how freeing that is!!!! All this time I felt that it would be a burden on my back to have to give up something that I thought I enjoyed.
I heard an analogy somewhere once that fits here perfectly. A man and his daughter are at the park and she is playing happily in the sand box while he goes to get her an ice-cream cone. When he comes back he bends down to hand her this tasty treat and just as it is about to reach her lips she grabs a handful of sand and shoves it in her mouth. Looking down at his daughters smiling face he is saddened at the thought of how long it is going to take to get rid of all that sand and how much she doesn't even realize what she's missed out on.
I now know the meaning of Psalm 40:8 " I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart." In a very short time after making this decision about alcohol I was given my ice-cream. I learned of the importance of the Lords day. I have been working more then I have in years these past few weeks and this Saturday I had one of the worst days I've had in a long time. The old me would have never been able to renew myself in one day but now what a blessing I have to look forward to each week. And no headach on Monday.

Helpful links for Bible study

I thought I would share the websites I use most often in my daily life.

http://www.blueletterbible.org/
This is a wonderful site for Bible study. If you want to find a verse but don't know where it is, this is the place to go.

http://www.sermonaudio.com/main.asp
An amazing amount of sermons on all sorts of topics. Not all sermons agree with eachother. It's up to you to listen and compare with your Bible. The Bible should always be the final authority.

http://www.icr.org/
Institute for Creation Research. We have got to challange todays so called "science" and here is the place to equip yourself with the knowledge to do so.


http://www.flylady.net/
Just the site for us SHES (sidestracked home executives) Some of us just don't have a natural organization skill.

Neo-Evangelicalism Part 2

I said in the first part of this study that in this second part I would address Romans 16:17 “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.”
Now some might argue that this verse opposes separation because it says to mark those who cause divisions but clearly it is not the division itself Paul is talking about here. To think that you would have to completely ignore the phrase “avoid them”. This verse instructs us that unity is never to come at the expense of doctrine.
This brings me to my biggest beef with the ecumenical movement, the attack on doctrine. I hear it everywhere. Nicole Nordeman says in one of her songs “put away the doctrine, love a little more, cause everybody is broken.” While I love some of her music and think she is right on track in “Brave” where she attacks the middle ground, I have to take issue with this line. What part of the Bible are we to “put away”? 2 Timothy 3:16 says, “ALL scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”
If we want to take a closer look at the importance of this doctrine people are so eager to push aside one of the best books to study are 1st and 2nd Timothy, so that is where we will go right now.

1Timothy 6:3-5 “If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.”
2 Timothy 3:1-5 “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." 2 Timothy 4:3-4 “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. "

Notice, “from such withdraw thyself” and “from such turn away” Some may say this is talking about unbelievers but I really don’t think so. Notice “lovers of pleasure MORE THAN lovers of God” not instead of a love for God, and “having a form of godliness, but DENYING THE POWER THEREOF” could this be the denial of the power of God to create the world in six literal days? I don’t know that but I do know doctrine is essential to the Christian life. If not then why the rest of the book? Why doesn’t the Bible stop at the gospel?

1 Timothy 4:6 “If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.”
1 Timothy 5:17 “Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.”
1 Timothy 4:16 “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.”
This doesn’t mean this is what saves us, only grace saves us, it means that setting an example “in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” (1 Tim 4:12) could bring them that hear us into the grace of God also.

1 Timothy 4:13 “Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.” To paraphrase a bit, GET OFF OF THE BREAST! Isaiah 28:9 “Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.” If you are going to continue to cling to the gospels only, you are never going to get to the meat. Hebrews 6:1 “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection;”
Case in point, if we continue to deny ourselves meat in order to align ourselves with people who refuse to accept EVERY Word of God we are not doing His service. We are not using His way to bring people to Christ. It is prideful to think that our way would surpass the way of God Almighty.

Titus 1:9 “Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.”

memory verse for week 3 of Feb

This weeks memory verse is Hebrews 8:10".....I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts:..." Don't let anyone tell you that following Gods law means you don't understand His grace. There is a difference between carrying the law on your back as a means of reaching salvation and holding the law in your heart. We as born again believers rejoice to follow Gods law out of a great love for Him not because of a rejection of his sacrifice.


[I would like to do one verse a week and post them on Sunday. Since I started this blog yesterday this first one only has three days before it is bumped. I didn't want to wait until sunday because it fits with the study I am doing right now.]

Neo-Evangelicalism the Movement of Compromise

There is a trend in the church today that I find particularly disturbing, it is this wide spread ecumenical movement. This is the notion that none of our differences matter. As long as we all believe in Jesus everything else should be ignored and we should just live in unity as brothers. This in UN-BIBLICAL, and the effects of such actions are evident in the ever increasing liberalism of our churches.
How many times did my father tell me as a young girl not to be unequally yoked with an unbeliever? We are told this all the time, not to marry someone outside of our faith. My dad called them projects. Someone else I heard called it evangelistic dating. What ends up happening is, instead of the one ox being able to drag the other its way it ends up being held in place or even pulled in another direction. This concept has been all but ignored when it comes to our churches. For some reason our brothers and sisters in Christ have got the idea in their heads that they can accomplish what Luther, Calvin, and many others could not, and that is to change the church from the inside.
I suppose you will ask me now, “well doesn’t the Bible say “the greatest of these is love?” (1Cor 13:13) Yes, it sure does, but what we need to do is take a closer look at the word love. People today have distorted the meaning of the word love. They will label a one night stand “making love” for crying out loud. Love is confused for a feeling that fades instead of an action we are suppose to take. Parents think it is love to let their kids run wild and unaccountable for their actions.
The love in the Bible is agape love which means Godly love. John 13:34 says, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” How does God love us? Is it not as a Father? Proverbs 13:24 says, “He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.” Hebrews 12:6-11 says, “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.”
These verses state very clearly that discipline is a necessary aspect of agape love, even that there can not be love without it, in fact if you refuse to use discipline you go so far as to hate. We all know the seriousness of hate. The Bible says hatred makes you a murderer (1 Jon 3:15) sadly those Christians who attempt to practice church discipline these days are the ones labeled with hate speech. In their attempt to “speak the truth in love” (Eph 4:15) they often lose friends and family and a lot of the time the pressure of this outcome will cause them to bend their stand on the Word of God and keep silent. For those of you out there feeling this pressure I would say let them walk. Don’t compromise the Word of God to keep people around you. All you need is Jesus and the loving thing to do is speak. Proverbs 27:5 says, “Open rebuke is better than secret love” Proverbs 29:5 says, “A man that flattereth his neighbor speadeth a net for his feet,” why is that? Titus 1:13 says, “This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith.” If you deny a person the rebuke they deserve you deny them the opportunity for self-reflection and change.
We are to hold each other accountable and are not to be unequally yoked. For these reasons the ecumenical movement un-Biblical.
This is only the first part of my Bible study on this subject. Romans 16:17 “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.” will be the subject of my next study.

My testimony

I have recently become a member of a church for the first time in my life. One of the requirements of membership is that we give our testimony. I thought it fitting that this be my first real post on this blog. I guess you could call this my very long introduction.

I was born in a Christian home. My parents were good ones. We got kisses goodnight and spanks when we were bad. We moved to here when I was 6. Shortly afterward I was called to give my life to Christ. At a church service I came forward during alter call and asked Him to come into my heart and forgive me of my sin. In the next year, after we had settled into a church, I was baptized. It was important to my parents that we came to that decision on our own. I remember the lake was bitterly cold and how badly I wanted to do it anyway because loved God so much. At that young age He had already been such a comfort to me. I remember that I had sleeping problems because of headaches and I would lie in his lap and be comforted by His hand until I slept.
My parents divorced when I was 8. For a while we bounced from parent to parent. I only went to church on the weekends I spent with my dad. When he remarried I got angry with him, stopped visiting him, and in turn quit attending church.
As a teen I became involved in some dangerous sin and by the time I was 19 I had two sons. I tried to be a good mom but God wasn't a very big part of my life. I went to church once in a while and prayed all the time for God to send a father for my children. I spent so much time trying to fill this void that it got in the way of a relationship with Christ.
Shortly after my second son was born I took a Bible study called Experiencing God. It was there that I heard John 8:47 He that is of God heareth Gods words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God. In all my life I had never thought it was a possibility that I was not a child of God, but I had never heard Him. I felt like my heart had been ripped out of my chest. I started sobbing. I was so hard that I could not explain to the women in the study what was wrong. They just continued class with me blubbering in my seat. When the hour was up the women stayed in and waited for me to regain my composure. When I was finally able to tell them what was in my heart they reassured me that if I was not a child of God the verse would not have touched me like it did. They said I probably was hearing Him, it was just a matter of recognizing what was Him. So I went home that night and prayed to recognize his voice. I asked and he gave, I heard Him. He told me that He was there, had always been there, and always would be there. I fell into his arms and wept myself to sleep like I had as a child.
For a while after that he was the Father I had prayed for all those nights. Everything I had, all that I was I gave to Him and life was as it was supposed to be. I no longer had this constant urge to find someone to fill the void in my family. The Holy Spirit completed it. He showed me everyday the blessings I had taken for granted in the past and new ways I could serve him. It was the happiest days of my life. When you get to that point with Christ it doesn't seem possible to turn you back on him again. He is so real and a life without him seems unimaginable. I wish I could say happily ever after and to this day it amazes me how far from that life I was able to go and how easy it was to do.
2Peter 3:14 …..be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. In the dictionary it says being diligent means persevering through painstaking effort. I must have let my diligence wane because when the boy's father got out of prison instead of remaining in the Father who had protected us all this time I replaced him with someone not even close. I turned my back on God for a drug addict criminal. He did not give up on his old ways as he had promised so that didn't last long and I was back on my own. Still I didn't bring back the Father who had taken such good care of us. I went back to my life without him. I was working so hard at this time. Sometimes I worked until 3 am and would be so tired the next day that I had no patience with the boys. I would go to bed sad every night because I had fought with them all day. I decided I could work shorter hours in a bar but that was no good for me. I tried to go back to school but I had to work so much and make time for school and there was no time left for the boys so I dropped out. I was getting farther in dept everyday and my relationship with my kids was getting worse and worse. Finally I decided to send them to stay with a family member so I could work none stop, pay off my dept, and get us a different place to live. I thought if I could just have a fresh start things would be fine. Deep down I had an ulterior motive. Part of me resented that all of my friends could do whatever they wanted and I had to be responsible for these kids all these years. I thought with them gone for 6 months I could let lose a little and have some of the fun I could never have with them here. So when I wasn't working I was partying and at the same time developing a nasty drug habit. At the end of the 6 months, even though my bills were paid and a new place purchased, my lifestyle had been replaced by something in which no child should live. I had reached a low I never thought I could reach.
One day someone very close to me said something extremely hurtful at a very bad time. At that moment I hated everyone. No one was my friend. All they wanted was what they could get from me. They had taken almost all of it and what I had left I was keeping for myself. I thought a lot of other things that I won't repeat here only to say that they were very awful things to have go through you head. I don't know if any of you have ever felt true hate before and I pray that you never do. It has to be the most painful emotion there is. There cannot be hate without a broken spirit, but that moment of hate brought forth a love in me that I never knew existed. Since that time, resentment towards the people around me has been much harder to come by because I can now know what they have in their heart and have pity instead. I was able to forgive the many people in my life that had hurt me.
So, rock bottom? I've had so many of these rock bottoms and I've always come out of them saying I hope that was bottom. I can't possibly go any lower than that. So I started climbing up again. I cleaned myself up again. Only this time I had this new love that I had never felt before and with love comes pain. As I looked at the world around me I was so saddened by the state of it all. Being a mother I became very afraid that I had jeopardized my children's salvation by the way I had been acting. For the first time in long time I brought my dilemma to God. He gave me the answer at 3am one morning. They needed a secure home and fast. It was a painful decision to make but I knew in my soul that it was Gods will. So they started going for visits to their new family. At first I went with, then they went alone and that December we made the transition. The first few weeks I was ok. Then in the beginning of Jan. I went for a visit. I came home on Friday. I was supposed to go to work on Saturday but I rolled over, turned off the alarm and didn't get out of bed for a month. Eventually I had to pay bills again so I got up and went back to the easy money at the bar. I slipped back into old habits and went on a two week long drug binge. Now the longer you do that stuff the worse of a beating you are going to get and after 15 days I was in for a dousy. I spent hours on the couch doing lamas breathing and thanking God for putting me in my place. When the worst was over I lay there, a big pile of mush, for the first time in my life I felt ashamed for what I had done to myself. All this time I hadn't cared about the hurt I had caused myself. I felt plenty ashamed when I hurt someone else but I never cared about my life. I started crying out to God, begging him for forgiveness. He had given me this wonderful gift and I had brought it back to him beaten and battered. I again surrendered my life to him. I tried to continue to pray but not even my mind would work like it was suppose to. I said I have come back to you a worthless heap that can't even think but I am yours. What do you want of me? He spoke to me and said psalm 46:10 Be still and know that I am God. So I did just that, something so simple yet I had never done it before. As I lay there crying and pleading for mercy I felt the cool hand of God wash over me and take away the pain I had cause over the past few weeks. When he was done I was flooded with his love as I cried for the family we had once been and that I had destroyed. He once again held me so I could sleep. I spent the next few weeks resting, reading his word and praying. This time I was in bed to be still as he had asked, not because of self pity.
I'm sure you all know that I can't stand here and say that I've been the perfect Godly women since that day but I can say that I have been learning a lot. What I've learned has lead me here. I tried in the beginning to fit back in at the church were I grew up but soon found that through the years they had changed and we no longer saw eye to eye. The inerrancy of scripture had always been a corner stone of my faith. In my search for a family of believers I was surprised how many people no longer accepted that the Bible means what it says. I would read a verse that any child could tell you the meaning of only to have an adult try and twist it to fit some worldly view. My dad and I had some talks about it and he pointed me in the direction of this church.
I love it here. I look around during the service and I see open Bibles, worn and used. A congregation that can stand up and read Gods word in unison. A pastor that is prayerful, kind, and a wonderful teacher. I am finally in a place that understands the importance of preserving the word of God. Most importantly our pastor always fits in the salvation message at the end of every sermon.
I was remembering back to that moment as a child when I answered an alter call and accepted the gift of salvation. I could never remember the place. I called my dad one day to ask and he told me that when we moved here they had come to a service here when trying to decide on a church. He told me it was the very church I am attending now where I gave my life to Christ all thoughs years ago and I truly feel that I have come home