Posts
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
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
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
Monday, February 27, 2006
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."
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.
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.
Sunday, February 26, 2006
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.
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.
Saturday, February 25, 2006
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.
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.
Friday, February 24, 2006
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.
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.
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.
Thursday, February 23, 2006
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.”
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.]
[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.
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.
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
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
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
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