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January 30, 2008
In the beginning God. . .
Okay, I've got to post this. It may not seem like much to you all, but it was a big answer to prayer for me.
One of my major prayer requests lately has been that God would show me how He applies to what I'm learning, (especially in my classes at HACC since the professors are not likely to do that for me!). Last night He did. As I've been taking this one course in philosophy, I've had this feeling that there was some underlying theme behind all the philosophers we were covering, but I couldn't place my finger on it. Last night, for some reason, God put the pieces together for me, making it so clear that I don't see how I could have missed it before.I don't have time to post the whole thing, so this will be the somewhat condensed version.
“In the beginning God.” I'm beginning to swing over into Mr. Curtis' point of view and agree that this might be one of the most important phrases in the Bible. Here's why. Yesterday my philosophy proffessor was talking about the Greek Gods and saying how they were so different from our conception of God today. First, there were many of them, and second, they tended to act a lot like spoiled little kids than powerful rulers. So, how do we know our God is different from theirs. I know He is, but how do we know and how do you explain that to other people?
The philosopher I was covering was called Descartes. His theory was that man can easily be decieved, and therefore the best way to find the truth was to doubt absolutely everything. (Yeah, he was somewhat of a nut case) However, even with his messed up reasoning, he, and all other philosophers, come face to face with the subject of God. By doubting everything, even reality, Descartes came to the famous conclusion that the very fact that he could be deceived proved that something existed because you can't be deceived about nothing. (He coined the phrase “I think, therefore I am” and yes, he might have been slightly insane when he did it!) Even so, his conclusion that something exists is very important. Why? Consider this. The very best of logic proves that nothing can come from nothing. It has never happened in history and the odds against it are insurmountable. The closest we could come to explaining it would be magic, and even magic requires a magician. (Oddly enough, evolution, a theory supposedly based in science and logic, defies this logic in it's very premise!)
So, nothing can come from nothing. This means that something had to exist before nothing, something uncreated. . . eternal. . . immortal. This is the exact definition of God. The word God has come to be associated with myth and fable, sort of like the Greek gods. But the word God quite simply means something that could exist uncreated. Again, “In the beginning God.” (Hooray for Mr. Curtis! He's spent a lot of his life defending this statement, and I'm now inclined to agree it is one of the most important phrases in the Bible. (Again, hooray for Mr. Curtis! He's spent a lot of his life defending it.)
So if nothing can come from nothing, and therefore God (an uncreated being) had to be there in the beginning, that means God was the first cause. This is quite important to philosophy because as the first cause, He is the basis for any theory. Also, as the first cause, we can know two things about Him. He is alone, and He is unchangeable.
He is alone because if there were other gods, He would either be the cause of them, or they would have been the cause of Him. Either way, it points back to ONE God as the first cause. He is unchangeable not only because He tells us so, but because change is the result of an outside force, and there is no force outside of God. As the first cause, He is the consists of all things that are, which means He can't be influenced by anything because He is everything. Just as the universe is, by definition, unchangeable because it includes all that is or ever could be, even so God is, by definition, unchangeable. In short God is the universe. As the first cause, He is the reality of everything that is, was, or ever will be. Basically, nothing comes from nothing, but clearly there is something, so clearly something existed uncreated,which is by definition God, which places Him as the first cause, which means both that He is alone and that He is unchangeable (which also happens to be my favorite attribute of God so you can see why I was glad to see it backed up, and how's this for a run-on sentence!!)
I realize these are not new theories, but it was the first time I saw them all in context with the Bible and the logical thought of early philosophers. No matter how they tried to avoid Him, they couldn't get around Him and eventually were forced to accept Him or ignore Him. Two other verses that are really good as well that point to God as the first cause are Colossians 1:17 (“And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist”) and Rev. 21:6 (“I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.”) Anyway, I was pretty excited to see God put it together, and I now have the topic for my essay on the course, both of which were big answers to prayer. A big thanks to whoever was praying for me last night!:) It helped more than you know.
Mike
One of my major prayer requests lately has been that God would show me how He applies to what I'm learning, (especially in my classes at HACC since the professors are not likely to do that for me!). Last night He did. As I've been taking this one course in philosophy, I've had this feeling that there was some underlying theme behind all the philosophers we were covering, but I couldn't place my finger on it. Last night, for some reason, God put the pieces together for me, making it so clear that I don't see how I could have missed it before.I don't have time to post the whole thing, so this will be the somewhat condensed version.
“In the beginning God.” I'm beginning to swing over into Mr. Curtis' point of view and agree that this might be one of the most important phrases in the Bible. Here's why. Yesterday my philosophy proffessor was talking about the Greek Gods and saying how they were so different from our conception of God today. First, there were many of them, and second, they tended to act a lot like spoiled little kids than powerful rulers. So, how do we know our God is different from theirs. I know He is, but how do we know and how do you explain that to other people?
The philosopher I was covering was called Descartes. His theory was that man can easily be decieved, and therefore the best way to find the truth was to doubt absolutely everything. (Yeah, he was somewhat of a nut case) However, even with his messed up reasoning, he, and all other philosophers, come face to face with the subject of God. By doubting everything, even reality, Descartes came to the famous conclusion that the very fact that he could be deceived proved that something existed because you can't be deceived about nothing. (He coined the phrase “I think, therefore I am” and yes, he might have been slightly insane when he did it!) Even so, his conclusion that something exists is very important. Why? Consider this. The very best of logic proves that nothing can come from nothing. It has never happened in history and the odds against it are insurmountable. The closest we could come to explaining it would be magic, and even magic requires a magician. (Oddly enough, evolution, a theory supposedly based in science and logic, defies this logic in it's very premise!)
So, nothing can come from nothing. This means that something had to exist before nothing, something uncreated. . . eternal. . . immortal. This is the exact definition of God. The word God has come to be associated with myth and fable, sort of like the Greek gods. But the word God quite simply means something that could exist uncreated. Again, “In the beginning God.” (Hooray for Mr. Curtis! He's spent a lot of his life defending this statement, and I'm now inclined to agree it is one of the most important phrases in the Bible. (Again, hooray for Mr. Curtis! He's spent a lot of his life defending it.)
So if nothing can come from nothing, and therefore God (an uncreated being) had to be there in the beginning, that means God was the first cause. This is quite important to philosophy because as the first cause, He is the basis for any theory. Also, as the first cause, we can know two things about Him. He is alone, and He is unchangeable.
He is alone because if there were other gods, He would either be the cause of them, or they would have been the cause of Him. Either way, it points back to ONE God as the first cause. He is unchangeable not only because He tells us so, but because change is the result of an outside force, and there is no force outside of God. As the first cause, He is the consists of all things that are, which means He can't be influenced by anything because He is everything. Just as the universe is, by definition, unchangeable because it includes all that is or ever could be, even so God is, by definition, unchangeable. In short God is the universe. As the first cause, He is the reality of everything that is, was, or ever will be. Basically, nothing comes from nothing, but clearly there is something, so clearly something existed uncreated,which is by definition God, which places Him as the first cause, which means both that He is alone and that He is unchangeable (which also happens to be my favorite attribute of God so you can see why I was glad to see it backed up, and how's this for a run-on sentence!!)
I realize these are not new theories, but it was the first time I saw them all in context with the Bible and the logical thought of early philosophers. No matter how they tried to avoid Him, they couldn't get around Him and eventually were forced to accept Him or ignore Him. Two other verses that are really good as well that point to God as the first cause are Colossians 1:17 (“And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist”) and Rev. 21:6 (“I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.”) Anyway, I was pretty excited to see God put it together, and I now have the topic for my essay on the course, both of which were big answers to prayer. A big thanks to whoever was praying for me last night!:) It helped more than you know.
Mike
January 29, 2008
"Be ye holy, for I am holy"
Micah chapter 3 deals a lot with the false teachers and the people who love to do evil instead of good. It also tells what the result is for those who live that kind of lifestyle. In verse 4 it says “Then shall they cry unto the LORD, but he will not hear them: he will even hide his face from them at that time, as they have behaved themselves ill in their doings.” Wow! What a sad verse! Those who have lived their lives for themselves and deliberately chosen to go their own way will one day come to the realization that they were deceived. They will cry out to God to save them, but He will not hear them! In fact He will even hide His face from them because He is so ashamed at the example and testimony they have been setting in His name. This verse is talking about the Israelites and the fact that they called themselves Gods people yet they did not follow His commandments and lived their lives like the world. Yet this verse held some really personal application for me. How many times has God felt like hiding His face in shame because of the kind of example I am setting in my home, with my friends and even at church, all the while, claiming to be His child and doing it in His name? 1 Peter 1:15-16 says “But as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation. Because it is written, “Be ye holy for I am holy” God has set the example for us and His example was one of complete holiness. Obviously, as humans, we can never attain complete holiness until heaven, but we ARE to be striving to follow Christ’s example of holiness in the time we spend here on earth. So then I asked myself “How do we do that? What do we have to do in order to be striving for holiness?” In the beginning of Micah 7 it talks a lot about the weakness of man and the evil of the world. It's actually very depressing to read! But Micah doesn’t end the book with discouragement. He says in verse 7-8 “Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me. Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy; when I fall, I shall arise! When I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me!” Wow! What an encouraging verse! Basically Micah is saying here that those of us who are in Christ can say to our enemies “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch! ;) Even though we fail and continually mess up, we WILL get back up! We have the Lord on our side and when we feel confused, frustrated, rejected or unsure, God is there for us, guiding us every step of the way! So don’t start rejoicing! You AREN’T going to get the victory!” AMEN!!!! ;) So, how do we strive for holiness? Keep getting back up! God doesn’t expect us to be perfect. He simply expects us to come to Him and He will show the way.
Chrystal
Micah 7:18- "Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. "
Chrystal
Micah 7:18- "Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. "
January 24, 2008
Its all how you look at it!
One day a king and his servant were out hunting. They both loved to hunt and always went together. They’d work as a team and always managed to catch something. Well, this particular day, they were chasing a deer. As they got close to it, the kind commanded his servant to load his gun for him. The servant obeyed, but as he did so, the gun accidentally went off and shot off the king’s thumb. The servant apologized profusely and reminded the king that something good could come from this, if he just chose to look at it as a blessing. The king however, was outraged and sent the servant to the dungeon. Several weeks passed, and the king hunted alone. He was still feeling really upset and wasn’t paying attention to where he was going. Before he knew it he had left his kingdom and had entered the land of the cannibals. He was captured and was being prepared to be killed and eaten, when the cannibals suddenly noticed his missing thumb. Much to his surprise, they immediately untied him and let him go. The king returned to his palace unharmed only to learn later that the cannibals never ate anybody who was missing a part of their body. The believed it would bring trouble to them. The king suddenly realized that his life had been spared only because of the actions of his servant. Feeling awful for the way he had treated his servant, he rushed to the dungeon, released the servant and apologized over and over for the way the servant had been treated in the dungeon. The servant only smiled and said “No, actually, being in the dungeon was just as much a blessing to me, as your thumb being shot off was to you!” The king was puzzled and wondered what good could possibly come from spending several weeks in the dungeon. The servant replied “Well, your highness, if you hadn’t thrown me in the dungeon, I would no doubt have been hunting right alongside of you, and since I am perfectly whole, the cannibals wouldn’t have spared my life.”
January 22, 2008
Where we all struggle...
I was reading from My utmost from His Highest. Today's was so good! I knew it applied to me, and I know many have said they struggle with concentrating on God. So I'm going to paste some of it in here!
The great difficulty spiritually is to concentrate on God, and it is His blessings that make it difficult. Troubles nearly always make us look to God; His blessings are apt to make us look elsewhere. The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is, in effect - Narrow all your interests until the attitude of mind and heart and body is concentration on Jesus Christ. "Look unto Me."
Many of us have a mental conception of what a Christian should be, and the lives of the saints become a hindrance to our concentration on God. The very thing we look for, we shall find if we will concentrate on Him. We get preoccupied and sulky with God, while all the time He is saying - "Look up and be saved." The difficulties and trials - the casting about in our minds as to what we shall do this summer, or to-morrow, all vanish when we look to God.
Rouse yourself up and look to God. Build your hope on Him. No matter if there are a hundred and one things that press, resolutely exclude them all and look to Him. "Look unto Me," and salvation is, the moment you look.
Isn't that awsome? That was really what I needed when I read it! I tell you this book hits every nail! I love it! ( although I am excited about the 1 Peter book! ) Pray for me as often as you can!
Rachel
The great difficulty spiritually is to concentrate on God, and it is His blessings that make it difficult. Troubles nearly always make us look to God; His blessings are apt to make us look elsewhere. The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is, in effect - Narrow all your interests until the attitude of mind and heart and body is concentration on Jesus Christ. "Look unto Me."
Many of us have a mental conception of what a Christian should be, and the lives of the saints become a hindrance to our concentration on God. The very thing we look for, we shall find if we will concentrate on Him. We get preoccupied and sulky with God, while all the time He is saying - "Look up and be saved." The difficulties and trials - the casting about in our minds as to what we shall do this summer, or to-morrow, all vanish when we look to God.
Rouse yourself up and look to God. Build your hope on Him. No matter if there are a hundred and one things that press, resolutely exclude them all and look to Him. "Look unto Me," and salvation is, the moment you look.
Isn't that awsome? That was really what I needed when I read it! I tell you this book hits every nail! I love it! ( although I am excited about the 1 Peter book! ) Pray for me as often as you can!
Rachel
January 18, 2008
Continue, to Continue
This happens every time I get on the blog. I finish reading every one's, and then I run out of time to write. : ) Keep writing, keep learning, keep striving, I love to read how the Lord is working in our hearts daily. I wanted to write, and somewhat challenge you,is about our failures. The most valuable lessons I learn, are in my failures. If we never failed, we would never have to learn. I fail everyday, and we all fail, but we learn in the process. When I fall, and when you fall, don't stay down. Satan, the roaring lion, would love to keep us down. But are you going to let Satan have the victory? It is an easy answer, but it is hard to live. I'm totally writing this to myself, cause I fall, and most times I feel like I can never get the victory. The only way to victory, is through Jesus Christ. When I think I can't go on, the Lord will not let any trial in my life, and in your lives that is too hard for us to continue. So CONTINUE TO CONTINUE. I covet your prayers highly. We're a team, helping one another, praying for one another, and God is doing a mighty work. We can have victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ!!
In Prayer of You Continually,
Your Friend,
Chris
In Prayer of You Continually,
Your Friend,
Chris
January 17, 2008
Lessons learned, relearned and...well... relearned again! ;)
Pastor Walters message last night was really good and something I really needed to hear! It has been getting difficult lately to want to keep fighting against my flesh, because it seems like I never get the victory! ... but the Lord has been really encouraging me through several things. First off, through a really good song that I had never heard before, but found, and has just become my life song! ;) I shared it with a few of you and I think you agree that the words are really powerful! The next thing that really encouraged me was Pastor Walters message last night. He reminded me that the battle here on earth NEVER ends until death! The devil blinds us, accuses us, tempts us, afflicts us, lays traps for us and tries to destroy us! He WANTS us to get discouraged, he wants us to gossip, lie, be ukind, etc. so that we will bring reproach to the name of Christ. I liked how Pastor pointed out too that only way that we can get any kind of victory against the devil is to, first of all, submit to God! Ok, so that sounds so basic, but for some reason that tends to slip my mind. We have to submit to God and allow Him to work through us and then with His power we will be able to resist the devil and he WILL flee from you! We CAN'T resist him on our own. Ok, the third thing that really encouraged me was through 1 Peter quizzing. Mr. Stauffer was talking about how it can be so easy to let ourselves get tired of fighting the same things day in and day out and we allow ourselves to think that God must be getting sick of hearing us apologize for the same things over and over. We start to think that God must think we aren't being genuine in our repentance and we become really discouraged. But what we don't realize is that, when we are doing that, we are in a sense, limiting God. He commands us to forgive one another 70 x 7! Thats 490 times! (yes, I can multiply! ;) If God wants us to forgive each other, that many times, don't you think He is more than willing to forgive us that many times and more??!! Ok, the fourth thing that the Lord used to help me was an assignment we are doing for the bible study I am in. We were talking about how important it is to know verses when it comes to facing temptations. (And as Pastor pointed out last night, all three times that Christ was tempted, he refuted the devil with scripture) And I was thinking to myself "Ok, I pretty much have that area covered. I know a lot of scripture that can help me". And then I looked at the assignment and was proved wrong. For one thing, how many times do I actually quote scripture to myself when I am going through a rough time? Secondly, how well do I know certain verses to help me out when I am facing a certain trial? Our assignment was to take about 15-20 minutes to see how many verses (parts of verses) we could think of that would go along with a specific word such as lying or witnessing etc. We were to write down the words in King James - in other words, word for word from the Bible - and not paraphrase. The point of it was for us to see how well we knew our Bible. If we were tempted would we be able to quote from the Bible, verses to help us resist that sin? After we finished, we had to take the same list and use our Bible to look up verses that we had written down and see how accurate we were with them. I didn't think it would be that hard, but call me stupid....it was!! I found out that I didn't know the verses as well as I thought I did and for some of the categories I had a really hard time coming up with some verses. It was really eye opening for me. I would strongly recommend you to try it too and see how you do. The categories that we did are...
1. Obedience
2. Selfishness
3. Pride
4. Lying
5. Forgiving
6. Purity
7. Witnessing
8. Contentment
9. Music
10. Laziness
Try it and if youre anything like me, you will find out that youre not as smart as you thought you were! ;) Anyways, these are the things the Lord has been using to help me. I love it when I start to struggle with something and the Lord just shows me over and over, through many different places and things, that He has the answer! Ok, I know this post isn't exactly the most organized in thought and pretty much just lists a bunch of stuff that has been helping me but its what I have been relearning, so thats what I have to share! ;) 1 Peter 2:1-3
Chrystal
1. Obedience
2. Selfishness
3. Pride
4. Lying
5. Forgiving
6. Purity
7. Witnessing
8. Contentment
9. Music
10. Laziness
Try it and if youre anything like me, you will find out that youre not as smart as you thought you were! ;) Anyways, these are the things the Lord has been using to help me. I love it when I start to struggle with something and the Lord just shows me over and over, through many different places and things, that He has the answer! Ok, I know this post isn't exactly the most organized in thought and pretty much just lists a bunch of stuff that has been helping me but its what I have been relearning, so thats what I have to share! ;) 1 Peter 2:1-3
Chrystal
January 14, 2008
A Perfect and Upright Man
Since i finished Romans (which for the record was REALLY good and i you haven't studied it you should!) I decided to start the book of Job. My mom had told me it was a really good book about faith and keeping a good testimony through hard trials. And as I start it, I wish i would have studied this book years ago! One of the things that's really cool about this book is that it seems as though the author was basically taking dictation from God!!! Because it seriously sounds God is narrating the story!!!
In Job 1:1 it says "There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil." After i read this verse i literally stopped and was in awe! Like i said earlier this book is written like a narrative from God. So God just called Job a "perfect and upright" man! What a testimony!!!!! Whats more God says that a total of 3 times between the first and second chapters. From previous studies I kinda have figured that when God says something more than once, He REALLY wants you to get the picture!!! Then in 1:8 God tells Satan that there is NONE like him! Then i had to think to myself "would God call me a perfect and upright woman that eschews evil?" (by the way in case you are like me and don't exactly know what the word "eschews" means. It means to "frighten off, or habitually avoid".) Of course i had to answer no.
Later in the chapter you see Satan talking to God about Job. And Satan is convinced that Job would curse if Job had some bad things happen to him. But what was interesting to me about this passage was that Satan had to ask God's PERMISSION to go after Job. I had never really thought about it but it makes sense that Satan would have to ask God to do anything to us because we are His children! That was SO encouraging to me!
Ok one more thing and I'll quit writing this book :) Satan goes and has all of Job's livestock, servants, and children killed. So basically in one day Job loses everything.
Yet, in 1:20 it says "Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and WORSHIPPED." OK! I must ask, if you or i were to lose EVERYTHING in one day, would your/my first response be to fall down and WORSHIP God?!?!? If you can answer yes please teach me how! His prayer of worship is "Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away: BLESSED be the name of the Lord" What an INCREDIBLE testimony Job had!!!
Well I know this is really long but i have been learning alot!
Love in Christ,
Kristin Hanson
In Job 1:1 it says "There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil." After i read this verse i literally stopped and was in awe! Like i said earlier this book is written like a narrative from God. So God just called Job a "perfect and upright" man! What a testimony!!!!! Whats more God says that a total of 3 times between the first and second chapters. From previous studies I kinda have figured that when God says something more than once, He REALLY wants you to get the picture!!! Then in 1:8 God tells Satan that there is NONE like him! Then i had to think to myself "would God call me a perfect and upright woman that eschews evil?" (by the way in case you are like me and don't exactly know what the word "eschews" means. It means to "frighten off, or habitually avoid".) Of course i had to answer no.
Later in the chapter you see Satan talking to God about Job. And Satan is convinced that Job would curse if Job had some bad things happen to him. But what was interesting to me about this passage was that Satan had to ask God's PERMISSION to go after Job. I had never really thought about it but it makes sense that Satan would have to ask God to do anything to us because we are His children! That was SO encouraging to me!
Ok one more thing and I'll quit writing this book :) Satan goes and has all of Job's livestock, servants, and children killed. So basically in one day Job loses everything.
Yet, in 1:20 it says "Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and WORSHIPPED." OK! I must ask, if you or i were to lose EVERYTHING in one day, would your/my first response be to fall down and WORSHIP God?!?!? If you can answer yes please teach me how! His prayer of worship is "Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away: BLESSED be the name of the Lord" What an INCREDIBLE testimony Job had!!!
Well I know this is really long but i have been learning alot!
Love in Christ,
Kristin Hanson
January 13, 2008
The Lion hath roared, who will not fear?
I’m working through Micah chapter 4 right now and it is really encouraging because it talks a lot about the faithfulness of God in the promises He makes. Micah prophecies and reassures the Israelites that God has not forgotten them and that the day is coming when they will be restored to Him. There were several things in this passage that were really neat. So, to start off with…in Micah 4:2 there is a part that says “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, the God of Jacob.” I found it really interesting that the people said “the Lord, the God of Jacob” They didn’t just say “the Lord” but they added on the part “the God of Jacob” Yes, ok, so I know that Jacob is considered the father of the twelve tribes of Israel, but still…wow! Long after Jacob is already gone, people are still thinking of God as Jacobs God! My testimony definitely has not reached that level! There are many people I know who probably don’t even know that that I believe in God; much less that He is MY God. He is a God of love, salvation, joy, truth, peace, power and might! And that brings me to the next thing I found in this chapter. Verse 3a says “And He shall judge among many people, and rebuke (force back, to hold in check) strong nations afar off” God holds the “mighty” in His control and He doesn’t even need to be there to defeat them! It simply happens because God said it would happen! Micah 4:4b- “For the mouth of the Lord of Hosts hath spoken it!” God doesn’t need our help in taking care of others or even helping make things happen. He has the power to do what He wants to do! This reminded me of a verse I found in Amos that the other day that I think is just really cool...Amos 3:8- “The lion hath roared, who will not fear? The Lord God hath spoken, who can but prophesy?!?” If I was in a jungle and a lion suddenly appeared and roared as loud as it could, I would have no problem trying to make myself afraid! ;) My natural instinct would take over and I really wouldn’t be able to help my fear. In the same way, when God speaks/command something, we have no choice in the matter. What He wants to happen WILL happen! There are some people who think that they can do what they want and that they can blaspheme God and mock His people, but God will have the final say. In Micah 4:11-12 it says “Now also many nations are gathered against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye look to Zion. But they know not the thoughts of the Lord, neither understand they His counsel. For He shall gather them as sheaves into the floor” I have noticed in the chapters of Micah that I have read so far that the main theme is that God will judge and He will have the final victory. It’s not always that easy to remember that in everything that is happening around us, from the little to the large, God is working all things out for His honor, glory and the final Victory! But then… we are humans… and as Micah said “We do not know the thoughts of the Lord!” Our job here on earth is to do what it says in the last part of Micah 4:13 “And I will consecrate their gain unto the Lord, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth!” We are not here to try and figure out what Gods plan is and what the purpose for it is. We are simply to accept His plan as best and give Him all the glory for the things He has chosen to allow us to go through. Anyways, its late and I need to get to bed, but I wanted to share with you all what God has been teaching me through my study in Micah. I have a lot to learn! In fact, it sort of overwhelmed me today when I started to think of all the books in the Bible I still have to study through, knowing that I could again go through all the ones that I just went through and learn just as much! But God doesn’t rush me and He is working to conform me into the image of His Son despite the many times that I get in the way!
Chrystal
Chrystal
To Pastor Jon and Tara
I don't when you will get to read this, but on behalf of the whole youth group - we wanted to let you know that we are praying for you and your family. Really, truly praying for you. We love you both so very much and we have been greatly blessed through your ministry to us. So right now, we want to 'be there' for you both as best we know how - through prayer.
Colossians 2:2
Colossians 2:2
Be still and know that I am God.
On New Years Eve we were visiting with some long time friends of the family. While we were there, they had a time of singing, sharing, and prayer around midnight to bring in the new year. It was different, but in a very good way. They didn't all pray in order, in fact some prayed more than once, and they didn't spend most of their time listing requests or sharing the struggles of the past year. Instead, almost the whole times was spent praising God for what He did in the past year and for what He would do in the next. I heard very little about feeling guilty for not doing more for God and a lot about how much they wish they they could share with other people what He's done for them. Now I don't agree with these two families in all aspects of life, but I do respect them and have seen God use them in incredible ways and he definitely used them that night to show me an area of my life that is lacking. I need to worship more.
So often I focus so much on my responsibilities to serve God that I forget who I'm serving and why I do it. The past two weeks God has been showing me that my worship is service, or at least part of it. I was talking with one of the men later that night and He pointed out to me that in Ezra, before the rebuilding of the temple, seven months were spent in worship, preparing the people to serve. Now that was according to his calculations, but all the same, if you read the passage, it is clear that the worship lasted a long time and that it preceded any actual work.
I know there are different forms of worship-- worship in church, worship in public, worship through testimony, worship through song, etc.-- but the area I was lacking most was worship in prayer. For me, that meant setting aside some time specifically to just shut up. A time to be quiet and know that God's spirit knows my thoughts and translates them to Him (Rom. 8:26) David said it well when he recorded God's order to "Be still and know that I am God." And no, I'm not saying that worship is the only part of praying that matters, requests and intercession also have their place, but really who is prayer designed to help? The one being prayed for, or the one praying? After all, God already knows the situation far better than I could explain it to Him, but it does give Him a chance to change me, if I'm just willing to shut up long enough to listen and focus on Him.
Also-- and I heard this many times from pastor and others but it never really sank in-- music can be a tremendous help. Not singing it necessarily, (that usually ruins it for me!! j/k) but just listening to the words. We got some cd's for Christmas that feature enjoyable music, but more importantly the songs have tremendous words. This has probably helped me as much as anything in the past few weeks. Just as reading David's praises in Psalms is beneficial, it is really helpful for me to listen to worship someone else has put into words. They have a different perspective and often write something about God that I would overlook on my own. Just taking a few minutes to be still and listen to the words of these songs has done more for my prayer life than I ever could have imagined. It's actually, if I may be so charismatic as to say it, added some excitement to praying again.
I've always known worship is good, quite appropriate for church services and all that, but never thought of it as necessary for my spiritual survival. But it is. Where am I supposed to get my enthusiasm and fervent spirit (Kristin had a good post on this recently) if I'm not getting it from God? Enthusiasm can't be faked, it needs to be based in something and recently worship has been my time to recharge. Service is just a natural overflow of worship, a time when I let God remind me of how great He really is. Believe me, it's well worth the couple extra minutes it adds to my 'alloted' prayer time. Only after I experience Him myself can I really hope to be effective in sharing Him with others. 2 Tim. 2:6 “The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits.”
Anyway, sorry for the long post, but that was a short as I could make it. Keep praying for me in this respect. It's a step in the right direction, but I still have a long ways to go. I'm thankful to God for using these two other couples to show me something I needed badly to see. He really is faithful-- and quite patient!!
In Christ, Mike
So often I focus so much on my responsibilities to serve God that I forget who I'm serving and why I do it. The past two weeks God has been showing me that my worship is service, or at least part of it. I was talking with one of the men later that night and He pointed out to me that in Ezra, before the rebuilding of the temple, seven months were spent in worship, preparing the people to serve. Now that was according to his calculations, but all the same, if you read the passage, it is clear that the worship lasted a long time and that it preceded any actual work.
I know there are different forms of worship-- worship in church, worship in public, worship through testimony, worship through song, etc.-- but the area I was lacking most was worship in prayer. For me, that meant setting aside some time specifically to just shut up. A time to be quiet and know that God's spirit knows my thoughts and translates them to Him (Rom. 8:26) David said it well when he recorded God's order to "Be still and know that I am God." And no, I'm not saying that worship is the only part of praying that matters, requests and intercession also have their place, but really who is prayer designed to help? The one being prayed for, or the one praying? After all, God already knows the situation far better than I could explain it to Him, but it does give Him a chance to change me, if I'm just willing to shut up long enough to listen and focus on Him.
Also-- and I heard this many times from pastor and others but it never really sank in-- music can be a tremendous help. Not singing it necessarily, (that usually ruins it for me!! j/k) but just listening to the words. We got some cd's for Christmas that feature enjoyable music, but more importantly the songs have tremendous words. This has probably helped me as much as anything in the past few weeks. Just as reading David's praises in Psalms is beneficial, it is really helpful for me to listen to worship someone else has put into words. They have a different perspective and often write something about God that I would overlook on my own. Just taking a few minutes to be still and listen to the words of these songs has done more for my prayer life than I ever could have imagined. It's actually, if I may be so charismatic as to say it, added some excitement to praying again.
I've always known worship is good, quite appropriate for church services and all that, but never thought of it as necessary for my spiritual survival. But it is. Where am I supposed to get my enthusiasm and fervent spirit (Kristin had a good post on this recently) if I'm not getting it from God? Enthusiasm can't be faked, it needs to be based in something and recently worship has been my time to recharge. Service is just a natural overflow of worship, a time when I let God remind me of how great He really is. Believe me, it's well worth the couple extra minutes it adds to my 'alloted' prayer time. Only after I experience Him myself can I really hope to be effective in sharing Him with others. 2 Tim. 2:6 “The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits.”
Anyway, sorry for the long post, but that was a short as I could make it. Keep praying for me in this respect. It's a step in the right direction, but I still have a long ways to go. I'm thankful to God for using these two other couples to show me something I needed badly to see. He really is faithful-- and quite patient!!
In Christ, Mike
January 12, 2008
Danny update
Dear Friends, Here's the update, Danny had a scan, and the cancer has reduced in size!!! Praise to Lord!! Thank you for your prayers. What an awesome God we serve!! "Ask and it shall be given, seek and ye shall find." God always keeps His promises. I pray that through this that Danny, and his family will receive Christ as savior. May God's will be done. Thank you for your continual prayers.
January 10, 2008
Love God with Your Heart, Soul, and Mind
1 Samuel 16
Samuel is looking for the next king of Israel:
Samuel calls the sons to the sacrifice. He looks at Eliab and says, “Surely the Lords anointed is before me.” And God says, “Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.” Wow, the application here is very obvious: God doesn’t care how good we look on the outside, how “christian” we appear to everyone else. He cares about your heart. So often we get so caught up in not sinning and putting on godly airs but, God looks at you and says, “I have refused you.” It reminds me of the verse that goes, “Lord, I did all this great stuff for you. I have even healed the sick and prophesied of your goodness. I can quote more scripture and give godly advice. I mean, I was a leader in our church. Even the older people respected me.” And God says, “depart from me ye cursed, I never knew you.” The Pharisee’s had this attitude. They were the spiritual leaders in Israel. But, Jesus knew the reasons for their spirituality was personal gain; this shallowness was demonstrated when they crucified Jesus. They thought they were doing the right thing by killing the blasphemer because, it was what God had said to do. If they would have had a relationship with God they would have realized who Jesus was. John the Baptist had a relationship with God so, when he saw Jesus he recognized who he was and cried out: “Behold the Lamb of God!” Because God’s ways are not our ways, we cannot always know what is of God and what is not, without asking Him. Sometimes what we are doing might be what God wants, just not the way God wants it. For example: The Israelites fought the city of Ai without inquiring of God. They lost. Then they ask of God and God tells them to go fight again but, to use his strategy. All this to say: God wants your heart and your fellowship! If you want to know the will of God, God reveals it. He wants to show you. I believe that if you are submitting to God daily in the little things, He won’t allow you to go down a path where you will not receive his fullest blessing.
John
Keep praying for eachother. The devil is tricky and loves to deceive us into being satisfied with our spiritual status. Keep striving for Christlikeness
Samuel is looking for the next king of Israel:
Samuel calls the sons to the sacrifice. He looks at Eliab and says, “Surely the Lords anointed is before me.” And God says, “Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.” Wow, the application here is very obvious: God doesn’t care how good we look on the outside, how “christian” we appear to everyone else. He cares about your heart. So often we get so caught up in not sinning and putting on godly airs but, God looks at you and says, “I have refused you.” It reminds me of the verse that goes, “Lord, I did all this great stuff for you. I have even healed the sick and prophesied of your goodness. I can quote more scripture and give godly advice. I mean, I was a leader in our church. Even the older people respected me.” And God says, “depart from me ye cursed, I never knew you.” The Pharisee’s had this attitude. They were the spiritual leaders in Israel. But, Jesus knew the reasons for their spirituality was personal gain; this shallowness was demonstrated when they crucified Jesus. They thought they were doing the right thing by killing the blasphemer because, it was what God had said to do. If they would have had a relationship with God they would have realized who Jesus was. John the Baptist had a relationship with God so, when he saw Jesus he recognized who he was and cried out: “Behold the Lamb of God!” Because God’s ways are not our ways, we cannot always know what is of God and what is not, without asking Him. Sometimes what we are doing might be what God wants, just not the way God wants it. For example: The Israelites fought the city of Ai without inquiring of God. They lost. Then they ask of God and God tells them to go fight again but, to use his strategy. All this to say: God wants your heart and your fellowship! If you want to know the will of God, God reveals it. He wants to show you. I believe that if you are submitting to God daily in the little things, He won’t allow you to go down a path where you will not receive his fullest blessing.
John
Keep praying for eachother. The devil is tricky and loves to deceive us into being satisfied with our spiritual status. Keep striving for Christlikeness
January 9, 2008
Keep Pedaling
I heard a really interesting illustration on the radio the other day and I thought I’d share it! The speaker compared our lives to riding a bicycle. You pedal and you pedal and eventually you start getting tired out and start to think “I wish I could just coast!” However, in reality, the only time you can really coast is when you’re going downhill! Satan uses those times in our lives when we are starting to get so tired of fighting against our flesh and of feeling like we are just struggling with the same things over and over, to get us to start thinking that it would just be better to coast along. And once you start coasting…it’s all downhill from there! I have been on long bike rides before where, near the end, I felt so dead tired that I didn’t think I could lift my leg even one more time to push the pedal, but at the same time, I knew that if I didn’t keep pedaling I would never make it back home. Nor would I have the sense of accomplishment if I only completed 30 out of the 50 planned miles. So, I keep pedaling. In my spiritual life, I need to realize that I won’t be able to accomplish things for God if I just decide to coast along. However, at the same time, I also need to remember that I am not ‘biking’ all alone. I have a constant Companion who is biking right alongside me. He looks at me, smiles encouragingly and says “Keep on pedaling!”
Chrystal
Chrystal
The Necessity of Prayer...
I know I was the last one to post, but I wanted to continue to share what I have been learning! ( And, it's not my fault than no one else has posted=)
I have been doing a lot of studying on prayer lately. Prayer is so important! Even just the act of prayer shows faith, in that you are talking to someone you cannot see. I love the verse “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” (Mark 11:24) I have an awesome bible program on my computer which has a bunch of different Devotionals, Commentaries, dictionaries, bibles, bible studies... etc. It has a ton of books on the program. So I was reading from it the book " Necessity of Prayer" Its really good. The first chapter is all about how prayer and faith go hand in hand! Anyways, I love my new program. =)
Rachel
I have been doing a lot of studying on prayer lately. Prayer is so important! Even just the act of prayer shows faith, in that you are talking to someone you cannot see. I love the verse “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” (Mark 11:24) I have an awesome bible program on my computer which has a bunch of different Devotionals, Commentaries, dictionaries, bibles, bible studies... etc. It has a ton of books on the program. So I was reading from it the book " Necessity of Prayer" Its really good. The first chapter is all about how prayer and faith go hand in hand! Anyways, I love my new program. =)
Rachel
January 8, 2008
Struggles, struggles...
I was thinking lately how really it can be a good sign if you are struggling... it shows that you are wanting to grow closer to God. If you seem like you are floating along than something is wrong. The more light you let out of a lantern the more dirt you see on the glass. So the closer you get to God, you see more and more things that you need to change. But, that is the only way to grow in your relationship with Him. So, if you are tired of struggling remember that it is the only way to get where you want to go.
Praying that God will give you grace as you continue to struggle to become more like Him.
Rachel
Praying that God will give you grace as you continue to struggle to become more like Him.
Rachel
A year has gone, another has begun
Hello everybody, Can you guys believe it's already 2008. Last year went by too fast. Well yal know the college students went back today :( I was just thinking that we could all pray for them as they go back to their classes and pray that they would just stay in Gods word and keep trusting in Him. And also pray for the youth group that we too will stay in His word and let Him do His will in our lives this new year. Well hope yal have a good rest of the day!
In Christ,
Zac
In Christ,
Zac
January 7, 2008
It's not enough just to do "good"
If you've quizzed before, or if you're going to quiz this year(or when you've taken a big test), you know you don't just want to just do good, you want to win the best place. The same with your walk with God, you shouldn't want to get by with just doing good, you should want to be doing your best for him. So often I think "You know, I'm doing good in my relationship with Him." No it's not best just to do good, but it's best to do you're best.
Mark D.
Mark D.
January 5, 2008
It's ok to be Stupid
Alright, So that doesn’t exactly sound like the most logical statement that was ever made. (Especially coming from a genius...j/k…) But that is actually exactly what Paul is telling us in Romans 16: 19. Have you ever been in a conversation where your friends are talking about the latest movie and you had absolutely no clue what they were talking about? Or how about a conversation where you were discussing another religion with a Christian friend and found out you didn’t know as much as they did about that particular religion? I have. And I always feel a little bit stupid or uncomfortable in those times. However, Paul gives this verse in Romans that really helped me. “16:19- For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf: but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil” Here Paul is telling the Romans that he has heard of their obedience to the scriptures because it has become a well-known fact, and for that he is grateful. Yet, he gives them some advice that he thinks they need to hear. He says “be wise to that which is good and simple concerning that which is evil” In other words- When it comes to matters of sin, or things that aren’t important, be as ignorant as you possibly can! I have heard people say before that it is important to know all about the latest movies etc. so you can know what is wrong about them and talk intelligently about it when telling a person why it is wrong. Others have said that you need to know what other religions believe so that way when they come to you, with questions, you will know how to answer them in the best way. I personally don’t think that is true. For one thing, most religions hardly even know what they believe themselves and are constantly changing facts so that it will suit their own needs. My Dad once told me something that has really stuck with me. “Its not important to know what isn’t true, but rather to know what IS true” Go to the Bible and dig out answers, find out what you believe and why you believe it and then when somebody comes to you with questions you will be able to help them out in a far better way than you would be able to do otherwise. Don’t try to be caught up to date on what the world is offering. Stay as far away from it as possible. Ok, that’s a little bit of something I have been learning. Keep praying for me as I dig into Gods Word myself and find the answers He has for me.
Chrystal
Chrystal
January 2, 2008
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee, How Great Thou Art!!!
These are some verses from Romans 11:33-36. I memorized them last week because they help me to remember my lowliness and God's magnificence! For some strange reason I find it very easy to think I am more important than I really am and these verses help to show me otherwise! Verse 33 "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!" Gods wisdom and knowledge are so vast and so great that, no matter how hard I try, I will never be able to understand the depth of it! "Verse 34 For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?" I don't know about you, but the last time I checked, nobody has ever had to give God counsel on anything! He knows the answer to every problem and doesn't need our help with anything. "Verse 35 Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?" Nobody has ever given anything to God that He didn't already have! Nobody can even begin to try and recompense (pay back) what we owe Him! Ok, so Paul writes that God has unlimited wisdom, knows all, owns everything and gives to us freely. Therefore he comes to this rather obvious conclusion! Verse 36 "For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. AMEN!!!!"
What a great God we serve!
In Awe of Him,
Chrystal
What a great God we serve!
In Awe of Him,
Chrystal
Charged for God
Today in my devotions I read the last half of Romans 12 and there were a TON a verses that jumped out at me. But since I don't want to write a book on here I think I'll only share two.
In verse 11 it says "Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord." Now I have had this verse memorized for years because of school, but I had never really thought about what it means. Of course the first part of the verse is talking about not being lazy in what you do. But the "fervent in spirit" part kinda confused me. I mean how exactly are you "fervent in spirit"? So I looked up the word fervent in the thesaurus and it came up with the synonyms; ardent, blazing, burning, charged, emotional, fervid, feverish, fiery, flaming, glowing, hot-blooded, impassioned, passionate, red-hot, vehement, warm, warm-blooded.
After I put these words in the verse it took on a whole new meaning! It literally says "burning/charged/passionate in spirit; serving the Lord." So then I had to think to myself, am I passionate/charged/burning to serve God? Not as much as I should be.
Then in vs 12 it says "Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer."
'Continuing instant in prayer" was the part that really stuck out to me. Paul is saying that in any situation we should instantly go to prayer. I confess that when something bad happens my immediate response isnt to fall on my knees, so this is something I definity need to work on.
Ok I know I said I wasn't going to write a book, so I just wrote a chapter ;-)
Love in Christ,
Kristin
In verse 11 it says "Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord." Now I have had this verse memorized for years because of school, but I had never really thought about what it means. Of course the first part of the verse is talking about not being lazy in what you do. But the "fervent in spirit" part kinda confused me. I mean how exactly are you "fervent in spirit"? So I looked up the word fervent in the thesaurus and it came up with the synonyms; ardent, blazing, burning, charged, emotional, fervid, feverish, fiery, flaming, glowing, hot-blooded, impassioned, passionate, red-hot, vehement, warm, warm-blooded.
After I put these words in the verse it took on a whole new meaning! It literally says "burning/charged/passionate in spirit; serving the Lord." So then I had to think to myself, am I passionate/charged/burning to serve God? Not as much as I should be.
Then in vs 12 it says "Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer."
'Continuing instant in prayer" was the part that really stuck out to me. Paul is saying that in any situation we should instantly go to prayer. I confess that when something bad happens my immediate response isnt to fall on my knees, so this is something I definity need to work on.
Ok I know I said I wasn't going to write a book, so I just wrote a chapter ;-)
Love in Christ,
Kristin
January 1, 2008
Biblical love vs. Selfishness
Well someone else posted something similar to this, but it is what I have been learning so I’ll post it anyway. The thing that keeps coming back to me are the two greatest commandments. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all they soul, and with all thy mind. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Paul has a lot to say on these subjects. This love carries the idea of being more concerned with their well being, than you are for yourself. I often think, “Greg, you have to love people more.” I am not usually very worried with how they are doing, but just fulfilling my duty. The other day I took a look at this subject through Paul’s epistles.
In Romans 1:9-10, Paul is saying how he makes mention of them continually in his prayers. In vs. 11 he says, “ For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established.” Here is stating the reason he wants to see them, that he may help them in their spiritual life.
Phil. 2:3-” Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. 4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.” Biblical love doesn’t just mean being kind to them, but actually putting their needs ahead of yours. Ouch!
In I Cor. 10, Paul is talking about our spiritual liberties causing problems with other believers-especially younger believers. Paul states that these are our liberties and that we are not sinning by enjoying them; That is, unless these liberties are causing the downfall of another Christian. Here again is question of who is more important to you. I have the right to enjoy these liberties, but if it causes the downfall of another Christian, I should place their concerns first. Paul concludes chapter 8 saying, “Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.” Paul tells us Cor. 10 24-”Let no man seek his own , but every man anothers wealth.” Verse 33- “Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.”
This kind of love is incredibly difficult for me to have. Phil. 2:21- “For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s”. To put it simply, mankind is naturally selfish. Paul had an incredible love for others. Two examples that absolutely blow me away are that of Moses and Paul. Moses pleaded with the Lord not to destroy the Israelites. In Ex. 32:32- “Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin-; and if not, blot me , I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.” Paul says in Rom. 9: 3- For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh.
Those verses really stuck out to me. How much do I care about the spiritual well-being of other people? How much have I really sacrificed my time and energy for others? Christ greatest command was to love him, and then to love others. The two go hand in hand, you cannot separate them. Well that is what I have been learning. I definitely need your prays in this area! Well this is three times longer than I wanted it to be, but I guess good things don’t always come in small packages:-)
Greg
In Romans 1:9-10, Paul is saying how he makes mention of them continually in his prayers. In vs. 11 he says, “ For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established.” Here is stating the reason he wants to see them, that he may help them in their spiritual life.
Phil. 2:3-” Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. 4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.” Biblical love doesn’t just mean being kind to them, but actually putting their needs ahead of yours. Ouch!
In I Cor. 10, Paul is talking about our spiritual liberties causing problems with other believers-especially younger believers. Paul states that these are our liberties and that we are not sinning by enjoying them; That is, unless these liberties are causing the downfall of another Christian. Here again is question of who is more important to you. I have the right to enjoy these liberties, but if it causes the downfall of another Christian, I should place their concerns first. Paul concludes chapter 8 saying, “Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.” Paul tells us Cor. 10 24-”Let no man seek his own , but every man anothers wealth.” Verse 33- “Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.”
This kind of love is incredibly difficult for me to have. Phil. 2:21- “For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s”. To put it simply, mankind is naturally selfish. Paul had an incredible love for others. Two examples that absolutely blow me away are that of Moses and Paul. Moses pleaded with the Lord not to destroy the Israelites. In Ex. 32:32- “Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin-; and if not, blot me , I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.” Paul says in Rom. 9: 3- For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh.
Those verses really stuck out to me. How much do I care about the spiritual well-being of other people? How much have I really sacrificed my time and energy for others? Christ greatest command was to love him, and then to love others. The two go hand in hand, you cannot separate them. Well that is what I have been learning. I definitely need your prays in this area! Well this is three times longer than I wanted it to be, but I guess good things don’t always come in small packages:-)
Greg
Welcome 2008!!
Security from Yesterday. "God requires that which is past." At the end of the year we turn with eagerness to all that God has for the future, and yet anxiety is apt to arise from remembering the yesterdays. Our present enjoyment of God's grace is apt to be checked by the memory of yesterday's sins and blunders. But God is the God of our yesterdays, and He allows the memory of them in order to turn the past into a ministry of spiritual culture for the future. God reminds us of the past lest we get into a shallow security in the present.
Security for To-morrow. "For the Lord will go before you." This is a gracious revelation, that God will garrison where we have failed to. He will watch lest things trip us up again into like failure, as they assuredly would do if He were not our reward. God's hand reaches back to the past and makes a clearing-house for conscience.
Security for To-day. "For ye shall not go out with haste." As we go forth into the coming year, let it not be in the haste of impetuous, unremembering delight, nor with the flight of impulsive thoughtlessness, but with the patient power of knowing that the God of Israel will go before us. Our yesterdays present irreparable things to us; it is true that we have lost opportunities which will never return, but God can transform this destructive anxiety into a constructive thoughtfulness for the future. Let the past sleep, but let it sleep on the bosom of Christ.
Leave the Irreparable Past in His hands, and step out into the Irresistible Future with Him.
Security for To-morrow. "For the Lord will go before you." This is a gracious revelation, that God will garrison where we have failed to. He will watch lest things trip us up again into like failure, as they assuredly would do if He were not our reward. God's hand reaches back to the past and makes a clearing-house for conscience.
Security for To-day. "For ye shall not go out with haste." As we go forth into the coming year, let it not be in the haste of impetuous, unremembering delight, nor with the flight of impulsive thoughtlessness, but with the patient power of knowing that the God of Israel will go before us. Our yesterdays present irreparable things to us; it is true that we have lost opportunities which will never return, but God can transform this destructive anxiety into a constructive thoughtfulness for the future. Let the past sleep, but let it sleep on the bosom of Christ.
Leave the Irreparable Past in His hands, and step out into the Irresistible Future with Him.
The simpleton and the fool....
Sunday night Renee and Jon's pastor was talking about the simpleton and the fool and the difference between the two. he was saying that a simpleton is a person who is very naive and someone who goes through life just kinda following the crowd not having any concept of the bad choices they are making. A fool is someone who chooses to turn their back on God and Make those bad choices. They know what they are doing, and they will argue to no end that they are not wrong. And he was saying that The simpletons can be reached and should be reached. But with a fool it is pointless to try to talk with them. you will be literally wasting your time. Their are many simpletons out there and it is our job to reach them. And then he was saying look at your own self. so you have the characteristics of a simpleton or a fool? I can't really remember all the verses and stuff he used but most were from proverbs and psalms... anyways, I thought the message was really good.
Rachel
Rachel
