"When the hard times come, just remember that God is bringing it to tell you that its time to grow!" - Mr. Huber

Take the Initiative

“… add to your faith virtue …” (2 Peter 1:5).

Add means that we have to do something. We are in danger of forgetting that we cannot do what God does, and that God will not do what we can do. We cannot save nor sanctify ourselves—God does that. But God will not give us good habits or character, and He will not force us to walk correctly before Him. We have to do all that ourselves. We must “work out” our “own salvation” which God has worked in us (Philippians 2:12). Add means that we must get into the habit of doing things, and in the initial stages that is difficult. To take the initiative is to make a beginning—to instruct yourself in the way you must go.

Beware of the tendency to ask the way when you know it perfectly well. Take the initiative—stop hesitating—take the first step. Be determined to act immediately in faith on what God says to you when He speaks, and never reconsider or change your initial decisions. If you hesitate when God tells you to do something, you are being careless, spurning the grace in which you stand. Take the initiative yourself, make a decision of your will right now, and make it impossible to go back.

We have to get into the habit of carefully listening to God about everything, forming the habit of finding out what He says and heeding it. If, when a crisis comes, we instinctively turn to God, we will know that the habit has been formed in us. We have to take the initiative where we are, not where we have not yet been.

(exerpt from My utmost for His Highest" ~ Oswald Chambers )

Keep Growing!
Rachel

Prayer Request

Hey ya'll,
Tonight i am leaving with my mom for New York City, because tomorrow I will be applying for my Brazilian visa and hopefully picking it up Friday. Please please please please pray that I will get it! Right now the Brazilian government is being a pill (what else is new?! lol) about giving out visas and if I dont get it Friday, I really dont know when I could get up to New York again.
Also, please pray that my mom and I will be safe in New York. We have both been there before but we had guys with us then. So just pray that we will stay safe and alert to our surroundings.
Anyways, I'll miss seeing ya'll tonight! Have fun with the Sigmies!
Love in Christ,
Kristin
Ps 73:28

P.S. Since i posted the above this morning we found out new information.
My mom and I checked the Brazilian Embassy's website a couple days ago but this morning before we left figured we should check it again. And guess what?! yep they changed it! Now I have to go to DC and it takes 4 days to process the visa application. So we are now planning on leaving tomorrow morning, coming home tomorrow night, and going back to DC sometime next week to pick up my visa. So yeah.. i should see you all at church now! haha gotta love government! jk lol

Bible before Breakfast

"Do you look at the map before or after the journey?"
- (Ron Comfort)

Terms of surrender

Think you've surrendered completely to God? Think again. I can't count the number of times I thought I had “laid my all on the alter.” However, I have a “self” that is healthy and strong, and without fail, it comes up with something new. When I was very young, I thought my pacifier was the best thing in the world. If I had my pacifier, I could take on the world. Not totally for religious reasons, I have since given that up. Something new and better came along: trucks. This lasted for a while, but soon I was on to bigger and better things . . . nambely my bb gun. I logged more hours on that piece of plastic than I care to remember. However, even that didn't last long and soon I was off in search of something better. Eventually, I got wise to the game. Everything I had, everything I loved that I thought would bring me joy and happiness left me down. However, there was always something new to take it's place. That pattern has continued unbroken to this day. I don't still struggle with trucks and pacifiers (I think I'm past that stage now) but that does not mean I don't struggle with other things . . . and some of them are even good! I've already taken something that I believe to be in the will of God and built a ten year plan around it that becomes “Mike's will for his life” and eclipses “God's will for Mike's life.” Then, when God sends something along my way that doesn't fit in “my plan,” I get upset and blame God for messing up “His” own will. I know in my head that I want to be in God's will in the future, that it is the only place I will be truly happy, but in my heart, I always hope that God's will conforms to mine, not vice-versa.
I don't mean to be pessimistic. I do believe a life of surrender can be lived, but it is a path you walk over the course of your life, not a sliding board from which there is no return. I wish I had the ability to surrender now and completely for the rest of my life, but I don't. No one's self is so completely dead that it won't raise up imaginations against God's hand (2 Cor. 10:5) and if you're anything like me, you will spend the rest of your life finding new battles to fight with yourself. Life changes, and so do the struggles. Just when you think you've reached a stage in your life where everything you have is God's, the stage will change and you will be tested again. God will bring new people, relationships, and opportunities into your life, all with the potential to do great good, and your “self” will find new ways to try to shove them between you and God.
The Bible is full of examples of people who had given God everything, only to find out they have aqquired something new. David thought he was fully surrendered to God, until he met Bathsheba. Moses thought he had given God everything, until he lost his temper and hit the rock. Peter thought he had died to himself until he realized what dying included. All them thought they were fully surrendered, until they realized the terms of surrender.
Think you've surrendered completely to God? If so, get ready, you'll probably be tested soon. Life is a struggle, and recently I've found myself to be my own worst enemy. I love myself too much. However, while this is not a fun realization, it hasn't led to despair. Quite the opposite. For one, God knows me, and He knows I'll never be perfect. He expects the Christian life to be a struggle, and He has promised his grace to overcome it and the forgiveness to pick me up when I fall. Secondly, while it is hard to lay myself on the alter, what good is a sacrifice that isn't hard? How valuable is a sacrifice if, once it is given, it no longer means anything? God can accomplish his will without your sacrifice, but the point is, He still wants it – not for His sake, but for your's. The benefit of sacrifice is in the giving, not the gift and so don't be discouraged when you struggle and find yourself loving yourself too much – you've just been given another chance to give. God knew I needed something of worth to give back to him, so he gave me something He knew I would prize: myself.
Eph. 5:29 “For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church.”
Phil. 3:8 “Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.”

Pray for me. I didn't just post this because I wanted to post something. Let's just say I have a lot to surrender right now.

Mike.

For me to live is Christ

I know my last post was also about a song but I listen to music while I do school and sometimes I will either hear a song that I haven’t heard in a while or has a powerful message to it. And I found another one; it’s called “For me to live is Christ” this is how it goes:

There often are distractions from devotion to my Lord, I’m tempted with the things of earth and pleasures of this world.  Lord may there be but this one thing in my life I pursue, to know thee more, to love thee more, and be consumed with you!

For me to live is Christ and nothing more, for me to live is Christ whom I adore. Lord help me be consumed with thee, so that for me to live is Christ.

In my life there’ll be trials and testing that he will ordain, but selfishly I ask him for relief from all my pain, may I be so consumed with him that even when I’m tried.  My only prayer when suffering is Christ be magnified!  And when someday God calls me home through deaths dark fearful door, to enter to eternity with Christ forever more, If on this earth my only goal in goodness and in pain, for me to live was Christ alone then death would be my aim!

For me to live is Christ and nothing more, for me to live is Christ whom I adore.  Lord help me be consumed with me, so that for me to live is Christ.  Lord help me be consumed with thee, so that for me to live is Christ

This song convicted me because I haven’t been living for Christ the way I should… ive been using Chrystals verse a lot; “a just man falleth 7 times but rises again”.  So if you could I would appreciate prayer in this area of my life

Erik

True Revival

I don’t know about you but generally when I am doing school I don’t learn/get spiritual applications from it. So I was amazed that I actually learned something spiritual in British Literature this morning! Now I confess, while I LOVE reading, English in general is not my favorite subject (I prefer the sciences), so while I was reading literature, I wasn’t exactly too excited about it, but I ended up being pleasantly surprised.

I am reading excerpts from John Wesley's journal and the first heading was "True Revival". Honestly, to start I didn’t really think about the topic, but the more I read the more it reminded me of situations in life today.
Wesley tells the story of a town in southern England that was notorious for its wickedness. Everything there was filled with drunkenness, blasphemy, and uncleanness, kind of like a modern day Las Vegas. Many people said that even an act of God couldn’t improve the conditions.
Wesley, of course did not believe this and set up revival meetings in this town. The town experienced HUGE revival, almost immediately atmosphere of the town completely changed. People began caring for another, they even gathered together to build a house for the orphans and widows. Wesley wrote that he attributed it God and the belief that revival was possible.

Sometimes I personally have a problem believing that the kind of revival described in Wesley’s journal is possible. The thought of Las Vegas becoming a place of revival, to the point that everyone started going to church, taking care of one another, and basically started living a Christian life is almost humorous. But as I was reading, I realized that maybe sometimes the reason we don’t have revival is because we Christians don’t think it’s possible. It’s almost as though we don’t believe that God is powerful enough to revive the unsaved people of the world. Maybe if we were to truly believe that it is possible and probable for revival to happen, it would!
This can even apply sometimes in our (at least my) prayer life. I may pray for something over and over again but I have to ask myself, do I really think that God will answer it? But then again if I don’t have faith that God will answer my prayer or give us revival, why should He do it? In I Peter 1:21 it says “that your faith and hope might be in God.” If our faith and hope for revival in anything isn’t in God, then why do we even bother asking?

I hope ya’ll are learning lots, even in school! ;)
Love in Christ,
Kristin Hanson

hidden men

1 Peter 3:4- "But let it be the hidden man of the heart in that which is not corruptible..." Are you the one that does something nice, but thinks "I Hope he/she notices?" or are you the one that sends the money through an envelope without a name on it?
jordan d

The Touch of the Masters Hand

Twas was battered and scarred,
And the auctioneer thought it
hardly worth his while
To waste his time on the old violin,
but he held it up with a smile.

"What am I bid, good folks!", he cried,
"Who starts the bidding for me?"
"One dollar, one dollar, Do I hear two?"
"Two dollars, who makes it three?"
"Three dollars once, three dollars twice, going for three,"

But, No,
From the back of the room, a gray bearded man
Came forward and picked up the bow,
Then wiping the dust from the old violin
And tightening up the strings,
He played a melody, pure and sweet
As sweet as the angel sings.

The music ceased and the auctioneer
With a voice that was quiet and low,
Said "What now am I bid for this old violin?"
As he held it aloft with its' bow.

"One thousand, one thousand, Do I hear two?"
"Two thousand, Who makes it three?"
"Three thousand once, three thousand twice,
Going and gone", said he.

The audience cheered,
But some of them cried,
"We just don't understand."
"What changed its' worth?"
Swift came the reply.
"The Touch of the Masters Hand."

And many a man with life out of tune
All battered and scarred with sin
Is auctioned cheap to a thoughtless crowd
Much like that old violin

A mess of pottage, a glass of wine,
A game and he travels on.
He is going once, he is going twice,
He is going and almost gone.

But the Master comes,
And the foolish crowd never can quite understand,
The worth of a soul and the change that is wrought
By the Touch of the Masters' Hand.

Written By: Myra Brooks Welch

Happy 14th Birthday Matthew Hefflefinger! Keep digging into God's Word, spending time with Him and allow Him to use you for His purposes! Thanks for your part in SIGMA!

"Let us see that we keep God before our eyes; that we walk in His ways and seek to please and glorify Him in everything, great and small. Depend upon it, God's work, done in God's way, will never lack God's supplies." - Hudson Taylor

Can You Come Down From the Mountain?

“While you have the light, believe in the light …” (John 12:36).
We all have moments when we feel better than ever before, and we say, “I feel fit for anything; if only I could always be like this!” We are not meant to be. Those moments are moments of insight which we have to live up to even when we do not feel like it. Many of us are no good for the everyday world when we are not on the mountaintop. Yet we must bring our everyday life up to the standard revealed to us on the mountaintop when we were there.
Never allow a feeling that was awakened in you on the mountaintop to evaporate. Don’t place yourself on the shelf by thinking, “How great to be in such a wonderful state of mind!” Act immediately—do something, even if your only reason to act is that you would rather not. If, during a prayer meeting, God shows you something to do, don’t say, “I’ll do it”—just do it! Pick yourself up by the back of the neck and shake off your fleshly laziness. Laziness can always be seen in our cravings for a mountaintop experience; all we talk about is our planning for our time on the mountain. We must learn to live in the ordinary “gray” day according to what we saw on the mountain.
Don’t give up because you have been blocked and confused once—go after it again. Burn your bridges behind you, and stand committed to God by an act of your own will. Never change your decisions, but be sure to make your decisions in the light of what you saw and learned on the mountain.

Quotes

Here are some quotes I found recently that have been very thought provoking to me...

God gives us the grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things which should be changed, and the wisdom to know the difference. - Reinhold Niebuhr

The higher a man is in grace, the lower he will be in his own esteem. - C.H. Spurgeon

The greatness of man's power is the measure of his surrender. - William Booth

God will often use our emotional wounds to create in us a greater thirst for Him. - Pastor Walters

In Christ,
Kristin

Help in the Midst of the Battle

Mark John said something interesting in S.S. on Sunday when he was talking about the battle that the Israelites fought against Amalek. He mentioned how Moses went up into the mountains to pray while Joshua went down into the actual trenches and fought. One of these things seems more important than the other and yet both of these things were needed in order to win the battle. If Moses hadn't gone into the mountains and Joshua hadn't gone into the fight, the battle would not have been won. It sort of dawned on me that the same thing can be true today. Each of us are fighting battles every day...whether it is with pride, selfishness, anger, gossip, etc. We need to be fighting the battles and we also should be praying for each other about them! Without fighting, the battles won't be won... and without prayers, the battles are going to be a whole lot harder to win!

And speaking of prayer...could you all please be praying for me on wed. morning? I have a very big unspoken request that needs a lot of prayer and I would appreciate any help I can get...Thanks!

Chrystal

Habakkuk 2:1a- 1 "I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what He will say unto me..."

"This is strength; this is peace; to feel, in entering on every day, that all its duties and trials have been committed to the Lord Jesus — that, come what may, He will use us for His own glory and our real good!" - John Paton

What a Day!!

When I struggle, sometimes I find it hard to believe that God is really there. But then, God shows Himself to me in a very real way. The past couple of months I've been struggling spiritually (desire, consistensy, you name it!) But on Monday (after our Sun. powow and talks with Chrystal and my being tired of going on this way), I decided to "get back up again." My whole week has been going so much better! God has shown Himself to me in several ways. First of all, he has answered at least 3 of my prayers...and they were all miracle-prayers! God is actively working in lives! I think God knows that we need HIm to show Himself to us when we're down to see that He is really there and cares. I'm finding the verse, "Draw nigh to God and He will draw night to you" very true in my own life. I've been reading Psalms and I came across a verse: " I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness." Jesus is all we need! I love just going throughout the day and talking to Him, praising Him, and asking for His help. THanks for listening as I just had to share! I'm basically on a spiritual high right now! Keep dwelling on what God has done and how much you don't deserve his love and grace, and you'll be satisfied, content, and happy.
God really does hear and answer prayers...
biz

Finding God's Will

I don't know about you guys, but finding God's will for my life has always been kinda an intimating thought. I mean what if I thought I knew what God's will for me was... and I find out later I was wrong? I guess what i am trying to say is, how do I find God's will for my life and be confident that I know exactly what it is?

When my mom got home from BJ last week, she told me something she had heard Dr Bob III say and it has been really encouraging to me. It's kinda a story so bare with me...
Dr Bob was apparently sitting with a woman that was about 90 yrs old, and she was commenting on how she didn't know why the Lord still wanted her alive. She had done everything she thought she could do for Him, and did not understand what His will for her possibly could be. Dr Bob's response was what caught my mom's attention, he said "Why Ms - As long as you are willing to hear God's will, He WANTS you to know what it is. He doesn't want it to be a mystery, he WANTS you to obey him!"

The last comment there about God WANTING me to know God's will was SO encouraging to me! Sometimes it does feel like God's will for me is some great mystery that no one can really understand, but in reality if we are asking Him to make His will made clear to us, He WILL! Its not something that I have to *find* God will SHOW his will to me if i am seeking it diligently!
I Peter 3:12 kinda points to this saying "The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil."

I hope this encouraged you as much as it encouraged me!
Kristin Hanson

The Downfall of Nineveh

(I told myself to keep this post short, but once I got started...well, sorry....it just isn't happening! ;)

I just finished a short study in Nahum and though it only has three chapters, there were a lot of neat things in there! The book tells Nahum’s prophecy of the destruction of Nineveh. I am not sure if I realized before that Nineveh ended up getting destroyed. I always think of Jonah saving it and that’s the end of the story…but Nineveh turns its back on God again and this time it is utterly destroyed. The book of Nahum starts out by stating why Nineveh is going to be destroyed. Vrs. 2 “God is jealous (demanding of exclusive loyalty), and the Lord revengeth; the Lord is furious; The Lord will take vengeance on His adversaries, and reserveth wrath for His enemies.” Because God wants to be the one and only priority in our lives, when we turn our attention to other things, He will take action, in order to bring us back to Him. And if we refuse to allow Him to do that, then we are in for BIG trouble. Vrs. 6 “Who can stand before His indignation? And who can abide in the fierceness of His anger? His fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by Him.” Lets just say that after reading that I was feeling a little bit weak! ;) But Nahum goes on to give such an encouraging promise in the very next verse. Vrs. 7- “The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.” Though we may go through times of hardships, often because of the mistakes of others, God knows those who are trusting in Him and He will be there for them every step of the way! However Nahum goes on describe how Nineveh has slowly let their guard up until the enemy is able to walk right into their city and because of that they are ruined. 2:10-13 "She (the city) is empty, and void, and waste: and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together, and much pain is in all loins, and the faces of them all gather blackness. Where is the dwelling of the lions, and the feedingplace of the young lions, where the lion, even the old lion, walked, and the lion's whelp, and none made them afraid? The lion did tear in pieces enough for his whelps, and strangled for his lionesses, and filled his holes with prey, and his dens with ravin. Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts" I didn't quite understand all that talk about the lions etc. the first time I read through those verses, but the more I studied them, I think I started to understand. Nahum is referring to the enemy as lions. He says that they are able to just roam the streets, and even the mother lions let their babies go off by themselves, because they know they don't need to be afraid. Who is going to stand up and fight against them? The city has just completely given up and allowed the enemy to take over, so that they no longer even need to worry about someone fighting against them. He goes on to say what the result of their surrender to the enemy will be...3:3 "The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the glittering spear: and there is a multitude of slain, and a great number of carcases; and there is none end of their corpses; they stumble upon their corpses:" (Yeah, I know! Thats so disgusting!) Because the people of Nineveh refused to turn back to God again, He in turn, let them have their way and turned His back on them. Nahum tells the people that though they think they will be able to fight against the enemy when the time comes, because they don't have God on their side, they will have no strength. Vrs 12"All thy strong holds shall be like fig trees with the firstripe figs: if they be shaken, they shall even fall into the mouth of the eater." Nahum continues on throughout the rest of the book to describe the defeat and end of Nineveh. Unfortunately they never turn back to God and their destruction isn't very pretty! After reading the whole story though, I was left with two thoughts. 1. Wow! What a sad story! and 2. If I don't continually trust in God, continually ask Him for His forgiveness and help and continually fight my battles, I will end up just like Nineveh. The enemy will be able to walk right into my life and won't even worry about me trying to fight them, because they know that I have no strength on my own. Nineveh was completely wiped out simply because they did not keep God first in their life. I need God! I need Him to be my support. I need Him to be my comfort. I need Him to be my Counsellor. I need Him to guide me. I need Him to save me. I need Him to be my judge. I need Him to be my Redeemer. I need Him to be my refuge. I need Him to teach me. I need Him to be my light. I need Him to give me a passion for Him. I need Him to lift me up. I only need Him!

Chrystal D.

Psalms 44:3- For they got not the land in possesion by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but Thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of Thy countenance, because Thou hadst a favour unto them.

Spring shows what God can do with a drab and dirty world. ~Virgil A. Kraft

I just wanted to share a verse that caught my attention on sunday during Pastor Walters sermon from 1 Samuel.

It is 1 Sam. 2:4

The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength.

So when we are struggling and are weary, remember that God will give us strength.. and those who seem so mighty will fall in the end!

The rest of that chapter is really good too, and i have been spending a lot of time in it!
but, I think this verse has now reached my favorite list ;)