I was talking to one of my special Peeps this morning. She hasn't been saved long, and she is excited and zealous for the Lord. :) She told me about a friend who asked her, "When did you get to be so LAME?" I had to laugh and I laughed long and loud. I thought that was so funny.
Well, I got to thinking about this and realized: 1.) I don't care at all if people think I'm lame. 2.) I am not lame, they are!
What is lame? 1. crippled or physically disabled, especially in the foot or leg so as to limp or walk with difficulty.
2. impaired or disabled through defect or injury: a lame arm.
3. weak; inadequate; unsatisfactory; clumsy: a lame excuse.
4. Slang . out of touch with modern fads or trends; unsophisticated.
UrbanDictionary.com's definition: just plain stupid, un-original, or lifeless
You know, I might be out of touch with trends, but I am not lame. I am healed of my disability. I am no longer inadequate, because God sees Christ when He looks at me. I am not "just plain stupid", but I was the "foolish thing" that God chose. I might be un-original, but who CARES about that? But I'm NOT lifeless. I finally have life and life and abundant!!!
I am not LAME and neither are my dear friend.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Monday, July 23, 2012
Modesty, Revisited
Hello Friends. My clothes are becoming worn. I have lost a skirt. And I have a reputation for being a walking "work of art" that I NEED to maintain. (IF you know me, you know that that is SUCH a joke.) That said, it is time to go shopping...somewhere inexpensive...and buy some things for Me. I HATE to shop. I HATE to buy things for me. I always shop the clearance stuff and try to get things for $10 or less. Yes. I know. I'm a "spendthrift". Anyway, if I have to buy new clothes it causes me to reflect on the motivation behind the purchases and how I will be perceived in certain types of clothing. It's important.
I hate to be put in a box, I'd much rather stand on one and rant. I do not mind at all when people think they can look at me and make a judgment based on my clothes, I think that's normal. What I do mind is for someone to look at me and think they can judge my character or lack thereof based on some preconceived notion they have about "people like me".
I was watching "America's Got Talent" recently and there was a young man on there who had dyed black hair, black makeup around his eyes...just the whole goth look. He sang beautifully and he sang a piece from opera that I should know, but don't. He made me cry because he has been so hurt in his life. He is a depressed and broken young man and I just wanted to love on him. He feared rejection so much that he finally began to dress in such a way that he would BE rejected by most people. :(
Our clothes say so much. They are a way to express our inmost selves and show people that which is important to us. We wear cute sayings that reflect our sense of humor. We advertise for first one thing and then another (sometimes without even realizing it). We wear things that we know other people will like because we want to be liked and accepted by other people. We wear things that flatter our figures (as if that were possible!). How do we NEED to be dressing though? If we are the Lord's then we are to submit our closet to Him. If that means starting over, then save your pennies and ask the Lord to help you replenish it from His bounty (ie. hand-me-downs, Goodwill,clothes swaps, garage sales, etc.).
The Lord has not been silent on the issue of clothing. In times of judgment the Lord took away the beautiful things and revealed the shame of His people, comparing it to a woman and her "bling". He has directed us to be modest and chaste. What does that mean? I think the definition is different for everyone but not so different that anyone should be offended by what we wear.
With that explained, I must confess that many times I tend to want to make a purchase based on the cuteness factor of the article of clothing rather than the PLEASING factor. Would this please the Lord? My hubs? My kids? (They get embarassed, ya know?) Would I be a distraction at church, at the store, as I walk across the street?
You might be thinking, "Well, I'm fat and I'm going to wear what is comfortable!". Guess what? I'm fat and I want to wear what's comfortable, too, but if it wouldn't please the Lord then I don't wear it. If you were going to meet with Him at a restaurant what would you wear? Would you wear THAT? No. Not if you love Him and respect Him. We can be sensual and immodest when we are overweight just as easily as when we are thin, it just isn't as appealing to other people. It does give them some amusement tho.
So, instead of making purchases based soley on the cuteness factor I must consider these things:
1. Would I wear it to meet the Lord or would I not want Him catching me in it?
2. Am I choosing this because it makes me look good or because it fits so that I look stylish and modest and practical?
3. Is this so expensive that I could feed a whole third world country for a day?
4. Is it me? Does it reflect my personality, at the same time show others that I am concerned about modesty?
I am not, and will not, make up a bunch of rules about clothing...for myself, my girls or you. That's not my place. I just wanted to share some of the reasons why I make the choices that I make. I wanted to encourage others to think through these things and realize how important the decisions are. We must protect our brothers and sisters in Christ from our sinful thinking. We must remember that we are not to cause our brothers to stumble by how we dress. You don't care about that? Well, stop reading right now and repent of your blatant sin. If you don't love your brother enough to make a different choice about the length of your britches/skirt or the neckline of your top then you have bigger problems than the length of your britches! (I'm a grandmother now, I can say that outloud.)
Let's all get mirrors and look in them objectively (from another person's perspective). Let's ask ourselves:
1. If someone sees me in the this from behind, will they lust? Does it show the world where the split God gave me really is? (sorry.)
2. What if I raise my arms, does my belly show?
3. What about sitting down or bending over? Am I showing hiney or cleavage?
4. Most importantly as I prepare to shop, will someone know just by looking at me that I value modesty and my relationship with the LORD?
We don't have to be frumpy. I know I am. I just like to be comfortable and when you are wrestling kids, comfort is nice. We can dress like Queens or peasants, the most important thing is, would your Bridegroom, who has given ALL to have you washed and spotless, appreciate what you are wearing?
Just some thoughts I was thinking because it's time to think 'em. I hope that you can be edified by my thoughts and encouraged as well.
Again, God bless!
I hate to be put in a box, I'd much rather stand on one and rant. I do not mind at all when people think they can look at me and make a judgment based on my clothes, I think that's normal. What I do mind is for someone to look at me and think they can judge my character or lack thereof based on some preconceived notion they have about "people like me".
I was watching "America's Got Talent" recently and there was a young man on there who had dyed black hair, black makeup around his eyes...just the whole goth look. He sang beautifully and he sang a piece from opera that I should know, but don't. He made me cry because he has been so hurt in his life. He is a depressed and broken young man and I just wanted to love on him. He feared rejection so much that he finally began to dress in such a way that he would BE rejected by most people. :(
Our clothes say so much. They are a way to express our inmost selves and show people that which is important to us. We wear cute sayings that reflect our sense of humor. We advertise for first one thing and then another (sometimes without even realizing it). We wear things that we know other people will like because we want to be liked and accepted by other people. We wear things that flatter our figures (as if that were possible!). How do we NEED to be dressing though? If we are the Lord's then we are to submit our closet to Him. If that means starting over, then save your pennies and ask the Lord to help you replenish it from His bounty (ie. hand-me-downs, Goodwill,clothes swaps, garage sales, etc.).
The Lord has not been silent on the issue of clothing. In times of judgment the Lord took away the beautiful things and revealed the shame of His people, comparing it to a woman and her "bling". He has directed us to be modest and chaste. What does that mean? I think the definition is different for everyone but not so different that anyone should be offended by what we wear.
With that explained, I must confess that many times I tend to want to make a purchase based on the cuteness factor of the article of clothing rather than the PLEASING factor. Would this please the Lord? My hubs? My kids? (They get embarassed, ya know?) Would I be a distraction at church, at the store, as I walk across the street?
You might be thinking, "Well, I'm fat and I'm going to wear what is comfortable!". Guess what? I'm fat and I want to wear what's comfortable, too, but if it wouldn't please the Lord then I don't wear it. If you were going to meet with Him at a restaurant what would you wear? Would you wear THAT? No. Not if you love Him and respect Him. We can be sensual and immodest when we are overweight just as easily as when we are thin, it just isn't as appealing to other people. It does give them some amusement tho.
So, instead of making purchases based soley on the cuteness factor I must consider these things:
1. Would I wear it to meet the Lord or would I not want Him catching me in it?
2. Am I choosing this because it makes me look good or because it fits so that I look stylish and modest and practical?
3. Is this so expensive that I could feed a whole third world country for a day?
4. Is it me? Does it reflect my personality, at the same time show others that I am concerned about modesty?
I am not, and will not, make up a bunch of rules about clothing...for myself, my girls or you. That's not my place. I just wanted to share some of the reasons why I make the choices that I make. I wanted to encourage others to think through these things and realize how important the decisions are. We must protect our brothers and sisters in Christ from our sinful thinking. We must remember that we are not to cause our brothers to stumble by how we dress. You don't care about that? Well, stop reading right now and repent of your blatant sin. If you don't love your brother enough to make a different choice about the length of your britches/skirt or the neckline of your top then you have bigger problems than the length of your britches! (I'm a grandmother now, I can say that outloud.)
Let's all get mirrors and look in them objectively (from another person's perspective). Let's ask ourselves:
1. If someone sees me in the this from behind, will they lust? Does it show the world where the split God gave me really is? (sorry.)
2. What if I raise my arms, does my belly show?
3. What about sitting down or bending over? Am I showing hiney or cleavage?
4. Most importantly as I prepare to shop, will someone know just by looking at me that I value modesty and my relationship with the LORD?
We don't have to be frumpy. I know I am. I just like to be comfortable and when you are wrestling kids, comfort is nice. We can dress like Queens or peasants, the most important thing is, would your Bridegroom, who has given ALL to have you washed and spotless, appreciate what you are wearing?
Just some thoughts I was thinking because it's time to think 'em. I hope that you can be edified by my thoughts and encouraged as well.
Again, God bless!
For Amy...
One of my new young friends (by young I mean young enough to be my child!) just found out that if she doesn't change she will have diabetes and heart problems VERY soon. This was sad, sad news for me as I know very well the cruelties of diabetes. I have lost friends and family to it and have many in my close circle who struggle with it daily.
I knew that this was serious news and I hate to see her fall prey to some disease if she can do ANYthing to keep from it. I told her to go to my blog and learn about my own journey with weight issues. Today I went to my blog to find that journey and apparently it's not here, never been written? I don't know. Honestly, I thought I wrote about it but I can't find it, so here I go again.
I'm 5'3" and at age 26 I was the mother to a four year old, a two year old, and a 6 month old and I weighed in at 172 pounds. I was MISERABLE. I was a church member and working in different areas there and trying to keep up with a house, land, these kids, pets and a husband. I was perpetually tired and I used food to comfort ME, because I deserved it!!! I paid myself for being a "good" mom and wife by eating ice cream or cereal or ice cream with cereal on top at night after the kids were in bed. I also paid myself for the torture of a shopping trip with so many littles by buying all of us a candy bar at the check-out, they were only .44 a piece. :/
By the time my youngest was 6 months I thought surely I'd lose my mind. I had being doing okay but things were catching up with me. My lack of exercise coupled with my obesity was causing me to drag, but I was also nursing and up most nights and then up all day. Exhaustion can have devastating effects.
I read of a book in my Crossings Book Club stuff and ordered it. (I am not going to endorse the book.) I read that book and in it the author talked about how the Lord Jesus LOVES us in a way that I never had thought about Him loving me before. I wanted this love and this "Man" to rule my life and I asked Him to do just that as I knelt by my little Bug's bed. An old Ronnie Milsap song comes to mind, "Oh, what a difference [He] made in my life!!" Nah. Scratch that, it's too much of an understatement. He gave me new life and I got up from there a different person. The Lord used food to get my attention. He used my abuse of a good gift to show me the True and Perfect Gift.
From that time until I got the little girls in 2010 I had been pretty active in trying to encourage women in their "dieting" struggles because I have my own. After I was saved that day I cared very little for food for quite a while. I lost down to 125 and could wear 4s and 6s modestly. However, sin crept in little by little and stole my joy in the Lord and I started using food as comfort again. ARGH! I still do that.
I have studied food and the affect that it has on our bodies, I know all the trash that I want to know about the "whites", the artificials, the empty negative foods but none of that matters on some days. Some days I just WANT sour cream and onion potato chips and only Lay's will do. :) And you KNOW, you can't eat just one.
For 15 years now I have struggled to be obedient to what my body is telling me in this area and more importantly to remember: "What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit which are God's." (1 Cor. 6:19-20)
I am not my own. My body and my spirit belong to God. Everything I am belongs to God. He has been very gracious to give me food and I have abused His gift. It is necessary for me to change my ways. I told Amy that I would eat as she has to eat, although with no artificial sweeteners. Now I have told my blogging world (which is actually rather small...) that I am trusting the Lord to help me eat right. I need help because I KNOW THAT I CANNOT DO IT. I KNOW that mere human help is not enough, only our Supernatural Creator can help me...I'm an almost hopeless case.
The steps that I will take are: prayer and crying out to the Lord, and reading and meditating on these and other scriptures that He shows me:
1 Cor. 9:25a
Proverbs 26:14
1 Cor. 6:13-20
Proverbs 23:1-3
Daniel 1
Hosea 4:6a
John 4:32b
John 6:27a
1 Cor. 10:31
Proverbs 27:2 (seem like it doesn't fit? It does. Don't get haughty.)
Psalm 63:1
Gal. 5:22-24 (temperance--don't say SELF control)
Col. 3:17
Romans 12:1-2;13:14
James 4:7, 17
1 John 2:3
Gal. 2:20; 5:16
This is by no means an exhaustive list, these are just some of the scriptures He has shown me over the last 15 years.
May the Lord bless all who seek to obey and follow Him. Let us NOT make our bellies our god.
Blessings!
I knew that this was serious news and I hate to see her fall prey to some disease if she can do ANYthing to keep from it. I told her to go to my blog and learn about my own journey with weight issues. Today I went to my blog to find that journey and apparently it's not here, never been written? I don't know. Honestly, I thought I wrote about it but I can't find it, so here I go again.
I'm 5'3" and at age 26 I was the mother to a four year old, a two year old, and a 6 month old and I weighed in at 172 pounds. I was MISERABLE. I was a church member and working in different areas there and trying to keep up with a house, land, these kids, pets and a husband. I was perpetually tired and I used food to comfort ME, because I deserved it!!! I paid myself for being a "good" mom and wife by eating ice cream or cereal or ice cream with cereal on top at night after the kids were in bed. I also paid myself for the torture of a shopping trip with so many littles by buying all of us a candy bar at the check-out, they were only .44 a piece. :/
By the time my youngest was 6 months I thought surely I'd lose my mind. I had being doing okay but things were catching up with me. My lack of exercise coupled with my obesity was causing me to drag, but I was also nursing and up most nights and then up all day. Exhaustion can have devastating effects.
I read of a book in my Crossings Book Club stuff and ordered it. (I am not going to endorse the book.) I read that book and in it the author talked about how the Lord Jesus LOVES us in a way that I never had thought about Him loving me before. I wanted this love and this "Man" to rule my life and I asked Him to do just that as I knelt by my little Bug's bed. An old Ronnie Milsap song comes to mind, "Oh, what a difference [He] made in my life!!" Nah. Scratch that, it's too much of an understatement. He gave me new life and I got up from there a different person. The Lord used food to get my attention. He used my abuse of a good gift to show me the True and Perfect Gift.
From that time until I got the little girls in 2010 I had been pretty active in trying to encourage women in their "dieting" struggles because I have my own. After I was saved that day I cared very little for food for quite a while. I lost down to 125 and could wear 4s and 6s modestly. However, sin crept in little by little and stole my joy in the Lord and I started using food as comfort again. ARGH! I still do that.
I have studied food and the affect that it has on our bodies, I know all the trash that I want to know about the "whites", the artificials, the empty negative foods but none of that matters on some days. Some days I just WANT sour cream and onion potato chips and only Lay's will do. :) And you KNOW, you can't eat just one.
For 15 years now I have struggled to be obedient to what my body is telling me in this area and more importantly to remember: "What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit which are God's." (1 Cor. 6:19-20)
I am not my own. My body and my spirit belong to God. Everything I am belongs to God. He has been very gracious to give me food and I have abused His gift. It is necessary for me to change my ways. I told Amy that I would eat as she has to eat, although with no artificial sweeteners. Now I have told my blogging world (which is actually rather small...) that I am trusting the Lord to help me eat right. I need help because I KNOW THAT I CANNOT DO IT. I KNOW that mere human help is not enough, only our Supernatural Creator can help me...I'm an almost hopeless case.
The steps that I will take are: prayer and crying out to the Lord, and reading and meditating on these and other scriptures that He shows me:
1 Cor. 9:25a
Proverbs 26:14
1 Cor. 6:13-20
Proverbs 23:1-3
Daniel 1
Hosea 4:6a
John 4:32b
John 6:27a
1 Cor. 10:31
Proverbs 27:2 (seem like it doesn't fit? It does. Don't get haughty.)
Psalm 63:1
Gal. 5:22-24 (temperance--don't say SELF control)
Col. 3:17
Romans 12:1-2;13:14
James 4:7, 17
1 John 2:3
Gal. 2:20; 5:16
This is by no means an exhaustive list, these are just some of the scriptures He has shown me over the last 15 years.
May the Lord bless all who seek to obey and follow Him. Let us NOT make our bellies our god.
Blessings!
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
The BEST EVER Benefit of my Bread
I've been making whole wheat bread for my family and others for I guess over ten years now. There are a lot of benefits to eating the bread we make; there's loads of nutrition and yummy goodness. We are able to make some money selling to friends and able to bless people during times of stress...with a little loaf of bread. We love our bread and others do too, but that's not the best thing...
The VERY BEST BENEFIT of my bread is the dear friend I was given because of it.
Over ten years ago we moved to our present location. We gained a few friends the summer we spent working on the place and discovered that our neighbors are the best in the world, but a couple months after we moved in we were given a VERY special gift: the Fergusons.
There are times in your life when you just KNOW that God has smiled on you and this was one of those times. :o)
One of the ladies I had met the summer before told me about this family that had visited her church and there were SIX sweet kids and the kids actually seemed to like each other (hehehe--sad that that should be a noticable issue). We were having a puppet team come to our church so I decided, with the encouragement of my summer friend, that I should invite this woman and her sweet kids. So, I stepped WAY out of my comfort zone and called her. She has told me many times the shock and joy she experienced at just getting a phone call. She had just moved here from her family's home in Ohio and was living in rather undesirable circumstances while they built their new house. She had yet to make a friend, and YES, she would come!
The night of the performance an unfamiliar lady walked in with a 9-10 year old boy and although we had MANY visitors, I just knew it was her. So again, I stepped out of my comfort zone and walked over and spoke. It WAS her, (and I was SO thankful-phobias are a bad thing!)she was very pleasant, though obviously as uncomfortable as I was with the situation. We chatted a bit...her other kids were sick... thank you for inviting us...I'm glad you canme...enjoyed the presentation...bye! Oh, well.
So, I'm talking with my summer friend again a couple of months later and after telling her that I wanted to learn to make bread she tells me, "Hey! You should call Mrs. Gail (the lady with all the sweet kids). She makes homemade bread and it is SO good!!!" Really? Okay. I was glad to have an opportunity to speak with this pleasant little lady again, so I called. We had the nicest visit and she volunteered to come to my house and teach me to bake bread, and also sell me wheat if I was interested. YES! I'm going to learn to make bread for my family!!!!! I LOVE BREAD, my family loves bread...I am a rock star!!!!
Mrs. Gail came to my house that day, she taught me to make bread and she visited with my family...and we fell in love. "Miss Gail" and her family have been some of our most precious friends since that season. They helped us through the most difficult time of our life and fed us pancakes as we hid from reality. We helped them as they worked on their house and prayed for them as both Stu's (the bread lady's husband) parents died within months of each other after long illnesses. We have loved their sweet kids and cleaned up after them when they were sick, they have loved our kids and borrowed them on many occasions. We have eaten together, swam together, cried together, laughed together, vacationed together, and worked on many projects together. Their sons have been some of our son's most trusted playmates, their baby daughter is our baby daughter's very BEST, bestie...and their oldest son is our oldest daughter's number one husband. Their very first grandbaby is our very first grandbaby and we love them all.
They are moving to North Dakota for (hopefully) a short stay and they will be sorely missed. For a while there will be no more counseling sessions on the picnic table as we overlook the lake, no more quick runs over here for a visit...just for a while. I am sad, more sad than my voice can squeak out. I will miss this woman, one of my BESTIES...but I know that God has a plan for this pain and He will always do what's best for those who belong to Him, even when it hurts REAL BAD.
I love you very, very much "my friend", and I will be praying for you and yours and loving on the ones you are leaving behind and always reminding them that Nana loves them and will be home soon. You are evidence that God still smiles!!!
The VERY BEST BENEFIT of my bread is the dear friend I was given because of it.
Over ten years ago we moved to our present location. We gained a few friends the summer we spent working on the place and discovered that our neighbors are the best in the world, but a couple months after we moved in we were given a VERY special gift: the Fergusons.
There are times in your life when you just KNOW that God has smiled on you and this was one of those times. :o)
One of the ladies I had met the summer before told me about this family that had visited her church and there were SIX sweet kids and the kids actually seemed to like each other (hehehe--sad that that should be a noticable issue). We were having a puppet team come to our church so I decided, with the encouragement of my summer friend, that I should invite this woman and her sweet kids. So, I stepped WAY out of my comfort zone and called her. She has told me many times the shock and joy she experienced at just getting a phone call. She had just moved here from her family's home in Ohio and was living in rather undesirable circumstances while they built their new house. She had yet to make a friend, and YES, she would come!
The night of the performance an unfamiliar lady walked in with a 9-10 year old boy and although we had MANY visitors, I just knew it was her. So again, I stepped out of my comfort zone and walked over and spoke. It WAS her, (and I was SO thankful-phobias are a bad thing!)she was very pleasant, though obviously as uncomfortable as I was with the situation. We chatted a bit...her other kids were sick... thank you for inviting us...I'm glad you canme...enjoyed the presentation...bye! Oh, well.
So, I'm talking with my summer friend again a couple of months later and after telling her that I wanted to learn to make bread she tells me, "Hey! You should call Mrs. Gail (the lady with all the sweet kids). She makes homemade bread and it is SO good!!!" Really? Okay. I was glad to have an opportunity to speak with this pleasant little lady again, so I called. We had the nicest visit and she volunteered to come to my house and teach me to bake bread, and also sell me wheat if I was interested. YES! I'm going to learn to make bread for my family!!!!! I LOVE BREAD, my family loves bread...I am a rock star!!!!
Mrs. Gail came to my house that day, she taught me to make bread and she visited with my family...and we fell in love. "Miss Gail" and her family have been some of our most precious friends since that season. They helped us through the most difficult time of our life and fed us pancakes as we hid from reality. We helped them as they worked on their house and prayed for them as both Stu's (the bread lady's husband) parents died within months of each other after long illnesses. We have loved their sweet kids and cleaned up after them when they were sick, they have loved our kids and borrowed them on many occasions. We have eaten together, swam together, cried together, laughed together, vacationed together, and worked on many projects together. Their sons have been some of our son's most trusted playmates, their baby daughter is our baby daughter's very BEST, bestie...and their oldest son is our oldest daughter's number one husband. Their very first grandbaby is our very first grandbaby and we love them all.
They are moving to North Dakota for (hopefully) a short stay and they will be sorely missed. For a while there will be no more counseling sessions on the picnic table as we overlook the lake, no more quick runs over here for a visit...just for a while. I am sad, more sad than my voice can squeak out. I will miss this woman, one of my BESTIES...but I know that God has a plan for this pain and He will always do what's best for those who belong to Him, even when it hurts REAL BAD.
I love you very, very much "my friend", and I will be praying for you and yours and loving on the ones you are leaving behind and always reminding them that Nana loves them and will be home soon. You are evidence that God still smiles!!!
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Revival, Parts 6 & 7
The Way of Fellowship: Negative and Positive
We had to take two Sundays to cover this difficult topic. Is there anything more difficult to maintain than fellowship with God or man? We all seek to have our own way. A quote from the little book,
"The fall is simply, 'We have turned every one to his own way.' If I want my own way rather than God's, it is very obvious that I will want my own way rather than the other man's. A man does not assert his independence of God to surrender it to a fellow man, if he can help it. But a world in which each man wants his own way cannot but be a world full of tensions, barriers, suspicions, misunderstandings, clashes, and conflicts.
Now the work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross was not only to bring men back into fellowship with God, but also into fellowship with their fellow men."*
There are very few chapters in the New Testament that do not deal in some way with the relation of men to God or men to men. We can surmise from that fact that it is important and a problem at the same time. :)
If we are to walk in the light as He is in the light (1 John 1) then there are some things that we are NOT to do. If we hate our brothers we are walking in darkness. If we are contentious, envious, greedy, angry, etc. then we are not loving anyone but ourselves.
In chapter 13 of 1 Corinthians we are given a picture of what love should look like. Have you ever put your name in the place of the word charity/love? Let's do that:
Meredith is longsuffering, Meredith is kind, Meredith does not boast, etc. Does that describe you? Be honest. I'm sure some of it will be true some of the time and some of it won't be true any of the time. Paul says no matter the sacrifice we make, if we don't have love it profits nothing. We can give our bodies as martyrs but without love, it will profit us nothing. Think. About. That.
Fellowship with God and man must go together. We must have fellowship with God to have fellowship with man (productive, God-honoring fellowship anyway) and we must have fellowship with man to have fellowship with God. "If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness (hating our brother), we lie and do not the truth....in him is no darkness at all." (1 John 1:5b and 6)
So, the question is what can we do to promote fellowship with God and man? We are not only called to "get along with" but also to promote the welfare of our fellow man. As I stated earlier, this is a main theme in the New Testament. Here are just a few passages that will help us to have fellowship with our fellows. :)
"Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law." "Love worketh no ill to his neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law." Romans 13:8 & 10
"Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness...bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." Galatians 6:1a & 2
"...by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Galatians 5:13b & 14
Ephesians 4:21-32 highlights: Speak every man truth with his neighbor...Be ye angry and sin not...give to him that needeth...speak only that which edifies and may minister grace unto the hearers...be ye kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another
1 Peter 5:5, "Likewise ye brethren, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject to one another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble."
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself, against such there is no law but it is the fulfilling of the law when we do it. You might say we don't have any laws to keep, you would be wrong if you said it though. "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar and the the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him." 1 John 1:3-5 All this we do in Christ who enables/empowers us to do it. As David said in Psalm 119:32, "I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart."
You know, although my words can minister grace or cause needless division, they are JUST MY WORDS. The words that the Lord has said matter more than anything else in the world though. If we disregard what He says because it seems too hard or too boring then we are of all men most CRAZY. "Surely none are so crazy as those who are content to live unprepared to die." J.C. Ryle, Thoughts for Young Men
*The Calvary Road, Roy Hession CLC Publications copyright 1950, 1955, 2001
We had to take two Sundays to cover this difficult topic. Is there anything more difficult to maintain than fellowship with God or man? We all seek to have our own way. A quote from the little book,
"The fall is simply, 'We have turned every one to his own way.' If I want my own way rather than God's, it is very obvious that I will want my own way rather than the other man's. A man does not assert his independence of God to surrender it to a fellow man, if he can help it. But a world in which each man wants his own way cannot but be a world full of tensions, barriers, suspicions, misunderstandings, clashes, and conflicts.
Now the work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross was not only to bring men back into fellowship with God, but also into fellowship with their fellow men."*
There are very few chapters in the New Testament that do not deal in some way with the relation of men to God or men to men. We can surmise from that fact that it is important and a problem at the same time. :)
If we are to walk in the light as He is in the light (1 John 1) then there are some things that we are NOT to do. If we hate our brothers we are walking in darkness. If we are contentious, envious, greedy, angry, etc. then we are not loving anyone but ourselves.
In chapter 13 of 1 Corinthians we are given a picture of what love should look like. Have you ever put your name in the place of the word charity/love? Let's do that:
Meredith is longsuffering, Meredith is kind, Meredith does not boast, etc. Does that describe you? Be honest. I'm sure some of it will be true some of the time and some of it won't be true any of the time. Paul says no matter the sacrifice we make, if we don't have love it profits nothing. We can give our bodies as martyrs but without love, it will profit us nothing. Think. About. That.
Fellowship with God and man must go together. We must have fellowship with God to have fellowship with man (productive, God-honoring fellowship anyway) and we must have fellowship with man to have fellowship with God. "If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness (hating our brother), we lie and do not the truth....in him is no darkness at all." (1 John 1:5b and 6)
So, the question is what can we do to promote fellowship with God and man? We are not only called to "get along with" but also to promote the welfare of our fellow man. As I stated earlier, this is a main theme in the New Testament. Here are just a few passages that will help us to have fellowship with our fellows. :)
"Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law." "Love worketh no ill to his neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law." Romans 13:8 & 10
"Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness...bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." Galatians 6:1a & 2
"...by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Galatians 5:13b & 14
Ephesians 4:21-32 highlights: Speak every man truth with his neighbor...Be ye angry and sin not...give to him that needeth...speak only that which edifies and may minister grace unto the hearers...be ye kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another
1 Peter 5:5, "Likewise ye brethren, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject to one another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble."
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself, against such there is no law but it is the fulfilling of the law when we do it. You might say we don't have any laws to keep, you would be wrong if you said it though. "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar and the the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him." 1 John 1:3-5 All this we do in Christ who enables/empowers us to do it. As David said in Psalm 119:32, "I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart."
You know, although my words can minister grace or cause needless division, they are JUST MY WORDS. The words that the Lord has said matter more than anything else in the world though. If we disregard what He says because it seems too hard or too boring then we are of all men most CRAZY. "Surely none are so crazy as those who are content to live unprepared to die." J.C. Ryle, Thoughts for Young Men
*The Calvary Road, Roy Hession CLC Publications copyright 1950, 1955, 2001
Revival, Part 8
You would think that these lessons for us would get easier as time goes by, but they are increasingly more difficult. Unfortunately, I am unable to remember or convey what goes on in Sunday School in a little post like this. I so wish I could. Here goes my best effort:
The Highway of Holiness
If there is one thing about this book that I don't like it's that the author doesn't include enough scripture for us. That just means that I have to do it myself (which is fun!).
This past week we looked at Isaiah 35:8-10 and 1 Peter 1:13-25 and I didn't even make any notes for me or you!
In this chapter Mr. Hession speaks of a picture of a Highway of Holiness referred to in Isaiah 35 as beginning with a trip up a hill to a desolate, forlorn looking cross. At the bottom of that cross is a strait gate that we must bow (sound familiar?) low in order to enter. Once we have entered, the cross becomes glorious and bright, the road straight and narrow. We will end his picture with that, although he goes on with more detail, this is all we discussed in SS.
This straight and narrow way is what all who believe and are known of the Lord must walk, it's referred to in scripture as walking in the Spirit.
Somehow the movie, Magic Mike, came up in conversation. One of our members had been invited to see this movie several different times by several different friends. (Yes, she is very friendly and has lots of friends!) This was a perfect way to illustrate how we should walk on this highway. As Christian women, we must never compromise the standards that God has set forth in His word. "Let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." (2 Tim. 2:19b) When we are faced with a decision like this we must choose holiness. Would the Lord like to go see Magic Mike? I am daring to speak for Him and say emphatically, NO!
What would others who are looking at us think of our relationship with the Lord if we think so little of it that we will choose a movie over obedience? I think they would not think much of it.
Holiness is a command, as we see in 1 Peter 1. We are commanded to walk in holiness with our Lord. Our way will not be perfect and without error. In those times when we do stray from the path, we need to be submissive and humble when our Shepherd comes for us.
My prayer for us all is that we would be more concerned with God's glory than with satisfying the desires of our flesh...that seems easy unless Channing Tatum or chocolate chip cookies are involved.
The Christian life is a life of consistency, of making decisions for Christ every day all day. We mustn't seek emotional experiences or mountaintop experiences, but rather the Lord Himself who alone can fill us and keep us filled.
The Highway of Holiness
If there is one thing about this book that I don't like it's that the author doesn't include enough scripture for us. That just means that I have to do it myself (which is fun!).
This past week we looked at Isaiah 35:8-10 and 1 Peter 1:13-25 and I didn't even make any notes for me or you!
In this chapter Mr. Hession speaks of a picture of a Highway of Holiness referred to in Isaiah 35 as beginning with a trip up a hill to a desolate, forlorn looking cross. At the bottom of that cross is a strait gate that we must bow (sound familiar?) low in order to enter. Once we have entered, the cross becomes glorious and bright, the road straight and narrow. We will end his picture with that, although he goes on with more detail, this is all we discussed in SS.
This straight and narrow way is what all who believe and are known of the Lord must walk, it's referred to in scripture as walking in the Spirit.
Somehow the movie, Magic Mike, came up in conversation. One of our members had been invited to see this movie several different times by several different friends. (Yes, she is very friendly and has lots of friends!) This was a perfect way to illustrate how we should walk on this highway. As Christian women, we must never compromise the standards that God has set forth in His word. "Let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." (2 Tim. 2:19b) When we are faced with a decision like this we must choose holiness. Would the Lord like to go see Magic Mike? I am daring to speak for Him and say emphatically, NO!
What would others who are looking at us think of our relationship with the Lord if we think so little of it that we will choose a movie over obedience? I think they would not think much of it.
Holiness is a command, as we see in 1 Peter 1. We are commanded to walk in holiness with our Lord. Our way will not be perfect and without error. In those times when we do stray from the path, we need to be submissive and humble when our Shepherd comes for us.
My prayer for us all is that we would be more concerned with God's glory than with satisfying the desires of our flesh...that seems easy unless Channing Tatum or chocolate chip cookies are involved.
The Christian life is a life of consistency, of making decisions for Christ every day all day. We mustn't seek emotional experiences or mountaintop experiences, but rather the Lord Himself who alone can fill us and keep us filled.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Revival, Part 5
As we are doing this study we are also reading most of the book, The Calvary Road, by Roy Hession. Most of the scripture references are being added by me because there weren't enough to satisfy in the little book.
Cleansing! Blood applied.
Let's face the facts, Jack! ;) We are to be clean. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about this. We are to be clean.
Read this:
1 Cor. 5:6-8
2 Cor. 6:17-7:1
Ephesians 5:25-27
James 4:8
The Lord commanded that we be cleansed, therefore we know that there is a way for it to be done. Our initial cleansing (Acts 15:9) makes us feel fresh. new. free. However, we need to be cleansed continually because we are continually getting dirty. Here is what Jesus told His disciples: "He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean." (John 13:10) Our "feet" get dirty every day, all day in so many different ways. We need that constant cleansing. So, how do we get it? First John 1:5-9 (read that, please) :)
We are cleansed by confessing our sins and trusting that Christ's blood cleanses us as we confess. John says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." That sounds so easy, but we have to go back to that brokeness because if we won't admit that we have sinned, we can't be cleansed from any sin. It is my opinion that we must be specific if we can and call sin what it is.
Cleansing is definitely necessary because we are commanded to do it, but I've come to the conclusion that I can never please the Father EXCEPT and ONLY in Christ, through love for Him and my neighbor. You know, that's what it's all about. Being filled with love for God and for my neighbor, against such there is no law. Loving Christ so much that you would gladly die to any "thing" for His sake in service to others is really where it's at. In order to be close to Christ and be a conduit for His love, we MUST be clean!! We must be a clean vessel to be a filled vessel.
God's word acts like a filter--when we read it a lot and think on it prayerfully it will transform our hearts and shape our thought life into something pleasing to God. That is what "renewing our mind" is all about. Out of that renewed mind flows truth, wisdom and works of God (not man). If we are consumed by the love and word of God when something "unclean" comes in, we will know it immediately. We'll feel like we need an internal bath. Jesus' blood is what we bathe with so to speak.
In closing: "'Thus says the Lord of hosts: Ask the priests of the law: If someone carries holy meat in the fold of his garment and touches with his fold bread or stew or wine or oil or any kind of food, does it become holy?'" The priests answered and said, "No." Then Haggai said, "If someone who is unclean by contact with a dead body touches any of these, does it become unclean?" The priests answered and said, "It does become unclean." (Haggai 2:11-13 ESV)
Just because we are clean, that doesn't mean that we will make what we touch clean. This is just common sense stuff...If it is unclean, it will make us unclean and seperate us from the Lord. To be cleansed we must daily apply the blood of Christ who offered Himself once, for all.
Cleansing! Blood applied.
Let's face the facts, Jack! ;) We are to be clean. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about this. We are to be clean.
Read this:
1 Cor. 5:6-8
2 Cor. 6:17-7:1
Ephesians 5:25-27
James 4:8
The Lord commanded that we be cleansed, therefore we know that there is a way for it to be done. Our initial cleansing (Acts 15:9) makes us feel fresh. new. free. However, we need to be cleansed continually because we are continually getting dirty. Here is what Jesus told His disciples: "He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean." (John 13:10) Our "feet" get dirty every day, all day in so many different ways. We need that constant cleansing. So, how do we get it? First John 1:5-9 (read that, please) :)
We are cleansed by confessing our sins and trusting that Christ's blood cleanses us as we confess. John says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." That sounds so easy, but we have to go back to that brokeness because if we won't admit that we have sinned, we can't be cleansed from any sin. It is my opinion that we must be specific if we can and call sin what it is.
Cleansing is definitely necessary because we are commanded to do it, but I've come to the conclusion that I can never please the Father EXCEPT and ONLY in Christ, through love for Him and my neighbor. You know, that's what it's all about. Being filled with love for God and for my neighbor, against such there is no law. Loving Christ so much that you would gladly die to any "thing" for His sake in service to others is really where it's at. In order to be close to Christ and be a conduit for His love, we MUST be clean!! We must be a clean vessel to be a filled vessel.
God's word acts like a filter--when we read it a lot and think on it prayerfully it will transform our hearts and shape our thought life into something pleasing to God. That is what "renewing our mind" is all about. Out of that renewed mind flows truth, wisdom and works of God (not man). If we are consumed by the love and word of God when something "unclean" comes in, we will know it immediately. We'll feel like we need an internal bath. Jesus' blood is what we bathe with so to speak.
In closing: "'Thus says the Lord of hosts: Ask the priests of the law: If someone carries holy meat in the fold of his garment and touches with his fold bread or stew or wine or oil or any kind of food, does it become holy?'" The priests answered and said, "No." Then Haggai said, "If someone who is unclean by contact with a dead body touches any of these, does it become unclean?" The priests answered and said, "It does become unclean." (Haggai 2:11-13 ESV)
Just because we are clean, that doesn't mean that we will make what we touch clean. This is just common sense stuff...If it is unclean, it will make us unclean and seperate us from the Lord. To be cleansed we must daily apply the blood of Christ who offered Himself once, for all.
Revival, Part 4
Cup Running Over
We are to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Take a moment and look these up:
Acts 2:4; 4:8&31; 13:9
Ephesians 3:19; 5:18
Phillipians 1:9-11
Colossians 1:3-14; 2:8&9
And in the Old Testament we are given pictures of God filling His temple (which ye are) with His presence:
2 Chronicles 5:13&14; 7:1-2
Psalm 72:9
Jeremiah 19:4
Ezekiel 43:5; 44:4
Paul commands in Ephesians 5:18, "be filled with the Spirit". Why? How else can we walk worthy of our calling? In Acts we are given many examples of the apostles (whom we admire for their boldness and faith) doing all their mighty works BECAUSE they were filled with the Spirit.
No doubt about it, we are to be filled with God's spirit and with righteousness. Are you? Whatcha gonna do about it?
We are to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Take a moment and look these up:
Acts 2:4; 4:8&31; 13:9
Ephesians 3:19; 5:18
Phillipians 1:9-11
Colossians 1:3-14; 2:8&9
And in the Old Testament we are given pictures of God filling His temple (which ye are) with His presence:
2 Chronicles 5:13&14; 7:1-2
Psalm 72:9
Jeremiah 19:4
Ezekiel 43:5; 44:4
Paul commands in Ephesians 5:18, "be filled with the Spirit". Why? How else can we walk worthy of our calling? In Acts we are given many examples of the apostles (whom we admire for their boldness and faith) doing all their mighty works BECAUSE they were filled with the Spirit.
No doubt about it, we are to be filled with God's spirit and with righteousness. Are you? Whatcha gonna do about it?
Revival, Part 3
This is part of a Sunday School series we are doing.
If our wills are to be broken, we must see that there is a greater benefit in breaking them than exerting them.
For what purpose would break (or rather, allow God to break) our wills?
God's glory and desire. Isaiah 66:2
Manifestation of faith. Hebrews 11:6
(Search this out for yourself, there are many more verses.)
To be broken before God we must believe that He is who He claims to be and that we are who He says we are: clay (Rom.9), slaves of righteousness (Rom. 6:18), temple, building or field of God (1 Cor. 3), etc.
Have you ever just sat down to dwell on who God says that He is? "Be still and know that I am God" will take on a whole new meaning. He created everything by speaking it into being. From mountainpeaks to atoms, God spoke it all into existence. He sustains all that is visible and invisible. He tells the water where to break on the sand and knows the number of the grains of sand; He keeps the weather cycles cycling. He sees the sparrow as it falls to the ground, and numbers the hairs on our heads! He is the giver of physical life and spiritual life and He can destroy both body and soul in Hell or keep us from falling. He rules and reigns and everything obeys His command. One day EVERY knee shall bow and every mouth confess Jesus is Lord.
We, on the other hand, are merely His creation, IF we are Christ's then we are His purchase, His servants, His stewards and His children. The picture that these names give us is of people who are required to answer to a higher authority. Any rights or authority that they might have has been given to them by their Master. When we are broken we realize this and embrace the truth of it. We know that we could never "run our days" like God can and so we look to Him for everything.
Isn't this where we ALL need to be? Being aware of who I am and seeking to know who He is. Although I don't believe that we can truly know ourselves like He knows us, I can understand my position in Christ. In Christ I am Christ's, a priest and a servant to the Most High God, an adopted child...that is all. I am not my own master. I am no longer my own for I've been bought with a price, a price so great only God Himself could pay it.
"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." Ephesians 5:2
If our wills are to be broken, we must see that there is a greater benefit in breaking them than exerting them.
For what purpose would break (or rather, allow God to break) our wills?
God's glory and desire. Isaiah 66:2
Manifestation of faith. Hebrews 11:6
(Search this out for yourself, there are many more verses.)
To be broken before God we must believe that He is who He claims to be and that we are who He says we are: clay (Rom.9), slaves of righteousness (Rom. 6:18), temple, building or field of God (1 Cor. 3), etc.
Have you ever just sat down to dwell on who God says that He is? "Be still and know that I am God" will take on a whole new meaning. He created everything by speaking it into being. From mountainpeaks to atoms, God spoke it all into existence. He sustains all that is visible and invisible. He tells the water where to break on the sand and knows the number of the grains of sand; He keeps the weather cycles cycling. He sees the sparrow as it falls to the ground, and numbers the hairs on our heads! He is the giver of physical life and spiritual life and He can destroy both body and soul in Hell or keep us from falling. He rules and reigns and everything obeys His command. One day EVERY knee shall bow and every mouth confess Jesus is Lord.
We, on the other hand, are merely His creation, IF we are Christ's then we are His purchase, His servants, His stewards and His children. The picture that these names give us is of people who are required to answer to a higher authority. Any rights or authority that they might have has been given to them by their Master. When we are broken we realize this and embrace the truth of it. We know that we could never "run our days" like God can and so we look to Him for everything.
Isn't this where we ALL need to be? Being aware of who I am and seeking to know who He is. Although I don't believe that we can truly know ourselves like He knows us, I can understand my position in Christ. In Christ I am Christ's, a priest and a servant to the Most High God, an adopted child...that is all. I am not my own master. I am no longer my own for I've been bought with a price, a price so great only God Himself could pay it.
"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." Ephesians 5:2
Revival, Part 2
I'm not sure of the wisdom of posting this on my blog. Not because I'm ashamed to post it at all, but rather, I am afraid it is too stark and bare for some to bear. (I had to do it, I HAD to put that extra bear/bare in there...sigh.) If there is a post topic you will want to skip it will be these. Just sayin'.
MY life is over. You know, the one I call my own. The one in which "I" think I make all the decisions. If I want to experience Christ in a REAL and lasting way, then I have to cease the exercizing of my will. This is the gist of the first chapter of Roy Hession's book, The Calvary Road. Every aspect of my life is to be submitted to the Lord. My will is to be broken before His.
This whole idea really came home to me when I read Isaiah chapter twenty. I have read Isaiah twenty before but I was disturbed to read that Isaiah walked around naked and barefoot for THREE YEARS!!! I thought about this a lot because, well, as I said, it's DISTURBING.
Isaiah was being obedient to what God told him to do. The truth is, we don't know what obedience will always mean for us, but we must decide if we are willing to be obedient anyway. I'm fairly certain that as Isaiah stood there in chapter 6 in awe of God's throne room, he never dreamed that by chapter twenty he'd be walking around naked and barefoot. (Now, I haven't looked the word "naked" up in the Hebrew, that's not my point. My point is that Isaiah obeyed what seems like a REALLY difficult to obey command to prove God's point to the people.) You know of what else I'm fairly certain? That the vision that Isaiah had was powerful enough to carry him through the rest of his life. He had a vision of God AND himself and he KNEW. He knew who he was in comparison...what comparison? Is there a comparison? No, not at all.
Isaiah is one of the few who were allowed to see anything like this, and one of the VERY few who were allowed to keep standing and not fall on their face as dead. This is the same God we serve. I think we could stand a dose of reality. Our God is holy, holy, holy and we are not, not, not...to infinity and beyond. Through Christ, through Christ we are to walk worthy of our calling to the pleasing of our FATHER. Here's what 1 Thessalonians 4:1 says, "Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more."
So, does what I say, think, do, eat, wear matter to God? Yes. "And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. " (Col. 3:17) Does it matter enough to keep me from experiencing His presence in my life on a daily basis? Yes. (1 John) If I am to truly belong to the Father and have the "spirit of adoption"(Rom. 8:15), then my will must. be. broken. A perfect example of this truth is how any child exercizing their own will is not teachable or moldable. They only become teachable when they submit and HUMBLE themselves enough to be taught.
"Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THE SAME IS BECOME THE HEAD OF THE CORNER; THIS IS THE LORD'S DOING AND IT IS MARVELLOUS IN OUR EYES? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder." Matt. 21:42-44 (emphasis added)
Who would think that falling on a stone and being broken would be a good thing? It is though. It's the BEST THING.
MY life is over. You know, the one I call my own. The one in which "I" think I make all the decisions. If I want to experience Christ in a REAL and lasting way, then I have to cease the exercizing of my will. This is the gist of the first chapter of Roy Hession's book, The Calvary Road. Every aspect of my life is to be submitted to the Lord. My will is to be broken before His.
This whole idea really came home to me when I read Isaiah chapter twenty. I have read Isaiah twenty before but I was disturbed to read that Isaiah walked around naked and barefoot for THREE YEARS!!! I thought about this a lot because, well, as I said, it's DISTURBING.
Isaiah was being obedient to what God told him to do. The truth is, we don't know what obedience will always mean for us, but we must decide if we are willing to be obedient anyway. I'm fairly certain that as Isaiah stood there in chapter 6 in awe of God's throne room, he never dreamed that by chapter twenty he'd be walking around naked and barefoot. (Now, I haven't looked the word "naked" up in the Hebrew, that's not my point. My point is that Isaiah obeyed what seems like a REALLY difficult to obey command to prove God's point to the people.) You know of what else I'm fairly certain? That the vision that Isaiah had was powerful enough to carry him through the rest of his life. He had a vision of God AND himself and he KNEW. He knew who he was in comparison...what comparison? Is there a comparison? No, not at all.
Isaiah is one of the few who were allowed to see anything like this, and one of the VERY few who were allowed to keep standing and not fall on their face as dead. This is the same God we serve. I think we could stand a dose of reality. Our God is holy, holy, holy and we are not, not, not...to infinity and beyond. Through Christ, through Christ we are to walk worthy of our calling to the pleasing of our FATHER. Here's what 1 Thessalonians 4:1 says, "Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more."
So, does what I say, think, do, eat, wear matter to God? Yes. "And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. " (Col. 3:17) Does it matter enough to keep me from experiencing His presence in my life on a daily basis? Yes. (1 John) If I am to truly belong to the Father and have the "spirit of adoption"(Rom. 8:15), then my will must. be. broken. A perfect example of this truth is how any child exercizing their own will is not teachable or moldable. They only become teachable when they submit and HUMBLE themselves enough to be taught.
"Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THE SAME IS BECOME THE HEAD OF THE CORNER; THIS IS THE LORD'S DOING AND IT IS MARVELLOUS IN OUR EYES? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder." Matt. 21:42-44 (emphasis added)
Who would think that falling on a stone and being broken would be a good thing? It is though. It's the BEST THING.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Revival....
Revival. This is what I am studying and sharing in Sunday School. I have listened to lots of sermons about revival and they are definitely something I wish I could share. Alas! I cannot. There's just too much good stuff in them for me to share it here, besides, it wouldn't be the same. :) Just go to sermonaudio.com and download a sermon by Richard Owen Roberts or Paul Washer and you'll get my drift.
I wanted to blog about this because some of our class members weren't there for all the lessons, and even a couple weren't there for any...:( We miss you, guys! So, for all the rest of you guys out there in cyberspace reading this blog, I hope you enjoy...but, KNOW THIS--you were warned. hehehehe.
We are basing our study on a book by Roy Hession called The Calvary Road. It can be purchased online if you're interested. It's just a little book with short chapters but it is packed with lots of good thought provoking experience. There aren't very many scripture references so I am adding those as we go along. Off we go!!!
***My power went off and I had to go pretend to be a good mother. ;) I have to wait now til a little later. I'm posting this for a reason, ya know. I'll add to after a bit.
I wanted to blog about this because some of our class members weren't there for all the lessons, and even a couple weren't there for any...:( We miss you, guys! So, for all the rest of you guys out there in cyberspace reading this blog, I hope you enjoy...but, KNOW THIS--you were warned. hehehehe.
We are basing our study on a book by Roy Hession called The Calvary Road. It can be purchased online if you're interested. It's just a little book with short chapters but it is packed with lots of good thought provoking experience. There aren't very many scripture references so I am adding those as we go along. Off we go!!!
***My power went off and I had to go pretend to be a good mother. ;) I have to wait now til a little later. I'm posting this for a reason, ya know. I'll add to after a bit.
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