God will make a way

Here's a chorus that has really ministered to my family and I recently:

God will make a way

When there seems to be no way

He works in ways we cannot see, He will make a way for me

He will be my guide

Hold me closely to His side

With love and strength for each new day

He will make a way, He will make a way.

The word "way" in the Scriptures refers to a path or a road that will take a person from point "a" to point "b". Consider the different ways that God will make a way:

God will make a way when we are tempted:

1 Corinthians 10:13 - "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

In 1 Corinthians 12 and 13 we see that God will show us a more excellent way:

1 Corinthians 12:31,13:4 and 8 - "And yet I show you a more excellent way..... Love suffers long and is kind...Love never fails."

You see, God works in ways that we can not see in the "all things of life", so no matter what you might be going through today, if you are a believer in Christ you can cling to the following truths from Romans 8:

Romans 8:28 - "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose"

Romans 8:37-39 - "Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

At times there seems to be no way, but even when we are experiencing the evil in this world, we can be sure that God will make a way.

Genesis 50:20 states; "But as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive."

And finally God will not only make a way through the all things of life, but He has provided us "the way" and the only way to arrive at the destination of Heaven. Just before Jesus was betrayed and crucified, in what was the greatest evil ever committed by man, in John 14:6 Jesus proclaimed, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through Me."

These are great promises to cling to, aren't they?! They give so much encouragement and hope...We serve a great God! Let's keep our eyes on Him!

Watch where you're going!

A few days ago, my dad and I went out driving. Overall, it went well–I stayed within the speed limit, didn’t run any red lights, and took some very sharp turns without ending up in the gutter. It was almost fun. Nothing went terribly wrong and it was a beautiful spring day. The flowers were blooming and the trees were all lovely shades of green. It was so pretty that it was distracting. I wanted to look at all the flowers instead of the road. When we passed a neighborhood, I would turn and look at the road I could have taken instead of the one I was on. As soon as I started looking the other direction and wondering what was on the other path, I would start drifting towards it. My dad would call my attention back to the road and remind me to straighten the car. Maybe I had only drifted a few inches off the right path, but a few inches the wrong way is enough to be very dangerous. Just a few inches in the lane of oncoming traffic with a truck coming at me could kill me. But those other roads were so pretty I couldn’t help but look...what was at the end of them?

Does your walk with Christ ever feel like that? Everything’s going well. Life is good. And then you see something another road that looks ever so inviting. You know you need to follow Christ and stay on His path, but you turn your head to see what it looks like...and the temptation grows. Without realizing it, you drift just a tiny bit into the wrong lane. You’re still on the right road, but part of you is leaning on the other side. That is a dangerous position.

Proverbs 4:25 says to let your eyes looks straight ahead. If you’re looking ahead on the right path, you won’t drift onto the wrong one. Keep your eyes on the road.

In Philippians 3, Paul says that he forgets what he left behind–those streets he passed by–and reached forward to what was ahead–Christ. He pressed toward the goal of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Genesis 19:26 gives an example of someone who looked back at what she left behind instead of forward toward the grace she had been given: Lot’s wife. What happened? She became a pillar of salt. Don’t look away.

Paul said that he did not run with uncertainty (1 Corinthians 9:26). The easiest way to get lost is to not know where you’re going. Don’t be uncertain where you’re heading! All roads lead to one of two places: Heaven or Hell. Only one will get you to Heaven; all the rest will take you to Hell. Stick to the right path with certainty! Don’t turn aside. Don’t look back. Set your eyes on things above and keep them there!

Don’t look down the other roads even though you might not ever see them again. You might always wonder “what would have happened.” But, as Aslan told Lucy, “Child, that is not your story.” Don’t wander down paths that are not in your story. Stay on the one your Author mapped out for you.

When God Moves

What would cause a pagan emperor to be concerned about the house of the Israelite God?

What would cause a pagan emperor to give up countless wealth in order to refurbish the temple? 

What would cause people to leave a prosperous nation for a barren land?

The children of Israel have been strangers in a strange land for 70 years. They are confused; they are losing their identity. They are almost ready to give up.
Then the new king, Cyrus of Persia, issues a decree that as many of them as so desire are allowed to go home to Judea. PLUS, he provides them with provisions, money, and the previously-stolen Temple treasures!
So many people return, overjoyed to be back in the Holy Land.  They lay the foundation for the second Temple, and the reaction is mixed. Some (the young ones) are full of joy: they are on their way! The older folks weep in anguish: this temple is nothing like Solomon's temple.
But despite it's smaller size, it's still the temple. In progress.
Then comes the opposition. "We worship your God, too. Can't we help?" Wow, what a nice offer, coming from pagan, pantheistic enemies!  The Jewish leaders rightly refuse the request. "For what has the light to do with darkness?"
But our wonderful antagonists don't handle refusal well. They write a letter to the higher authority, King Artaxerxes. They complain about these rebellious Jews who are always causing trouble, and ask permission to stop them. Wish granted.
For 15 years, work on the temple ceased. The people were in fear of their own lives, not to mention being exiled again.
But then God gave them courage. It was now the appointed time. So they resume building.
Then our "friends" send another letter, to the new king, Darius. They ask if the original decree of Cyrus carries any weight, or if they can stop this work of rebellion.
But Darius does not fall for it. He looks in the records and sure enough, sees what Cyrus commanded. He not only gives permission for them to continue building and that they are to be undisturbed, he commands the wicked men to assist them daily with provisions for the temple.

What would cause a pagan emperor to be concerned about the house of the Israelite God?
What would cause a pagan emperor to give up countless wealth in order to refurbish the temple?
What would cause people to leave a prosperous nation for a barren land?

Ezra 1:1 "In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia..." 


Ezra 1:5 "Then the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and Levites—everyone whose heart God had moved—prepared to go up and build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem."


Ezra 7:6 "...this Ezra came up from Babylon. He was a teacher well versed in the Law of Moses, which the LORD, the God of Israel, had given. The king had granted him everything he asked, for the hand of the LORD his God was on him." 


Ezra 7:27-28 "Blessed be the LORD, the God of our fathers, who put such a thing as this into the heart of the king, to beautify the house of the LORD that is in Jerusalem, and who extended to me his steadfast love before the king and his counselors, and before all the king’s mighty officers. I took courage, for the hand of the LORD my God was on me, and I gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me."




When God moves, my friends, there are no odds too great, no king too mighty, no people too stubborn, no NOTHING that can stand in His way. Nothing is impossible with our God. 

And when God moves in the hearts of men, trust Him. And let Him work the impossible.

Be the moon

I've heard this catchy quote before and really like it; "Be the moon; reflect the Son." The moon, without the sun, is just a dark object in space. But the sun shines on it and the moon reflects that light to us on earth. I think this a great example of what we, as Christians, are. We are like the moon. Without the Son, Jesus Christ, we would be dark. We would have really no meaning. We would be lost without the light that Christ gives us. I mean, besides affecting the tide, the moon doesn't do anything expect to reflect the source that gives it light. The Son has brought us light. He is the Light. Now we have one purpose; to reflect the Light. We are to take the Light that God has given us and share it with others in darkness.

Now picture this with me: If the moon just took the light that sun gave it and never reflected it to earth, what would be it's purpose? It would be meaningless. It's job according to Genesis 1:14 is to "be a light for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth" and "to rule over the night." That's the purpose that God created it for. So, if it wasn't doing that, it would be living a purposeless life.

Now, compare that to us: If we, as Christians, just took the Light that the Son has given us and never reflected it to the darkened world around us, what would be our purpose? We wouldn't have any meaning. God didn't just give us Light so that we can hide that Light and keep it to ourselves. No; we are "the light of world"! A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your goods works and GLORIFY YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN!!!!" We are not called out to isolate ourselves from the world, but we are called to light this world. You see, this world is a dark place. It is filled with sin and death. People are blinded and lost in the darkness of their sin. They need light.

It's like the night that the moon shines in. It's dark. Without the light that moon gives, it would be very hard to see (of course, with all the modern technology, things have changed...but think back a few hundred years ago when the moon (and the stars) was the only source of light). Have you ever woke up in the middle of the night to get a drink or something? I have. I got up in the darkness and was trying to make my way to the bathroom and switch on a light. Well, on my way out of my bedroom, I knocked into something with my foot. You get the picture -ouch!!!! Once we were at some friend's house playing hiding-go-seek in the dark in their back yard. My sister had been caught and was at base. Now, the way we play, we have two teams and one team hides and the other counts. Once you're caught, your teammates can come to base and give you a jailbreak. Well, there was a jailbreak and my sister started running away from base to go into hiding again. Remember, it was pitch dark and she couldn't see where she was going. She ran right into a low tree branch. The branch missed her eye by a forth of an inch. She ended up going to the emergency room....and after awhile everything was fine...but back to my illustration...When it's dark, people are lost and cannot see. They need light.

The people of this world are living in darkness. They are in extreme danger. Living in sin does not lead to any good. It only is bad. It leads to an eternity of torment and judgement in the Lake of Fire. And yet, "men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed." People are afraid of coming to the Light because their evil deeds will be exposed. It's like in the morning, when you wake up. You walk into the bathroom and flip on the light. What you see in the mirror doesn't look too pretty, does it? If you never turn on the light, you would never know your condition (and how pitifully bad it is). But when you turn on the light, you are able to see your flaws. You don't like what you see, but you know now what you need to do to fix them. It would be illogical to try to hide from the light and act like everything is okay. And yet that's what so many people are doing! They think that they can hide from their sins and act like everything's okay. But the truth is that they cannot escape the Light. One day everyone will face the Light and have to answer for all the things that they did in this life. Their deeds will exposed and judgement will afflicted on them for not coming to the Light while they had the chance.

We, as Christians, need to be bright lights in the dark world in which we live. Some people will hate us for it ("for everyone practicing hates the light..."), but don't let that stop you from shining! Realize that people are lost and blind. Realize that it's only the Light that will ever open their eyes. We need to be reflecting that Light. We can do that by living out the Word of God in our lives. Here's an example; "Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world." So, in all areas of life; Be the moon; reflect the Son. Don't let "clouds" get in your way. Don't just be a "sliver" or a "half" moon. Be a full moon, radiantly shining and glowing in a dark and dying world, pointing others to the Son.

Are you a slave to time?

Do you realize that a lot of us have an idol? Its face is often the first thing we look at in the morning. We wear its image on our wrists every day. We let it rule our lives. Do you know what it is? Time.

I have always had a problem with time. I’ve called it “my own.” Don’t you dare touch my time! After all, if there is anything that is undisputably mine, it’s my time, right? Yes...if I hadn’t given my life to someone else. But I have, and my life–and therefore my time–is no longer mine. I gave my life to God to do whatever He wants with it. I told Him to take me and use me for His plan. Yet, while saying I’ve given my life to God, I’ve demanded that He still let me keep my time. It doesn’t work that way. If I gave God my life, that means I also gave Him my time. We probably won’t be using every minute of our time doing things that are obviously for God (going to church, helping out ministries, teaching the Bible, etc.), but God has given us enough commands in the Bible that we can use every moment of our lives doing His work! There are commands that require action like honoring our parents and loving our neighbor. We are giving our time to God when we obey our parents and fold the laundry or when we put aside our own work to help our neighbor. Then there are the other commands that tell heart conditions and attitudes that will determine if our time is used in a Godly way. How about 1 Corinthians 14:40–Let all things be done decently and in order, Colossians 3:23–And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, and Romans 12:11-12–not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer? If we are diligent in the tasks that God has given us and if we do them heartily to the Lord, we’re giving Him our time! We can give our time to God just by doing our daily tasks with a heart and an attitude that glorifies Him!

Ephesians 5:16 says to redeem the time because the days are evil. The days are evil, full of foolishness and sin; therefore we must redeem them by using them for God’s glory. That is how we redeem the time. When we’ve taken our time and laid it at His feet, we really give our lives to God. When every moment is given to Him and all things are done through Him, we can really be of Him. As Christians, our lives should be just that–of God.

To Him be the glory forever!

God; The Source of All Good

I love Puritan prayers. Some of you might be familiar with the book "The Valley of Vision". It is a collection of Puritan prayers. They are all so beautiful and encouraging. I was reading through a few of them this morning and this one really stuck out to me:

O Lord God, Who Inhabitest Eternity,

The heavens declare Thy glory,

The earth Thy riches,

The universe is thy temple;

Thy presence fills immensity,

Yet Thou hast of Thy pleasure created life,

and communicated happiness;

Thou hast made me what I am, and given me what I have;

In Thee I live and move and have my being;

Thy providence has set the bounds of my habitation,

and wisely administers all my affairs.

I thank Thee for Thy riches to me in Jesus,

for the unclouded revelation of Him in Thy Word,

where I behold His Person, character, grace, glory

humiliation, sufferings, death, and resurrection;

Give me to feel a need of His continual saviourhood,

and cry with Job 'I am vile';

with Peter, 'I perish',

with the publican, 'Be merciful to me, a sinner'.

Subdue in me the love of sin,

Let me know the need of renovation as well as

of forgiveness,

in order to serve and enjoy Thee forever.

I come to Thee in the all-prevailing name of Jesus,

with nothing of my own to plead,

no works, no worthiness, no promises.

I am often straying,

often knowingly opposing Thy authority,

often abusing Thy goodness;

Much of my guilt aries from my religious privileges,

my low estimation of them,

my failure to use them to my advantage,

But I am not careless to Thy favour or regardless of

Thy glory;

Impress me deeply with a sense of Thine

omnipresence, that Thou art about my path,

my ways, my laying down, my end.

Each one of the prayers found within the book are wonderful and I thought that you would be encouraged with this one as well as I was!

Grace be with you all!

Life in abundance!

Jesus gives such a joy and purpose to life, doesn't He?! We have so many reasons to rejoice! I read through Romans 8 this morning because I was needing some encouragement, and I knew that if I read there I would be refreshed and reminded! Well, here's what I read today that is making me rejoice:)
"There is therefore NO CONDEMNATION to those who are in Christ Jesus!" As believers, we have a life of ultimate freedom in Christ ahead of us!

"For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, GOD DID!" Do you ever get discouraged with how sinful you are? Look at Christ! What the law could not do, God did! We have been saved and called with a Holy Calling, not according to our works, but according to Christ's righteousness! We have been saved!

"But if the Spirit of Him Who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He Who raised Christ from the dead will also give you LIFE!" We, as born-again believers, have been given the very Spirit of God that raised Christ from the dead! We have been freely given life!

"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God!" Jesus said, "I no longer call you servants, for a servant does not know what His master is doing. But now I call you friends!" We are the sons and daughters of the KING OF KINGS!

"And if children, then heirs-heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together." One day Christ will come back, every knee shall bow to Him, and we will share in His glory forever! We will be in His presence for all eternity!

I have run out of time to write, but I hope this is an encouragement to you! There are 39 verses in this chapter, and I've only covered the first seventeen. I'd encourage you to go read it for yourself! You will be blessed!

Blessed be the Name of the Lord, Part 2

Previously...

Job was a devout man, a man who loved the Lord and served Him wholeheartedly. Satan wanted to test Job, to see if He would curse God when things were going wrong. Well, stuff went wrong! His sheep, oxen, donkeys, camels, servants, and his ten children, were taken away from him. His reply was, " ' The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the Name of the Lord.' And in all of this, Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong."

Now...

We are back to the heaven scene. I know some of us memorized Job 1:6-8, and the first three and a half verses of chapter two are an exact repeat! Then the Lord praises Job to Satan and says "And still he holds fast his integrity, although you incited Me against him, to destroy him without cause." This shows us that the Lord wasn't the one who was doing to hurt to Job, but He did allow it. Satan answered the Lord by saying, "Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life. But stretch out Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will surely curse You to Your face!" So Satan is testing the Lord again! But alas, the Lord replied, "Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life." So Satan went to work again! This time, he hurt Job himself. Job all of a sudden had painful, horrible boils from head to toe. Literally! Have any of you had blisters on your feet? I have. It is VERY painful! you can hardly walk, and I had three blisters on each foot-- I had to walk on the outside of my feet! (I won't tell you what that looked like, you can imagine for yourself!) So Job had that, but five times worse. For one thing, it was all over, and for another, they popped open, bled, pussed out, and then new ones came. I really can't imagine what it felt like. Well, I could, but I don't want to!

So you need to know something about Job. He was a great guy over all, but he didn't really make wise choices in regard to relationships. The first I will mention is his wife. His wife, when she saw how much pain he was in, said, "Do you STILL hold fast to your integrity?!? Curse God and die!" Now, it was also HER ten children who died, so she was probably having an emotional breakdown, but still you do NOT say to curse God! Job had a wonderful response, though. He said, "You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?" Wow. He has such control, it must be the Lord! Nobody, as a sinner, could react like that. But with God's grace, we can!

The next relationship I will mention are his friends. In his time of trouble, he didn't have one encouraging thing said to him. His three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite, were not a comfort at all! They actually accused him, saying that he was a wicked man, that he should be more righteous so God won't do this to him, and that there is no one to listen to him. Then they go on about what THEY would do, how THEY would handle it, and that God would save THEM from it. How frustrating! What I think is interesting is that Job answers them, saying he wished he was never born, how it would be better if he died, and all that, but never once did he say it was God's fault. Later on, after many many chapters of complaints from Job and criticisms from his "friends", God talks to Job. And then come the verses we know;) I am not going to type out the whole thing, but if you look at Job 38 and 39, you will see how God is talking about things He Himself has done, and we as mortals could never do! How great is our God!

Now for the ending:

"And the Lord restored Job's losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. Then all his brothers, all his sisters, and all those who had been his acquaintances before, came to him and ate food with him in his house; and they consoled him and comforted his for all the adversity that the Lord had brought upon him. Each one gave him a piece of silver and each a ring of gold. Now the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys. He also had seven sons and three daughters. And he called the name of the first Jemimah, the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-Happuch. In all the land were found no women so beautiful as the daughters of Job; and their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers. After this Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his children and his grandchildren for four generations. So Job died, old and full of days."

Yeah! A story with a happy ending! The Lord blessed him more abundantly than before, and he lived a long and happy life. And what does that do for us? Well, Revelation 2:10 says, "Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the Crown of Life." We need to have perseverance like Job. Sure, he lived a long time ago, but he was a good example for us all. Of course, he wasn't perfect, so don't try to be exactly like him:) You've got to pick and choose! But thankfully, we have a perfect example in Jesus Christ! Always go to HIM for guidance, and may He be your role model! Ok, I'm almost done talking:) But there's one more thing. There is an example of what we are NOT supposed to be like: the friends. Do your friends rely on you? Can you be trusted to tell the truth in love, be a comforter, encourager, and spiritual friend as well as physical? These are just some things for you to think about. May the Lord bless you in your efforts to be like Him, and to please the Lord our maker!

The Word of the Lord

If someone was to ask you what was the most important word ever, what would you say?

If someone asked you where you find medicine that would heal you from a deadly disease and make you live eternally, where would you tell them?

If someone asked you why you have joy and hope in a sin-filled world, what would be your answer?

The most important gift we have been given is life. Before you can be given anything else, you have to be alive. Where do you find life? We find life in the Word of the Lord! In the very beginning, before the world was created, there was the Word (John 1:1). Then, the Word created! God spoke, and the world was. Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth" (Genesis 1:26). The only place we can get life is from God–He is the One who gives life to all things. As Christians, He has given us another special gift: Joy. Joy is found in the same place as life–in God! You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forever more (Psalm 16:11). “Fullness of joy?!” What else can actually fulfill the promise of giving joy so completely full it can’t get any better? Nothing else can. Only God can give us life and joy. We need something to keep us alive, though–we need our daily bread. And that’s where the Word of the Lord comes back in. Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts (Jeremiah 15:16). When you walk into the kitchen and smell a delicious cake in the oven, you get excited–it would be the “rejoicing of your heart” if your mom walked in and said the whole cake was for you☺ Jeremiah, one of the Old Testament prophets, thought the same thing about the Word of the Lord. He said that when the Word came to him, he ate it, and it was good. Eating God’s Word gave him joy. Just as food gives life to our bodies, the Word of God–the Bible–gives life to our spirits.

Joy and life are not the only things that can be found in the Word. Psalm 119 talks all about the Word. In fact, in the entire Psalm, there are only three verses that do not specifically refer to the Word! The Word comforts and gives life (50); it is something worthy of our love (97); it gives light (97); it is something in which we can hope (114). Try getting out a notebook and writing down everything this Psalm says about the Word. The Word is amazing!


So what is the word that has life? Where can you find joy, peace, and hope? What is the most important word? The Word!

When PEOPLE are BIG.....and God is small

I've been reading this book called "When People are Big and God is Small" by Edward T. Welch. I am in the middle of it, so I still look forward to what else I'll learn through it. Thus far, though, I've learned a lot and I highly recommend it to anyone. Let me tell you why.

There is a universal problem that may be found under many different labels such as: peer pressure, codependency, and people-pleasing. Biblically, it is known as the fear of man. The fear of man elevates people to the position of God. People become our god, the ones that control us. This fear does not necessarily mean to be afraid, but means to be controlled by and to hold in awe.

Does this sound familiar to you? I know for me, I can very easily be controlled by other people. I want to be accepted, loved, applauded, and thought well of of by people. I can so very, very easily try to conform to the ways of others so that I don't look "weird" and "out of it". I can be controlled by what I think others might think of me. What man thinks of me can become my standard for all of life, the way I talk, react, think, dress, and everything. This is a very real struggle for me and, I'm sure, that to some extent, you struggle with too.

Okay, so I have this problem. So what? It won't do me any good to know that I struggle with this problem (more correctly put; sin) if I don't know how to fix it. But, that's the good news! I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me! So, what's the solution? Well, in "When People are Big and God is Small" Edward Welch gives seven steps to overcome the fear of man in our lives. Here they are:

1. Recognize that the fear of man is a major theme both in the Bible and in your own life.
2. Identify where you fear of man has been intensified by people in your past
3. Identify where you fear of man has been intensified by the assumptions of the world.
4. Understand and grow in the fear of the Lord. The person who fears the Lord will fear nothing else.
5. Examine where your desires have been too big. When we fear people, people are big, our desires are even bigger, and God is small.
6. Rejoice that God has covered your shame, protected you from danger, and accepted you. HE HAS FILLED YOU WITH HIS LOVE.
7. Need other people less, love other people more. Out of obedience to Christ, and as a response to His love toward you, pursue others in love.

As I've worked through these different steps, I've realized that it's when we become consumed by our fleshly desires to be loved, accepted, and applauded that we become controlled by the fear of man. What we need to do is get our eyes off of what we "need" (i.e. want (we don't really need it)) and on to our God. Focus intently on Him, His perfect attributes and loving, merciful acts to mankind. Then, out of awe for who He is, out of gratitude for what He has done, and out of obedience to His perfect law, love others. Don't be controlled by them and expect them to fulfill your "needs". Be controlled by the fear of the perfect, holy, just, loving God. Find your delight and purpose in Him.

This is MUCH easier said than done...and the truth is that we are all not perfect. We will still fail, mess up, and sin. Perfection awaits us in eternity (aren't you excited?!;)). But while on this earth, we will, at one time or another, make people bigger than God. That's the bad news. The good new is that we can be forgiven! We can confess and get back up to fear God above all else. Although we never will be perfect, we need to keep striving towards that end. Ask God to give you the desire to grow in the fear of the Lord. Ask Him to change your heart! Search the Scriptures, mediate on them, and embed the truths contained within into your life. Ask God to make your consuming passion to seek Him first. We cannot do this on our own. We need God to change our hearts as only He can do. Resolve to do nothing in your own strength, but to do all through Christ who gives us strength.

So, ask yourself, "In what ways (if any) do I make people bigger then God?" and, once you got your answer, I challenge you to start looking for ways to please and bring delight to God, our Maker, Sustainer, and Savior. Put God in His rightful spot; above all else.

Obedience

In my devotions right now, I'm studying Esther. I don't know about you, but when I know a Bible story backwards, forwards, and upside-down, and then go to study it, I catch myself quickly glazing over the truths I know so well! I begin to space off, and not really pay attention. As I started to study Esther, I was DETERMINED! I would NOT glaze over the book, and then come to the finish unchanged, and not knowing anything I hadn't known before!


Thus I began my study of Esther, asking God to "open my eyes that I may see wondrous things from Your law!" He did.

Over and over obedience stood out at me as it never really had before! I think it comes back to passing over things I know well. I have been taught to be obedient for my ENTIRE LIFE! It is ingrained into the depths of me, and will never leave! But do I really know what obedience looks like? Do I obey?

I was specifically challenged with Esther's obedience to Mordecai! She was so submissive to Him...it's a good reminder to not just obey, but have a submissive attitude! Although Esther's obedience is amazing, I want to focus on someone far more important...the One Whose obedience gave us LIFE! Of course, I'm talking about Jesus!

I was talking with a friend a couple weeks ago, and she told me about something she does in her devotions. It sounded really neat, and so I started doing it too! At the end of my reading, I write down ways God loves me though the specific passage. Then, I write down ways I can love Christ back. With some passages it's easy, and with others it's more difficult, but I don't get up until I've written down both. It makes me think, and is an encouragement! I'm continually reminded of God's love for me!

All throughout the book of Esther I've been reminded that Jesus loved me by being obedient! In the garden of Gethsemane Jesus said, "Not my will," a true sign of obedience to His Father. In Philippians 2 Paul says Christ, "became obedient to the point of death, even the death of a cross!" Wow-- Christ's obedience saved my life! Paul goes on to say, "Therefore, God has also highly exalted Him, and given Him the name which is above every name, that AT THE NAME OF JESUS EVERY KNEE SHOULD BOW... AND THAT EVERY TONGUE SHOULD CONFESS THAT JESUS CHRIST IS LORD TO THE GLORY OF GOD THE FATHER!" It is because of Christ's total obedience I am going to heaven and will one day share in His glory! He went above and beyond to show us that obedience is worth it! It is worth it.

When our little siblings see us, do they see obedience to our parents?
When people at church see us, do they see our obedience to authority?
When God sees the motives of our hearts, (which is all the time!) does He see obedience?
Do we obey?

Blessed be the Name of the Lord, Part 1

Wow. I was just in the middle of writing this post, and the silly computer deleted it. How? I don't know. I was tempted to get mad, just quit, leave it for another day, something along those lines. But then I thought of what I had just been typing. But you don't know what I was typing, I guess:) so... take 2


What do you do when things don't go your way, when you're in trouble for something you didn't do, when you're in the middle of a trial and you can't see how it's going to work out? When you're thinking, "Yeah, I know God works out all things for good to those who love Him, but... How?!?!?!?" well, sometimes you react in anger. Or you get quiet, ignoring your siblings, parents, friends, or whoever else you might have who's trying to comfort you. Maybe you try to get attention, try to MAKE people give you comfort, or notice you, or whatever. Well, Job shows us what we SHOULD do. We should bless the Lord. Always. We should trust Him, and rely upon His goodness, righteousness, mercy, and I could go on and on! I will illustrate my point with a story. About Job, go figure! Our story starts out in heaven. God is on His throne, and all the people are praising Him, worshipping Him, and whatever else they do in heaven! Satan enters the scene. For some reason God mentions Job. He says he is a "blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil." Satan then tests the Lord by questioning Job's authenticity. Job is in a very good position. He's rich, he has ten kids, he has tons of animals, servants, food, all that you could wish for. Then comes the big statement (and here's satan, very sure of himself) "stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and surely he will curse You to Your face!" So God gives satan permission to harm Job's things, but NOT to touch his person. Now we switch backgrounds. (we're on earth now) Now here's Job, on a regular day, ordering around his servants, feasting, enjoying a nice morning just him and his wife (all his kids were at his oldest son's house feasting) and all of a sudden a messenger comes running to him, panting and out of breath, and delivers some bad news; "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were feeding by them, and then the Sabeans showed up and took them all! They killed all the servants that were in the field, and I alone have escaped to tell you!" Oh no! what now? Should I go and get back the oxen or would that be foolish- I maybe ate a little much for breakfast- but I really need that donkey...

Ok. It happened again. I accidentally deleted my post for the second time in a row! Thankfully Sophie knows what to do, so I ran to her to have her fix it:) now, back to the story:

As Job was thinking, another messenger runs up to him. Just like the first one, he's panting, tired of running, and he has a horrid look on his face. Job starts to wonder if something else is wrong. He was right. "I was out in the field with the sheep, me and my fellow shepherds, and I left for a couple minutes to, you know, uh, do my thing... anyway, I saw it all-- fire came down from heaven and burned up all the sheep and the servants! I alone have escaped to tell you!" Whoa, I wasn't expecting that! First the oxen and donkeys, now the sheep... and what am I supposed to do with that burnt field? Oh, no! Not another messenger! Maybe this time he has good news... no. Not by the look of THAT face! Wait, has this happened before?"I was feeding the camels, and then these Chaldeans came and raided the camels, kidnapping them (or is it camelnapping) and killed my friends with me! I alone escaped to tell you!" Oh my goodness! How long will this last? I don't think the day could get any worse... too bad. It can. Now we switch scenes again. This time imagine it for yourself: You're at your oldest brother's house with all your siblings, you just finished the third course, all is going well, you're telling jokes, having fun, and then you feel chilly. There is a slight breeze. It starts picking up. You reach for your jacket. Ok, this wind is getting out of hand! Your hair is blowing all over your face, things start blowing over, your cup falls in your lap (Ah! that's COLD!) and then you hear a creak! You look up. There is a big crack in the ceiling, right above you, it's breaking, falling... Ok, back to Job's house. He sees another messenger running to him... I don't have to repeat what he was like, do I? To sum it all up, the messenger was the lone survivor from the oldest brother's house and he told the whole story to Job. How do YOU think Job responded? Well, probably your guess was a little off. No offense:) But what happened was this: "Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshipped." Worshipped? Yes. He worshipped God! Hear what he said next: "The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; BLESSED BE THE NAME OF THE LORD." verse 22 says "in all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong." Ha Ha! Satan was wrong! Job did NOT curse the Lord, even when all ten of his kids were killed, when his servants were killed his animals stolen, still he did not curse the Lord. Way to go, Job!

To be continued next week...

Charitoo...honored with grace

Do you remember what the angel first called Mary? Highly favored one. He greeted her by calling her the highly favored of the Lord. Wow–wouldn’t that be amazing? To have God’s own messenger come down from heaven and say that you were the favored one of God!

The Greek word that is used there is charitoo, which means “to make graceful; encompass with favor; to honor with blessings.” That definitely describes Mary! She who was a common Jewish girl became the mother of the King of creation. She was given the greatest honor a woman could be given. The name “highly favored one” fits her perfectly.

Charitoo is only used one other time in the Bible. If you were a Bible Bee junior or senior last year, you probably memorized this verse. Do you know who it describes? You! Ephesians 1:6–To the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. He made us accepted, He encompassed us with favor, He honored us with the blessing of becoming His child. Is that not the very definition of a Christian? We are honored with blessings! We are also the highly favored ones of the Lord! Think about that for a minute...isn’t it amazing? The King of Kings chose us to be His people and accepted us. That is almost too incredible to be true!

People probably honor and respect Mary more than any other woman in the history of the world. She was the mother of God. Can you think of any greater honor? Yet, the honor that was given to her is described in the same phrase that was used to describe the Ephesian Christians...the same term that describes us as Christians. We are given an equally great honor–we are the children of God (1 John 1:3). Does that make us–or Mary–perfect? No, we are all still sinners, but God has encompassed us with favor and filled us with His grace. He chose us to carry His Light in a dark world. Just as Mary, the highly favored (charitoo) of the Lord, brought Jesus into the world, we, the ones He made accepted (charitoo) proclaim Him to the world. What higher honor, what greater blessing, can be given to us than to bear His name and carry His Light to the farthest corners of the earth? Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you (Luke 1:28)!

Do Not Throw it Away!

"Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised." Hebrews 10:35-36
As I've been studying the book of Hebrews, I've been amazed at how many times the author refers to "persevering," "holding fast," and "clinging to the faith." There is a very simple reason that he mentions this so often: we get tired. We get ready to quit. We find that the Christian life is too difficult, too tedious, too stifling. 
In Hebrews 10 verse 33, it says "But recall the former days, when..." Ah, the good old days. The good old days when you had Bible Bee verses to study. The good old days when you didn't have as much school. The good old days when you delighted to read God's Word. The good old days when you enjoyed serving others. The good old days when you longed to be with God.   
Are you weary? Are you tired of the daily plodding, step after step?Do you wish you still had that passion for God you once had?WHAT HAPPENED? Life happened. And our perseverance didn't.When  the enthusiasm wears off, and the daily, "I don't want to get up" syndrome kicks in...we are tempted to go through life without an awareness of God's presence and power. DO NOT THROW AWAY YOUR CONFIDENCE! God is still the same God you longed to be with, desired His Word, yearned to talk to, and wanted to serve. LOOK AT THE CROSS!
Renew your passion for God with a passion for the GOD WHO WAS WILLING TO GIVE HIMSELF FOR YOU!Let us draw near with a true heart...Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering...Let us consider how to stir one another up to love and good works...ah! The theme verse for this blog!
When life seems to be settling into a rut...do not be content with it!  Beg the Lord to "restore to you the JOY of your salvation!"Persevere through it all, to the end! "For you have need of endurance..." Don't we all???But it is worth it all! 

Nothing can separate

The Voice of the Martyrs put out a calendar, to pray for persecuted Christians aroung the globe. For the next ten days, I will be praying for China. Today, I pray specifically for Chinese Christians as the government "attempts to slow the spread of Christianity by controlling the media". But we know that the world can never stop the spread of the gospel!! The Word of God stands FOREVER! And yet, although they cannot blot It out, they still hinder others who NEED God's Word-- and who know NOTHING of it-- from getting it! And they persecute our fellow believers just because they trust in Jesus Christ! Why does the Lord allow that? Well, He says in 2 Tim. 3:12 "Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution." And yet Rom. 8:35-39 says "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: "For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter." Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

You see? The world can persecute us all they want, but the can never EVER seperate us from the Love of God! That's what it's all about! God loves us, He sent His Son to die for us, He made us His children, and no communists or anybody else can take that away from us! We are GOD'S CHILDREN. He said that nobody is able to take us out of His hand! Now I kinda went off on a rabbit trail with that, but it does tie in, really! So, we suffer, but they can't really harm us. I mean, they can, but it's only a physical harm. They can't take away our eternal life, and as Paul said, "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain." The only thing the world can do to us is to speed up our moving date! We get to move in to our home that Jesus Christ himself made for us! yippee! I'm not saying we'll enjoy persecution. It IS persecution, after all! But we know that we are safe in the arms of our Heavenly Father, and that's such a comfort! We just have to make sure we don't reject Him when we suffer, like the parable of the sower: "But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the Word, immediately he stumbles." Dig your roots deep! Do not be swayed! KNOW YOUR STUFF! And not only know, but BELIEVE! And the Lord will bless you! "Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life."

So now I ask that you pray with me for the persecuted Christians around the world. That the Lord would give them strength, courage, and that they would not give in. Also pray for our own country, that there would be a great revival and that our once Christian-based homeland would not persecute believers here. Stand strong!

Resting in the arms of the all-able God

Isn't that a great thought - I am resting the arms of the all-able God. I don't know about you, but that thought sends shivers down my spine and gives me a peace, a indescribable peace. To think that although the circumstances of life aren't going well, although everything looks like it will fall apart, although I might be hurt and confused, God is able to to work in and through the bad and the good alike.

When we come to Him with our requests, we need to come to Him with the spirit that Jeremiah came to Him with in Jeremiah 32:17, where it says, "Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. THERE IS NOTHING TOO HARD FOR YOU." Come to Him, focused on His goodness, power, and strength. I think that a lot of times we can ask God to work in a situation, but we don't truly have faith that He really can work. When I get my focus on how great our God is, how able and strong He is, how powerful and in control He is, God gives me a peace, a stillness, which springs from a faith that believes that God is able. Like it says in Psalms 46:10, "Be still and know that I am God." I need to simply rest in His all-able, all-powerful hands and be still.

I am reminded about the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego in Daniel. They were faced with a extremely difficult trial. I mean, it doesn't get much harder then to be about to be thrown into a fiery furnace! And yet look at how they answered King Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 3:17-18, "If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from you hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up." You see, we need to believe that God is able to answer our prayers, but we need to realize that God doesn't have to answer our requests in the ways that we want. But, NO MATTER WHAT, we need do what we know He wants us to do and leave the results up to Him. I don't know anyone else better or more capable to handle a situation, can you? When we surrender a problem to the Lord with full faith in His capability, we can find true rest and peace in His arms.