The Lie of Personal Peace and Affluence
Then I said: "Ah, Lord GOD, behold, the prophets say to them, 'You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place.'"And the LORD said to me: "The prophets are prophesying lies in my name; I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds...And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and sword, with none to bury them - them, their wives, their sons, and their daughters. For I will pour out their wickedness upon them...if I go out into the field, behold, those slain by the sword! And if I enter the city, behold, the diseases of famine! For both prophet and priest ply their trade through the land,and have no knowledge.'" Jer 14:13-14,16,18 I see this happening today. It is so popular to teach a positive message of personal peace and affluence, to give people happy, ear-tickling messages and tell them to expect good things and no harm or trials will come their way. Many want to avoid talking about sin and the coming judgment for it. Those that do are hated and not invited back to speak- like Paul Washer. Our people don't want to hear the truth just as in the days of Jeremiah, because they don't want to change their plans or their comfortable, entertaining lifestyle. "But they say, 'That is in vain! We will follow our own plans, and will every one act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.' Jer 18:12 But God says, And in this place I will make void the plans of Judah and Jerusalem, and will cause their people to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hand of those who seek their life. Jer 19:7-8 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will make to cease from this place, before your eyes and in your days, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride. Jer 16:9-10
Love and Speak the Truth
May God make us like Jeremiah who said, Thy words were found, and I ate them, and thy words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart; for I am called by thy name, O LORD, God of hosts. Jer 15:16 Jeremiah could not hold back from speaking your words no matter what the cost, as we read in Jer 20:9-13 If I say, "I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name," there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot. For I hear many whispering. Terror is on every side! "Denounce him! Let us denounce him!" say all my familiar friends, watching for my fall. "Perhaps he will be deceived, then we can overcome him, and take our revenge on him." But the LORD is with me as a dread warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble, they will not overcome me. They will be greatly shamed, for they will not succeed. Their eternal dishonor will never be forgotten. O LORD of hosts, who triest the righteous, who seest the heart and the mind, let me see thy vengeance upon them, for to thee have I committed my cause. Sing to the LORD; praise the LORD! For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hand of evildoers.
Follow Your Heart???
Today it is very common to hear the phrase, Follow your heart but The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately corrupt; who can understand it? "I the LORD search the mind and try the heart, to give to every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings." Jer 17:9-10 We are not to trust in our own heart, the heart of man, but instead to trust in the Lord, to seek to know and follow His heart. Thus says the LORD: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his arm, whose heart turns away from the LORD. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit." Jer 17:5-8 Change my heart O, God, make it ever true. Change my heart o, God, may I be like you. For You are the Potter, I am the clay. Mold me and make me. This is what I pray. I love that song and that is my prayer. Read Jer 18:1-11 which confirms that God is the Potter and we are just the clay. We are in His hands, totally dependent on Him. Thank Him for making you a vessel of honor, for cleansing your heart with faith.(Acts 15:9) May we reflect His handiwork and proclaim His goodness to all generations.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Debt Management
Here is a shorter post :) Hugh and I were as silly as this couple on the video below and have learned the hard way that what this man speaks is true. Take his advice.
Since January 2007, by the grace of God and help of my parents, we have been able to pay off close to $30,000 of debt, cut our financial fat of monthly budget spending by $4,200, get rid of all our credit cards, eliminate a mortgage and stop the debt cycle in our family. We still have a long ways to go and sacrifices to continue to make for the next few years to be completely out of debt. We learned how by the training we received from www.DaniJohnson.com and her seminars. I encourage you to listen to her free archived calls on this subject on her website. We praise God for drawing us closer to Him and His standards during this time. He is our Provider and we will trust in Him. We find our joy in Him!
We especially need to remember this principle of living within our budget during Christmas. May God help us all to be good stewards of our finances, and use the resources He has placed in our hand for His glory and Kingdom.
I don't recommend any of the other videos advertised with this one.
Since January 2007, by the grace of God and help of my parents, we have been able to pay off close to $30,000 of debt, cut our financial fat of monthly budget spending by $4,200, get rid of all our credit cards, eliminate a mortgage and stop the debt cycle in our family. We still have a long ways to go and sacrifices to continue to make for the next few years to be completely out of debt. We learned how by the training we received from www.DaniJohnson.com and her seminars. I encourage you to listen to her free archived calls on this subject on her website. We praise God for drawing us closer to Him and His standards during this time. He is our Provider and we will trust in Him. We find our joy in Him!
We especially need to remember this principle of living within our budget during Christmas. May God help us all to be good stewards of our finances, and use the resources He has placed in our hand for His glory and Kingdom.
I don't recommend any of the other videos advertised with this one.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Return, Write, and Wail
Return,O Faithless Sons
Continuing with yesterdays thoughts, my prayer is to see us and our children cleansed from all unrighteousness, to see us depart from our former faithless ways, and return to the God of our salvation. God has called out, "Return, O faithless sons, I will heal your faithlessness.""Behold, we come to thee; for thou art the LORD our God. Truly the hills are a delusion, the orgies on the mountains. Truly in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel. "But from our youth the shameful thing has devoured all for which our fathers labored, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. Let us lie down in our shame, and let our dishonor cover us; for we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day; and we have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God." Jer 3:22-25
May we see God call our sons up and use them like He did Jeremiah and say, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations." Then I said, "Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth." But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a youth'; for to all to whom I send you you shall go, and whatever I command you you shall speak. Be not afraid of them ,for I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD." Then the LORD put forth his hand and touched my mouth; and the LORD said to me,"Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant." Jer 1:5-10 God can use our youth. Encourage them to use all their giftings, energy, and time for God's work and not to despise their youth.
Write the Vision Down That You May Run With It In Faithfulness
As parents and youth, we need to wait upon our Heavenly Father, to stand and watch. We need to pray and then listen to what He has to say. Listen to how he answered Habukuk in chapter 2 verses 2-4, And the LORD answered me:"Write the vision; make it plain upon tablets, so he may run who reads it. For still the vision awaits its time; it hastens to the end - it will not lie. If it seem slow, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay. Behold, he whose soul is not upright in him shall fail, but the righteous shall live by his faith.
Let's obey the principles found in God's Word. Let's teach them to our children. As God's people, we must read the Bible, pray and be still, and then listen for His voice and meditate upon His words. How good it is to recount all God's mighty deeds and to realize His sovereignty. It is crucial that we read the true stories of others who lived by faith and those who lived by their flesh and to see the outcome, to see how merciful yet just our Holy God is. It increases our faith as we meditate upon His Word and are discipled by it. Just as the prophets and apostles walked and talked with God, so can we, for He has written His words down that we may run with it. I pray that we will live by faith, that we will be found faithful through Christ who has made a way. We have to keep this vision ever before us, may we also write down what God is speaking to us and apply it to our lives practically and spiritually. In order to do this, we have to redeem the time and not shrink back, for the days are evil, full of distractions and superficial busyness. We need to say no to the things that don't line up to the vision God has given us and stay busy with the Lord's work. Let's be about our Father's business, so that our minds will not wander, for we are so prone to do evil. I am reminded of the old hymn, Come Thou Fount. My prayer is the same as in that song, Take my heart, Lord, take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above. When I think of the word faithful, I think of being true to something or obedient on a consistent basis. If we are living by faith in God we will have that fruit in our life. When I think of the word believe, I see the words- to live by. If we believe in Jesus, we will be striving to live by and in obedience to His Word. But this faith, this belief is a gift from above, they are gifts that we cannot boast of as from ourselves. Although, we can boast of that gift that God has given us- that we know the Lord, Thus says the LORD: "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practice steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth; for in these things I delight, says the LORD." Jer 9:23-24
Do you know and understand the Lord? Do you realize who He is or do you take Him lightly? Hear the words of the prophets, read what has been written to give us understanding.
Join Me Sisters In Wailing For The Men
I believe we as wives and mothers need to listen carefully to what is written down in Jer 9:12-26. Who is the man so wise that he can understand this? To whom has the mouth of the LORD spoken, that he may declare it? Why is the land ruined and laid waste like a wilderness, so that no one passes through? And the LORD says: "Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, or walked in accord with it, but have stubbornly followed their own hearts and have gone after the Ba'als, as their fathers taught them. Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will feed this people with wormwood, and give them poisonous water to drink. I will scatter them among the nations whom neither they nor their fathers have known; and I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them." Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Consider, and call for the mourning women to come; send for the skillful women to come; let them make haste and raise a wailing over us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush with water. For a sound of wailing is heard from Zion: 'How we are ruined! We are utterly shamed, because we have left the land, because they have cast down our dwellings.'" Hear, O women, the word of the LORD, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth; teach to your daughters a lament, and each to her neighbor a dirge. For death has come up into our windows, it has entered our palaces, cutting off the children from the streets and the young men from the squares. Speak, "Thus says the LORD: 'The dead bodies of men shall fall like dung upon the open field, like sheaves after the reaper, and none shall gather them.'" Thus says the LORD: "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practice steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth; for in these things I delight, says the LORD." "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will punish all those who are circumcised but yet uncircumcised - Egypt, Judah, Edom, the sons of Ammon, Moab, and all who dwell in the desert that cut the corners of their hair; for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart."
As women, God has called us to lift the men up in prayers of weeping. We should be calling out to God to give the men an understanding of how wicked the people in our land have become and how judgment is coming if we all do not repent. Let's pray that God would give the men boldness to declare the Word of the Lord to a stubborn and rebellious people! We need to cry and raise a wailing over our men. With tears flowing from our eyes, we are to teach our daughters to do the same. Oh, may we cry out for our husbands, brothers, fathers, and sons- that they would understand and know the Lord and declare His Words to our people. Maybe you don't feel like crying because everything seems so good, happy, and pleasant. But, sisters, open your eyes, wake up, mourn for the dead, they are all around you- the spiritually dead. They have been taken captive by those that hate Christ. They have been taken away from the Lord by perversion, debt, pornography, personal peace and affluence, love of riches, addictions, and idolatry. Cry out for those who have never known the Lord or who may have once but have been drawn away by their own lust, served their flesh, and have made their passions and the things of this world their gods and have devoted their time, energy, and souls to them. Weep for all the children that are murdered every day through abortion, that are being medicated, vaccinated, or mistreated by our medical system which has resulted in horrible side effects, poor immune systems, autism, or even death. Fall on your knees for all the children that are emotionally, physically, or sexually abused, who are not protected but instead neglected and not being brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Cry out for the generation that is being sacrificed to the gods of feminism, riches, and freedom and stuck in public schools that are raising and training them during most of the hours in their day, by people or at least a system and curriculum that has removed God, the Bible, and prayer from its midst and is teaching what is contrary to His standards- Acceptance of Homosexuality, Fornication (Safe Sex), and Humanism, to name a few. Oh, wake up, look at the state of our nation. Get angry at sin and those who hate God and His children. Let's repent of our sins, pray for our husbands, and men who God has called to be leaders in our country.Read God's Word, and be filled with His Spirit daily. May God bring us closer to Him and increase our faith and obedience to Him. Be diligent to train your children in God's Word and lay down your life in service to your family and to the people of God. Don't lose sight of our primary purpose which is the answer to the first catechism question. Man's primary purpose is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. I hope that purpose stirs you up today to love and good works from a joyful heart, full of hope, to glorify God. The joy of the Lord is our strength even in the midst of trials, dirty diapers, sick children, working through multiplication tables with your kids, frozen pipes leaving you with no water to do dishes, submitting to your husbands requests when you feel tired or can't seem to see it the way he does, or in your prayer time as you are wailing for our God-ordained leaders and for the hurting or wickedness in the land. Be strengthened to pick up your Bible, read it for yourself, cry out and pray, listen, meditate on God's words, and write it down that you may run with it!
Continuing with yesterdays thoughts, my prayer is to see us and our children cleansed from all unrighteousness, to see us depart from our former faithless ways, and return to the God of our salvation. God has called out, "Return, O faithless sons, I will heal your faithlessness.""Behold, we come to thee; for thou art the LORD our God. Truly the hills are a delusion, the orgies on the mountains. Truly in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel. "But from our youth the shameful thing has devoured all for which our fathers labored, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. Let us lie down in our shame, and let our dishonor cover us; for we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day; and we have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God." Jer 3:22-25
May we see God call our sons up and use them like He did Jeremiah and say, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations." Then I said, "Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth." But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a youth'; for to all to whom I send you you shall go, and whatever I command you you shall speak. Be not afraid of them ,for I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD." Then the LORD put forth his hand and touched my mouth; and the LORD said to me,"Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant." Jer 1:5-10 God can use our youth. Encourage them to use all their giftings, energy, and time for God's work and not to despise their youth.
Write the Vision Down That You May Run With It In Faithfulness
As parents and youth, we need to wait upon our Heavenly Father, to stand and watch. We need to pray and then listen to what He has to say. Listen to how he answered Habukuk in chapter 2 verses 2-4, And the LORD answered me:"Write the vision; make it plain upon tablets, so he may run who reads it. For still the vision awaits its time; it hastens to the end - it will not lie. If it seem slow, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay. Behold, he whose soul is not upright in him shall fail, but the righteous shall live by his faith.
Let's obey the principles found in God's Word. Let's teach them to our children. As God's people, we must read the Bible, pray and be still, and then listen for His voice and meditate upon His words. How good it is to recount all God's mighty deeds and to realize His sovereignty. It is crucial that we read the true stories of others who lived by faith and those who lived by their flesh and to see the outcome, to see how merciful yet just our Holy God is. It increases our faith as we meditate upon His Word and are discipled by it. Just as the prophets and apostles walked and talked with God, so can we, for He has written His words down that we may run with it. I pray that we will live by faith, that we will be found faithful through Christ who has made a way. We have to keep this vision ever before us, may we also write down what God is speaking to us and apply it to our lives practically and spiritually. In order to do this, we have to redeem the time and not shrink back, for the days are evil, full of distractions and superficial busyness. We need to say no to the things that don't line up to the vision God has given us and stay busy with the Lord's work. Let's be about our Father's business, so that our minds will not wander, for we are so prone to do evil. I am reminded of the old hymn, Come Thou Fount. My prayer is the same as in that song, Take my heart, Lord, take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above. When I think of the word faithful, I think of being true to something or obedient on a consistent basis. If we are living by faith in God we will have that fruit in our life. When I think of the word believe, I see the words- to live by. If we believe in Jesus, we will be striving to live by and in obedience to His Word. But this faith, this belief is a gift from above, they are gifts that we cannot boast of as from ourselves. Although, we can boast of that gift that God has given us- that we know the Lord, Thus says the LORD: "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practice steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth; for in these things I delight, says the LORD." Jer 9:23-24
Do you know and understand the Lord? Do you realize who He is or do you take Him lightly? Hear the words of the prophets, read what has been written to give us understanding.
Join Me Sisters In Wailing For The Men
I believe we as wives and mothers need to listen carefully to what is written down in Jer 9:12-26. Who is the man so wise that he can understand this? To whom has the mouth of the LORD spoken, that he may declare it? Why is the land ruined and laid waste like a wilderness, so that no one passes through? And the LORD says: "Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, or walked in accord with it, but have stubbornly followed their own hearts and have gone after the Ba'als, as their fathers taught them. Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will feed this people with wormwood, and give them poisonous water to drink. I will scatter them among the nations whom neither they nor their fathers have known; and I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them." Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Consider, and call for the mourning women to come; send for the skillful women to come; let them make haste and raise a wailing over us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush with water. For a sound of wailing is heard from Zion: 'How we are ruined! We are utterly shamed, because we have left the land, because they have cast down our dwellings.'" Hear, O women, the word of the LORD, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth; teach to your daughters a lament, and each to her neighbor a dirge. For death has come up into our windows, it has entered our palaces, cutting off the children from the streets and the young men from the squares. Speak, "Thus says the LORD: 'The dead bodies of men shall fall like dung upon the open field, like sheaves after the reaper, and none shall gather them.'" Thus says the LORD: "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practice steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth; for in these things I delight, says the LORD." "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will punish all those who are circumcised but yet uncircumcised - Egypt, Judah, Edom, the sons of Ammon, Moab, and all who dwell in the desert that cut the corners of their hair; for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart."
As women, God has called us to lift the men up in prayers of weeping. We should be calling out to God to give the men an understanding of how wicked the people in our land have become and how judgment is coming if we all do not repent. Let's pray that God would give the men boldness to declare the Word of the Lord to a stubborn and rebellious people! We need to cry and raise a wailing over our men. With tears flowing from our eyes, we are to teach our daughters to do the same. Oh, may we cry out for our husbands, brothers, fathers, and sons- that they would understand and know the Lord and declare His Words to our people. Maybe you don't feel like crying because everything seems so good, happy, and pleasant. But, sisters, open your eyes, wake up, mourn for the dead, they are all around you- the spiritually dead. They have been taken captive by those that hate Christ. They have been taken away from the Lord by perversion, debt, pornography, personal peace and affluence, love of riches, addictions, and idolatry. Cry out for those who have never known the Lord or who may have once but have been drawn away by their own lust, served their flesh, and have made their passions and the things of this world their gods and have devoted their time, energy, and souls to them. Weep for all the children that are murdered every day through abortion, that are being medicated, vaccinated, or mistreated by our medical system which has resulted in horrible side effects, poor immune systems, autism, or even death. Fall on your knees for all the children that are emotionally, physically, or sexually abused, who are not protected but instead neglected and not being brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Cry out for the generation that is being sacrificed to the gods of feminism, riches, and freedom and stuck in public schools that are raising and training them during most of the hours in their day, by people or at least a system and curriculum that has removed God, the Bible, and prayer from its midst and is teaching what is contrary to His standards- Acceptance of Homosexuality, Fornication (Safe Sex), and Humanism, to name a few. Oh, wake up, look at the state of our nation. Get angry at sin and those who hate God and His children. Let's repent of our sins, pray for our husbands, and men who God has called to be leaders in our country.Read God's Word, and be filled with His Spirit daily. May God bring us closer to Him and increase our faith and obedience to Him. Be diligent to train your children in God's Word and lay down your life in service to your family and to the people of God. Don't lose sight of our primary purpose which is the answer to the first catechism question. Man's primary purpose is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. I hope that purpose stirs you up today to love and good works from a joyful heart, full of hope, to glorify God. The joy of the Lord is our strength even in the midst of trials, dirty diapers, sick children, working through multiplication tables with your kids, frozen pipes leaving you with no water to do dishes, submitting to your husbands requests when you feel tired or can't seem to see it the way he does, or in your prayer time as you are wailing for our God-ordained leaders and for the hurting or wickedness in the land. Be strengthened to pick up your Bible, read it for yourself, cry out and pray, listen, meditate on God's words, and write it down that you may run with it!
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Watchman on the Wall
A Dream and Coming Destruction
I woke up early this morning with a terrible dream that felt so real. I was in a car and could see several members of my family outside by the water. Then all of a sudden they started screaming and trying to get away from an alligator. The gator first went towards my mom. Then someone else that I did not recognize got right in front of it, and looked directly into its eyes, trying to keep the gators eyes on him and off everyone else. That is when we should have had courage to rescue the others and pounce on the gator as a team but we didn't. It got away and went towards my little 4 year old girl, Abigail. I started screaming for Hugh to get out and get her or get the gator. Again the mysterious man did the same thing, but we again just hoped it was safe and sat waiting, doing nothing, hoping he would kill it on his own. Actually it all went so fast. It seemed that Hugh tried to get out of the car at that point when the gator got free again, came towards our open car window and almost snapped Hugh. I saw Abigail and Mercy, my 9 year old, swimming away in fear, when it immediately flipped around towards my girls and seemed to just opened its mouth ready to bite down on Mercy's head. I was so scared because I couldn't see how we could get to them in time to save them now. I woke up at that point with my heart beating fast and an incredible sadness yet prayers of thanksgiving that it was only a dream. So I have been thinking this morning how precious life is, how much I love my family and wondering why I had such an awful dream. How could I live through such a horrible accident like that, to witness a child be killed before my eyes. I started to think of all the other people hurting in the world and began to pray for them. Then God reminded me of the Scriptures I read yesterday. One was about being a watchman and warning the people of coming danger where they could lose their life. Yet God has called us to warn the people spiritually of the danger or the iniquity they are committing in their life and to turn from their wicked ways or God will destroy them. So God has called us to warn His people for He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Ezek 33:7-12 says, So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me. When I say to the wicked, "O wicked man, you shall surely die!" and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. Nevertheless if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul. Therefore you, O son of man, say to the house of Israel: "Thus you say, 'If our transgressions and our sins lie upon us, and we pine away in them, how can we then live?"' Say to them: "As I live," says the Lord GOD,"I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?" We need to realize that our children are in worse danger right now than what I dreamed, a danger that takes their soul. I Peter 5:8-11 says, Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experience of suffering is required of your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, establish, and strengthen you. To him be the dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Where were the watchman in my dream to warn my family from going near the water? Once they are there, who will help them from being destroyed? Who will call them to get out of the water? Spiritually where are these watchman? Christ is our Deliverer, but He has called us to be His body, His witnesses, His watchman.
Are we being watchful?
Are we willing to sacrifice our desires and agenda for the coming generations, for the Kingdom and glory of God? Or do we complain that it it is to hard? Are we calling for our husbands to do something, to save our children, train or protect them because we are to lazy or fearful to do it ourselves? Are we hoping someone else will do something to save our land from the coming destruction? Are we making excuses for ourselves because we don't want to lay our life down for God's children? Are we praying that God would give our husbands or someone else courage to fight the alligator while we sit by and do nothing? Shouldn't we pray for our leaders to protect us, yet take action ourselves and do whatever we can to help? Shouldn't both of us parents be doing what God has called us to do without fear, blame or excuses? Are we doing the thing God has placed in front of us to do as wives, mothers, and Christians? Are you afraid people won't like you if you speak of sin and coming judgment? Are you fearful that you may suffer, be misunderstood, hated, or judged by the world, by your friends, church or family? You may be thinking, "Can't we just keep it light? Can't we all just be friends? I don't want to be too restrictive to my children. I don't want to hold my sister accountable. I don't want to invade their privacy. I don't want them to hate me. I just want to be their buddy." But James 4:4-17 says, Unfaithful Creatures! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is in vain that the scripture says, "He yearns jealously over the spirit which he has made to dwell in us"? But he gives more grace; therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you men of double mind. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to dejection. Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you. Do not speak evil against one another, brethren. He that speaks evil against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you that you judge your neighbor? Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and get gain"; whereas you do not know about tomorrow. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and we shall do this or that." As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. Whoever knows what is right to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. I see two things here. First, we need to be careful that we examine our own lives and turn from our wicked ways. We must be covered by the blood of Christ who alone is righteous. Second, that we don't become a judge of others out of pride but in humility warn others of God who is the Judge and will bring judgment if they do not turn from their idols and disobedience to Him and proclaim that the only way to be saved is through the blood of the Lamb- Jesus Christ. In other words, we need to get out of the car and do something to save our young people from being destroyed. Don't put off having a heart to heart discussion with your teen until tomorrow, when you sense it is needed, for tomorrow may be to late? Pray without ceasing, attack the enemy, and take care of those in your care, no matter what the cost.
My Prayer
Father God, please protect our young people from the enemy that wants to destroy them, keep them pure and shelter them from pornography, fornication, and ungodly addictions. Raise up a generation that has strong Christian character and self-government in obedience to the Word of God. Give us parents strength to develop and require this high standard from our children so that they will be able to resist and flee from sin all their lives. May You give us parents wisdom and discernment on how to raise our children and what steps we need to take to protect them until they are strong enough to shoot and kill that "alligator" before he kills them. Use us to help equip them with the weapons for effective spiritual warfare. I also pray for all the young people that have already been exposed to pornography, impure thoughts or deeds, for those who have given their hearts or bodies away in fornication before marriage. I pray for repentance, forgiveness, and healing that only Christ can give. You sent your Son for the sinners and Your love and mercy endures forever. Take away the mental movies and pictures, addictions, or habitual thoughts and deeds from them. Deliver, cleanse, and make new. Give them a heart change to heed your warning and fear You. In Jer 3:22-25 we read Your words, Break up your fallow ground,and sow not among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the LORD,remove the foreskin of your hearts,O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem;lest my wrath go forth like fire,and burn with none to quench it,because of the evil of your doings." Fill our young people with the power of your Holy Spirit that they may no longer sin against you. Help us all to love you with all our heart, soul, and mind! In Jesus Name, Amen.
I woke up early this morning with a terrible dream that felt so real. I was in a car and could see several members of my family outside by the water. Then all of a sudden they started screaming and trying to get away from an alligator. The gator first went towards my mom. Then someone else that I did not recognize got right in front of it, and looked directly into its eyes, trying to keep the gators eyes on him and off everyone else. That is when we should have had courage to rescue the others and pounce on the gator as a team but we didn't. It got away and went towards my little 4 year old girl, Abigail. I started screaming for Hugh to get out and get her or get the gator. Again the mysterious man did the same thing, but we again just hoped it was safe and sat waiting, doing nothing, hoping he would kill it on his own. Actually it all went so fast. It seemed that Hugh tried to get out of the car at that point when the gator got free again, came towards our open car window and almost snapped Hugh. I saw Abigail and Mercy, my 9 year old, swimming away in fear, when it immediately flipped around towards my girls and seemed to just opened its mouth ready to bite down on Mercy's head. I was so scared because I couldn't see how we could get to them in time to save them now. I woke up at that point with my heart beating fast and an incredible sadness yet prayers of thanksgiving that it was only a dream. So I have been thinking this morning how precious life is, how much I love my family and wondering why I had such an awful dream. How could I live through such a horrible accident like that, to witness a child be killed before my eyes. I started to think of all the other people hurting in the world and began to pray for them. Then God reminded me of the Scriptures I read yesterday. One was about being a watchman and warning the people of coming danger where they could lose their life. Yet God has called us to warn the people spiritually of the danger or the iniquity they are committing in their life and to turn from their wicked ways or God will destroy them. So God has called us to warn His people for He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Ezek 33:7-12 says, So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me. When I say to the wicked, "O wicked man, you shall surely die!" and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. Nevertheless if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul. Therefore you, O son of man, say to the house of Israel: "Thus you say, 'If our transgressions and our sins lie upon us, and we pine away in them, how can we then live?"' Say to them: "As I live," says the Lord GOD,"I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?" We need to realize that our children are in worse danger right now than what I dreamed, a danger that takes their soul. I Peter 5:8-11 says, Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experience of suffering is required of your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, establish, and strengthen you. To him be the dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Where were the watchman in my dream to warn my family from going near the water? Once they are there, who will help them from being destroyed? Who will call them to get out of the water? Spiritually where are these watchman? Christ is our Deliverer, but He has called us to be His body, His witnesses, His watchman.
Are we being watchful?
Are we willing to sacrifice our desires and agenda for the coming generations, for the Kingdom and glory of God? Or do we complain that it it is to hard? Are we calling for our husbands to do something, to save our children, train or protect them because we are to lazy or fearful to do it ourselves? Are we hoping someone else will do something to save our land from the coming destruction? Are we making excuses for ourselves because we don't want to lay our life down for God's children? Are we praying that God would give our husbands or someone else courage to fight the alligator while we sit by and do nothing? Shouldn't we pray for our leaders to protect us, yet take action ourselves and do whatever we can to help? Shouldn't both of us parents be doing what God has called us to do without fear, blame or excuses? Are we doing the thing God has placed in front of us to do as wives, mothers, and Christians? Are you afraid people won't like you if you speak of sin and coming judgment? Are you fearful that you may suffer, be misunderstood, hated, or judged by the world, by your friends, church or family? You may be thinking, "Can't we just keep it light? Can't we all just be friends? I don't want to be too restrictive to my children. I don't want to hold my sister accountable. I don't want to invade their privacy. I don't want them to hate me. I just want to be their buddy." But James 4:4-17 says, Unfaithful Creatures! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is in vain that the scripture says, "He yearns jealously over the spirit which he has made to dwell in us"? But he gives more grace; therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you men of double mind. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to dejection. Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you. Do not speak evil against one another, brethren. He that speaks evil against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you that you judge your neighbor? Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and get gain"; whereas you do not know about tomorrow. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and we shall do this or that." As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. Whoever knows what is right to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. I see two things here. First, we need to be careful that we examine our own lives and turn from our wicked ways. We must be covered by the blood of Christ who alone is righteous. Second, that we don't become a judge of others out of pride but in humility warn others of God who is the Judge and will bring judgment if they do not turn from their idols and disobedience to Him and proclaim that the only way to be saved is through the blood of the Lamb- Jesus Christ. In other words, we need to get out of the car and do something to save our young people from being destroyed. Don't put off having a heart to heart discussion with your teen until tomorrow, when you sense it is needed, for tomorrow may be to late? Pray without ceasing, attack the enemy, and take care of those in your care, no matter what the cost.
My Prayer
Father God, please protect our young people from the enemy that wants to destroy them, keep them pure and shelter them from pornography, fornication, and ungodly addictions. Raise up a generation that has strong Christian character and self-government in obedience to the Word of God. Give us parents strength to develop and require this high standard from our children so that they will be able to resist and flee from sin all their lives. May You give us parents wisdom and discernment on how to raise our children and what steps we need to take to protect them until they are strong enough to shoot and kill that "alligator" before he kills them. Use us to help equip them with the weapons for effective spiritual warfare. I also pray for all the young people that have already been exposed to pornography, impure thoughts or deeds, for those who have given their hearts or bodies away in fornication before marriage. I pray for repentance, forgiveness, and healing that only Christ can give. You sent your Son for the sinners and Your love and mercy endures forever. Take away the mental movies and pictures, addictions, or habitual thoughts and deeds from them. Deliver, cleanse, and make new. Give them a heart change to heed your warning and fear You. In Jer 3:22-25 we read Your words, Break up your fallow ground,and sow not among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the LORD,remove the foreskin of your hearts,O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem;lest my wrath go forth like fire,and burn with none to quench it,because of the evil of your doings." Fill our young people with the power of your Holy Spirit that they may no longer sin against you. Help us all to love you with all our heart, soul, and mind! In Jesus Name, Amen.
Friday, December 7, 2007
Humility
In 1 Peter 5:5-7 God tells the younger to be subject to the elder. Clothe yourselves,all of you, with humility toward one another for ' God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.' Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him because he cares for you. This is a wonderful passage for us to remember as mothers in the midst of raising little ones looking at our every move. First, as wives, we need to be humble and submit to our husbands in everything. This has always been a challenge for me, which is why I need to write about it. I'm journaling about what God is convicting me on during my morning devotional time with Him, it just so happens that now I am blogging my journal entries, hoping that you will be encouraged as I am by the Word of God that cuts, and shapes us into a worthy vessel for God's glory. Anyway, back to it, In 1 Peter 3:1-6 we read how we are to respect our husband, who is our elder, leader, God-ordained head. We are to obey them so that even if they do not obey the Word of God, they may be won by our conduct as wives, without us ever saying a word. We must not worry and fret over what they are or are not doing according to our liking. Instead, let us cast all our anxiety on God, for He cares for us and our husbands. He does hear our prayers and is faithful to answer. Most of the time I see He changes me or the way I see things. As we obey God in this area then we will be able to set an example for our children. As they see us honoring our elders, those whom God has placed in a position of honor over us, and as we diligently and carefully teach them God's Word, they will gain wisdom and strength to be obedient to God and respect their elders through Christ. I see my older children learning a great deal during these high school years. They're gaining a biblical worldview and studying providential history, apologetics, and learning how to communicate effectively through writing and speech club. The tendency of our flesh is to become proud or think we know more than our elders who are not going through the books and classes we are. We then may even look down on our elders when they are explaining something that we disagree with or make choices we think are not to God's highest standard. This is the time we must be careful and pray for humility. Pray and give God your concerns and trust in His sovereignty. Sometimes God wants us to go through tests, trials, and suffering to refine us and burn up all our pride that tries to exalt itself above God or the work of the Holy Spirit. Look at what God says to the prince of Tyre in Ezekiel 28:1-10 The word of the LORD came to me: "Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, Thus says the Lord GOD:"Because your heart is proud,and you have said, 'I am a god,I sit in the seat of the gods,in the heart of the seas,'yet you are but a man, and no god,though you consider yourself as wise as a god - you are indeed wiser than Daniel;no secret is hidden from you; by your wisdom and your understanding you have gotten wealth for yourself,and have gathered gold and silver into your treasuries; by your great wisdom in trade you have increased your wealth,and your heart has become proud in your wealth - therefore thus says the Lord GOD:"Because you consider yourself as wise as a god, therefore, behold, I will bring strangers upon you,the most terrible of the nations;and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom and defile your splendor. They shall thrust you down into the Pit,and you shall die the death of the slain in the heart of the seas. Will you still say, 'I am a god,'in the presence of those who slay you,though you are but a man, and no god,in the hands of those who wound you? You shall die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of foreigners; for I have spoken, says the Lord GOD." and then to the king of Tyre God says in verses 12-19 "You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God;every precious stone was your covering,carnelian, topaz, and jasper,chrysolite, beryl, and onyx,sapphire, carbuncle, and emerald;and wrought in gold were your settings and your engravings.On the day that you were created they were prepared. With an anointed guardian cherub I placed you;you were on the holy mountain of God;in the midst of the stones of fire you walked. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created,till iniquity was found in you. In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned;so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God,and the guardian cherub drove you out from the midst of the stones of fire. Your heart was proud because of your beauty;you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.I cast you to the ground;I exposed you before kings,to feast their eyes on you. By the multitude of your iniquities,in the unrighteousness of your trade you profaned your sanctuaries;so I brought forth fire from the midst of you;it consumed you,and I turned you to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all who saw you. All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you;you have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more for ever." God humbled them both through His mighty hand. He is God! We need to never become prideful over the gifts He has given us whether they be wisdom, riches, beauty, position, church, or family. Let us all pray for and walk in humility and give God all the glory that he alone deserves. I'll end with Psalms 113:3-5 which is a song I learned when I was a teen,which sums up the matter beautifully. From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the LORD is to be praised! The LORD is high above all nations,and his glory above the heavens! Who is like the LORD our God,who is seated on high.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Our God Reigns
My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast!I will sing and make melody!Awake, my soul! Awake, O harp and lyre!I will awake the dawn! I will give thanks to thee, O LORD, among the peoples,I will sing praises to thee among the nations. For thy steadfast love is great above the heavens,thy faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!Let thy glory be over all the earth! That thy beloved may be delivered,give help by thy right hand, and answer me! Psalms 108:1-7 With God we shall do valiantly;it is he who will tread down our foes. Psalms 108:13 How wonderful that we can trust in God's sovereignty, that He is ruler of the earth and man can do nothing apart from His plan. As we read in Psalms 110:1-2 The LORD says to my lord:"Sit at my right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool." The LORD sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter.Rule in the midst of your foes! And in Psalms110:5 The Lord is at your right hand; he will execute judgment among the nations. He is in control and He will execute judgment. We can take comfort and have peace knowing who our God is, whom we serve. Let us give Him praise! Let our adversaries know that we will not fear them, we will fear our God alone. They may destroy our flesh if He allows it, but they cannot destroy our soul! We are here for such a short time on the earth, compared to thousands of years of history (His-Story). Listen to what Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1:6 In this we rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith-more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire-may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. It goes on to say in 1 Peter 1:14-19 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy." And if you invoke as Father him who judges each one impartially according to his deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile. You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your fathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. So, Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere love of the brethren, love one another earnestly from the heart. You have been born anew, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for
"All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass.The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord abides for ever." That word is the good news which was preached to you. 1 Peter 1:22-25 How amazing that Christ would die for us. What were we ransomed for? What is it that remains? The Word of the Lord. It says in 1 Peter 1:13 Therefore gird up your minds, be sober, set your hope fully upon the grace that is coming to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Are you preparing your minds? Are you reading God's Word and being filled with hope and faith? Are you living a life in full gratitude and joy for what God has done? Let us not lay up treasure in that which will be moth-eaten or corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. James 5:3 May it not be said of us, You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. James 5:5 Oh, it makes me sick, how we have forgotten God. How we stay amused so that we don't have to think about what is really going on in the world, with our neighbor, in our homes, or even in our own hearts. We need to return to our first love- to the God of our fathers. Join with me in repentance for seeking after "personal peace and affluence" as Francis Schaeffer points out. Beloved, I beseech you as aliens and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh that wage war against your soul. Maintain good conduct among the Gentiles, so that in case they speak against you as wrongdoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. 1 Peter 2:11-12 For, you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 1 Peter 2:9 Let's use our time and resources today proclaiming what God has done, calling ourselves and others to repentance and obedience, for faith without works is dead. Then let us pray diligently that our Heavenly Father would forgive us, lift the rod of judgment off our land and establish His Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.
"All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass.The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord abides for ever." That word is the good news which was preached to you. 1 Peter 1:22-25 How amazing that Christ would die for us. What were we ransomed for? What is it that remains? The Word of the Lord. It says in 1 Peter 1:13 Therefore gird up your minds, be sober, set your hope fully upon the grace that is coming to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Are you preparing your minds? Are you reading God's Word and being filled with hope and faith? Are you living a life in full gratitude and joy for what God has done? Let us not lay up treasure in that which will be moth-eaten or corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. James 5:3 May it not be said of us, You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. James 5:5 Oh, it makes me sick, how we have forgotten God. How we stay amused so that we don't have to think about what is really going on in the world, with our neighbor, in our homes, or even in our own hearts. We need to return to our first love- to the God of our fathers. Join with me in repentance for seeking after "personal peace and affluence" as Francis Schaeffer points out. Beloved, I beseech you as aliens and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh that wage war against your soul. Maintain good conduct among the Gentiles, so that in case they speak against you as wrongdoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. 1 Peter 2:11-12 For, you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 1 Peter 2:9 Let's use our time and resources today proclaiming what God has done, calling ourselves and others to repentance and obedience, for faith without works is dead. Then let us pray diligently that our Heavenly Father would forgive us, lift the rod of judgment off our land and establish His Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Give Thanks
"Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good for His steadfast love endures forever! Let the redeemed of the Lord say so." Psalms 107:1-2
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
