Thursday, March 1, 2012

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Gods word beats my words everytime

Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God. (1 John 3:7-10 NLT)

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Take Action

"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live." (Luke 10:28 NIV)

Friday, February 17, 2012

The Resolution...

 "I do solemnly resolve before God to take full responsibility for myself, my wife, and my children.
I WILL love them, protect them, serve them, and teach them the Word of God as the spiritual leader of my home.
 I WILL be faithful to my wife, to love and honor her, and be willing to lay down my life for her as Jesus Christ did for me.
I WILL bless my children and teach them to love God with all of their hearts, all of their minds, and all of their strength.
I WILL train them to honor authority and live responsibly.
I WILL confront evil, pursue justice, and love mercy.
I WILL pray for others and treat them with kindness, respect, and compassion.
I WILL work diligently to provide for the needs of my family.
I WILL forgive those who have wronged me and reconcile with those I have wronged.
I WILL learn from my mistakes, repent of my sins, and walk with integrity as a man answerable to God.
I WILL seek to honor God, be faithful to His church, obey His Word, and do His will.
I WILL courageously work with the strength God provides to fulfill this resolution for the rest of my life and for His glory.
" As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." ---Joshua 24:15






Photobucket

QOD 2-16-2012

Leviticus 26:3"If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them,"
... here begins a list of blessing from God for obedience... followed by a list no one would want.  It's a "no brainer" as they say. 
Yet, today doesn't He say the same to us?  God says, "I love you and want to protect you from the world", yet we wander off into the world, only to wake up one day and think "What happened?  How could I be so stupid?"
Well, it's a no brainer!

Live for Christ today!!

me:
Several months back, I started a study by Andy Stanley called "The Principle of the Path".
The basic (yet seemingly incredibly complicated) principle behind this study is..

Direction, not intention determines your destination!

It doesn't matter what your plans or intentions are... If you aren't taking the neccessary steps to get to where you want to go, you won't end up there, and certainly not if you are headed in the opposite direction.  That may sound matter of fact, but it's just as simple as that... don't complicate truth.  Lies make the truth more complicated...

I remember Andy talking about people being absolutely shocked  when they ended up in a place they didn't want to be in.  Then he said something that sticks with me still, "You are the only one surprised, everyone else saw exactly where you were headed and even warned you."  That may not be a direct quote but it went something like that!  You get the idea.

If you are heading down a path of destruction ignoring all the warning signs, then destruction you will find!  You can waste time blaming everyone but the path you choose is your responsibility.  Your time can better spent turning around and finding your way home. 

The choice is up to you... but ignoring truth doesn't make it any less true... It's a "no brainer". 

Thursday, February 16, 2012

QOD 2-15-12

We read in Acts 22:7-8 of Paul's Damascus road experience.
Who was Paul persecuting?

7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’
8 “‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.
‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied.
Acts 22:7-8

Saul was persecuting our Lord and savior, working so hard against everything Jesus promised to him.  Therefore, I believe, Saul was actually persecuting himself as well.  He led a life of sin and darkness that served no other purpose than to destroy his very being and fall right into the hands of the enemy.

That is a story all too common.  Instead of following Jesus, we follow the world... denying our God.  In doing this, we actually deny ourselves and who we were made to be.  This hurts us and it hurts God.  We are destroying his kingdom by refusing to live by His truth.  You never know who might just be following you... so, not only do you lead you yourself over the side of the cliff, but many times you will also lead those closest to you... those who look up to you and trust you to lead them down the straight and narrow path.

I got this sticker off a bottle I bought a few days ago...
I was immediately reminded of this verse:

5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." Revelation 21:5

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17

Normally, packaging like this insinuates that only the packaging is in fact "new" but the product is the same as it was before... but our God doesn't work like that.  He changes the outside and inside.  He changes ALL.

I thought about sticking it to my shirt for all to see... I am a new product completely, different now than I was just a few short (long) years ago.  God has made me new and He continues to make me new everyday as I choose to walk the path He sets before me.

Only our God can turn Saul into Paul... Only our God can make ALL things new!

Won't you let Him complete the work He has started in you?

Praying for peace...

We are all faced with adversity... Life presents us with many difficult decisions to make. I am being faced with new (sometimes hard) decisions daily. I am praying for redemption above all ... But, also for clarity, resolve, and peace in knowing the path I choose will be the path God has led me to take.

“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid. (John 14:27 NLT)

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Being "SAVED"

I have my own views on this term... Maybe you will disagree with me, but I personally believe we were ALL saved through God's grace the day Jesus died on the cross...

8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.  Ephesians 2:8-9

However, this is a gift that you must understand and accept to experience.  God was knocking at my door long before I answered in January 2011.

You can get so trapped into quoting other people and wanting to feel what they feel that you forget to make it personal... NOTHING should be more personal that your relationship with God.  Make it your own... messes, typos, and all!  God wants you.

QOD 2-14-12

I love what Bro. Daniel said Sunday morning, "wake us up to the possibbilities we have in Christ".  Let's not get caught up in traditions, but follow Christ.

And when they hear it, they glorified God.  And they said to Him, "You see, brother, how many thousands there are amont the Jews of those who have believed.  They are all zealous for the law Acts 21:20

They believed in Christ but were clinging to the law.  There is freedom in Christ!

me:
So many people view freedom as total independance.  That may be the human view of freedom but true freedom can only be found by dependance on God alone... complete dependance.  We get so caught up on behaving by or breaking the laws of this world that we forget what God has commanded us to do, therefore, putting the laws of this broken world before Him.  Then we wonder why we are still lost, mis-guided, and utterly confused.  Oh, if we would only read our Bibles we would know...

For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength. 1 Corinthians 1:25

We just don't get it.  We have all the answers we need...  Have you ever thought to yourself, "Oh, I'll get to that later, when I'm older and have more time for it... and when I've had all my fun."  Oh my, please don't let God's word and truth get in they way of your fun.  You have plenty of time!!!  (I sure hope you can sense my sarcasm.)

Our days are numbered, but we don't know the count.  Your "11th hour" could be this minute, or it might be tomorrow.  We don't know, and we are promised to know.  Don't take it for granted that you have more time on this Earth then you are promised.  It's just foolish.

Do you think life ends at death?  Is that why you're consumed with fitting all the fun into your life that you possibly can before you die?  Sadly, you will never experience the true joy God has planned for you that way... but you will still die.  The choice is yours...  Sure, life can end with death... or life can begin with death. 

The Bible refers to death as "sleeping"

13 Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words  1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

As Pastor Rick (lead paster of Colonial Hills Church ) said, "WAKE UP before you fall asleep!"... Wake up to God's truth.

QOD 2-13-12

So, do we give God our best or the left overs?  Does He get the best of my time?  Best of my abilities and money?

Do not bring anything with a defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf
Leviticus 22:20

me:
I have not personally mastered the art of "giving my best".  If I was, indeed, giving my best to God, then I would also be giving my best to everyone else as well.  I believe we cannot be our Earthly best until we give all of our best to our Heavenly Father. 

Uncle Victor's Quote of the Day...

Yesterday morning, I got a text from Uncle Victor (a very Godly man that I greatly admire), asking if I would like to be added to a list for his QOD or Quote of the Day... OF COURSE, I responded YES!  Not only does it give me more time to reflect on how much I love our Lord, but it also gives me a little insight from another brother in Christ's perspective which I appreciate very much.

I believe it is quite important to guard ourselves by who we subject our presence with.  Therefore, any reminders that I can get from a family member or friend that loves Jesus and me... I'll take them!  Thank you!

So when you see, QOD... you'll know that I am referring to Uncle Victor's quote of the day... and then my own thoughts will follow.  I would love any comments you have!

The "sideways" cross... necklace

I recently purchased a new necklace from gemsinvogue on Etsy.  I was so excited that I wanted to share it with all of my customers as well.  Then, I got the question, "what does the 'sideways' cross mean?"... That got me to thinking.  Actually, I'm not quite sure it has a 'meaning', but I found a meaning for myself and it makes me even more proud to wear it!

Ths cross was on its side as Jesus carried it and, to me, by wearing this cross necklace, I am symbolically carrying my own cross as we are commanded to do...

Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. Luke 9:23

ACTS PRAYING

Thank you sweet Aunt Debbie for sending this to me... I have shared it with many people already.  Thank you for your counsel and your prayers throughout this past year and a half. 

A - Adoration
Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise.
C - Confession
Ask God to search your heart for any sinful or offensive way in you, to bring conviction, then 1 John 1:9 it!
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.  1 John 1:9
T - Thanksgiving
Thank Him for all you can think of with the thought that if you did not mention it, it would be taken away tomorrow.
S - Supplication
Ask for yourself and others He brings to mind.

You do work that impacts eternity as you pray.