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Showing posts from 2012

I Will Praise YOU In The Storm!!

Everyday, you have a decision. You have a decision to give God 1st place in your life... or not. You have a decision to acknowledge God in your ways... or not. Job, a servant of the Lord, chose to follow God instead of ignoring Him. That loyalty was tested when Satan, the accuser of the brethren, came on the scene one day. Satan saw Job, a 'perfect' [blameless] and upright man, following God in all that he did, and wanted to see if Job's loyalty had a solid foundation or not. So Satan went to God and got permission from God to test Job's faith. Not everything in this life is understandable. Sometimes a loved one gets sick and it's a slow, enduring process; sometimes bodily pain wears us down so much that we question why God lets us endure those things. Job did not. We need to learn from him. Job 1:13-22: " And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house: and there came a messenger

I'm "Outa" Here!!

I was reading in Revelation this morning, chapter 21 specifically, and what God has to say through His Word about the new heaven and new earth that will be created after the Rapture and Tribulation and the judgment time that comes for all those that have rejected Christ. In verses 15-21 is the description of  the "new Jerusalem" and wow, does it sound amazing. 12 layers of precious jewels make up the foundation! Gold as clear as glass for the streets. But the greatest of all that will be in Heaven is my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ and God the Father! I can't wait to meet Them!! I was sought out by God and saved by His amazing grace on Halloween night, October 31, 1995. The night that I asked Jesus to come into my heart and save me was the same night that God wrote my name in the Lamb's Book of Life and prepared a mansion for me in Heaven. The same night, the Holy Spirit came to dwell in my heart so that I could be guided by Him and know how to live my life for

Is Being Sad a Sin?

As of late, I have been very discontent with my life and where I'm at in it. More times than not, it has led me down a "poor, pitiful me" road. I've tried to get past it, but anything done in my own flesh is a failure, to say the least.  Circumstances, failures, situations in my life have left me.... well.... sad.                                            Is Being Sad A Sin? As I sit here thinking, I still don't have the concrete answer to this question, but I do know it is if it distracts from your walk with Christ. And to be quite honest with you, my sadness and self-inflicted pity party has done just that.  So, this blog post is meant to be a "fire-starter-under-rear-portions" for myself and to any of you that have found yourself in the "Pity Party Doldrums". You might have been abandoned. Cheated on. Abused. Mistreated. Hurt. You might have committed a sin that you don't think God can forgive...or maybe you can't forgive

Afflicted For Our Good?

I was studying today in my Bible in the book of Psalm and I happened upon a verse in chapter 119 that puzzled me.                       "It is good for me that I have been afflicted;                                   that I might learn thy statutes."                                                  Psalm 119:71 I couldn't get past the question in my head of "What does being afflicted have to do with learning God's commandments/laws?"  David, who might have written this psalm, definitely saw affliction, emotionally and physically. Imagine the physical affliction of being hunted like an animal as David was, because Saul wanted to kill him.  Imagine the emotional affliction that David felt because of the murder of Amnon and Absalom, 2 of his sons, among other family issues. Affliction comes to our lives so that we will learn to apply Scripture, or so that we will learn to experience what we already know intellectually.  If we didn't have "t

Sinners in the hands of a LOVING God!

Turning 30 years old has led to some of life's hardest times, but some of life's most freeing times. God has given me a new attitude in different areas, one of those areas being "sin". Everybody sins. I do, the pastor does, the prostitute does, even you do. A lot of people don't wa nt to admit it to be the truth, though. Not so many moons ago, I thought that some sins were "worse" than others. The lies that I told myself weren't as bad as the lies that others told publicly. The sin that I committed wasn't nearly as awful as the lady's standing behind me in the grocery store.                             It is always easier to think of ourselves                                        better than we really are! Makes me think of the woman found in adultery.  John 8:1-11 "Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them.

Who Can Find a Virtuous Woman?

Virtue, in this world, is hard to find. It is defined as: "conformity to a standard of right; a particular moral excellence".  The Bible has a particularly interesting say on virtue, specifically, virtuous women. Proverbs 31: 10-31 " Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil  [lack of gain] . She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar. She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat  [provides food]  to her household, and a portion to her maidens. She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard. She girdeth her loins  [prepares herself for action]  with strength, and strengtheneth her arms. She perceiveth that her merchandise is g

Emptiness

I look at life and I get so sad for people that go through it without the help of Almighty God. So many lost and wandering around, not knowing that God is within reach and can make life have MEANING. He can give such joy, but most people just want $3 worth of God, as my Pastor says, and not sell out to Him. $3 worth of God- just enough to get you "by", just enough to make everything seem okay, but it really won't be until you give it all to Him. I like to watch people. Sometimes you can tell by the look in their eyes whether they have God in their life or not. There's an emptiness in a lot of people's eyes, a look that says "I don't really know what I'm doing, but I'm trying my hardest to get through life happy." If only they could realize that God = happiness and without Him, we cannot experience true happiness. There's a bird that lives outside my bedroom window. Of all the times the bird can sing, he chooses to sing at night. I lay i

Heaven...or Hell? Your choice.

Tomorrow is not promised. Life as you know it can end suddenly. The Bible says in James 4:14 "Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away." Life is short, that's for certain.  Unfortunately, life ended much too quickly for one of my former schoolmates. Last night, she met her Maker after a fatal car crash on the interstate. I don't know the condition of her heart, but I pray that Jesus lived there, otherwise she is burning in the everlasting flames of hell.  You may not believe in God, Heaven, or hell, but I'm here to tell you that these 3 things ARE real. The Bible says in Philippians 2:10-11 "That at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is LORD, to the glory of God the Father." The Bible does not lie, and neither does

To Honor....Or Not?

Growing up, I took a lot of things for granted and had a "I don't care" and naive attitude towards life. Praise the Lord He can change the hardest of hearts! I was just going "through the motions", not taking the time to enjoy the scenery of life and learn the little (and big) lessons of how to live. I have 2 amazing, godly parents that led the way, but I wasn't listening to their words and actions... I wasn't honoring them. To honor....or not? Do your parents deserve to be honored, and what does the Bible say about it? Ephesians 6:2-3 says "Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;), That is may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth." You've heard the story of the kid at Christmas time that wanted the BB gun for a present and kept on hearing "You'll shoot your eye out!". Maybe Ephesians 6:3 applies to that kid. Honoring, or obeying, your parents isn't a to

True Wisdom

Wisdom is hard to find, especially in the world that we are living in today. Doing what's right is a conscious decision you have to make thousands of times each day. I fail every day, but I'm trying to find true wisdom so that I can make the right decisions for myself and for my son. The best place to start in searching out wisdom is the Bible. Proverbs, specifically. Proverbs 2:1-9 "My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide [store up] my commandments with thee; So that thou incline [turn] thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her [wisdom] as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear [awe/reverence] of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler [shield]

I'm a sinner

I'm a sinner. I'm selfish, I'm rude, I think I'm better than other people (when I'm worse). I have so many faults that haunt me and that I'm trying to get rid of. I'm blessed, though. I have God in my heart and He has taken away the penalty for and has forgiven me of those sins.  Pastor was preaching on "Living water for a thirsty soul" tonight at church. The text he used was John 4:5-42 Jesus was going places, preaching His Word, and He went to Samaria. Samaria was a wicked place. They were a "mixed" group of people- worshiping pagan gods and not the One True God. Jesus stopped there and sat down at the town's well. Along came a woman to draw water. This wasn't any ordinary woman. This woman was a sinner. She had been married to 5 different men and the man that she was living with at the time was not her husband. Jesus knew all of this, even before she walked up. Jesus asked her for a drink because he was tired from his jo

In Times of Trouble

So, I haven't posted in almost a month because, well...I got sidetracked. The devil is good at that. But I'm back! I'm going to share a passage of Scripture that helped get me through my divorce.  It is Isaiah 55:4-17 (*Correction: Isaiah 54. Thank you Lydia :) (4) "Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded, for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more." (5) "For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name, and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called." (6) "For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God." (7) "For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee." (8) "In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but wit