On a journey

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I keep wanting to blog about what is going on in our life as a family and keep everyone updated and I always amazed at the end of the month that the whole month has gone by already.  When I do think about my blogging and what I am sharing, it always seems to fall short of what is truly important to me and that is my walk with the Lord.

I am wanting to share what is happening in my life and at the same time I just want readers to see that this is just my journey and not one to be compared to.  Others, I am sure are far beyond where I am at and I am sure there are others that are not where I am at.  As long as we are all on the path towards seeking the Lord, I think we are doing good.

With that said~~~Since the beginning of the year, I have had this strong, strong conviction on my heart to seek the Lord, to spend time with him.  It came through a series of different sermon’s at church and I believe culminated right before we had our Missions Conference in February.  I had also started to a series on Revive Our Hearts about the Song of Solomon How to Fall and Stay In Love with Jesus.  WOW!!

I have not finished the series and I am just amazed at what the Lord has shown me through listening to these broadcasts.  I have been able to focus my time throughout the day to make sure I am getting chapters of His Word read.  I want to share with you a few quotes that I heard in the broad cast…

“But I want to love Him with a passionate, fragrant love that engages my whole being and all my senses.

She has come to realize how wonderful he is, and she longs to experience his love in the fullest possible way. She doesn’t want to just know about him casually. She doesn’t want to just know about him. She wants a close, intimate, personal relationship with him. There was a time when she was contented with his absence, but not so any longer.

I think this is a picture here of a believer in Christ who has an intense desire for a more personal, intimate love relationship with Him.  This is somebody who’s come to be dissatisfied with the ordinary. They long to go further than average believers. There are other believers around you in your home perhaps or your church who are content with the status quo, just to go on professing Christ. It’s just a so-so, ho-hum relationship with Him. But you have been awakened to the loveliness of Christ. There’s something in your heart that can no longer be satisfied with a common, casual, distant relationship with Him.

You long for that intimate love relationship with Christ.”

This is where I am at.  I find it so hard to put into words.  The quotes from the broadcast resounded so much within me.  I just have this feeling that penetrates my soul it is in the very cells of my being.  So I have given up per se my Pinterest account…I have it but I know longer pin items to it, I see it was taking up too much of my time.  There are lots of great recipes on there I still plan to use and there are decorations on there for our Ladies Tea at church I will be using, etc. It has just come to be uppermost in my mind to make sure my free time is on those things that would really glorify Him.  Not that Pinterest is the evil one, but if something is taking so much of your time that you are no longer focusing large amounts of your day on the Lord but on a worldly pursuit, then it is time to let something go.

I believe it was in early March that I was at a Sunday evening service and was blessed beyond measure. Unbeknownst to the congregation the teens had been challenged by our Youth Pastor to memorize scripture.  I am not sure if the verses or chapter was assigned or if they were able to pick on their own.  What took place, was a young gentleman by the name of Timothy, came to the podium and recited all of John chapter 4 with no assistance.  I think Timothy must be all of 17. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the congregation.  Perhaps due to the conviction of the Holy Spirit upon most of us for not spending enough time to get God’s word in our hearts.  I am told he did it in a week earlier than the time allotted.

Well shortly thereafter, there was another broadcast on Revive Our Hearts You Need Hunger a three part series on how to memorize the word.  Janet Pope was the guest speaker and she has written a book on how she started this process in her life.  I might add she has memorized 14 books of the bible and over 100 chapters. She showed that we do not have blocks of time in our day to sit down and devote to memorization.  However, we do have time when we are getting ready in the morning, when we are folding laundry, when we are putting together the evening meal, driving children to sports practice, waiting in lines, waiting at practice, and the list goes on and on….when you add up those little snippets of time, you DO have time to get the word in your heart.

So I took the challenge I heard, just as she took it years ago when she first heard someone quote a chapter at a conference.  I started last week and memorized Psalms 1….yes 6 verses.  Some might scoff, but I say let them.  I did it, I set my mind to it and accomplished my goal and am moving forward.  My children are on board with the idea and we sat down this week to start the complete book of Titus.  One verse at a time day by day building on the previous verses.  I am looking forward to the blessings that abound for getting the Lord’s word in my heart and a constant mediation in my mind.

In the midst of all of this, I came across a blog post that mentioned The Hello Mornings Challenge A challenge to get up and seek the Lord first thing in the morning with prayer, scripture reading as well as exercise.  I took the challenge as well.  I was getting up at 8am previously and am now up at 7:30 and am seeking to get up at 7am.  The next challenge session starts May 6th and the FREE registration starts April 26th it will be a 13-week bible study of John and there will be a downloadable file to study along.  I am really excited to be apart of this Spring/Summer session and have signed up to be a an Accountability Coach to encourage those on my team.  I hope you all can join in if you have the time.

I also finally found a great deal on a used copy of Baxter’s Explore The Book, it is by J. Sidlow Baxter and it is the six volumes in one book and goes through the whole bible in an in-depth study.  I had asked my Pastor for a good study book of the bible as he does not recommend Strong’s concordance and he gave me this book that I mentioned.  I am really looking forward to being able to find out more about the bible and the people that wrote the books of the bible, etc.

Well that is it in a nutshell.  You see everything else just seems, to me, to pale in comparison to the Lord and my hearts desire. 

Woman’s Work…..

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This past week was Baptist History Week at our church.  This week happened to coincide with our monthly ladies brunch.  We were honored to have a guest speaker, Mrs. Danielle Faggart, the wife of the visiting Preacher for the week. I was so blessed by her devotional, I thought I would share it here to the best of my ability.

One of the first comments that she shared is that it is often referred to as “Woman’s work” and yet when it comes to men it is called “A man’s job.”  just thought that was interesting!!

The purpose of this devotional was to show us the different rolls we have as women throughout our lives. And using scriptures to show good and bad examples of each type of roll.

1. As a Daughter--In Genesis 34":1 we read about Dinah, Jacob’s daughter. “And Dinah the daughter of Leah, and she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her.

Dinah was not happy or content with the way things were at home.  Was somewhat rebellious.was not content to stay with her people, her family.  She left home and was defiled. We need to make sure we are content with our family and our church and wait for the Lord.

Proverbs 30:15 “the horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is enough”  Again, two daughters that are not content with things at home, constantly making demands, never satisfied…coveting and despising their parents authority….

2 Kings 5:2 “And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman's wife.” We are not told the name of this maid, but we are shown that she was faithful, she waited, she didn’t need anything.  She waited on the wife, she served in any capacity possible, she waited on the Lord. There are blessings to be had with waiting and waiting with contentment.  Be content with whatever you have.

 

2.  As a Sister--Let’s look at Numbers 12:2 “And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it.” The text is referring to Miriam, sister to Moses and Aaron. She became jealous of Moses and not content. There was sibling rivalry that took place. However, she also insulted God and as a consequence was shut out from the camp having been struck with leprosy.  We are never to old to have problems with the flesh….

Mary was a sister as well, to Martha and to Lazarus.  Each family member had different personalities and gifts.  They had a sweet family spirit.

2 Corinthians 10:12 “For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. “ We don’t want to compare ourselves with others and get into devilish issues.

 

3. The Unmarried Woman--Matthew 14:6--“But when Herod's birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod. Mat 14:7  Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask. Mat 14:8  And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist's head in a charger.  Herodius’ daughter, dancing in the palace…used her body as a tool to follow the devil…had no thought of God. Was not under proper authority.

The opposite of this is found in 1 Corinthians 7:34--“There is difference also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband. “  In this situation, the focus is on how to serve parents, how to help out the family, time is spent examining themselves, their time, their behaviors to make sure they are in line with scripture.

It is not just a housewife or a mother, with training in scripture God will give you what you need and turn you into what you are…be the best you can be and He will give you what you need…

 

4. As a Wife--1 Kings 21:25 “But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest no bread?”  Jezebel, a name associated with wickedness.  She used the position she had for more wickedness, more evil instead of for the good.  She was stirring up her husband for evil.  We are to use our influence for the Lord, it is a privilege.

A Godly Wife--Acts 18:2 “And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them. “ Priscilla’s name and Aquila’s name are almost constantly linked in the bible, always together, working for the Lord.  They had a vocation to help the ministry as one, a team in scripture…These were not easy times but they were faithful to the Lord.

 

5.  As a Mother-- 2 Chronicles 22:3 “He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab: for his mother was his counsellor to do wickedly. “ His mother was Ahaziah.  His mother counseled him to do wickedly, thus, not pleasing to God…She like many of the other women mentioned so far, has left a record and a legacy…she didn’t help him put away his wickedness.

John 2:5 “His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.” Here we have Mary, Jesus’ mother.  Follow whatever Jesus said, not just because I said to do it because Jesus asks it. Mother’s are to teach their children to bring them to where you are at not push them to where you are at.

 

6.  As a Widow--1 Timothy 5:11 “But the younger widows refuse: for when they have begun to wax wanton against Christ, they will marry; “ Young widows refuse…when not trying to please the Lord, when a young widow being idle, taddlers, revealing things they should not…just not focusing on the Lord, forgetting what their mission is….

The older widows were taken care of by the church we see in Luke 2:36 a wonderful example of a Godly older widow--“And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; “She served the Lord with her time, she was constantly busy for the Lord, she prayed, fasted and had a ministry that God revealed special things to her.  She was using her time to glorify the Lord.

 

7.  As a Grandmother--2 Timothy 1:5 “When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.” Lois had faith, she was an example of living her life faithful to the Lord; doing everything still to serve the Lord…as a Grandmother, you can use influence to teach good things and commit these things to faithful men…to pass onto Grandchildren.

 

8.  As a Friend--Acts 9:36--“Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did. “ When she passed away all the friends came and showed the things she had done for them.  Whatever she had she was willing to share, willing to do…she was willing to do what was needed..She was devoted to the household of faith first.

 

Our “Works” our good and bad that we do….we will be judged for our works…were we following out His commission..

We are not going to give an account for our sins, our sins have been forgiven and washed by the blood of Jesus.  What is really interesting/ fascinating to read about is 1 Corinthians 3:13 “Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.”

We are going to be judged by our work…What kind of daughter, what kind of unmarried woman, what kind of wife, mother, grandmother, friend….  This is our work he has given us to do; were we a submissive daughter, a submissive wife, a Godly Mother.  Were we a guiding Grandmother?

He is doing that work in us and it is up to us to do that outwardly and we will be judged by how well we have executed these works.

 

 

This devotion was so wonderful to me and had a wonderful impact, I wanted to type it out as best I could to refer back to it and share it with my daughter…I know it may be a little sketchy, but this was as thorough as my notes were and I was writing as fast I could.  I hope you enjoy!!

God Bless~~

 

 

 

Sunday School Studies

Pin It We have started a new semester in Sunday School.  Last Semester we took the elective course which was a survey of the New Testament.  This semester most of the church is studying the Gospel of Luke.

Last Sunday was Luke 1:5-25 with the theme of Hope in God.....Do you recall the story....The elderly couple, Zacharias and his wife Elizabeth, that were righteous before God and obeying him in all, yet had no children. ( I would love to know somehow, how old they were!!) Zacharias and his wife were also extremely faithful in their prayers to God to be blessed when it was His will. The angel appears and tells Zacharias that he and his wife will be blessed with a child and Zacharias responds...."How shall I know this?...."

The couple was blessed for their faithfulness to God in word and deed....however it was Zacharias that actually was punished for doubting the Angel's words....  it is easy to read the story now, hundreds of years after the event and go well duh...of course it was true, it was an ANGEL you silly...who would ever think and Angel wouldn't speak the truth.....  But how like us to give up so easily when our prayer is not answered immediately! How many of us stay the course for days, weeks, months, years for prayers to be answered....I know I have wavered on issues that have been important to me, I have prayed for a time and then other things seemed to come to pass and then I get back around to that particular issue again and it is picked up and prayed over again for a time......

I liked what Matthew Henry's commentary had to say: "Prayers of faith are filed in heaven, and are not forgotten. Prayers made when we were young and entering into the world, may be answered when we are old and going out of the world. Mercies are doubly sweet that are given in answer to prayer."

Stay the course, keep each other accountable for praying, we are in this together..."Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them"  Matthew 18:20....


~~~

Today we discussed Luke 5:17-26 the story of the friends who brought the cripple on the stretcher to see Jesus, through the multitudinous crowds and lowered him through the roof.  The cripple, his sins were forgiven and he was healed to the point of getting up and walking, carrying his stretcher away AND glorifying God as he spread the good news.

Faith in action....Faith...believing in what cannot be seen....When we believe it creates steadfastness is us, hope in God, trusting....and out of that comes action.....

It was the friends who had the most Faith and it was that Faith that put into action with such pressing need, such urgency, at all costs to get the cripple into Jesus' presence.......  Matthew Henry's online commentary...puts it this way..."In applying to Christ, we must be very pressing and urgent; that is an evidence of faith, and is very pleasing to Christ, and prevailing with him." 

Are we all seeking the Lord, urgently, pressing, at all costs, or are we saving it until after we have the laundry done, the children feed, the family room picked up the bathroom cleaned....after everyone is down for the night....

It is interesting that in all the real life examples that were brought up in class today, everyone of the showed evidence of Faith, there was no lack of it in each and every instance.....how many times when the trials arise do we  immediately turn to God and say Thank You and pray for Him to work it out....Or do you turn to your friends first and remember to pray later.....

What do you do when the answer doesn't come back that you want???  We talked about that today as well...someone talked about someone who had Leukemia and had been praying and had not been healed..was a Pastor and had given up on praying but his wife had not....and how he had finally gone back to church grudgingly to give another sermon, in the midst of tremendous physical pain....and it turned out to be one of the most memorable days of his entire life.....but God had not cured him of his disease.....

What do you do when you can't pray....the tragic loss of a loved one, it is not that you lack the faith, you just lack the ability to pray for yourself anymore, your mind is numb and barely functioning, you can pray for others but praying for yourself is just to overwhelming in the circumstances......  Make sure that you are always in contact with friends who will stand in the gap for you.....I know during the weeks of waiting after I had found out that Corban had died and waiting for him to be born..... I couldn't pray, I was crying out to just hang onto God, to just help me make through each day...but I could pray for others, it gave me something to do, to focus on because the rest of me was mush...lol.... 

It was the prayers of others that helped me to make it through, I couldn't even acknowledge the half of them, but they really made all the difference between this world and heaven!  So, have Faith, work on building it daily, seek Him urgently, passionately, fervently!!!

One Anothers in church ....Scriptures

Pin It “One Another” in the Churchby Fred G. Zaspel, Pastor Cornerstone Church of Skippack

1. Be at peace with one another (Mark 9:50)
2. Love one another (John 13:34)
3. Be joined to one another (Romans 12:5)
4. Be devoted to one another (Romans 12:10)
5. Honor one another (Romans 12:10)
6. Rejoice with one another (Romans 12:15)
7. Weep with one another Romans 12:15)
8. Live in harmony with one another (Romans 12:16)
9. Accept one another (Romans 15:7)
10. Admonish one another (Romans 15:14)
11. Greet one another (Romans 16:16)
12. Agree with each other (1 Corinthians 1:10)
13. Wait for one another (1 Corinthians 11:33)
14. Care for one another (1 Corinthians 12:25)
15. Serve one another (Galatians 5:13)
16. Carry one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2)
17. Be kind to one another (Ephesians 4:32)
18. Forgive one another (Ephesians 4:32)
19. Submit to one another (Ephesians 5:21)
20. Bear with one another (Colossians 3:13)
21. Teach and admonish one another (Colossians 3:16)
22. Encourage one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11)
23. Build up one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11)
24. Spur one another on (Hebrews 10:24)
25. Offer hospitality to one another (1 Peter 4:9)
26. Minister gifts to one another (1 Peter 4:10)
27. Be humble toward one another (1 Peter 5:5)
28. Confess your sins to one another (James 5:16)
29. Pray for one another (James 5:16)
30. Fellowship with one another (1 John 1:7)