Stepping Out By Faith... Through God

So God brought me through one semester of Bible college...
and He has led me to another one.

This morning, I read in Matthew 6...
"And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field,
how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you,
That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these."


I wondered what it could have meant that Solomon,
a man so rich & powerful, wasn't to be compared to a lily!?
Throughout the day of pondering, the Lord finally opened my eyes.

Solomon had it all.
He never had to worry about food, finances, and friends...
He never needed to rely on God to provide everything for Him.
His life was comfortable, secure, and enjoyable.

A small lily of the field is so helpless, unable to do anything.
It's only source of life and existence is from God.
It relies totally on Him for the sunshine, rain, and growth.
...How does this relate to me, as a Christian?...

I have to say, it's pretty scary, since I had no money to put on my first payment,
my job only covers 1/2 my bill, and my classes have a lot of intense projects.

But looking back, when I was so worried about His provision,
I see how He actually got me through.
So many times I doubted Him, wondered if He even heard my prayers or cared,
and even considered giving up and choosing an easier path of a secular career.

But after tears, prayers, and continually handing it over to the Lord
(I say "continually", since I was always taking it back into my own hands),
He finally showed Himself and provided the exact amount of money I needed.
It was such a mircale, and it taught me so many lessons of faith.

Even now, looking back and seeing His provision, I'm ashamed
to say that I still have a hard time trusting Him to provide for me.
I've always been the type of person to plan out everything,
be sure to see my future clearly ahead of me,
and make desicions based on logical analyzing.

The Christian walk isn't all logic-following.
(Our brains aren't to be compared to God's way of thinking, anyway!)
If I can see the steps right in front of me, where does faith come in?

God brings us to places where we are helpless, cannot see the next step,
and are empty-handed. Why? Why does He do this to His children?

Because it's when we finally let go of providing and planning for oursleves,
that we become as dependent children of a loving Father.
We have an opportunity to grow closer to Him,
and to watch how He will provide.

Isn't that amazing? That God cares to provide for me?
If I always did things for myself, I would miss out on seeing God's miracles.

He used that time last semester, and even now as I'm still scared,
to teach me to let go of my pride, and fully lean on Him.
He wants to use this time to nurture my relationship with Him!

God doesn't tell us to do something, then make it impossible to do!
He wants to do that 'impossible' through us.
Not ME through Him, but rahter HIM through me.

Then I realized... what an amazing privilage!
Why in the WORLD does God want to use someone as sinful as me?!
Yet, He does. And He WILL make a way!

I encourage you, Christian friend, DONT give up on God!
Don't be afraid to take that step of faith!
Yes, it's scary, confusing, and even hard.
Satan is going to throw things at you to discourage you.

But just remember in this upcoming year:
When God is calling you to do something, He WILL provide!


 "Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."
Matthew 6:30-33

Completely

This song is one of my favorites!

I was listening to it last night and the words were just such a blessing to me!

The secret of life is letting go

The secret of love is letting it show

In all that I do, In all that I say

Right here in this moment

The power of prayer is in a humble cry

The power of change is in giving my life

And laying it down, Down at Your feet

Right here in this moment

Take my heart, Take my soul

I surrender everything to Your control

And let all that is within me

Lift up to You and say,

"I am Yours, and Yours alone completly"

This journey of life is a search for truth

This journey of faith is following You

Every step of the way, Through the joy & the pain

Right here in this moment

Take my heart, Take my soul

I surrender everything to Your control

And let all that is within me

Lift up to You and say,

"I am Yours, and Yours alone completly"

Right here, right now

And for the rest of my life

He Didn't Throw The Clay Away

Empty and broken, I came back to Him.

A vessel unworthy; so scarred with sin.

But He did not despair-

He started over again,

And I bless the day He didn't throw the clay away.

(Chorus)

Over and over He molds me and makes me.

Into His likeness, He fashions the clay.

A vessel of honor I am today-

All because Jesus didn't throw the clay away.

He is the Potter and I'm just the clay,

But molded in His image, He wants me to stay.

When I stumble and I fall, my vessel breaks-

He just picks up the pieces,

He doesn't throw the clay away.

Over and over He molds me and makes me.

Into His likeness, He fashions the clay.

A vessel of honor I am today-

All because Jesus didn't throw the clay away.

So many times I fail and so many times He picks me up again. He never gives up on us.

 Sometimes it seems all our strength is gone and all hope of holiness is vanished:

But Jesus is standing there, ready to give us the victory if we ask Him!

Oh, the Lord is SO good! He is so merciful, loving, longsuffering...

I just can't comprehend why He is so good to me!

"Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God." Ephesians 3:13-19

That Ye May Know...

Time to time, I've struggled with assurance.
I've been sometimes worried that I doubted my salvation,
because I thought if I really was saved, I would know it!
I thought that I was the only one, but over the past few months,
I've realized how other dear Christian friends
I have struggle with the same thing!
I've been praying about it for quite some time,
and thought I'd share what the Lord has revealed to me,
in case any anyone else has struggled as well.

I remember when I was 5 years old,
I understood I was a sinner, that Christ died for me,
and I didn't want to go to hell.
I knelt by my bed and prayed and asked Jesus to
forgive me and come into my heart and save me.
When I was about 9, I felt I may not have
really been saved and that I was basing my assurance
on a 'profession' I had made.
So I told the Lord I was sorry for my sins
and that I wanted Him to forgive me,
come into my heart and save me.

Age 12 I struggled.
Age 14 I stuggled.
I have to say, though, that I've struggled the most in 2008.
In March I said a prayer to 'make sure'.
In June I said another one to 'make sure'.
But after a while, I'd start doubting again.
Sometimes I just didn't feel saved.
Finally, on October 16 2008, I told the Lord about it.
Somehow, I figured He didn't know or care I felt no assurance.
I knelt beside my bed and cried out to Him.
I told Him I was doubting and that I was tired of it!
I was so scared...
did I repent enough? did I say the right thing?
did I have enough faith? did I base it all on a prayer?

But then He stopped me and reminded me...
It's not if what I did was good enough,
It's about what Christ did.
He reminded me that His blood was enough.

Romans 10:13 came to me...
"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
All I need is enough faith to just ask Him
and to know I'm a sinner and am sorry.
He reminded me of the time I did that.
When I really called to Him.
I was saved... am saved!
My assurance comes from trusting Him to keep His promise!


I thought I'd share some verses He used to speak to me...

"All that the Father giveth me shall come to me;
and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out."
John 6:37

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
but have everlasting life."
John 3:16 

"If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if [he ask] a fish,
will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children:how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?"
Luke 11:11-13

I knew I was saved... I just needed to trust Him
that He really did hear me and save me and keeps His promises.

It's not God's will for us to be doubting our salvation.
The devil tries to get us to doubt.
Since he cannot have our souls,
he wants to keep us from doing as much for God as he can.
If we spend so much time wondering if we're saved,
we become discouraged and not as useful for Him...
we can forget about all those souls we need to tell, too.
That is our job as a Christian,
and satan tries to keep us too busy with ourselves.
Also, doubting is a sure sign of backsliding.
And when I heard that in a message,
I looked back and realized it was so in my life.
Anytime I wasn't in God's Word,
or did something I knew the Holy Spirit 'pricked' me about,
I would sure enough start doubting.
And after a while, the Holy Spirit will stop 'pricking'.
God will always be there to come back to,
but if we're going to ignore Him, He'll sit back.
Then I really started doubting, since I felt so numb
to the things of the Lord.
But when we're completely right with God,
completely trusting in Him and His Word,
we're not going to doubt!

Praise the Lord that He never gives up.
His mercy and grace never end!
We fall aside so many times,
and when we come back, He's always forgives us!
This wonderful God sent His son to die for our sins.
All we have to do is believe and accept His gift.
If you have done that but are doubting,
I encourage you to tell the Lord about it.
He knows and cares that you are, and He will help you.

"These things have I written unto you that
believe on the name of the Son of God;
that ye may know that ye have eternal life,
and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God."
1 John 5:13

Spiritual Kicks...

(the narrative I delivered this morning in Speech class. It's edited to a reader's format.)

I love guns!
Since I was a young girl, I decided dolls were too girly and
started playing secret spy and cops with pretend guns.
I remember the first gun I shot was just a good old rifle.
I was 10 years old and so proud that I missed 1 out of 50 targets.
I just knew that I was born for guns.

 Anyway, on our journey to California from North Carolina,
we stayed a week at my grandparents in Arkansas.
And my Dad had just bought a brand new 9mm gun!
I was so excited, it was “the real cop” gun, and I was gonna shoot it.
 Unfortunately, I figured I already knew everything there was to know about shooting a gun,
So I was kinda tuning my Dad out as he tried explaining how to properly shoot the 9mm.

 Well, a 9mm is a lot different from a rifle. It has a kick.
I didn’t bother heeding that part of my Dad’s instruction.
So I grabbed the gun, got in my cool “cop pose”, kinda goofing off,
pulled the trigger and BOOM.
I was nearly knocked over! I was thinking what in the world?!
To make matters worse, the bullet casing hit my neck
so my first thought was, “I shot myself!!”
And I was even trying to think mathematically how that would work
seeing I was aiming the gun the other way…
anyway, needless to say, I wasn’t shot.

 The problem was how I was holding the gun and how I was standing.
My Dad then went on to explain (for the second time) that you must hold it
a certain way and must have a firm stance to counteract the kick.
After I got serious about it and followed my Dad’s instruction,
the gun’s kick was hardly felt and I had a lot more fun.
And hit my target... not myself... or my Dad.

 A couple days later in my Bible study, I was studying how
Satan is out there to knock us off our feet.
And if we’re not careful to heed our Heavenly Father’s instructions,
we won’t be taking the right stance to remain standing against Satan’s attacks in our lives.
We’ll feel defeated and we’ll never hit our target.
But, if we watch and pray, and heed His instructions, Satan’s kicks won’t knock us down,
we can enjoy the Christian life, and we’ll be sure to hit our target every time.

Lessons In Young Adulthood

The past couple of months
have been somewhat difficult for me.
Entering adulthood is a very exciting,
but challenging time.
Ever since I was little,
I just couldn't wait to be a 'grown-up'.
And now that it's within sight,
I constantly find myself impatient
and trying to rush things.
I suddenly fell for the idea
that since I was leaving home (for college),
I was the one who should be controlling my life.
Of course, I wasn't owning up to,
it in that wording,
but I figured that
since I'm pretty much an adult,
I can do what I want, right?

So I confess, I was getting pretty frustrated
if my parents would tell me "no",
or tell me to do a certain thing a certain way.
I mean, God should be my only authority,
shouldn't He?
I was actually believing
that I was the one in the right!

But God's been using
a lot of different circumstances,
and a lot of prayers and discussions
to pop my pride bubble
and show me I was the one who was wrong.
OUCH!

I was grieved at the disrespect
that I had allowed to pile up in my heart.
He's shown me that, still being under my parent's roof,
I am still under their authority, like it or not.
And just by turning 18,
it doesn't make me exempt from honoring my parents.
They are the authority God has placed in my life.
And the commandment He has given is
"Honor your parents".
No matter what age,
we're instructed to honor and obey our parents.

Parents are God-given authority in our lives.
They have lived longer, had more experience,
and can think clearer than we can.
God knows just what each of us needs
in order to be who He wants us to be.
His purpose was to use our parents to get us to that goal.

I realize that young adulthood
is a challenging time for many,
so I just wanted to encourage those of you
(and any age, for that matter!),
don't despise the convictions and rules
placed by your parents.
If you don't think they are God's 'rules',
well, they ARE!
He said to honor and obey,
thus that's His will for you right now!
If your Mom says to make supper,
it's actually God telling you to.

Looking back in my younger years,
I remember some rules and restrictions
that I thought at the time were dumb or pointless...
but I can now see
that the Lord has spared me a lot of heartache and trouble
by placing it in my parent's hearts,
even though I wasn't happy to comply.
I look back on something like that
and only wish I was more submissive
and obedient in those areas...
but I can't change the past.
I am writing the present and the future, however,
and it is my desire to be able
to look back and say that I was glad
of how I responded to
authority through my late teen years,
and throughout my life.

I've realized,
I really can't continue in that way on my own;
I need help from my precious, precious Jesus
every second of the day.
"I can do all things through Christ,
which strengtheneth me."
This is why it is so important
to keep a sweet and intimate relationship with Him!

We shouldn't just try and "survive"
the years of young adulthood,
we need to thrive.
God has lessons to teach us,
if we're willing to humble ourselves to listen.

Avoiding Contamination...

"I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world,
but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil." John 17:15

Consider how important it is for a doctor
to wear gloves to prevent contamination.
He could ignore the obvious dangers, or he could
stay away from danger by not caring for people at all.
He chooses, however, to both care for the needs of his patients
and avoid contamination by wearing protective gloves.

The world we live in is a sinful place that is hostile
to Spirit-filled living, yet it's filled with many needy people.
Obviously, God's plan is not to completely withdraw from the world.
His will is for us to live in this world, helping sinful men,
all the while protecting ourselves from sin through the
promised power of the Holy Spirit.


from "Learning To Live With God"
Discipleship course by Jeff Musgrave

Surrendered In Love

A rough draft excerpt from the book I'm writing,
Falling In Love With Jesus

...For so long, I’ve had a somewhat distorted vision of what “God’s will” really is.
I seemed to have fallen for the idea that it consisted of what I wanted to do,
but fitting in some type of Christianity, and slapping the label of “God’s will” on it.
Oh sure, I was still making ‘sacrifices’,
(such as letting go of things that were ‘really bad’)
but all in all I was still happy; therefore God must be happy, right?
From my own outlook, I was pleasing the Lord and was ‘in His will’;
but in reality, I was following what my flesh wanted
and missing out on what God really planned for me.
He really brought that home to me when I read the verse in Romans 8…
“So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.”
Thankfully this is not a hopeless case meaning that
anyone with human bodies has no chance of pleasing God.
It simply holds up to the fact that the spirit and flesh war against each other.
And when we are just doing what our flesh enjoys,
we are continually feeding our flesh, therefore living in the flesh;
and any efforts to try and throw in ‘spiritual things’ here and there
are not pleasing to the Lord.
Perhaps they are ‘for the Lord’ and are very good things,
but we’re ‘doing good’ for Him in our own strength.
“For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing…”
Our ‘righteousness’ and ‘good works’ are as filthy rags
when done in our flesh and in our strength.
We’re only laying up wood, hay, & stubble.

So what is God’s will?
Well, I have no idea what His will is for my friend, siblings, or anyone else;
but it is my duty to find out His will for me.
Now as I mentioned above, it’s not about what ‘feels’ right or makes me happy;
but rather what the Lord, who has allowed me to live on this earth, planned for me.
I came to some interesting realizations while searching for the Lord’s will…
if He truly wanted to, He could surely take me Home in an instant.
Of course I subconsciously knew this, but somehow I started
consciously knowing this concept and actually came to grips with it.
In all reality, I surely never deserve the next day He gives me,
so what am I really here for today anyway?
The fact is, He put me here and keeps me here because He has a purpose.
A plan from before I was even born,
and He’s waiting to use me in that perfect way.
How longsuffering He is with us when day after day we refuse
to surrender to His plan and yet He gives us another day!

It was under these realizations that I truly came to know that I was not my own!
Life isn’t about doing what I want, even if it’s a ‘good thing’.
Maybe I want to be a teacher, but is it what God wants for me?
Perhaps I want to be a doctor and help people that way,
but is it what God made me to be?
Maybe I dream of being a foreign missionary doing the Lord’s work,
but is that the Lord’s work for me?
So many times, we tend to settle for something good, or maybe even really good,
but we don’t bother pushing for God’s best for lives.
Now, I’m in no way saying that the Lord has planned for me to do something
I absolutely hate and I’ll have to miss out on everything I do like.
He is not a mean God who sits back thinking,
“OK, Ally dislikes this, and that’s what I want her to do
to be a living sacrifice, or else she doesn’t get my blessings.”
Quite the contrary, actually.
There comes great joy when doing the Lord’s will.
And He has taken care to plant every little thing about me…
He knows my interests, my likes, my desires;
and He wishes to use those things for His own will.
But when I’m in my flesh, I cannot properly balance such things,
and can easily be swayed into doing things off of how it feels to me.
He wishes to help us, to strengthen us with His own strength,
so that we may accomplish what we were created to do.
“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
Paul wasn’t boasting,
“I can do a lot on my own ‘cuz I’m a pretty strong and spiritual man”.
He actually worded quite well the dilemma of every Christian when humbly saying,
“For the good that I would I do not:
but the evil which I would not, that I do.”
He doesn’t end with this hopeless statement, but rather contrasts it:
“I thank God THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD.
So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God;
but with the flesh the law of sin.”
Indeed, as our Lord put it in the garden of Gethsemane,
“…the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Our flesh is very weak indeed, and thus cannot do anything in it
pleasing to the Lord, even if our mind is ‘in the right place’.
So many times we can easily fall into the mindset of
“It’s for the Lord, after all. Anything will do.”
We cannot use such excuses to justify our sin.

Look at King Saul, for instance.
In 1 Samuel 15, Saul was told by the prophet
Samuel that the Lord commanded that the Amalekites were to be completely wiped out.
“Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy ALL that they have,
and SPARE THEM NOT; But slay both man and woman, infant and suckling,
ox and sheep, camel and ass.” Verse 3 states.
So Saul went and killed off the Amalekites in verse 7.
However, he takes a wrong turn in verse 9,
“But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep,
and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, And the lambs,
and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them;
but everything that was vile and refuse, that they did destroy.”
Now seeing this from where we are, we see this as flat-out disobedience.
But in Saul’s point of view, he really thought He was pleasing the Lord.
After all, He did still do what the Lord told him to do… the Amalekites were dead.
In fact, when Samuel came to him again, he proudly proclaimed,
“I have performed the commandment of the Lord.”
Did he really?
Is that what the Lord wanted?
Seems to me the Lord wasn’t very pleased.
Oh, but he did have a pretty good mindset, for he claimed,
“(I) have… spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen,
to sacrifice to the Lord thy God…”
Saul thought he could do it his own way.
Saul thought it would be good to sacrifice to the Lord.
Saul thought he was in the ‘will of God’.
Saul was ‘doing it for the Lord’.
Saul thought the Lord was pleased.
Because he was placing his own reasoning
and logic before the Lord, he was doing it in his flesh.
The Lord was not pleased.
Samuel readily rebuked him by saying, “Behold, to obey is better
than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.”
He was readily punished as well,
“Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD,
he hath also rejected thee from being king.”

Now isn’t that like us sometimes?
We use our own thinking, our own logic (our flesh!), and throw in some
commandment of the Lord in the middle and boast we’re “in the will of God”.
Oh, but we’re doing it “for the Lord”; “I’m happy so He must be happy too.”
Obedience is better than sacrifice.
I can give up everything I want in this world
and do what I think is an ultimate sacrifice, but if isn’t what God told me to do,
than it’s still disobedience and He is not pleased.
Imagine the wonderful blessings that Saul
could have had if he had wholly obeyed the Lord.
Imagine the wonderful blessing we may be missing
out on when we’re not in the perfect will of God...

Are You On Fire?

{photo courtesy allposters.com}

As I sat reading my Bible the other morning,
I reached for the nice, creamy cup of coffee on my dresser.
Putting it to my lips, anticipating the hot, refreshing taste,
I was disgusted to discover that it had lost all it's heat!
Hardly wanting to swallow the room-temperature coffee
now stuck in my mouth, I finally gulped it down, cringed,
and set it back on the dresser, never to return.

Almost instantly, I was reminded of a passage in Revelation:
When the Lord was addressing the Christians at Laodicea, He said:
"So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot,
I will spue thee out of my mouth." (Rev.3:16)
From this passage, we have derived the term "lukewarm Christians".
And just as a lukewarm cup of coffee is bad to taste to us,
even more so, a lukewarm Christian is "bad to taste" to God.

"I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot:
I would thou wert cold or hot." (v15)
A "hot Christian" would be on fire for the Lord,
serving Him with all his might, and constantly growing spiritually.
A "cold Christian" would be one who has fallen away.
Why would the Lord prefer this over being "lukewarm"?
A Christian who is backsliding, knows that he is backsliding;
He knows he needs to get right with God again,
and knows that he's not where he should be.
A "lukewarm Christian" is a 'satisfied' Christian.
He's found his comfort zone, calls it "God's will",
and thinks he's alright with God and doesn't need a revival.
He's not totally surrendered to the perfect will of God,
not growing spiritually, and not 'on fire' for the Lord.
The Lord says that they are not pleasing to Him, and He will spew them out.


Dear Christian friend- are you on fire for the Lord?
Are you surrendered to His will, serving Him completely,
growing in grace and knowledge, and abiding in His presence?
God help us to keep the flames burning in our hearts!
May we never become or stay lukewarm!

10 Sure Fire Ways To Avoid Being a Missionary

A re-post from a while ago, with a topic that's been on my heart lately.

Livingstone as a Missionary Reads the Bible to African Natives
print from allposters.com


1. Ignore Jesus' request in John 4:35
that we take a long hard look at the fields.
Seeing the needs of people
can be depressing and very unsettling.
It could lead to genuine missionary concern.


2. Focus your energies on
socially legitimate targets.
Go after a bigger salary.
Focus on getting a job promotion, a bigger home,
a more luxurious car, or future financial security.
Along the way, run up some big credit card debts.


3. Get married to somebody who thinks
the Great Commission is what your employer
gives you after you make a big sale.
After marriage, embrace the socially accepted norms of
settling down, establishing a respectable career trajectory
and raising a picture-perfect family.


4. Stay away from missionaries.
Their testimonies can be disturbing.
The situations they describe will distract you from embracing
whole-heartedly the materialistic lifestyle of your home country.


5. If you happen to think about missions,
restrict your attention to countries where it's
impossible to openly do missionary work.
Think only about North Korea,
Saudi Arabia, and other closed countries.
Forget the vast areas of our globe open to missionaries.


6. Think how bad a missionary you would be
based on your own past failures.
It is unreasonable to expect you will ever be any better.
Don't even think about Moses, David, Jonah,
Peter or Mark, all of whom overcame failures.


7. Always imagine missionaries as talented,
super-spiritual people who stand on lofty pedestals.
Maintaining this image of missionaries
will heighten your own sense of inadequacy.
Convincing yourself that God does not use ordinary people
as missionaries will smother any guilt you may feel about
refusing to even listen for a call from God.


8. Agree with the people who tell you
that you are indispensable where you are.
Listen when they tell you that your local church
or home country can't do without you.


9. Worry incessantly about money.


10. If you still feel you must go, go out right away
without any preparation or training.
You'll soon be home again and no one
can ever blame you for not trying!


I found this list in Mom's documents and wanted to share
It was originally shared at Standing in the Gap


It was great timing when the Lord let me read this!
My passion for going to the mission field,
I admit, can sometimes get rather small,
even though I know the Lord's called me
and I've made that commitment.
It's sad how so many times Satan tries to
distract us with our own desires .
Even ones that may not seem, necessarily, 'bad'.

For example, I thought it would be nice
to be a nuclear chemist working with
radioactivity and extensive energy research.
Does that seem bad? No... not really.
However, it's NOT what I know God's called me to do!
It's my own selfish desire!
I know that I need to be constantly on my knees begging
Him to keep my soul on fire and to avoid distractions.

I've heard of too many people (so many)
that know the Lord's called them somewhere,
but they've gotten distracted and never went.
I pray very hard I do not become the part of the 90%
who say God's calling them, but go their own way.

I strongly encourage others to really seek God's will.
Teen years( and even before and after) is a very important
time to be seeking and determining what God is calling us to do.
Who knows, maybe He's calling you to a mission field?
The question is, if He is, am I willing to 'die to myself' and go?

Let's not take the advice of the above 10 points...
I'm sure they'll keep anyone out of the mission field!


"And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world,
and preach the gospel to every creature."
Mark 16:15

"Say not ye, There are yet four months,
and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you,
Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields;
for they are white already to harvest."
Luke 4:35

Remembering Him In Our Youth

(A rough draft excerpt from the book I'm working at writing, Falling In Love With Jesus)

The Lord has a special heart for young people.
He created it so that our youth is full of energy, life, and potential.
Our years of youth are the most important years;
we are becoming who we’ll be for the rest of our lives.
Satan knows this, so he will try even harder
to get the hearts and minds of us in our youth.
He’s going to try in any way that he can
to keep us from being all sold out for the Lord.
If he can get us now, it’ll surely be easier to keep us later.
(Likewise, if we’re on fire for God now,
it’ll be more likely to stay that way later.)
Those blessed with the vigor of youth should use every opportunity
to do for the Lord that which they won’t be able to do in the future.
Sadly, most of the time when I converse with elderly people,
they’re constantly telling me how they
wish they started living for the Lord sooner.
Oh yes, they may be ‘on fire’ for God now,
but they are more physically restricted now than when they were younger.
Think of how greatly the Lord can use someone who is all sold out for Him,
and still has their whole life to do it!
Young men and women who are not bound by physical limitations
can use their strength and energy to glorify God.
Unfortunately, teenage years and young adulthood is often
the most misused times of too many people’s lives.
They often take their abilities and strength for granted,
and as a result, they limit their effectiveness for Christ.
There are so many things we allow to steal our time
that we should be using for Christ and abiding in Him.
The majority of our youth today are so consumed with dating,
relationships, rebellion, selfish pursuits, or whatever it may be;
And thus, they are wasting the very precious years of their youth,
which could be used completely for the glory of God.
Romantic relationships, particularly, are the biggest snares
that Satan uses to tempt our Christian young people;
And through it, will gradually yet surely destroy their lives and testimonies.
Just take a look at an average youth group!
The most common topic of discussion is to hear about
“who’s with who” or “how nice looking so and so is”.
Instead of edifying one another and talking about what the Lord’s been doing,
so many of today’s Christian teenagers are too busy being ‘on the make’.
That’s a sad situation!
How sad it must make the Lord as He sees His youth
throwing away their precious years.
He’s said, “Let no man despise thy youth;
But be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation,
in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” 1 Timothy 4:12
We are to be using our youth as an example;
to edify other believers in the faith.
The purpose of youth is not to live a ‘carefree’ life and
“have all the fun we can get while we can”;
it is the most valuable time in our lives that we only get once!
It is the only time we have to prepare for the rest of our lives!
What a great and essential task, yet so many are so careless with it.

“Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee
in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart,
and in the sight of thine eyes: But know thou that for all these things
God will bring thee into judgment.” Ecclesiastes 11:9
I think this is a great reminder to beware about following our hearts.
We must remember that we do give an account for every thing we do.
If we think that we can live our youth in selfish pursuits
or rebellion, we must remember:
“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatever a man soweth,
that shall he also reap.” Galatians 6:8
So many times, it’s easy to fall for the mindset of enjoying
and spending our youth, forgetting the purpose of these years.
These are the years that we need to spend seeking
God’s perfect will for our lives, being completely surrendered to it,
Getting prepared for the life He has meant for us to live,
and serving Him to the fullest of the ability that He gives us.
We need to be dying daily. (“…I die daily.” 1 Cor. 15:31)
Now, dying is not suppressing.
When we die to ourselves, it brings forth much fruit.
We must not suppress our sinful desires,
but rather put those away and use all that energy for the Lord.
Instead of using our passion and energy being focused on romance,
earthly pursuits, or whatever it is, let’s put that passion
to good use and use it for Jesus!
We all have zeal, fervor, and life in us…
why not apply it all to an eternal perspective?
We crave love and romance; let the Lord fulfill that longing.
He is waiting to fill any and every longing we have.
“Delight thyself in the Lord;
and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” Psalm 37:4
That is truly taking control and leading our hearts,
instead of allowing our hearts to lead us.

We may figure that we’ll live our lives now ‘while we can’
and perhaps ‘serve God’ and live for Him later.
Well, the Lord tells us,
“Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth…” Ec. 12:1
Sometimes, young people seem to think that they
can serve the Lord “when they’re married”.
While marriage does open different doors of opportunity,
it doesn’t hold the key to the only opportunities!
Actually, God is saying quite the opposite in 1 Corinthians 7:32-36 -
“But I would have you without carefulness.
He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord,
how he may please the Lord; But he that is married careth for the
things that are of this world, how he may please his wife.
There is a 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. And this I speak for your own profit;
not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is comely,
And that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction.”
Marriage isn’t the only way that we can serve God through!
As a single young person, we have
opportunities that married people don’t have.
We can entirely and completely be sold out for Christ,
serving Him, and enjoying our time with the first Love of our life.
Joel 2:3– “Therefore also now, saith the LORD,
turn ye even unto me with all your heart…”
Now is the time to live for Him.
Not tomorrow, not next month, not some odd years from now;
Let us remember Him now.
Instead of focusing on relationships and the world around us,
may we build and nurture our relationship with Jesus now,
So that we may have the rest of our lives to enjoy living for Him;
and not spend a lifetime regretting that we didn’t.

Feel Like You're Gonna Fall?...

"It's hard to fall when you're on your knees."

Maintaining Moral Purity...

1 Thessalonians 4:3-7
"For this is the will of God, even your sanctification,
that ye should abstain from fornication:
That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel
in sanctification and honour; Not in the lust of concupiscence,
even as the Gentiles which know not God:
That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter:
because that the Lord is the avenger of all such,
as we also have forewarned you and testified.
For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness."


Most people care about purity in some areas;
they wish for pure water, pure air, etc...
But sadly, our country has forgotten about moral purity.
Statistics show that 9 out of 10 people have pre-marital relations.
Should we just throw in the towel and accept this?
Verse 7, above, says,"For God hath not called us unto uncleannes,
but unto HOLINESS." God wants us to be holy.
Can this really be done? Yes, it really does matter to Him!
We should not imitate, nor should we isolate...
but we really need to insulate! Resolve to stay pure!
The Lord can keep our hearts and minds pure.
Here are a few ways we can insulate our lives...


1. Make A Commitment To God's Way
"Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?
by taking heed thereto according to thy word."
Psalm 119:9
What should we base our whole lives on?
The Word of God!
We should commit to the standard of His Word alone.
Where we fail to commit, we'll fail in that area.
Even if it doesn't make sense, or isn't popular,
we need to be determined to follow God's standard.


2. Manage Our Minds
"Keep thy heart with all diligence;
for out of it are the issues of life."
Proverbs 4:23
Our desires reflect what is really in our hearts and minds.
Bad and sinful thoughts lead to bad and sinful decisions.
Every temptation starts in the mind.
An 'empty' mind is Satan's playing ground.
We are to be keeping our hearts diligently,
being sure to take every thought captive
to the obedience of Christ!
We all have our own lustful and selfish nature.
We must not follow our lusts and own desires!
"But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away
of his own lust, and enticed." James 1:4

"Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin:
and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death."
James 1:15

The whole beginning of wrong actions begins in the mind,
when we dwell on and think about our own lusts and desires.
"Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness,
faith, charity, peace, with them that call
on the Lord out of a pure heart."
2 Timothy 2:22


3. Monitor Our Media Intake
"The heart of him that hath understanding seeketh knowledge:
but the mouth of fools feedeth on foolishness."
Proverbs 15:14
Do we really want to get our philosophy of life from the media?
TV shows, movies, news, magazines, advertisements, etc...
We really need to watch what we allow ourselves to see!
We can't live morally pure by
always feeding on television and the like!
Let us not let the world stick to us.
"I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes:
I hate the work of them that turn aside;
it shall not cleave to me."
Psalm 101:3


4. Minimize The Opportunity For Temptations
"There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man:

but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted

above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also

make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."
2 Corinthians 10:12-13
We must be able to realize and pay attention to what tempts us
and we need to be resolved and rely on the Lord to help us say "no".
We must choose our friends wisely.
It is much easier to pull someone down than to raise someone up.
We must establish protective guidelines.
"But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness,
let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;
Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting,
which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks."
Ephesians 5:3-4
These things should not be named even once among us!
They should never (including in our thought life) be a part of us.
If we are tempted in certain areas, we need to avoid them.


5. Magnify The Consequence Of Sin
We really need to realize the seriousness of sin.
Just because people's standards have changed,
does NOT mean God's standards have!
He remains the same and so does His hate for sin.
If we mess around with something, it will destroy us.
"Be not deceived; God is not mocked:
for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."
Galatians 6:7

Our Light Affliction...

This verse has been on my mind lately,
so I added it to a picture I took last week.
I thought I'd share...



"For our light affliction, which is but for a moment,
worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal
weight of glory." 2 Corinthians 4:17

I love God's Word!
I can get so encouraged just by reading a single verse in it!
The Lord is so wonderful!

Being Right With God

As I was preparing crafts for VBS the other day,
I decided to seize the opportunity and listen to a sermon:
Being Right With God by Dr.Bill Behrins.
It was very good and I thought I'd share my notes
I've made on it before...


Being 'right with God' is to be 'useable of God'.
When we 'get right with God', we're putting ourselves
in a position where God can use us.
Now, if you have something that isn't useable,
it's worthless, is it not?
A highway is pointless to have if noone can use it.
God says in Isaiah 40:3...
"The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness,
Prepare ye the way of the LORD,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God."
The Lord is likening our lives to a highway.
He wants so much to use us,
but that highway needs to be of quality condition.
Someone may have all the talents in the world,
but that person's abilities are worthless
if he is not right with God.
In the next verse, the Lord gives us
4 things to perpare our highway:
"Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain "
and hill shall be made low:
and the crooked shall be made straight,
and the rough places plain:"


1. "Every valley shall be exalted..."
He's not going down into the depths and then up.
We need to raise the low places in our lives.
We can NOT live in the world with filth and sin
and ever hope to be used of God.
Christians are saying and doing things today
what they wouldn't think of doing years ago.
We have become so accustomed to the sin of this world.
We have truly lost sight of how God looks at sin.
He says in Proverbs 26:11 -
"As a dog returneth to his vomit,
so a fool returneth to his folly."
Think of just how disgusting it is for a dog to vomit,
and then go strait back and eat it!?!
If we'd get just as sick about sin,
we'd have a lot less sin in our lives.
We mustn't compare ourselves to the rest of the world,
but to the Word of God.
We had better worry about what God thinks of us
rather than what other people do.


2. "...And every mountain and hill shall be made low..."
We need to bring the high places down.
Can anyone guess where this might be directed to??
Pride!
Are we looking at other's faults or our own?
Well, we're going to answer for our own problems, not others'!
We have enough in our lives to pay attention to!
We need to really see that God not only doesn't like pride,
He HATES it!
He's not going to put up with a proud person!
"...him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer."
Psalms 101:5
Pride says "I know an area I need to deal with, but won't do it."
It is a satanic sin saying we don't need God in some areas,
when, in fact, we need Him in ALL areas in our lives!
As soon as the Holy Spirit deals with us and we resist it;
it may seem like a small thing to us,
but we're literally going to battle against God!
"...for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble."
1 Peter 5:5
This is very serious going against God!
We cannot win.


3. "...And the crooked shall be made straight..."
A hard fact of life is, that some people
may never be able to sing,
play music, be good at conversing, be very intelligent, etc...
We sometimes focus on all of the things we can't do.
But there is one thing everybody CAN do,
and that is to DO RIGHT!
It doesn't matter who you are or what your background is,
if you really want to do what's right, you can do it.
We sometimes give the devil too much credit.
"The devil made me do it" is the lamest excuse.
He does not take our free will and force us to sin!
If we really, truly, want to, we can do what's right.
We can be the right daughter, right sister, right friend;
have the right attitude, listen to the right music,
speak kindly, be obedient, tell the truth.
Doing right is always a choice,
which everybody CAN make!


4. "...And the rough places plain:"
So many times we justify some pleasures as 'little sins'.
No sin is little to God.
Who sets the sensitivity level of the Holy Spirit in our lives?
Why is it when a sermon is preached
that it just grips some hearts,
but with others it's like gripping jell-O (... unaffective)?
The Holy Spirit has the same power in everyone's lives...
some are just more willing to let it convict than others.
We need to desire a high sensitivity level.
Sin may seem to start out "small" and maybe "cute" or "fun";
but it doesn't remain small, cute, or harmless.
But maybe we think 'we can handle it'.
Well, The Lord says...
"...And sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death."
James 1:15
It is very important that any 'little' sin in our lives
we must get rid of as soon as possible.

Now, God says
"For he that soweth to his flesh shall
of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth
to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting."
Galatians 6:8
If we are willing to do all of these things, there will be results.
We will have real peace and joy.
We will be a real testimony to the world around us.
One of the biggest reasons that family, neighbors,
and people around us never come to Christ is
because they do not see any difference
or anything they want in us.
But if we are truly right with God, others will notice.
And though at times they may mock, in their hearts
they truly desire the peace and real joy they see in us.

So in order to be right with God,
there are things we need to add and get rid of.

What an admonition from the Lord!

Rest

The Lord sure has some funny ways of
encouraging His children!!
As I was reading an old book today,
I found a bookmark in it with a poem.

While so many times,
the joy of the Lord is what sustains me,
there are some times I do get discouraged
with having health problems.
The past few days have been some of those
"down" days... but the Lord has always
lifted my spirits every time I go through those!!!
This time, was with a poem...

REST

I would not ask Thee WHY
My path should be
Through strange and stony ways-
Thou leadest me!

I would not ask Thee HOW
Loss worketh gain,
Knowing some day soon-
All shall be plain.

My heart would never doubt
Thy love and care,
However heavy seems
The cross I bear.

Nor would I, Father, ask
My lot to choose,
Lest, seeking selfish ease,
Thy best I lose.

Giver of every gift,
Thy choice is best,
All-wise Eternal Love-
In Thee I rest.

Yeilding to Thy wise hand,
Safe in Thy will;
Not asking WHY or HOW-
Let me be still.

Looking on things unseen,
By faith I see
Glory exceeding great
Worketh for me.

-by Grace E. Troy

"My brethren, count it all joy when

ye fall into divers temptations (trials);
Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience."
James 1:2-4

"For our light affliction, which is but for a moment,
worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
While we look not at the things which are seen,
but at the things which are not seen:
for the things which are seen are temporal;
but the things which are not seen are eternal."
2 Corinthians 4:17-18

Are You a Wild Grape?

{photo courtesty allposters.com}

About a month ago, I was brought to tears in my quiet time.
I thought I'd share those tear-provoking thoughts.

Here's what I read:
Isaiah 5:
"1. ...My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill:
2. And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof,
and planted it with the choicest vine,
and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein:
and he looked that it should bring forth grapes,
and it brought forth wild grapes.
3. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah,
judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard.
4. What could have been done more to my vineyard,
that I have not done in it? wherefore,
when I looked that it should bring forth grapes,
brought it forth wild grapes?"

I am in His vineyard!
Verse 2 explains how He took care of it,
protected it, and expected good things of it.
And yet, it yielded wild grapes.

I looked back and saw how Christ 'planted' me,
took care of me, protected me, provides for me.
He expects me to bear Him fruit!
But how many times I have failed Him.
So many times I've grieved Him.

In verse 4, He asks "What could have been done
more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it?"
What more could Christ have done for me?
He's already done so much for us...
how much have we done for Him?

Oh, how we need to really be living for Christ
and bringing forth fruit for Him!