Putting of Life Dominating Sins

I did it! I finished a book :)

I read it all in one night...it was pretty short. The book is by Susan Heck. It was majorly convicting. Let's just say that as Christians we need to be actively killing our sin. To live with sin goes against the character of a Christian. How seriously do you take your sin? Are you content to just let it be in your life? These are not the qualities of a repentant Christian. My favorite quote of the whole book is:

"The sins we continually commit and refuse to put off cause us to quench God's Spirit in our life and hinder our growth. They are displeasing to God. It is just like a child who continually disobeys his parents without changing; it is grievous!" ~Susan Heck, Putting off Life Dominating Sins

I would HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone! In fact, I have 2 extra copies! If you would like one message me and I'll be happy to get it to you! Now off to finish another book....The Excellent Wife!

I'm a bit overwhelmed

with everything I've been up to. Teaching a new grade brings with it a bunch of unknowns. Therefore, I haven't picked up books aside from my bible, my women's group book, and the marriage book Josh and I are going through in Sunday school. I'm getting to the point, though, where the books are coming back out! I keep looking at the shelf and all the books I've started and not finished. I can't seem to just pick one and finish it. I'm going to though! Starting tonight! I'm going to work on Putting off Life Dominating Sins by Susan Heck and The Excellent Wife by Martha Peace. I'll give you an update a little later :)

After 11 Months...

God provided a job for my husband! Wow! I am so in shock! It seems so surreal that he actually will go to work in a few weeks and all. Let me give you the update as of how this came to be.

3-4 Weeks ago Josh applied for this position with the City of Winter Park working full time.

1 Week ago they emailed Josh to set up an interview that week. He goes to the interview and feels great about the actual interview, but a little disappointed about the computer test they gave him. You see he was asked to complete a list of things in 1 hour. Mind you, these items were super easy for Josh, but he wasn't familiar with their system so he only completed 2. They say they'll call in 2 weeks. I ride this one off as a lost cause.

1 Week later (this week) they email again for a 2nd interview to which I am completely shocked! They explain to him their system and allow him to retake the computer test (he completes it) and the interview was great! They commented on how good his answers were and proceeded to create a "mock" schedule of his hours. This is a split position between 2 areas (IT tech and web design). They decide the schedule works great and tell him they'll call next week to let him know if he gets the job or not.

This morning they call (1 day later) to offer him the position!!!! He calls me at 8:40 am while I've just ushered my very excited 2nd graders into the room and try to hold back tears while he tells me the good news! The rest of the day has been a whirlwind!

Everyone keeps telling us to go out to celebrate, but we'll have to postpone until we have extra money lol! We are so thankful to God for providing this job and enabling us to persevere through the trial! We are not upset about it, but thankful! We serve one awesome, sovereign God!

Do You Desire God? – Paul Washer

Do You Desire God? – Paul Washer

What is Salvation? (In 2 Minutes) – Paul Washer

What is Salvation? (In 2 Minutes) – Paul Washer

A Bogus Invitation

So my women's group at church is reading Hard to Believe by John Macarthur. We're reading chapter 5 this week and I felt compelled to share an excerpt from the chapter. The books is eye-opening..I recommend it to everyone!

"I know this shocks some people, because we hear all the time that getting saved is easy. "Just sign this little card!" "Just raise your hand!" "Just walk down that aisle while the choir sings one more stanza!" "Just recite this prayer." "Just ask Jesus into your heart." It all sounds simple. The only problem is that none of those actions has anything to do with real salvation and getting through the narrow gate (a reference to the Sermon on the Mount). That sort of invitational-ism implies that Jesus is some poor pitiful Savior, waiting for us to make the first move to allow Him His way. It implies that salvation hinges on a human decision, as if the power that saves us were the power of human "free will."
This emphasis is a peculiarly American phenomenon that started in the nineteenth century with a New York lawyer-turned-evangelist named Charles Finney. He was the most formidable American anti-Calvinist, and he insisted that people get saved by an act of sheer willpower. Therefore, whatever is necessary in order to manipulate their wills is an essential method, because whatever it takes to convince them to decide to be saved is legitimate. The end justifies the means. And so the manipulative "altar call" became a major focus of his evangelism.
Up to that time, American evangelists were, for the most part, Calvinistic, that is, they believed that sinners are saved by hearing the message of the gospel while God the Holy Spirit awakens them from sinful deadness. But Finney took a different path. He made emotional appeals and taught that salvation required no sovereign regeneration by God, but only the act of the human will. The people came streaming down the aisle under the force of his cleverness. The vast majority of these weren't real conversions; in fact, Finney later admitted that his ministry had produced mostly half-hearted and temporary "converts." But the spectacle of crowds surging forward was very convincing.
Dwight L. Moody picked up the technique from Finney, and he passed it along to a generation of stadium evangelists and ministry leaders who still stage sometimes enormous public events and manipulate people to come to the stage. Most of that activity is fruitless. No doubt I believe that, in spite of the manipulation and not because of it, some people who take a pledge, sign a card, or come down front at those services are brokenhearted, aware of their sinfulness, and ready to follow Jesus as Lord by bearing their crosses with total self-denial. Those are the people who will be taken in at the narrow gate by the power of God through the truth, who will find themselves on the highway to heaven. The rest will not, but may be deceived.
According to Jesus, it's very, very difficult to be saved. At the end of Matthew 7:14, He said of the narrow gate, "There are few who find it." I don't believe anyone has every slipped and fell into the kingdom of God. That's cheap grace, easy-believism, Christianity Lite, a shallow, emotional revivalist approach: "I believe in Jesus!" "Fine, you're part of the family, come on in!" NO. The few who find the narrow gate have to search hard for it, then come through it alone. It's hard to find a church or preacher-or a Christian-who can direct you to it. The kingdom is for those who agonize to enter it, whose hearts are shattered over their sinfulness, who mourn in meekness, who hunger and thirst and long for god to change their lives. It's hard because you've got all hell against you. One of Satan's pervasive lies in the world today is that it's easy to become a Christian. It's not easy at all. It's a very narrow gate that you must find and go through alone, anguished over your sinfulness and longing for forgiveness.
Somebody might say this sounds like the religion of human achievement. Not so. When you come to brokenness, the recognition that you, of yourself, cannot make it through the narrow gate, then Christ pours into you grace upon grace to strengthen you for that entrance. In your brokenness, His power becomes your resource. Our part is to admit our sin and inability and plead for mercy and power from on high."

What do you think? Have a great evening!

I guess..

it's about time I post some sort of update on this thing. Why not now, since I have a long weekend :)

Life has been good. Definitely trying to persevere through the trial at hand: Josh out of work. I am so extremely thankful to God to have a stable job right now in teaching. It was such a huge blessing to be given my professional teaching contract at the end of last year. Josh has been working very hard to find a job. Every road feels like a dead end, but I know that God has a job out there for him somewhere. God's word is clear that the husband is to provide for his family and I know that God, then, is going to provide a way for Josh to do that. It's been tough living off my income only.

We've made many sacrifices over the last 11 months of him being out of work. The biggest change for me has been giving up my publix groceries, and even walmart, for Aldi's. Aldi's has saved us quite a bit of money and the food doesn't taste bad at all! The Lord has graciously provided a new place for us to live which is cheaper in rent, closer to my job (which saves much gas), and much bigger! We have had to give up going to the movies for the most part. I am becoming more content just waiting for them to come out on DVD. Redbox is cheap, right?

I guess I just feel we're in this rut of what to do next. It's been a struggle to be optimistic about any possible job opportunity. Though, I know that God will provide one. It's hard to face the reality that I am not in control of anything. Yes, I am finally starting to realize that I am not in control of what job he gets, how much money we earn, or just about anything on this subject for that matter. It has put us in a place of complete and utter dependency on the Lord to provide for our needs. That's not a bad place to be. It's taken a while to get there, it seems, and I'm thankful for learning that God is sovereign and not me. It's a huge weight off my shoulders knowing that I am not responsible for providing the job/money for our family. I do work for a check, but I just focus on doing my work as unto the Lord.

Other than the obvious issues, we have seriously missed having a weekend every few months to get away together. Not to mention, just a date night that's not spent watching a dvd on our couch and eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, which we've grown very fond of in recent months. Maybe it's because it's a cheap meal...or maybe it's just a comfort food. Back to the getaways....I miss having them with my husband. It was so nice to just go away to a hotel (even if in Orlando) and spend the evening with him and a garden tub. I'm really praying that by Christmas we'll be able to get away for a few days!

Josh and I have had to humble ourselves this past year as well. You never realize how truly prideful and arrogant you are, until people offer to help you. I'm not kidding. What a blessing, it is, though, to have people helping to meet your needs. We're very blessed to have some help from family and church family. We truly do not deserve it!

School has been going well and I am very happy to be teaching 2nd grade. Not to mention having the same kids, and only 16 I might add, is such a relief. I've started to adjust to my tiny room and the kids have as well. I'm very content where I am and have not been as stressed out as I thought I would. I think I'll keep myself parked right here in 2nd grade for as long as I can! It's such an easy grade to teach, compared to 1st. Not to mention I do not want to switch classrooms again. I'd much rather have the tiny room than switch classrooms again.

Well, I guess that's about all I can think of that's been going on. Please keep Josh in prayer about a job. He had an interview on Thursday and we have to wait 2 weeks to find out about it. Hopefully this post has made some sort of sense, as I feel like ever since school started this year I've been slowly losing my mind :p I'll try to update more often...even if it's not about what I'm reading.

It's been a long time...

since I posted on here. Sorry for the lengthy break! Hopefully I'll be back to post more things about what I've learned more often :) I've had a great summer so far! Josh and I moved into a new apartment that is so spacious! 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms! It's simply a blessing from God! Other than that...I've just ignored my blog. :)

I'm almost finished reading the book "Why Small Groups?" by C.J. Mahaney. It's been a good book...a bit too charismatic for me, but good nonetheless. Here are some highlights: A church should be made up of small groups, small groups should hold each other accountable, sin/issues should be confronted in a private, loving and gentle way, the leaders should be qualified, and the members should be prepared and willing to participate in the group. Those are very vague highlights, but if you want to know more ask, or read it yourself :)

For now that is all...at some point I'll try to write more about what God has taught me! I thank God, though, for providing a way of salvation and opening my eyes to understand His word!

Please Watch!

2 Timothy 4:1-5

1 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: 2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. 5 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Is this the pattern of the "church" today, heaping up teachers that turn them aside to fables? Sadly, yes it is! I read this in my quiet time this morning and just thought I'd share!

Mr. Newton on Election

I got this from a lady that befriended me on facebook. I do not know her, except that through our common bond of Christ we have a lot in common. She is daily exhorting her friends and imparting scripture and quotes from godly men. This is a note she posted and therefore I am posting it! I loved it!

John Newton used to tell a story, and laugh at it, too, of a good woman who said, in order to prove the doctrine of election, "Ah! sir, the Lord must have loved me before I was born, or else He would not have seen anything in me to love afterwards." I am sure it is true in my case; I believe the doctrine of election, because I am quite certain that, if God had not chosen me, I should never have chosen Him; and I am sure He chose me before I was born, or else He never would have chosen me afterwards; and He must have elected me for reasons unknown to me, for I never could find any reason in myself why He should have looked upon me with special love. So I am forced to accept that great Biblical doctrine. I recollect an Arminian brother telling me that he had read the Scriptures through a score or more times, and could never find the doctrine of election in them. He added that he was sure he would have done so if it had been there, for he read the Word on his knees. I said to him, "I think you read the Bible in a very uncomfortable posture, and if you had read it in your easy chair, you would have been more likely to understand it. Pray, by all means, and the more, the better, but it is a piece of superstition to think there is anything in the posture in which a man puts himself for reading: and as to reading through the Bible twenty times without having found anything about the doctrine of election, the wonder is that you found anything at all: you must have galloped through it at such a rate that you were not likely to have any intelligible idea of the meaning of the Scriptures."

A quote from Spurgeon:

"Whatever may be said about the doctrine of election, it is written in the Word of God as with an iron pen, and there is no getting rid of it. To me, it is one of the sweetest and most blessed truths in the whole of revelation, and those who are afraid of it are so because they do not understand it. If they could but know that the Lord had chosen them, it would make their hearts dance for joy."

Praise God! As Newton so plainly put it, "I am quite certain that, if God had not chosen me, I should never have chosen Him; and I am sure He chose me before I was born, or else He never would have chosen me afterwards; and He must have elected me for reasons unknown to me, for I never could find any reason in myself why He should have looked upon me with special love."

A Call for Discernment

I wanted to post a link to a sermon by John Macarthur that I recently listened to. It is the first of 3 parts. I am only posting the first part, as that is all I've listened to thus far. I am sharing this, because it basically summarizes why we must be so strong on doctrine. It explains why it's so important to know scripture and doctrine as Christians! It's something I used to think was only important for pastors to know, but have realized that many pastors today lack a basic understanding of theology. It's sad! Therefore, I am sharing the treasure I have found in this sermon! Please listen...it's only an hour. I have it on CD and listen in the car. I would love to hear what you think!

http://www.gty.org/Resources/Sermons/52-32

I apologize for being so absent on my blog recently. It has been a whirlwind of a month and I'm still not at the point where I have time to really sit down and impart to you what I've been reading. School will be out in 8 days and I think after that I'll have some time to share :) In the meantime, I'll update when I can!

Oh, and John Macarthur's sermons are now ALL free on his grace to you website! You can hear a sermon on just about any scripture....well, not all, but a lot! Enjoy!

I'm still here...

but I've been super busy! I just got back from Texas and with 18 days of school left I'm finding it hard to have the time to write on here. I will be finished with Repentance next week! It's been a long book, but very sobering and humbling! In small group we will be reading a new book the week after which I will probably post about then. I just wanted to let you readers know, if there are any, that I am still alive!

Any interesting reading you've been doing?

View of God

Have you ever truly stopped to think about your view of God? I think there are many people in America who have a view of God far from what the bible says He is like. The reason I bring this up, is because I've been reading more in Repentance and it was brought up to me. The idea that some people think they worship the true and living God, but it's only a mere idol that has only a few of the many qualities of God, is truly sad. These are some questions that God posed to Job to help open his eyes to who he is and how Sovereign God is:

#1 Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? (Job 38:4)
#2 Did you set the dimensions of the earth and draw the plans by which it was created? (38:5)
#3 On what were the foundations of the earth set? (38:6a)
#4 Who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? (38:6b)
#5 Who shut the sea behind doors and keeps it from bursting forth and flooding the land? (38:8-11)
#6 Have you ever in your life commanded the morning, and caused the dawn to know its place, that it might take hold of the ends of the earth? (38:12-15)
#7 Have you ever journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked the ocean floors of Planet Earth? (38:16)
#8 Have the gates of death been revealed to you, or even the shadow of death? (38:17)
#9 To what extent do you understand the vast expanse of the earth? (38:18)
#10 What direction should you take to the abode of light? And darkness where is its place? What path would you take to its territory? (38:19-21)
#11 Have you ever entered the storehouses of the snow or ever seen the storehouses of the hail, which I reserved for the time of distress, for the days of war and battle? (38:22-23)
#12 Which direction should you take to reach the place where the lightning is dispersed? (38:24a)
#13 From whence are the east winds scattered over the earth? (38:24b)
#14 Who cuts the channel for the torrent of rain or makes way for the thunderstorm to bring rain on a land without people or a desert without a man in it, to satisfy the waste and desolate land and to make the seeds of grass to sprout? (38:25-27)
#15 Does the rain have a father, and who has begotten the drops of dew? From whose womb has the ice come and who has given birth to the frost of heaven? Are you the one who makes ice hard like stone and imprisons the fish under the winter ice? (38:28-30)
#16 Do you control the planets? Can you bind the chains of Pleiades, or loose the cords of Orion? Can you lead forth a constellation in its season, and guide the Bear with her satellites? (38:31-32)
#17 Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? (38:33a)
#18 To what extent do you understand and control natural law or fix its rule over earth? (38:33b)
#19 Can you speak to the clouds and produce rain? (38:34)
#20 Are the lightning bolts subject to you? (38:35)
#21 Do you endow the heart with wisdom or the mind with understanding? (38:36)
#22 Can you tell how much water the clouds hold, and can you dip out the exact amount needed when the earth is dry? (38:37-38)
#23 Do you feed the wild lions and satisfy their needs and desires? (38:39-40)
#24 Can you assume responsibility for the food of the ravens? (38:41)
#25 Do you know every occasion when a mountain goat gives birth? (39:1a)
#26 Are you the one who observes each time a doe drops her fawn? Or do you even know when they will do so? Do you know when the fawn leaves home for the first time? (39:1b-4)
#27 Were you the one who set the wild donkeys free and provided their roaming places? (39:5-8)
#28 Will the wild ox willingly consent to serve you? And when you invite him to spend the night in your manger, does he gladly come? When he is finally harnessed to your plow, can you take a long rest while he does your work? (39:9-12)
#29 Did you make the ostrich what it is? (39:13-18)
#30 Did you design the horse with its mane and provide him with strength? (39:19-25)
#31 Was it your skill by which the hawk was created, and were you the one who taught him his wondrous abilities in flight? (39:26)
#32 Does the eagle fly at your command, and is it at your instigation that he makes his nest on high? (39:27-30)

Then in verses 40:1-5, Job is left speechless and then the Lord continues asking questions through verse 34. Then Job, left speechless and with a heart that sunk, concedes to God's authority and character and repents in dust and ashes.

I think this is a beautiful portrait of how God is completely sovereign. Man is nothing. Our control apart from Christ is limited to a bondage of sin. Our view of God is imperative to our salvation. If we think that we are even slightly above God we are not converted. Our right place is beneath God, our Creator! We must bow to Him, not the other way around. What an amazing few chapters to meditate on and to humble us! Our God truly is amazing!

The Most Magnificent Analogy in Scripture!

That is the title of my pastor's sermon from Sunday. It was an exposition of Romans 5:12-21, as he is going through the book of Romans. I highly recommend this sermon to anyone! I am going to go back and listen to it again! Here is the link: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=419092153135

Let me know what you think! Enjoy :)

T for Total Depravity

The T in Tulip stands for total depravity. I am going to list several verses from scripture and then explain the idea full underneath.

Romans 3:10-18
10 As it is written:
“ There is none righteous, no, not one;
11 There is none who understands;
There is none who seeks after God.
12 They have all turned aside;
They have together become unprofitable;
There is none who does good, no, not one."
13 “ Their throat is an open tomb;
With their tongues they have practiced deceit”;

“ The poison of asps is under their lips”;
14 “ Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.”
15 “ Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 Destruction and misery are in their ways;
17 And the way of peace they have not known.”
18 “ There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Ephesians 2:1-5
1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

Genesis 6:5
5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Ecclesiastes 9:3
3 This is an evil in all that is done under the sun: that one thing happens to all. Truly the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil; madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead.

Jeremiah 17:9
9 “ The heart is deceitful above all things,
And desperately wicked;
Who can know it?

Psalm 10:4
4 The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God;
God is in none of his thoughts.

Romans 8:7-8
Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

1 Corinthians 2:14
14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Isaiah 64:6a
6 But we are all like an unclean thing,
And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags;

Matthew 15:19
19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.

Psalm 36:1-2
1 An oracle within my heart concerning the transgression of the wicked:
There is no fear of God before his eyes.
2 For he flatters himself in his own eyes,
When he finds out his iniquity and when he hates.

Proverbs 28:26a
26 He who trusts in his own heart is a fool

The mind is defiled:

Titus 1:15b
but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled.

Ephesians 4:17-18
This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart;

Jeremiah 10:14a
14 Everyone is dull-hearted, without knowledge;

Our will and choice is defiled (in other words, we're enslaved):

John 8:34
34 Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin

Galatians 4:8
8 But then, indeed, when you did not know God, you served those which by nature are not gods.

Romans 6:20-21
20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.

2 Timothy 2:25-26
25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, 26 and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.


Our affections/desires are perverted:

2 Timothy 3:2-4
2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,

Proverbs 21:10a
10 The soul of the wicked desires evil;

Isaiah 32:6a
6 For the foolish person will speak foolishness,
And his heart will work iniquity:
To practice ungodliness,

John 3:19
19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

John 8:44a
44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.

Outside of Christ we are in utter ruin:

Romans 7:18
18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.


Isaiah 1:5-6
5 Why should you be stricken again?
You will revolt more and more.
The whole head is sick,
And the whole heart faints.
6 From the sole of the foot even to the head,
There is no soundness in it,
But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores;
They have not been closed or bound up,
Or soothed with ointment.

Colossians 1:21a
21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works

We are born in sin:

Isaiah 48:8
8 Surely you did not hear,
Surely you did not know;
Surely from long ago your ear was not opened.
For I knew that you would deal very treacherously,
And were called a transgressor from the womb.

Psalm 51:5
5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me.

Psalm 58:3
3 The wicked are estranged from the womb;
They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies.

Ephesians 2:3
3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.


That is a list of 31 verses and let's just call this part one of many to come. Wow, this was so sobering to see all these verses and write them all out. I wanted to add a definition of total depravity. Total depravity is that sin has extended to every part of a man's personality -- his thinking, his emotions, and his will. Not necessarily that he is intensely sinful, but that sin has extended to his entire being. This is why Total Depravity has also been called "Total Inability." The man without a knowledge of God will never come to this knowledge without God's making him alive through Christ.

I hope this makes sense and that it gives a clearer understanding of the T in TULIP. I have been amazed at all the scriptures I've found. It's also amazing how many of these scriptures simultaneously support the other 4 parts of TULIP. More on that later! Please feel free to comment--I do want to hear you're reasoning! If you disagree, I only ask for you to research the scriptures and explain you're reasoning through God's word! After all, it's our authority...our opinions pale in comparison!

T.U.L.I.P

I am going to be doing some research into Calvinism. I want to know even more than already do and I am going to post what I learn on here! I am so excited to dive in even deeper into this doctrine and understanding more fully the five points of Calvinism, or Tulip as it's called. I will probably post a little at a time as opposed to one big post. Besides, it's going to take me awhile to learn it :)

Decisional Regeneration

My husband happened on to this article by James Adams after hearing about it on the Way of the Master. I thought it was amazing and truly puts into words what is going on in the majority of churches. My favorite part is this quote by Spurgeon, "The best way to promote union is to promote truth. It will not do for us to be all united together by yielding to one another's mistakes. We are to love each other in Christ; but we are not to be so united that we are not able to see each other's faults, and especially not able to see our own. No purge the house of God, and then shall grand and blessed times dawn on us,"

Here is the link to the whole article...good stuff!

http://www.the-highway.com/Decisional_Regeneration.html

Addition to my previous post:

What I meant by not being able to seek God is a little unclear. We cannot seek after God unless He draws us. John 6:44 "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day." So I was saying we can't seek after God unless He breathes life into us first by drawing us.

Have you ever thought about...

the fact that every person who came to salvation in the bible never sought for it? Have you ever considered that not one person in the bible sought after God for salvation? NEVER! So, what makes us think that we can accept God and choose Him? I'm not being sarcastic..I'm just looking for a reasonable explanation for that. Truly, I just want to know. I was reading about Saul's conversion on the road to Damascus. Let's be honest, Paul is valuable model for us to follow and he didn't even seek after God or choose Him. He was on his way to persecute the followers of Christ when Jesus appeared to him. So I ask again, and I'm truly looking for answers, what makes people think that we can choose God? If you believe you can choose God and seek Him, then how do you reconcile with Romans 3: 10-18? Specifically this, "There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; THERE IS NONE WHO SEEK AFTER GOD."

The reason I want to know, is that most people testify that they accepted Christ and that they wanted to be saved. I'm just trying to understand the reasoning behind those statements. Please don't take this as sarcasm or anger...it's just a striving for knowledge/understanding (no pun intended) :)

Easter Sunday

I'm going to try to describe to you how amazing my Easter was! We started out the day going to church. I got to hold beautiful babies (like every Sunday) who were amazingly well behaved and were talking a lot! In fact, little Sophie didn't even want me to leave...and that's a first since I've been in there for the last 6 months. Anyway, back to my post. Then we went to the service where we had amazing worship...including one of my favorite hymns "In Christ Alone." Followed by a beautiful duet by a husband/wife.

Then, the preaching! Wow! Let's just say if you didn't believe in the bodily resurrection of Christ...after hearing that, I don't know how you couldn't! It's very rare for our pastor to actually interrupt the book of the bible he's currently preaching through to preach on a topic. It was a rare treat! I'm amazed at how he can preach for so long, so bold, and with so much conviction....obviously by the power of the Holy Spirit. I'll be honest, I've learned more over the last 2 years at Cornerstone about the bible than my whole life. He preaches verse by verse through different books of the bible and a Sunday sermon leaves on exhausted from flipping through so many different passages!

Okay, back to my post...sorry! Anyway so then we went to the park for some food, fellow ship and most importantly baptisms! The food was great...pot luck :) The fellow ship was super as usual. However, the most amazing part was the baptisms! This is the only church I've known to do baptisms in the lake and with each person sharing their testimony before getting baptized! It's gotta be the coolest thing God has allowed us to be a part of! Our pastor preaches for about 30 minutes and then each of the people getting baptized comes up one at a time to share how God saved them. I was in tears a majority of the time to hear what wickedness these people, my church family, used to live in and how God graciously pulled them out to save them! Some of them I've known for years and never knew exactly how much God had done for them! I can't even fully describe how awesome it was to hear everything, but I wish I could! I'll just say it was a little glimpse of heaven...knowing I'll be spending eternity with these people. This went on for a total of 3 hours and 15 minutes and 18 people were baptized. What a great way to celebrate the resurrection of Christ as a means to save His people!

Through that day I finally decided it's time for me to be baptized! I have been baptized 2 times in my life. The first as a child, and the second just so I could join a church. Getting baptized now would mean giving a public declaration of God's work in my life and taking that step to publicly commit my life to Christ. Josh and I will be baptized together. This won't be for many months, though, as we only do lake baptisms two times a year. When it happens, though, I'll post pictures!

Well, that's my best effort at explaining the amazing Easter we had. I hope yours was equally amazing!

Great Site!

After evangelism Saturday I have sought out to study more about what other religions believe. Let's just say an hour long conversation with a "universal unitarian" left me dumbfounded. If you would like to know what they believe ask me. I know now. Anyway, the girl I witnessed with gave me a website that I wanted to share as a tool for researching how to defend your faith among many other useful things! It's www.carm.org. I was amazed at what I just found out within a few minutes of being on there.

This has nothing to do with the above, but I just found out that Rick Warren, author of the Purpose Driven Life, appologized on TV for signing a proposition to ban gay marriage. In fact, he is now said he will never speak out against homosexuals again. WHAT?!?!?!?!?!? I think the bible is clear on that issue!

Anyway, sorry for getting off on that. It's important to call out false teachers, or wolves in sheep's clothing. I would want someone to let me know if I was being led astray by one! Hope you enjoy the site!

Easter

It's going to take me a few days to put into words the amazing Easter I had today! It's probably the best one I've ever had! We spent the day at church and then to the park with our church family for food, fellowship, and 18 baptisms in the lake! It was a day I'm not soon to forget as God was glorified in every way through so many people! I want to explain more to you later, but I just can't find the words right now! All I can say is AMAZING!!!! I hope you all had a blessed Easter celebrating the bodily resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Without the resurrection we'd all be hopeless in our sins with no hope of salvation! Praise be to Jesus who offered Himself on the cross, bore the wrath of God, for our sakes that if we repent and believe the gospel we shall be saved from an eternity of torment! Amen!

My Poem :)

I wrote a poem on assurance of salvation! This has been on my heart for the last few months and I just decided to write a poem about it! I hope you enjoy....I wish I was told this 3-4 years ago when I was self-deceived!

"Are You Sure?"

You say you're a Christian
Let's take the test and see.
Does your life measure up
to what Christ says it should be?

Don't harden your heart
or take offense to what I say.
Listen intently
for your soul might not have another day!

I plead with you please,
examine yourself fully!
Do not self-deceive and
merely think that you are holy.

You need to know,
to know that you are saved;
Not hope and wish
that you'll be okay.

The world says it's easy,
a piece of cake to get in;
Just pray this prayer
and for sure you've gotten in.

You see that gate to heaven
is not broad and wide.
The gate is narrow,
you have to force yourself inside.

Christ said deny yourself,
your sins, your every selfish way;
Take up your cross,
being willing to die for Him one day.

He said follow Me
Obey My commands!
Are you willing
to live as the law demands?

You say you read your bible;
You've been a Christian for years.
You were baptized and have been forgiven,
or so it appears.

Examine yourself!
Those works will not save!
No one is good,
to sins we are slave!

How then? you say
can one be saved.
Repent and weep
and recognize you are depraved!

Your sins show you hate God
and despise His holiness.
Cry out for mercy and the ability
to turn to righteousness!

Christ lived the perfect sinless life
that you should have had,
and bore all your sins
and the penalty of God's wrath!

He died for you
that in Him you might live.
It's a free gift of grace,
with true repentance He'll give!

Repentance is not
just asking for forgiveness!
It's mourning over your sin
and turning from your wickedness.

When you repent
you don't just stay still,
You forsake your sin
to serve Christ and do His will!

This is not out of a heart
of mere obligation.
No! It's out of a deep
love for Christ, infatuation!

If anyone is in Christ
He is a new creation!
He now hates his sin
and tries to avoid temptation!

Do you love the brethren?
I mean with love so deep
that you would give anything
to help a brother or sister in need.

What about the lost?
Do you love them too?
Enough to bring the gospel
since they are the former you?

Don't you see the truth
that we all deserved hell?
Apart from Christ, that is
where we all should dwell!

The world hated Christ
and so it will you!
If you truly are His
perseverance will be the fruit!

So how did you do?
Did you pass the test?
Was there any doubt?
If so do not rest!

Ask God to save you!
Cry out for His mercy!
Be willing to forsake all
or you'll live in hell for eternity!

If you are sure
you must persevere,
and bear fruits of repentance
that prove you're sincere!

So I ask you once more,
Are you sure you are saved?
For the bible says there are
few who find the way!

It's done: Kitty My Rib

Tonight Josh and I finished our book "Kitty My Rib" by E. Jane Mall. It was such a good book! So many twists and turns. For those of you who have no clue what this book is about I'll tell you! This is a fictionalized biography of Katherine Luther. Martin Luther's lovely wife. Martin Luther was a great reformer for faith and translated the new testament into German. Ironically enough, Josh and I just rented and watched the movie "Luther" the other night. Such a good movie! It's so amazing to see men that God has used that are not afraid to speak against false doctrine and even to the point of possibly losing their life. Anyway, back to the book, it was so good! I enjoyed learning about Martin also while reading and the 6 kids they had! They went through many trials in their life together! Yet, through everything, their faith sought them through the many difficult persecutions and sorrow! Praise God for such a godly role model in our history!

I totally recommend this book to everyone! Josh and I read it together. Honestly, he thought it would be dumb, but changed his outlook as soon as we started reading it! If you do read it, let me know what you think!

Easter

The more I think about the meaning of Easter the more humble it makes me! To think, I was a hater of God. Not just a sinner, but a hater of God, because everything I did was dishonoring to Him. I justified my sin by comparing myself to what the world views as "worse" people. The sin I committed was not "that bad." I mean, come on, I didn't murder anyone or do something as bad as some people. NO! Wrong attitude. There are no degrees of sin! If you have broken one commandment you've broken them all! I was so self-deceived and so full of pride. And to think with all that....all that sin, pride, anger, and hatred towards God, He (Christ) still died on that cross. He bore all my sin. He was PERFECT and SINLESS and He bore my sin! Wow! It puts a new meaning on the old hymn, "Amazing Grace." How amazing it is that He would do that for me when I just hated Him! I thank God how wonderful it is that He chose me out of the filth of my sin. He granted me repentance and a heart of flesh. He freed me from the slavery of sin and I have now become a slave to righteousness! How amazing it is that Christ would do that for me, knowing full well, that my heart is deceitfully wicked above all things. Amazing grace...truly amazing! Christ died on that cross, but he rose again! Praise be to God for His Son and the gift of salvation! I'll leave you with the words of "Amazing Grace." I know it's very well-known, but truly think and reflect on the words and what it means! I pray you know the amazing grace this song speaks of!

"Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me....
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now, I see.

T'was Grace that taught...
my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear...
the hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils and snares...
we have already come.
T'was Grace that brought us safe thus far...
and Grace will lead us home.

The Lord has promised good to me...
His word my hope secures.
He will my shield and portion be...
as long as life endures.

When we've been here ten thousand years...
bright shining as the sun.
We've no less days to sing God's praise...
then when we've first begun.

"Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me....
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now, I see."

J.W.'s

Okay, so every time my friend Amie and I got out evangelizing together we ALWAYS run into the Jehova's Witness'. Today was no exception and boy did they do a massive track attack. We thought our witnessing wouldn't amount to anything since they had already gotten halfway through the street, but we were wrong. We got to share the gospel with a catholic lady who was very soft. She wasn't a practicing catholic and said that would like to try out the church! It was worth it :) Plus, we just took off the tracts the Jehova's Witness' left on the people's doors we went to. It was worth it just for that. They are preaching a false gospel,contrary to what the bible teaches. The catholic lady said she wouldn't have talked to us if we were with them; in fact she said she would have been rude to us if we were with them. Praise the Lord for a fruitful day! I love sharing the gospel with people!

Loving it!

I am completely loving my new reading plan! It's only been 4 days, but I get so excited to do it everyday! Like my previous post, I have been majorly craving God's word! It leaves me with this feeling of "I need more." I am amazed at how much I've learned over the last few years while at Cornerstone! I can't believe how much God has shown me and how my Bible is falling apart! I am so thankful for His word! I was challenged at women's group by a true story that was shared about a a man that was severely burned in a fire. He couldn't see anymore. He wanted to read his bible, but couldn't see. He tried to read with his fingertips, but couldn't feel the brail, because his fingers had been burned so bad. Then he tried his lips. unfortunately, they were burned too bad as well. One day his tongue touched the page and he could read it! He has read the bible through 4 times using only his tongue! What an awesome testimony to the power of our amazing God who saves us and replaces our heart of stone with a heart of flesh! Praise the Lord for changed lives that actually crave the word!

C-R-A-V-I-N-G

Okay, so I've had this major craving for God's word today! I got up late and couldn't do my reading this morning and all I could think about this morning was getting home to read my Bible! I love this feeling! It's amazing! Just thought I'd share :)

Isaiah 1

I read this chapter today and was thinking on it...just wanted to share!

Isaiah 1 (New King James Version)

1 The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
The Wickedness of Judah
2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth!
For the LORD has spoken:

“ I have nourished and brought up children,
And they have rebelled against Me;
3 The ox knows its owner
And the donkey its master’s crib;
But Israel does not know,
My people do not consider.”
4 Alas, sinful nation,
A people laden with iniquity,
A brood of evildoers,
Children who are corrupters!
They have forsaken the LORD,
They have provoked to anger
The Holy One of Israel,
They have turned away backward.
5 Why should you be stricken again?
You will revolt more and more.
The whole head is sick,
And the whole heart faints.
6 From the sole of the foot even to the head,
There is no soundness in it,
But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores;
They have not been closed or bound up,
Or soothed with ointment.
7 Your country is desolate,
Your cities are burned with fire;
Strangers devour your land in your presence;
And it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.
8 So the daughter of Zion is left as a booth in a vineyard,
As a hut in a garden of cucumbers,
As a besieged city.
9 Unless the LORD of hosts
Had left to us a very small remnant,
We would have become like Sodom,
We would have been made like Gomorrah.
10 Hear the word of the LORD,
You rulers of Sodom;
Give ear to the law of our God,
You people of Gomorrah:
11 “ To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?”
Says the LORD.

“ I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
And the fat of fed cattle.
I do not delight in the blood of bulls,
Or of lambs or goats.
12 “ When you come to appear before Me,
Who has required this from your hand,
To trample My courts?
13 Bring no more futile sacrifices;
Incense is an abomination to Me.
The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies—
I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting.
14 Your New Moons and your appointed feasts
My soul hates;
They are a trouble to Me,
I am weary of bearing them.
15 When you spread out your hands,
I will hide My eyes from you;
Even though you make many prayers,
I will not hear.
Your hands are full of blood.
16 “ Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean;
Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes.
Cease to do evil,
17 Learn to do good;
Seek justice,
Rebuke the oppressor;[a]
Defend the fatherless,
Plead for the widow.
18 “ Come now, and let us reason together,”
Says the LORD,

“ Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient,
You shall eat the good of the land;
20 But if you refuse and rebel,
You shall be devoured by the sword”;
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
The Degenerate City
21 How the faithful city has become a harlot!
It was full of justice;
Righteousness lodged in it,
But now murderers.
22 Your silver has become dross,
Your wine mixed with water.
23 Your princes are rebellious,
And companions of thieves;
Everyone loves bribes,
And follows after rewards.
They do not defend the fatherless,
Nor does the cause of the widow come before them.
24 Therefore the Lord says,
The LORD of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel,

“ Ah, I will rid Myself of My adversaries,
And take vengeance on My enemies.
25 I will turn My hand against you,
And thoroughly purge away your dross,
And take away all your alloy.
26 I will restore your judges as at the first,
And your counselors as at the beginning.
Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city.”
27 Zion shall be redeemed with justice,
And her penitents with righteousness.
28 The destruction of transgressors and of sinners shall be together,
And those who forsake the LORD shall be consumed.
29 For they[b] shall be ashamed of the terebinth trees
Which you have desired;
And you shall be embarrassed because of the gardens
Which you have chosen.
30 For you shall be as a terebinth whose leaf fades,
And as a garden that has no water.
31 The strong shall be as tinder,
And the work of it as a spark;
Both will burn together,
And no one shall quench them.

New Reading Plan

Okay, so the previous reading plan I was doing has not worked out so well. Mainly, because I can't seem to get on the right day and it drives me crazy if I miss one and have to work double time to catch up. So, I have decided on another one. This is actually from a professor at the Masters Seminary (John Macarthur's) in California. It is set up to where you read 10 chapters a day. There are 10 lists. Each list has a group of books. Basically on day 1 you read chapter 1 of the first book on each list. Then, day 2, you read chapter 2 of the same book on each list. As you go you will start new books along the way and end up reading some books (acts, for example) repeatedly! The idea is to become very familiar with God's word! Here is a link to the group on facebook which has a better explanation of the process:

Prof. Horner's Bible-Reading System

Let me know what you think! I started it today and loved it! I was amazed at how well I stayed focused and I truly felt fed by God's word by the time I was over...in fact, I wanted to read more! It didn't take as long as you would think either. It took me about 35-45 minutes. That's it. I recommend this plan :)

Evangelism

I had an amazing morning at evangelism! We actually knocked on a Jehovah Witness' door!! Imagine that, they're usually the ones knocking on our doors! Anyway, she was at first kind of hard as we were showing her in scripture that Jesus is God. Then we gently told her she was in a cult. To our surprise, she invited us in, instead of shutting the door. We went through scripture after scripture and she finally said, "you put a doubt in my mind." Praise the Lord! She was doubting what she had believed that Jesus was an angel and not God. It was so awesome to see how God had orchestrated the whole thing. I just pray she truly will study the word (fortunately she didn't actually have a New World Translation bible) and ask God for the truth to be revealed! I just wanted to share. If you want to pray for her, her name is Alicia.

On another note, I appologize for not updating. I've been sick and school has been pretty consuming recently. I haven't been reading as much, but have started getting back into the habit slowly. Hopefully you'll hear more from me this week....if that's a good thing :) Hope you're all doing well!

My Favorite Hymn, right now!

"In Christ Alone"
Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend
Copyright © 2001 Kingsway Thankyou Music

In Christ alone my hope is found;
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My comforter, my all in all—
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save.
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied;
For ev'ry sin on Him was laid—
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain;
Then bursting forth in glorious day,
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory,
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me;
For I am His and He is mine—
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the pow'r of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.

Sorry for the Delay!

Just wanted to say that I have been reading. Not as much as I should, but I haven't posted about it in a while. I've added a new venture to my reading list...and it's a big one! This was suggested to me for discipleship. It's called Religious Affections by Jonathan Edwards. It's gonna take a long time! Anyway, it's been a long week and it's only Tuesday! I'll try to post more later tonight, but no guarantees! Hopefully you're doing better than I am in reading!

Tests of True Faith: 1st John

This is something I've received from a conference at my church with Susan Heck. It's the tests of saving faith from 1st John. It's good to test our faith and to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. I am going through it again and just thought I'd share it with you all! Enjoy!

1. Test of having partnership or fellowship with Christ and the Father: 1:3. Do you?

2. Test of joy: 1:4. Are you joyful?

3. Test of confessing our sins: 1:9. When is the last time you confessed your sins?

4. Test of broken pattern of sinning: 2:1; 3:4-6; 3:8 9; 5:18. Are you practicing any known sin today?

5. Test of obedience: 2:3-5; 3:22-24; 5:2, 3. Are you obeying God’s commandments-all of them?

6. Test of walking as Christ walked: 2:6. Do you?

7. Test of loving the brethren: 2:9-11; 3:10-18; 3:23; 4:7-12; 4:20-5:2. Do you love ALL the brethren?

8. Test of overcoming the wicked one: 2:13, 14; 5:4, 18. Does Satan have any rule in your heart today?

9. Test of not loving the world: 2:15-17; 4:5. Are there any forms of worldliness in your life?

10. Test of preserving to the end: 2:19, 24. Is your life as zealous for the Lord today as last year?

11. Test of the indwelling Holy Spirit: 2:20, 27; 3:24; 4:13. Do you sense the Spirit’s leading, convicting, empowering in your life?

12. Test of belief: 2:23; 3:23; 4:2, 15; 5:1, 2, 5,10,13,20. Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ? Really?

13. Test of abiding in Him: 2:27, 28; 4:16. Are you abiding/remaining in the Father?

14. Test of holy living: 2:29; 3:3, 7. Are you striving to be perfect as He is perfect?

15. Test of hatred from the world: 3:13. When is the last time you received persecution from the world?

16. Test of answered prayer: 3:22; 5:14, 15. When is the last time God answered your prayer?

17. Test of overcoming false teachers: 4:4. Can you discern a false teacher?

18. Test of no fear in judgment: 2:28; 4:17, 18. Are you fearful of the rapture, the judgment to come?

19. Test of loving God: 4:19-5:2. Do you love God? Does it show itself in your actions and love to others?

20. Test of keeping ourselves from idols: 5:21. Do you have any idols in your life?

5:30 AM

My alarm clock went off at 5:30. Nope, not a mistake. I intentionally got up that early....what was I thinking?!?!?! Well, I've decided that my quiet time has got to be before school. I want to give God my first fruits of my time. In other words, God deserves my best and first....my first hour of the day. Let's just say that my quiet time this morning was the most amazing time I've had with God in a long time! I can't wait to get up and do it all over again tomorrow morning! I was focused even though I was completely exhausted and running on about 6 hours of sleep!

Just thought I'd share! It was amazing and I'm so thankful to have fellowship with God!

Surveying, Word Study, Interpreting, Oh My!

So, as you know, Josh and I have been doing a study through the book of Galatians. Never in my life, have I ever gone this deep into scripture! It's almost overwhelming at times and we're only on verses 1-10 in chapter one! This week I focused on verses 6-10 and boy was it a lot of work! I totally enjoyed it though! I did a word study on the words "apostle," "grace," "sin," "gospel," "bondservant," and "accursed." It's amazing to go back to the greek and find the actual meanings of words! For example, to be a bondservant of Christ is to "devote to another (Christ) to the disregard of one's own interests." That's just one of many things I learned!

I also surveyed the verses looking for repeating words, phrases, and connecting them to each other. It helps you to focus on what the overall theme is for the verses. That's so important so that nothing is taken out of context! After studying these verses, it's important that no one preach any other gospel, except the gospel of Christ, or he will be accursed!

The next thing I did was write down 25 things the verses say. The verses have to actually say whatever it is I write down. This is not interpreting what I think it says. It's amazing how you can come up with 25 different things out of 5 verses! I love this part!

Then I wrote down 5 things the text doesn't say. For example, the text did not say who was troubling the Galatia churches and perverting the gospel.

Finally, I come up with some interpretive questions. These questions help me think more deeply about what I'm reading. For example, "When did the Galatians recieve the gospel?" or "Why does Paul repeat himself in these verses?"

I love doing this so much! It's a challenge at times, but I've never truly went to this much depth before in my reading of scripture! What a blessing to have the resources to do so! I wanted to share a link to a site I used to study the greek words: www.greekbiblestudy.org You have to sign up, but it's free!

Are you doing any scriptural studies? If so, what? I'd love to hear :)

Excellent Wife Chapter 7

Oh my, this one was a doosy (sp?)! It was entitled "Christ: The Wife's Heart." I'll just say that even though I felt I was making progress I feel like I took 2 steps back after reading this chapter! Here are the highlights (if you call them that since they make me feel pretty low):

*A desire I have is only as good as my willingness to wait on God's timing. I must continue to serve God whether I get my desire or not. If I am not content to wait on God, and if I am miserable and sin as a result, then my heart's desire is not set on the glory of God.....instead it has become an idol.
*Idols/lusts are rampant! We all set our hearts on attaining things that God does not want us to have right now! This is true for me!
*An idol can be anything. It may even be a good thing. But if we want it so badly that we sin if we don't get it or sin to attain it, then we are worshipping an idol rather than Christ. Wow!
*Ready for this one....We worship what we serve, speak about, sacrifice for, seek after, spend time and money on, and trust in. In other words, who or what you worship is "what's on your mind," "what you long for--wish for," "what is really important to you," and "what you have set your heart on."
*My thoughts, motives, and choices should be set on glorifying Him, not on my idolatrous heart's desire.
*Whenever a wife sets her heart on her husband behaving a certain way, she will likely end up disappointed, frustrated, and hurt.
Sidenote: Psalm 119 is an amazing psalm to read/pray through to refocus your heart's desire!
*These are the desires I want to cultivate:
That I may know God's word and obey it.
That I may delight in Him.
That I may seek Him with all my heart.
That I may be pleasing to Him regardless of my circumstances.
That I may cultivate an attitude of joy and gratitude in what God is doing in my life no matter what my husband does or does not do.
That I may have joy in God deciding how my life and circumstances can glorify Him the most, that He can use me for his glory.

I was blown away by this chapter....and to think there's only 14 more chapters to "beat me up." I'm not hating it though, on the contrary, it's been freeing to see my sin more clearly, a lot of it ignorance, and to desire to change it! Praise the Lord for opening my eyes and helping me change!

The Blessing of a Trial

I've been wanting to write about what God has shown me through a major trial my husband and I have been facing for about 5 months. It has taken me a while, because I've avoided it and didn't see what good it would do to blog about it. However, it's something that I have been sanctified through and want to glorify God through, so now I'm going to share!

5 months ago my husband lost his job. Not a big shocker to most of you, but a big one to me! The day he was laid off we were expecting him to finally get the raise his immediate bosses had promised for months! I thought Josh was kidding when he told me he didn't get the raise, but instead was asked to pack his things and leave that day. No two weeks notice, no compensation, just pack your bags and go. I was immediately angry, bitter, and extremely worried about what had happened and what we were going to do.

I knew that the two of us could live off my income as a teacher, but for those of you who were unaware, at the time we were taking care of Josh's younger brother for reasons I won't explain here. That's 3 mouths to feed, gas to drive him places, as well as us, and other expenses.

I'd like to say that my reaction that first day ended with me accepting this trial and trusting that God had a plan, but unfortunately, it didn't. In fact, it went quite the opposite and I'm glad it did. It was through Josh losing his job, that I realized just how much I didn't trust God to provide for us and just how much I worried! I was a wreck and not even Matthew 6 could comfort me!

A month later I started discipleship with a woman from church I've known for about 6 years. She immediately confronted me about my sin! She told me I had to get it out of my life for good! She made me look up as many verses on worrying as I could and meditate on them daily. Then she printed some off (10 pages worth) to be exact and it took me 3 hours to go through those! Through all of this, I realized that worrying was extremely dumb and that if God had written about trusting Him to provide that many times in the bible, then there's no reason I can't believe and trust Him!

I immediately surrendered our finances to my husband and decided from then on that that is a major cause of my worrying. When I look at money/bills, etc. and have to pay them all I get overwhelmed and can't seem to stop from worrying or getting anxious. My husband gladly took them over as he could tell it would help me! I'm sure I drove him CRAZY with my emotions about how we were going to pay bills, etc.

Over the next few months I picked up a tutoring position twice a week to help come up with some extra money. Then I just purely prayed and trusted God. Our church family stepped in and amazingly surprised us with some donations that we weren't expecting! My mom gave us groceries on occasion. Talk about the love and provisions of God laid out before us in a way I've never experienced before! The love from the people at our church just showed me even more how much I can trust God at His word when He says he'll provide! I do want to mention that throughout this entire trial we have continued to tithe 10% first. I'm not saying that to boast, but to show that I truly let go of my worry to give God from my pay first, knowing full well that we may not have enough money to pay the bills. Throughout this entire thing, we've only used our credit cards once. One time to fill up our car with gas. That's it! Unbelievable!

So, I say all that because I want others to know, who may struggle like I did, that God is an amazing God who provides for His people! I would not change the fact that Josh lost his job ever! I am so thankful he lost his job, because it forced me to face my biggest sin/fear head on and put it behind me. I'm not saying I don't struggle with it anymore, just that it doesn't consume me anymore! If Josh had not lost his job, I would not be as close to God as I am today! I would not have victory over my sin of worry. I would not be as thankful for what God provides our family! Praise God He broke us through this trial! I'm still amazed it's still going on, but God will provide Josh a job soon! I know He will be faithful to provide what we need! After all, His word guarantees it!

Evangelism

I'm so excited to be able to get back out on Saturday mornings for evangelism at church! We go door to door like the apostles did and share the gospel. Today was my first day out in a while. I was amazed at how much satan was trying to distract us and turn us off.

The first house was a catholic guy who was extremely nice, but extremely prideful. He immediately told us he's been to every catholic school (elementary-college) and we would be wasting our time with him. How sad! We got him to take a repentance track, but then he kept going off on "rabbit trails" trying to keep us at the door. He finally made the comment, "I guess I'm keeping you from doing your work," and we were happy he realized that. He made one comment that was true, but sad that I want to share. He said, "I'm shocked to see people out from the baptist churches sharing the gospel." How sad is that? It's so true though. Very few "churches" actually evangelize.

Then, we go to a few houses and leave tracts and the fourth house was interesting, oh my. Let's just say I was reading a sign about "Beware of an attack ferret" (never seen anything like that before) and then the ladies I went with started screaming. I was like, "Oh my, where's the ferret" and then I realized there were bees everywhere. Then, the guys opens the door and we realized we just blew that opportunity. We gave him a tract, urged him to read it and test his salvation and moved on. As we're walking away, one of the ladies says, "I think a bird just pooped on me." Oh yes, it was true. Disgusting! Another distraction :(

After cleaning that up we went back on our way and finally got to talk to a lady who was so soft. She was so excited we were there she was literally jumping up and down. I guess she's only had Jehova's witness' and mormons come to her door and she's tired of sharing the gospel with them. She was a pleasure to talk with and we ended the morning with her as it was time to meet back at church.

On our drive back to church, I was driving, the girl next to me starts screaming "get it off, get it off" and I turned and there was a 3-4 inch long bug (no clue what kind) crawling on her. She's leaning toward me to have me get it off and I'm like, "I'm gonna wreck the car if that thing jumps on me." It finally got off and we made it safe back to church.

Let's just say today was one day I will never forget. I was completely in shock at how many attempts satan made to ruin our day and us trying to serve/glorify God. Praise the Lord we went and stuck with it, though! I can't wait to see what happens next Saturday :)

Reading Plan

I've gone back and forth about what to do in my quiet time. I've tried many different things and failed at some. I think I've finally found something I can do and feel good about! It's a bible reading plan called The Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan. It's split up by the days of the year. Every month has 5 built in blank days: in other words, 5 days of no reading because there's always a day or two a month you miss..we're not perfect. It's great so you don't fall behind and have to read a ton to catch up! I love that I read some in the new testament, old testament, and a psalm or proverb. If you want to check it out here is a link:
http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/1569_bible_reading_plans/
It's actually from Piper's blog...I found out about it through the person that's discipling me.
What do you do that works for you?

Repentance

I've actually read the entire chapter as of last night and I've put off writing comments, due to the fact that if I wrote down everything that I learned, was convicted over, or needed to share it would be the entire chapter (and what I've learned so far)! It was a long chapter too! My recommendation is to get the book! It has been one book that has truly challenged me to test my faith and to work out my salvation with fear and trembling. It has challenged me to take a look at my repentance to see if it's genuine or false. It has left me in tears at times. I am only about halfway through, and find it astonishing at how little I knew about repentance. It's a word I didn't grow up hearing. In fact, I didn't have an understanding of what it meant until about 2 years ago. Even now, I am questioning whether I fully understand the capacity of it based on this book. It's not a bad thing to wonder...I mean repentance is the first word of the gospel! It must be a very important word and I definitely want to make sure I have an accurate meaning of it!

Anyway, the best thing so far I've walked away with is that I need to learn more! I need to strive for knowledge and deeper meaning of it in scripture! I need to do it and mean it and allow God to change me through it! Praise the Lord that He convicts me and allows me to repent and He forgives me! Praise God that He shows me my sin so I can repent of it! I could go on so much more, but it would be too long of a blog. I would definitely suggest reading this book! Make sure you have your bible handy and a big box of tissues!

I have been reading!

I didn't want you to think that I haven't been reading that massive book list (ok, not that long, but long enough that I feel overwhelmed by it) on the side of my blog. I have actually read more of the Intended for Pleasure. I am not going to post any topics about this one. If you're married and all I totally recommend it! It's very detailed and is not shy about anything ;) That's all I'll say, but I wanted to at least give it a recommendation! I'll post later about my next chapter I'm reading in Repentance!

Galations

Josh and I are doing a hermeneutical study through Galations. He is actually doing this for discipleship and then teaching me! It is a lot of fun and I've been learning a lot. It's tough to dig so deep into scripture, but well worth it. Tonight I did verses 1-5 of chapter 1. I had to survey the text and find repeating words, links between words, etc. Then I wrote down 25 things that the text says, followed by 10 things the text doesn't say, and finally 7 interpretive questions about the text. It is so much fun! There are certain points where I get stumped and feel like I can't find anymore and then God shows me more things. Who knew that I could come up with 25 different things that 5 verses say! Anyway, I'll keep you posted on our progress. Obviously the first 5 verses are just the introduction and greeting! Are you doing any studies of scripture?

Sunday Sermon: Justification by Imputed Righteousness

Another amazing sermon! This week on Romans 4:1-8. Here are some key points I picked up:

*Justification has always been and can only be, by faith apart from works.
*To have Justification by works, fuels the sin of boasting, v. 2
*100% of us are unrighteous apart from Christ
*In God's law court you are compared with Christ, not another human who's "worse" than you
*God is not in the business of glorifying men--quote by John Macarthur
*The quoting of scripture in verses is put into the present tense--proving it's living!
*our sin was imputed to Christ as He bore our sin on the cross; then Christ's righteousness is imputed to our account when we are saved and we are legally declared righteous
*Faith is not the basis for our righteousness--it's the empty bucket we bring to the well--God has to give us the faith--quote by Calvin
*You come to God with your sin and have nothing to give; He changes everything about you, and then you can live a righteous life
*Below is a Faith acrostic by Macarthur:
F-Facts-knowing God exists, sent Christ, we are wicked sinners, Christ died and paid our penalty and we need His righteousness
A-you must agree with those previous facts
I-internalize-you must personalize those facts
T-you must turn from your sin and trust and serve God alone
H-hope-persistent hope-a settled certainty that we persevere to the end
*Grace excludes works!
*Works have nothing to do with justification!
*Christians stumble "on board", not "over board"

Those are the highlights! It was a very convicting sermon! I can't wait till next week for the next part of Romans! I've learned so much in the past 4 months and we're only in chapter 4! What are you learning in your church?

Excellent Wife Chapter 5

This week was chapter 5: A Wife's Understanding of Marriage, God's Purpose. This was a very convicting chapter. How greatly I long to have a marriage that honors God! I want a oneness and spiritual and physical bond that glorifies God! How humbling it has been since I started this book to realize that I'm not doing so good on being a submissive wife. I thought I was doing okay, but now I feel like it's a big weakness of mine. I have a tendency to look more at what Josh is doing wrong than myself. Ultimately, I need to work on myself in order to help us glorify God! I need to pray for sin to be revealed and repent of it. I need to hear someone tell me my sin and not be angry because of it. I need to respond with a grateful heart, confessing that sin, and turning from it!
God does His part by convicting, disciplining, and enabling me to grow and mature. I must do my part by growing in knowledge and understanding of Christ, pursuing love, setting my mind on the things of the Spirit, fleeing immorality/sin, and disciplining myself for the purpose of godliness. Wow! That's a tall order, but praise God he's patient and enables me!
The one thing that has stuck with me in this chapter is what I'll leave you with. It deals with our marriage as the act of mutual sanctification. Mutual sanctification is the process of helping each other become as much like the Lord Jesus Christ as possible. Thoughts?

Update: Scripture Memory

I have actually memorized Phil. 1:1-21 now! Only 9 more verses to go and I've finished all of chapter 1! I hate to mention that I have neglected 1st John to work on Philippians. Honestly, I've been dreading going back over 1st John 1 since it took me forever to learn it; something about the way the words repeat over and over but in slightly different ways each time. I'm going to stop making excuses though, and do it!

I'm so thankful to God that we can memorize and hide His word in our hearts! It's such a blessing when I am having a rough day at school and can't read the bible. It brings real meaning to it being alive! It's so relevant to today just the way it is...amazing how God orchestrates that!

Kitty My Rib

Josh and I have gradually been reading through a fictional biography of Katherine Luther (Martin Luther's wife) called Kitty My Rib by E. Jane Mall. It has been so interesting...Josh of course didn't think it would be, but is now hooked! We only have 5 chapters left out of 24 and I look forward to each one!

Last night's chapter was Katherine getting sick, almost near death; Luther surprising her with a country cottage to live in; and then the both of them succumbing to moving back to Wittenberg to do God's Work. I can't wait to see what happens in tonight's chapter!

Just wanted to share! We are reading the Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan after Kitty My Rib. It's a great time Josh and I share and it's better than watching T.V. Hope you get a chance to read it! If you have, let me know what you thought!

Scripture Memory!

I am currently working on memorizing 2 books of the bible: Philippians and 1st John. I am going to post updates to hold myself more accountable! Currently I've done Phil. 1:1-15 and 1st John 1 and 2: 1-5. I would like to finish Philippians 1 by the end of next week and get through verse 17 of 1st John. I will keep you updated on my progress!

Are you memorizing scripture? If so, what works for you? How do you do it? I'm always curious if people have methods that would work better for me! Right now my big motivation is an older woman in my church. She's in her 70s and has epilepsy and currently memorizes way more scripture than me. Shame on me! I'm 24 and have no health issues! If she can do it, I can do it :)

Sunday Sermon: Sola Fide-Faith Alone!

Wow, today was an awesome sermon! Of course I say that every Sunday, but it truly was! I used to hate the idea of TULIP, Calvinism, election, etc. I have studied it more and more since I came to Cornerstone, and did eventually conclude (by the grace of God), that election was biblical. After the sermon today I have no question in my mind. My pastor preached on Rom. 3:27-31. He is preaching expositorily through the book of Romans. Here is what I learned:

I always knew that works could not merit our salvation. I mean, I've read where the bible says that it's by faith alone. Today, however, be it the way my pastor explained things, God opening my eyes, or focusing intently (I think it's all 3), I truly understood more deeply what the bible says when it says "by faith alone, through grace alone".

For so long, I thought that the way to salvation was to live a good life. Wrong, found that out a few years ago when, as Is. 64:6 says, "all my good works are like filthy rags." I still never reconciled the fact that asking someone to accept Jesus into their heart and make the choice to be saved is actually a work on their part to merit salvation. Someone who does this, recalls the date they prayed that prayer as the assurance for their salvation (unbiblical--if you find it let me know). In a sense, that is boasting in a work they did to choose God and be saved. I believe Rom. 3:27-31 opposes that idea completely.

When someone gets saved/justified, God is the one who does it. Not man. Earlier in Romans it says there are "none who are good." I've also read that "none seek the Lord." How is it then, that man can make a decision to pray a prayer and accept Christ on his own free will? If none seeks God, then how is that possible? It's only possible, because God draws the person He has chosen, regenerates him, "replaces his heart of stone with a heart of flesh", and gives him the ability to then seek God with the immediate/natural response being repentance and faith. There are NO works that precede justification. However, even though man's works have nothing to do with his justification, justification has everything to do with obeying the law. Christ said that we will know the brethren by their fruits. Our fruits are our evidence of conversion. You cannot just nullify the law, because we are saved by faith (v. 31). James makes that clear, "faith without works is dead." It's a faith that works.

I think that's all I'll post right now. It's so much to think about. I love how God's word is alive and relevant for today! I love how God has opened my eyes and grown me in knowledge. If you knew me in college, you knew I was ignorant of scripture. I couldn't even tell you what justification meant. I'm still nowhere where I need to be, but I've learned so much over the last 2 years. I just keep praying God will reveal His word to me as I strive to understand it more. Thanks for reading! Feel free to post your thoughts! I'll be posting more on a book later!

Relationships

This week I read the 4th chapter of The Excellent Wife by Martha Peace. It was another convicting message! These are the things I learned:

My relationship with my husband is a reflection of the Trinity.

The Hebrew word for "one" is "echad" meaning one, alike, altogether, or all at once.

I need to change the following characteristics in my relationship: ungentle, unmerciful, cruel, private, self-protective, tearing him down to build me up, self-seeking, not communicating biblically, deceitfulness, untrusting, and manipulating with tears.

God expects perfect unity in my marriage--communicating intimately, humility, harmony.

I need to stop asking what I get out of my relationship and start asking how can we please and glorify God in our relationship.

We no longer live for ourselves, but for Christ (2 Cor. 5:15).

I should communicate in love-sharing thoughts, feelings, present and future desires, aspirations, goals, struggles, and spiritual insights-being open, honest, transparent-my motive is for the glory of God!

That's all for now! I know that the more I learn, the more I recognize different sin in my life that needs to change. I'm thankful God doesn't reveal all my sin at once! Any thoughts?

Welcome!

Welcome to my little corner of the internet! My name is Lindsay and I'm a 24 year old wife and teacher. The reason I created this blog is to share my reflections on all the reading I plan on doing. It's also a way to hold myself accountable to doing it, as I want to post often about the books. I am in the middle of so many good books right now, that I want to finish them and move on to others!

A little about me: I grew up thinking I was saved, because I always "felt" saved. I was a moral person. I guess you would call me the "naive good girl", because I never got in trouble, made good grades (never had a C till college), and didn't drink/party. In fact, I taught Sunday school and was very involved in church. God showed me, though, that I was not saved. In fact, I was relying on my moral works to save me. It wasn't until I saw my sin and how bad it was, that I realized there was no hope and I deserved hell. God is holy and righteous and I fall short of that in some many ways. I cried out to God in repentance for Him to save me. It was nothing I could do, only God that could pull me out of the filthy sin I was in. Praise God He has changed my life! I desire the things of God! I love reading (I hated it before) the Bible and books about doctrine/theology. I have learned so much and I love sharing it with people! I want to tell people the good news of the Gospel! I love the brethren and love discussing the Bible!

I say all this, purely, to let you know who I am. I am not perfect and nothing I write will be. I want to share, because honestly, it's something I love doing! When I talk with someone, the conversation generally leads to the topic of God, theology, the Bible, or church. It's hard to hide it :) I gladly welcome any input/feedback on your feelings about what I write. I want it to be a tool for open discussion about the things of God and I want it to glorify Him!

With that all said, welcome to my new blog! Enjoy!