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.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
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 :)
Saturday, March 28, 2009
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!
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!
Sunday, March 22, 2009
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.
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.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
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!
Thursday, March 12, 2009
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?
1. Test of having partnership or fellowship with Christ and the Father: 1:3. Do you?
Test of joy: 1:4. Are you joyful?
Test of confessing our sins: 1:9. When is the last time you confessed your sins?
Test of broken pattern of sinning: 2:1; 3:4-6; 3:8 9; 5:18. Are you practicing any known sin today?
Test of obedience: 2:3-5; 3:22-24; 5:2, 3. Are you obeying God’s commandments-all of them?
Test of walking as Christ walked: 2:6. Do you?
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?
Test of overcoming the wicked one: 2:13, 14; 5:4, 18. Does Satan have any rule in your heart today?
Test of not loving the world: 2:15-17; 4:5. Are there any forms of worldliness in your life?
Test of preserving to the end: 2:19, 24. Is your life as zealous for the Lord today as last year?
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?
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?
Test of abiding in Him: 2:27, 28; 4:16. Are you abiding/remaining in the Father?
Test of holy living: 2:29; 3:3, 7. Are you striving to be perfect as He is perfect?
Test of hatred from the world: 3:13. When is the last time you received persecution from the world?
Test of answered prayer: 3:22; 5:14, 15. When is the last time God answered your prayer?
Test of overcoming false teachers: 4:4. Can you discern a false teacher?
Test of no fear in judgment: 2:28; 4:17, 18. Are you fearful of the rapture, the judgment to come?
Test of loving God: 4:19-5:2. Do you love God? Does it show itself in your actions and love to others?
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!
Just thought I'd share! It was amazing and I'm so thankful to have fellowship with God!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
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 :)
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!
*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!
Sunday, March 8, 2009
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!
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!
Saturday, March 7, 2009
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 :)
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 :)
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
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?
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!
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!
Monday, March 2, 2009
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!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
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?
*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?
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