OVERCOMER

Leavenworth 2 and Twins with Twins

2012-02-10T15:12:00.000-08:00

Leavenworth at night...

Our quaintly appointed room...

Love this one of Karin and Annie...

The men I love...

(The tree behind them was really cool.

It looked like snow was falling over it...)

Annie has always looked great in hats,

and she ended up wearing this one home!

How you hot tub when you leave your suit at home...harumph...

This mural was in the pool room.

Can you tell what it is depicting?

We LOVED it!

(Click on the image to get a better look...)

Precious...

And one last pic for you...twins with twins. I watch Vivie and Annah on Fridays. Karin and I got to hang out with these two cuties today. They are so much fun!

Leavenworth

2012-02-09T22:11:00.000-08:00

Karin, my older sister by eleven minutes, is here for the week. Yes, we are twins and this picture was taken in Leavenworth, not the penitentiary in Kansas, but a small Bavarian Village in the beautiful Cascade mountains.

We are having great fun, more pictures coming soon...

Are You Ready?

2012-02-04T21:07:00.000-08:00

"For I consider that

the sufferings of this present time

are not worthy to be compared

with the glory

that is to be revealed to us."

Romans 8:18

What did Paul's sufferings look like?

"...in far more imprisonments,

beaten times without number,

often in danger of death,

five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes,

three times I was beaten with rods,

once I was stoned,

three times I was shipwrecked,

a night and a day I have spent in the deep.

I have been on frequent journeys,

in danger from rivers,

dangers from robbers,

dangers from my countrymen,

dangers from the Gentiles,

dangers in the city,

dangers in the wilderness,

dangers on the sea,

dangers among false brethren;

I have been in labor and hardship,

through many sleepless nights,

in hunger and thirst,

often without food,

in cold and exposure..."

2 Corinthians 11:23-27

Can any of us say we have come even close to such suffering?

What did Jesus say would occur to some of us before He returns?

"Many will come in My name, saying,

'I am the Christ',

and will mislead many.

You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars,

See that you are not frightened,

for these things must take place,

but that is no yet the end.

For nation will rise against nation,

and kingdom against kingdom,

and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes.

But all these things are merely

the beginning of birth pangs.

Then they will deliver you to tribulation,

and will kill you,

and you will be hated by all nations

because of My name.

At that time many will fall away

and will betray one another and hate one another.

Many false prophets will arise

and will mislead many.

Because lawlessness is increased,

most people's love will grow cold.

But the one who endures to the end,

he will be saved."

Matthew 24:5-13

John had this to say about the coming times -

"If anyone is destined for captivity,

to captivity he goes;

if anyone kills with the sword,

with the sword he must be killed.

Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints."

Revelation 13:10

What are you doing to prepare?

Are you ready for what is going to happen before the Lord's return?

What will you do if your family is drug before you and you are told

if you give up Christ, they will not slaughter your child,
or grandchild?

Are you prepared to face such a choice?

When the church was young,

believers faced great persecution.

As the end of the age closes,

the church will face the greatest persecution ever to occur.

Are you ready?

Will you stand for Christ?

Do you love Jesus above all things?

Jesus, Our Redeemer

2012-02-02T12:57:00.000-08:00

"In Him we have redemption through His blood,

the forgiveness of our trespasses,

according to the riches of His grace."

Ephesians 1:7

I've been thinking this morning, about Adam and Eve. When they were created, they came into life having wonderful, sweet, daily, communion with God. I believe it was Jesus with Whom they walked in the Garden of Eden, it was Christ pre-incarnate. When they chose to listen to the counsel of Satan, rather than the Wonderful Counselor's, they lost that wonderful, sweet, daily, physical-presence-communion with God. They gained death - physical as well as spiritual separation from God and their bodies began to age and eventually returned to dust. How excruciating it must have been, when they began to realize what they had lost. Choosing not to listen to God gained nothing good, only death, misery, and separation from Him. Man was created to live by the Word of God. Suffering is still the consequence when we choose not to walk in the counsel of God. But Jesus did not leave Adam and Eve without hope. Before He sent them out of the garden, He gave them a picture of what He was going to do someday. He killed an innocent animal, spilling its blood, to cover guilty Adam and Eve. The Creator, Jesus, would come at the fullness of time, as The Redeemer, and pay the price for sin with His blood, restoring relationship. His death would release His children from the bondage and power of sin. His death would release His chosen ones from Satan's domain, which Adam had plunged the human race into by choosing to heed Satan's counsel.

You are I were born into sin. We were born enemies of God, unable to please God, not even desiring to have communion with Him. Before the fall, Adam and Eve's hearts must have leapt with joy when they heard the sound of Jesus coming to them. Don't you think they ran to Him, eager to hear what He would teach them that day? Not so with us, before Jesus opens our eyes and reveals Himself to us, we do not seek Him. We do not desire Him. We do not desire righteousness and holiness. We do not desire His wisdom and counsel. We are blind to the goodness and holiness of God. We are unable to revel in the glory of God. We revel in self-glory. We are attracted only to self. We are born self-pleasers. We are so sinful, the Father must drag us to Jesus.

Jesus paid the price to restore our relationship back to what Adam and Eve had in the garden, before the fall. Jesus paid the price to release us from the bondage and power of sin and the kingdom of Satan. Jesus paid the price to restore that sweet and intimate communion with God. We'll never fully comprehend the price He paid, the shedding of His precious blood. We'll never understand the wrath He bore because we didn't have to pay the price. Jesus, while on the cross, experienced an eternity's worth of torment - of being separated from the Father, for each of His children, His gift's from the Father. The Innocent paying the price for the guilty. We deserved the torment of the Father's wrath and separation from Him. We deserved the nails driven into our hands and feet. Instead of it being our hands and feet, Jesus, without struggling, quietly and willingly laid His hands and feet out and took the searing pain of the piercing. We will never experience God's wrath for the punishment for our sin so we'll never completely understand what Jesus endured, what He bore to accomplish our redemption, but we can choose now to serve and love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. We now hear His wise, sweet voice. We also now have an eternity with Him, to thank Him, Thank Him, THANK HIM!

Greater the Work of Redemption

2012-01-30T20:33:00.000-08:00

"Great was the work of creation,

but greater the work of redemption;

it cost more to redeem us than to make us;

in the one there was the speaking of a Word,

in the other the shedding of innocent blood."

The Puritan, Thomas Watson

And He is the Radiance of His Glory

2012-01-28T18:32:00.000-08:00

Without Jesus, there is only darkness...

Rejoice.

Rejoice!

Oh REJOICE,
you who belong to Him,
His chosen ones,
whom He loved before He laid the foundations of the world,
before He spoke and light appeared.

Rejoice in The Creator!

Rejoice in The Light!

Rejoice in The Truth!

Rejoice that The Fullness of Light and Truth
agreed to die for you,
from eternity past!

Rejoice in the One Who came bursting forth from the darkness,
because He is the Everlasting Light and Life!

Rejoice that you are His,
forever,
and the sufferings of now,
in this present creation,
which is groaning to be set free from its slavery to corruption,
are not worthy to be compared
with the majesty,
with the glory,
with the wonder,
and with the splendor,
that is to be revealed to us.

Rejoice that His love
is a never-forsaking love,
a never-separating love,
and a returning and receiving us to Himself, love!

Yes, REJOICE!

A Steadfast Heart

2012-01-26T19:26:00.000-08:00

“Do not let your heart be troubled;

believe in God,

believe also in Me."

John 14:1

When we set our minds on the person, plan, and character of God,

no matter what the circumstance,

anxiety and fear is replaced with steadfastness of heart.

Do you know God's plan?

Do you know God's character?

Do you know God's heart?

He's revealed it to us in His Word.

Jesus is God.

He is our Rock, our Refuge, our Strength.

The best part of the day is time spent with Him
in His revelation to us,
gaining an ever deeper understanding of Who He is
and then letting your mind dwell on Him.

The fruit of that is, a steadfast heart.

Jesus Will Not Rest...

2012-01-23T11:52:00.000-08:00

"There is something dark and deceitful that still lurks in the heart of every one of God's children who has not yet been fully glorified: sin. It is only ever the sin inside of me that draws and hooks me to the sin outside of me. Every day there is a war fought for control of your heart. But your jealous Savior, with the zeal of gorgeous redemptive love, will not share your heart. He will not rest until your heart is ruled by him and him alone."

Paul Tripp

Icicles

2012-01-19T10:29:00.000-08:00

Definitely one of the coolest things I've photographed...

To view an album where the images are larger, click here.

White as Snow

2012-01-18T11:14:00.000-08:00

I'm sitting at my desk, looking out the window, and it is snowing. It is swirling around, first falling in one direction and then moments later, in just the opposite direction. Then, sometimes it falls like when you shake-up a snow globe, all different directions at once. For me, snow is one of the most beautiful things that Jesus created.

The scene I am also seeing contains the appearance of deadness. There is a cottonwood tree next to our pond. It looks dead, because the leaves fell off last October. The snowflakes are catching and clinging to the bare, dead-looking branches.

The Bible says we are dead in our trespasses and sins. (Eph. 2:1) Jesus came, died on the cross, bore the wrath of the Father for the sins of His chosen, so that our sins, dark like the color scarlet, could be as white as snow. (Isaiah 1:18) In other words, our sins are completely covered, forgiven. Our slate is wiped clean. We are pure, clothed in the righteousness of Jesus. Before repenting of our sin and turning to Christ and believing in Him, we don't appear dead, we are dead, spiritually. We are separated from God and life with God. After repenting of our sins and turning to Christ, we are placed in Him and His righteousness makes us acceptable before God. We are no longer dead in our sins. We are alive, spiritually alive - and the voice of Jesus resonates within our hearts. Looking at the cottonwood tree reminds me that I was once spiritually dead, but Jesus made me alive, wiping out the certificate of debt I owed Him because of my sin, and now I am pure and clean, my sins are white as snow.

***

I began this post yesterday. Today, we woke up to seven, fresh inches of beautiful, white snow. My bedroom window is next to a light. I woke up several times in the middle of the night to see snowflakes, it seemed like millions of them, sparkling and swirling like diamonds, the light reflecting off of them - so beautiful.

I was out and about taking pictures of our snow today. We didn't have the wind that was forecast, but we sure did get a beautiful covering of reminders of Jesus love for us. The above image is our cottonwood. To view a complete album, click here. Enjoy!

Hats

2012-01-14T13:35:00.000-08:00

Daniel loves Grandpa's hat. He has now grown enough to wear one of Grandpa's old hats. Today, they went outside to feed the birds together, wearing their hats...

Love these two guys...

Slow to Anger

2012-01-09T20:35:00.000-08:00

"He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty,

and he who rules his spirit,

than he who captures a city."

Proverbs 16:32

We had a guest speaker at church yesterday - a missionary from Austria. His message was on anger. It was a great message.

He defined unrighteous, sinful anger, as what arises when we don't get what we want. Unrighteous anger is motivated by an idolatrous desire. It's all about us. We are the Lord of our lives when we display unrighteous anger. Cain is an example of one who displayed unrighteous anger. The result was murdering his brother.

Righteous anger in us, on the other hand, arises when God doesn't get what He wants. It's about Him. It's an emotion that is motivated by a sincere love for God, and Christ is the Lord of our lives, not us. If Jesus is made fun of, it should make us angry.

We are instructed to be angry, yet don't sin. (Ephesians 4:26) Paul is talking about righteous anger, when God doesn't get what He wants, when He is maligned. He should get what He wants, because He is God. He made us. He owns us. He is holy. God never does anything wrong, desires anything wrong, or demands anything wrong. We are not to let the sun go down on our righteous anger because righteous anger can go bad, quickly, and turn into unrighteous anger. We are sinful, therefore we need to shut it down, fast. Don't go to bed smoldering.

The effects of righteous anger is that those who are in error can be set on a path to correction. Righteous anger should motivate us to do good things, to encourage and exhort those who are in error. We should be angry that babies are killed in the womb. This is righteous anger, but we shouldn't go out and bomb abortion clinics. Instead, volunteer to work as a counselor or give to organizations such as Care Net.

Here is a list of the results of unrighteous anger:

Gossip (as revenge)
Separation, lack of unity
Hurt
Arguments
Quarreling
Wars
Revenge

Solomon gives us biblical wisdom on what to do when others get sinfully angry:

"A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." Proverbs 15:1

Do not return angry words for angry words. It's like throwing gasoline on a fire. Return anger with gentleness. It will pour water on the fire of angry words.

"He who conceals a transgression seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates intimate friends." Proverbs 17:9

Do not expose the sin by gossip.

"Like one who takes a dog by the ears is he who passes by and meddles with strife not belonging to him." Proverbs 26:17

Be careful about getting involved if you are not asked for help. You'll probably get bit.

"The beginning of strife is like letting out water, so abandon the quarrel before it breaks out." Proverbs 17:14

Walk away or it will become a gusher of anger.

What else can we do? Represent Christ to the person who is displaying unrighteous anger. Find out what this person needs. If we are the one who has displayed unrighteous anger, we need to confess our sin and ask for forgiveness.

Additional verses:

Psalm 37:8 - "Cease from anger and forsake wrath; do not fret; it leads only to evildoing."

Proverbs 15:18 - "A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but the slow to anger calms a dispute."

Proverbs 19:11 - "A man's discretion makes him slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook a transgression."

Proverbs 19:19 - "A man of great anger will bear the penalty, for if you rescue him, you will only have to do it again."

Let the natural consequences of a very angry man teach him not to be angry.

Psalm 119:11 - "Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against you."

Take preemptive measures by memorizing scripture. Draw from it when you feel the unrighteous anger welling up. Scripture is the gentle, cool water that douses the fire of sinful anger. It will also protect righteous anger from turning sinful.

Mark Driscoll Nugget

2012-01-07T19:21:00.000-08:00

"We truly do not know how selfish and sinful we are until we live with someone in marriage…Our spouses do not change us as much as they reveal us."

From his new book - Real Marriage...

A Potpourri

2012-01-05T12:01:00.000-08:00

I'm cleaning up my desk area and came across these words that I'd scribbled down on a blank 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper. I can't remember the source or what prompted me to write them down, but thought I'd pass them on to you:

As Christ is formed in us, we will experience greater and greater grief over sin - our sin and the sins of others. This enables us to identify with the grief and sorrow Jesus has over our sin. It makes His sacrifice for us, and it makes Him, more precious to us.

Totally different topic (yet somewhat related) - I was reading in John 13 this morning. This is the chapter of the account of Jesus washing the disciples' feet, before He went to the cross. He was leaving an example to us of how His possession (that's us) is to be occupied while we watch for His return - doing as He did when He was here on earth - serving others, humbly, sacrificially.

(We are His possession. We are His! How comforting, how reassuring.)

This is a picture of who I spend my time with on Wednesday nights - It was Tacky Tourist night, a couple of months back, at Awana. Looking forward to getting back at it...we've had the last three weeks off.

I hope you are excited about the new year, and new opportunities perhaps to get involved in the body of Christ, serving Him - loving Him, as a response to His great gift of salvation for us, as a response to His sacrifice, so we could belong to Him!

Found to Result in Praise

2012-01-03T19:16:00.000-08:00

"...you, who are protected by the power of God

through faith

for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while,

if necessary,

you have been distressed by various trials,

so that the proof of your faith,

being more precious than gold which is perishable,

even though tested by fire,

may be found to result in praise and glory and honor

at the revelation of Jesus Christ..."

1 Peter 1:5-7

Last year was quite a year. I read last week an article written by a Fox News journalist which said that he wouldn't get one story finished but that he was called off to cover another event. In the many years he'd been reporting, he'd never had a year like it. The ongoing upheaval in the Middle East with the fall of several dictators. The earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The capture and death of Osama bin Laden. The devastating and very deadly tornados here in the United States. The Occupy protestors. The list goes on. It really was quite a year last year, and my guess is this year won't be any different.

For most of us, what is listed above probably didn't have a huge impact on our lives. I do remember watching in disbelief as the tsunami engulfed everything in it's path, crushing houses and tossing cars and airplanes around like they were toys. But it didn't really touch my life here, in Washington. I still have my home. I still have my car. (There is a story with our mini-van, it involves a deer, but that is for another time.) There was concern for a little while about the damage done to some of the nuclear reactors and what affects it might have, but it proved to be a non-issue here in the states. As far as what is going on in the Middle East, I have to admit, it has been exciting to watch because it is around that region of the world from where we will see Antichrist arise, the world ruler who will demand worship of all nations by instituting his mark and requiring it for buying and selling. (Revelation 13:15-17) But the upheaval there hasn't really affected me here, yet. There were some things however that happened in my life this year, that did.

All of us can probably recall at least one trial we've gone through this past year, or maybe several. You might even be in one at the moment. In the passage above, Peter wants us to know several principles about trouble.

1 - Trouble doesn't last - it is for a little while. Paul considered the sufferings we undergo in our lifetime are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us - Romans 8:18.
2 - Trouble is necessary. (see 5, below)
3 - Trouble brings distress. Trials cause heartache and emotional agony. They can also bring physical pain.
4 - Trouble comes in different forms - various trials. Sometimes trials are caused by the sins of others. Trials come with unexpected news. Some trials are over very quickly while some call for endurance for months, or maybe even years at a time. Trials vary in the intensity of the distress. Some peak and then fall, and then peak again. We undergo all different kinds of trials.
5 - Trouble serves a purpose - the proof of your faith...though tested by fire... Trials test the reality of our faith. Trials forge faith of steel. The distress drives the true child of God to the Word and to prayer. Our dependence on God becomes greater. Our view of God is enlarged. Our obedience comes quicker. When we come through a trial still trusting the Lord, we are assured our faith is genuine and the image of Jesus shines brighter in us.
6 - The final outcome of all our trials, the testing of our faith, is so that Jesus may be praised - your faith...even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ...

We know from Hebrews 12:2 that Jesus is the author and perfecter of faith. We know from Ephesians 2:8 that our faith is a gift from Him. At the time of salvation, God grants us faith. Peter tells us we are protected by the power of God, through the faith He gives us. God energizes faith and continues to preserve it. The greatest trial that the church is going to face is when Antichrist is revealed and demands worship of the world. Genuine believers will choose death before giving their worship to him. At the end of the age, when Jesus returns and is revealed, praise will resound for Him, for His keeping us. Salvation is all His work, including our gift of faith. He loses none of His sheep that the Father has given Him. He lovingly and fiercely guards and protects each and every single one, through the fire. Gold is valuable, but perishable. Gold is subject to decay. Genuine faith is not perishable. Genuine faith is not subject to decay making genuine faith much more valuable than gold. Genuine faith never fails completely under the severest of distresses because the power of Jesus is behind it. Jesus - our Precious Savior, the Eternal, Omnipotent God of the universe - of infinite, measureless value and having infinite, measureless power.

I have loved ones in my life who are being distressed with trials. Jesus is more pronounced in their lives, shining bright, because of them. Praise be to Him.

My Prayer for You in the Coming Year

2011-12-30T23:19:00.000-08:00

...having no hope and without God in the world.
BUT NOW
IN CHRIST JESUS
you who formerly were far off
have been brought near by the blood of Christ. (Eph. 2:12c, 13)

...I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him...
(Eph. 1:17)

JESUS -

OUR

and OUR

And this is eternal life,
that they may know Thee,
the only true God,
and Jesus Christ
whom Thou hast sent. (John 17:3)

In the coming year, may your time with the Word, in His Word, be consistent, rich, rewarding.

Piper Nugget

2011-12-28T07:41:00.000-08:00

"The beast was allowed to make war on the saints and conquer them."

Revelation 13:7

Where is God in our defeats?

Reigning by allowing.
***

I thought this was good. It kept me pondering for quite awhile. God is sovereign, over all. He works all things after the counsel of His will. (Eph. 1:11) Whether or not we are in the generation that sees these things take place, how valuable it is to know the plan and character of God. Be in the Word often, friends. Study God's character. Know Him. Jesus is our peace. Knowledge of Him settles the troubled mind and heart between now and when He returns.

"Do not let your heart be troubled.
Believe in God, believe also in Me."
John 14:1

Correction...

2011-12-26T19:26:00.000-08:00

I had said in this post that the angels were created sometime during creation week. I don't like being biblically inaccurate! I was reminded today that angels sang at creation. Here is the biblical record from Job 38:1-7:

"Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said,
“Who is this that darkens counsel
By words without knowledge?
“Now gird up your loins like a man,
And I will ask you, and you instruct Me!
“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell Me, if you have understanding,
Who set its measurements? Since you know.
Or who stretched the line on it?
“On what were its bases sunk?
Or who laid its cornerstone,
When the morning stars sang together
And all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Angels therefore must have been created before Jesus created the physical universe...

(And Kristen, I do love your mom's theory that the star was actually an angel...I thought that was really cool...)

I Agree...

2011-12-26T11:55:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas at the Hall house. Having Christmas fall on a Sunday is the best. Annie thinks we should have church on Christmas, every year. I agree. It is a wonderful way to start out the day - getting the focus on the Person who's birth we are celebrating. I love the singing, hearing all those voices lifted in worship, celebration, and praise. During the service, the power went out. We get very windy here in the Northwest, and lose our power often. I was wondering if we were going to have to warm the ham in the bar-b-q, but only Annie's power was out. We were fine, so when we got home from church I was able to get my cheesy potatoes in the oven and then the ham went in after that. (I made my rolls the day before...) We opened gifts around three. I told you how Daniel likes big trucks (along with spiders, by the way, the spider was back the next morning, much to Daniel's delight.) This picture doesn't show it, but when he opened the package that had this "little" shovel in it along with several other "little" earth movers, he danced around, clapping and cheering, it was so cute.

We have a tradition when we are opening presents. We go around the room, starting with the oldest. They open one present while we all watch. (Tim has me beat by six years, so no, it wasn't me.) Then, we move on to the next oldest - yes, that would be me. This is a lot of fun. We get to watch the person's expressions and join in their joy, and the gift opening takes longer than five minutes. The mess is less too. We have a box in the middle of the floor and after the gift-opener is finished, they wad up the wrapping and try to make a basket in the box. We were all finished, when my husband goes out of the room and then comes back in with this big box. He blew me away with what was inside...

Yes, it was this Kitchen Aid mixer! I love making homemade bread. My bread machine recently gave up the ghost, and I had mentioned how I would love a Kitchen Aid mixer. They come with a dough hook. I started making my bread all by hand, after my bread machine died. You have to knead the dough for eight minutes. Now, with my new Kitchen Aid, it will do all that work for me! My husband is wonderful!

The power was still out at Annie's at bed time last night, so they stayed over night with us. This turned out to be a lot of fun too. This morning, I broke the new mixer in by making pancakes. I have a great recipe using whole wheat pastry flour, so they are semi-healthy...

After breakfast, Annie and crew packed up. Hugs and kisses were given and received, and off they went with their gifts and some left-over ham and Christmas cookies (which, next year, Lord-willing, I will make on my new Kitchen Aid mixer...) Just before Annie left, she said, "Mom, we should spend the night every Christmas..."

"I agree!", was my reply.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, too!

Jesus Made the Spiders

2011-12-23T19:10:00.000-08:00

On the twelfth, Daniel turned two and a half, and he's all boy. He loves garbage trucks and fire engines. He loves excavators and steam trains. He even knows the difference between a steam engine and a diesel electric locomotive. He loves to wrestle, and he loves jumping into a pillow on my lap while I'm sitting on the couch. He also loves bugs and spiders.

Three or four mornings a week I have Daniel while Annie serves coffee at Starbucks to sleepy-eyed Gig Harborites on their way to work. I drive over to the Dannells and enjoy some quiet time with the Lord, waiting for him to wake up. Once he is awake I take him into the back bathroom where his potty chair awaits him. For the past couple of weeks, there has been a spider living in the corner above the bathroom door. Daniel has been checking every morning to see if the spider is still there. (I think it is dead, because it never moved.) This morning, it was gone. His eyes got real wide. I asked him where he thought the spider went. He said, "Grandma's." (Oh, I hope not.) I got him dressed and into his car seat for the ten minute ride back to "Grandma's." In those ten minutes, I sing to him - we look for big trucks, and we talk about all kinds of things. We talk about school buses. He loves school buses and we see a lot of school buses picking up children for school. We talk about the moon. It is still dark sometimes and I tell him that Jesus made the moon. I point out the beautiful evergreen trees that Jesus made. We talk about the misty fog that Jesus made, and the pink clouds that Jesus made, and the noisy crows that greet us - we talk about all the birds that Jesus made. I tell him that Jesus loves him and the Bible tells us that and the Bible is all about Jesus. As I was pulling him out of his car seat this morning, I decided to just say the word "Jesus," to see what his response would be. He said, "Jesus made the spiders." He still had that spider on his mind...

***
Jesus is the Creator. He spoke and effortlessly, there was light. He spoke again and effortlessly, there were the heavens. He spoke again, and the waters gathered to their places, the oceans and the seas. He spoke again and effortlessly, the dry land appeared. The earth sprouted plants and flowers and fruit trees, all different kinds of vegetation. Jesus spoke again and effortlessly, the sun and the moon and the twinkling stars appeared. Then the sea creatures appeared, and the birds, and all the animals and creeping things, including spiders. Then God spoke and said, "Let Us make man in Our image," and Jesus made man from the dust of the earth - finishing off His beautiful creation, effortlessly, in six days.

But soon man fell by not listening to the counsel of the Creator, and Jesus' good creation was plunged into sin. Mankind needed a Savior.

Somewhere during creation week, Jesus spoke, and the angels were created. And He created the angel that two thousand years ago spoke these words to a group of frightened shepherds,

"Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."

The One Who created the heavens and the earth and all the good things in them had just joined the human race as an infant. The One Who thought up oxygen would now breathe it in through a pair of tiny lungs after spending nine months being wonderfully knit in the womb of one of His creations.

Amazing.

The Creator, came to be our Savior. The Creator came, to redeem lost and sinful mankind. And He would thirty-some years later, go to a cross on behalf of a sinful world, made from the wood He'd created, and pay for the penalty for sin.

Truly, amazing.

***
"Yes, Daniel, Jesus made the spiders. He made you and He made me. Jesus is God, He loves you, and He is amazing."

Wishing all my friends a blessed Christmas, and take every opportunity you get to pour Jesus into the little ones in your life. We can't save them. That is up to the Creator. But we can point them to the Savior - it's our calling, and a lot of fun...

Looking in His Face...

2011-12-21T10:42:00.000-08:00

Every Sunday my pastor has something written in the bulletin, introducing his message. I especially liked this last Sunday's and wanted to share it with you...

When Moses came down from Mt. Sinai after being with God, he covered his face so that when the glory of the Lord that came at his encounters with God on the mountain began to fade, the children of Israel would not notice. (2 Cor. 3:7) When instructions for the tabernacle were given so that Israel could worship God in the wilderness, a veil was erected to separate the most holy place from man. God's holiness demanded that He remain separate from sinful man.
For the first ten years of my ministry, every time I officiated at a wedding the bride wore a veil. She would come down the aisle with her face covered. Then, after the pronouncement of the marriage is given, her husband would lift the veil. Seeing the sparkle in her eye, he would be the first to see her face in such a condition. It was a very romantic part of the ceremony that has almost been totally lost.
The day that Jesus died, the veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom. (Luke 23:45) Man's sin was paid for and the barrier that had separated God from man since Eden was removed. This visible reality exposes a spiritual truth. Those whose sin has been paid for by the faith-applied blood of Christ have intimate access to God that is known by no other.
Throughout the Old Testament, there are occasions when God appears to men in a preincarnate physical form called a theophany. God no longer has to appear to men in theophanies, because He has exposed His face to all who wish to look upon Him in saving faith. When our redemptive hope is placed on Christ as we turn from sin and look to Him for cleansing, our spiritual eyes are opened and we are able to see Him face to face.
As we look forward to Christmas, we look into the manger in Bethlehem and there we see the face of God. Looking into His face, we shall see what we ought to look like.

When we look into the face of Jesus, in His Word, we are looking into the fullness of God and from His glory is where we draw our confidence - to be bold to share Jesus with others. Jesus came, to save us from our sins and to give us abundant life. That is the message He wants us to get out. He will be with us, until He returns, at the end of the age. Living like we believe that, we will boldly proclaim the good news, and lives will be changed into the image of Christ, for the glory of God.

God With Us - Our Satan and Death Conqueror

2011-12-19T21:48:00.000-08:00

"Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood,

He Himself likewise also partook of the same,

that through death He might render powerless

him who had the power of death,

that is, the devil.

and might free those who through fear of death

were subject to slavery

all their lives.

Hebrews 2:14-15

Jesus as eternal God only, couldn't die. In His divine nature alone, His life is indestructible. If He couldn't die then He couldn't rise from the dead and it was His death and resurrection that conquered Satan and shattered sin and death.

The word "share" is from the Greek word koinonia. It means to have fellowship, communion, or partnership. It involves having something in common with others. All human beings have flesh and blood. In this we are all alike. It is our common nature. "Partook" is from a different Greek word - metecho. This word has to do with taking hold of something that is not naturally one's own kind. Jesus was not by nature flesh and blood. He purposefully took hold of something which did not naturally belong to Him.

In celebrating the birth of Christ, we celebrate the Savior who added to Himself our nature of flesh and blood so that He could die and coming out on the other side in resurrection, He conquered Satan and shattered sin and death and the fear of death. When we repent of our sin and receive Jesus, death no longer holds any power over us. It is no longer terrifying. It simply releases us into the presence of our precious Savior.

Jesus - Immanuel - God with us, putting on human flesh - to be our Satan, Sin, and Death Conqueror. Our Eternal Life, so we could be with Him, forever.

Cookie Decorating at Grandma's

2011-12-19T20:15:00.000-08:00

A Christmas Verse

2011-12-18T14:39:00.000-08:00

"For He was foreknown

before the foundation of the world,

but has appeared in these last times

for the sake of you."

1 Peter 1:20

That Jesus was foreknown before the foundation of the world means that the Father planned, before creation, to send the Son to save His chosen ones. ("...who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father..." 1 Peter 1:1c, 2a)

A couple of truths pulled from this verse:

The Father did not react at the Fall with a last minute fix.

"He...has appeared...for the sake of you..."

We are loved...

I've never really thought of this as a Christmas verse, but it jumped out at me as one this morning...

Love His Smile

2011-12-17T16:02:00.000-08:00

This picture of Tim was taken just over fourteen years ago. It is one of my favorites - because it shows off his great smile - and I love his smile. (No jokes about the glasses...)

Today is his birthday.

This is the man who's love for me has been steady, sure, unwavering, rock-solid, sacrificial, like Jesus love, for the last thirty-two years. As secure as I am in the love of Jesus, I have been secure in his love.

Thank you, Lord, for Your love, and the love of this man. I am so blessed, and undeserving.

It really is a great smile, isn't it?

With You Forever

2011-12-13T18:20:00.000-08:00

"I will ask the Father,

and He will give you another Helper,

that He may be with you forever."

John 14:16

Just wanted to point you to another eternal security verse...

Jesus asked.

The Father gives.

No take aways.

Romans 11:29 -

"For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable."

"Irrevocable" - UNALTERABLE

Contagious Joy

2011-12-13T09:33:00.000-08:00

I think you're going to love this. I wasn't able to get through it without tearing up, for a couple of reasons - 1) Jesus is exalted in a mall, with beautiful, clear voices, where probably most of the shoppers minds are completely elsewhere. It pointed the shoppers to Him, and the true meaning of Christmas. 2) It made me think of the day when Jesus will be exalted throughout the world.

Enjoy.

His Own Love Toward Us

2011-12-12T12:56:00.000-08:00

"But God demonstrates His own love toward us,

in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

Romans 5:8

There is a truth from this verse that I have been meditating on over the last several days - biblical love is action based, not feelings driven based on attraction.

It is also the will moving to meet a specific need. In the action, self is laid aside and the one being loved is put first.

It is the Christmas season and we are celebrating the birth of Jesus. We wouldn't be celebrating Christmas if it weren't for the love that Jesus had for us. The actions of His love began in eternity past. He wrote our names down in the book of life and agreed with the Father that He would come and die for the people written in the book, because He knew they would fall into sin and need rescuing.

Two thousand years ago - Jesus came, continuing with His actions of love. John MacArthur writes regarding Jesus birth in his book, "The Miracle of Christmas", "Here's a side to the Christmas story that isn't often told. Those soft little hands, fashioned by the Holy Spirit in Mary's womb, were made so that nails might be driven through them. Those baby feet, pink and unable to walk, would one day walk up a dusty hill to be nailed to a cross. That sweet infant's head with sparkling eyes and eager mouth was formed so that someday men might force a crown of thorns onto it. That tender body, warm and soft, wrapped in swaddling clothes, would one day be ripped open by a spear."

Why?

Because of love that was action based, not feelings driven based on attraction. Jesus grew up and walked among men, women, and children - healing them from all kinds of sickness and disease. He fed them, miraculously. Compassion did move Jesus to action. God is love and Jesus being God in the flesh, lived a life of action, meeting need after need after need, giving of Himself, time and time again. The greatness of His love culminated at the cross. There was no greater love in history, than at that moment. It was not feelings driven. There is nothing lovely and attractive about sinners. It was based out of our need and Jesus desire to please His Heavenly Father.

And this is how we are called to love. Love that is feelings driven will never last because feelings come and go. God demonstrated for us how we are to love. It is the choice to lay ourselves aside and meet the needs of another. God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. We are empowered to love in the same way Jesus loved. And the wonderful thing, we are created that when we love in such a way, great joy is produced from our choice to be like our Savior. When we consistently choose biblical love, the feelings just follow.

By Him, For Him

2011-12-10T23:12:00.000-08:00

"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything." Colossians 1:15-18

Christmas Prayer

2011-12-08T21:21:00.000-08:00

"Though you have not seen Him,

you love Him,

and though you do not see Him now,

but believe in Him,

you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and

full of glory,

obtaining as the outcome of your faith

the salvation of your souls."

1 Peter 1:8,9

The King is coming. Jesus Christ has come and will come again. This is the hope of the Church whom He purchased with His blood. It is the eager expectation and desire of His people. In His coming is our joy, for He is our treasure, our greatest good - Advent Guide by The Village Church.

***

My dear children -

Ruh, Annie, Ben, and Mai,

and my dear grandchildren -

Daisy, Daniel, and Charlie:

My prayer for you this Christmas is that you will find Jesus Christ to be your greatest treasure, shining brighter and purer than all other treasures...

That you will come to the place where He is your deepest longing...

That He is the fullest captivation of your thoughts...

That obedience to Him is your greatest desire and reality, discovering that it opens up the floodgates of blessing and joy...

That when the storms in life arise you remember He is right there with you, His sovereign and loving hands enclosed around you...

And that you will come to have times in which the joy of knowing He loves you is so immense, you can't put it into words, instead, you just know your heart is going to explode...

***

When Love was Born

Like Jesus

2011-12-06T22:09:00.000-08:00

The cause of Satan's fall -

I will ascend and make myself like Jesus.

***

His lie to Eve -

Disobeying God will make you like Jesus.

***

The truth -

A bowed, submissive heart and
obedience to God is what makes us like Jesus.

Living Nativity

2011-12-03T21:12:00.000-08:00

Discovery Baptist had their Living Nativity again this year. It was wonderful, as usual. Here are some pictures from it...

When we told Daniel we were going to see some animals, he got excited and began looking for the monkeys and dinosaurs...we had some explaining to do...

In the sanctuary there are beautiful works of art on display during the Living Nativity. Nehemiah Suko just recently made this replica of the Ark of the Covenant. Beautiful, isn't it? Thank you, Discovery, for this wonderful outreach ministry to Gig Harbor each Christmas, for the past thirteen years.

The Same

2011-12-03T11:51:00.000-08:00

"And the Word became flesh,

and dwelt among us,

and we saw His glory,

glory as of the only begotten from the Father,

full of grace and truth."

John 1:14

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."

Hebrews 13:8

"But God demonstrates His own love toward us,

in that while we were yet sinners,

Christ died for us."

Romans 5:8

"But we all,

with unveiled face,

beholding as in a mirror

the glory of the Lord,

are being transformed into the same image

from glory to glory,

just as from the Lord,

the Spirit."

2 Corinthians 3:18

Jesus,

Who is full of grace,

and love,

for us...

came,

to be sin for us,

when we were full of sin.

But,

it didn't change Him.

He is holy, holy, holy,

from eternity past.

We are changeable,

we need to be changed...

desperately.

We are changeable,

He is not.
He came,
to change us,
to be
like Him.

Aren't you glad?

Hungering for the Word

2011-11-30T15:08:00.000-08:00

Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Colossians 3:16

If I could wish one thing for you, it would be that you would have a love for the Word. At the beginning of this third chapter in Colossians, Paul instructs us to set our minds on things above, not on the things of the earth. The way to do that, is to have our minds filled with the Word.

In the body of Christ, our desire for each other should be for what Jesus laid hold of us - the molding and transforming us into His image. That was Paul's passion and for what he worked. He wrote the Galatians, "My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you." That happens when we are in the Word, walking in obedience, surrendering our will more and more to the Father's will.

If you don't have an appetite for the Word, how do you develop one? The same way you do with any food. You take a bite, and then another bite, and then another bite. The psalmist wrote, "Oh taste and see, that the Lord is good." If it's been awhile since you've picked up your Bible, don't go to bed tonight without doing so. I'd like to suggest that you read John 14-17. It won't take long. These are Jesus words of comfort to His disciples just prior to His death. There is much instruction there for us. We also clearly see the heart of Jesus for us. This passage is rich in learning about the character of the Father and the Son. In chapter 17, Jesus actually prays for you and me. Do you know what Jesus prays for you? I'm not going to tell you, I want you to look for yourself.

What we long for is an indication of the condition of our hearts. We need His Word in us, to do battle with our sinful flesh. We need His Word in us, so we know what pleases Him. We need His Word in us, so we can encourage others. We need His Word in us, especially as we draw closer to His return. Perilous times are coming. We need His Word in us, so we become more and more like Him. When His Word is in us, dwelling richly, and we walk in obedience, Jesus is glorified, and that is what life is all about.

Jesus -

2011-11-27T08:44:00.000-08:00

While we are in this flesh, this is a truth of which we need to be constantly reminded -

"For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.

To Him be the glory forever.

Amen."

Romans 11:36

Jesus is the answer to our -

insecurity
fear
pride
anxiety
deceitful hearts
chaotic world...

Jesus is the path to -

peace and joy

Just for Fun!

2011-11-26T14:40:00.000-08:00

It's Christmasy at the Hall house... :)

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving...

Her Seed

2011-11-25T22:55:00.001-08:00

"And I will put enmity between you and the woman,

and between your seed and her seed;

He shall bruise you on the head,

and you shall bruise him on the heel."

Genesis 3:15

JESUS' ENTRANCE INTO HUMANITY was planned from before the beginning of time. God softened the punishment of the curse that resulted from the sin of Adam and Eve by offering a promise that someday a Seed would rise up and crush the serpent. Even though death came through Adam, Christ's coming brought life to humankind (Romans 5:12-21).

The Hebrew word for seed can literally mean a plant's seed, or can figuratively mean one's descendants. In Genesis, it refers specifically to the coming Messiah, in God's promise that the woman's Seed would crush the serpent. As such, the term takes on great importance in the Bible: Through Abraham's seed, both collectively in Israel and singularly in Christ, God would reach out to save His people.

John MacArthur

Magnify with Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T08:31:00.000-08:00

"I will praise the name of God

with song

and magnify Him

with thanksgiving."

Our God is infinite and infinitely good, giving us infinite opportunities for thanksgiving. David wrote in Psalm 69:30 - "I will praise the name of God with song and magnify Him with thanksgiving." The Lord is enlarged and intensified in significance as we pile on the thanksgiving! Dear Blogging Friends, may your day be filled with ever enlarging and intensifying thanks, as your thoughts rest on the person, works, and character of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, and our Heavenly Father who gave Him, so we could belong to Him.

Benefit and Blessing

2011-11-15T10:56:00.000-08:00

"But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed...His grave was assigned with wicked men, yet He was with a rich man in His death, because He had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in His mouth...
Isaiah 53:5, 9

When we choose to sin, or not walk in God's ways, we choose to suffer - and our sin always causes others to suffer as well.

Our hearts should be broken by this truth.

Here is what I am awestruck with this morning. Jesus never sinned. His actions never, ever brought suffering to anyone. His actions only brought benefit and blessing. Oh, He called the Pharisees out on their sin, but as God His actions were always holy, righteous, and just. How many people did He touch and heal from sickness and demonic oppression - benefit and blessing flowing out to them? A woman only had to reach out and touch Jesus in faith, and she was healed - benefit and blessing flowing out to her. He fed thousands upon thousands - benefit and blessing. He kept His disciples from the evil one. He prayed for them. Benefit. Blessing. Jesus actions only brought benefit and blessing, His actions never brought suffering to anyone, yet He is the One who has undergone the most suffering of anyone, ever.

Sin causes suffering and it was not because of His sin that Jesus suffered, it was because of our sin.

Jesus, the Innocent, was crushed for me, the guilty, for all the sins I have ever committed, and will commit - He took the piercing that I deserved for the suffering that my disobedience has caused others. Jesus, being obedient to the Father, stood in my place, and bore the wrath of God for all my sin and gave me His righteousness. If you have trusted in Him as your Savior, He stood in your place too, and bore the wrath of God for all your sin and you also are clothed in His righteousness.

Is there something you are struggling with as far as obedience to our Heavenly Father? As God's children we are called to walk by faith. Faith is believing the Word of God and acting on it, no matter how we feel, because God promises a good result. We don't always feel like doing what we are called to do. This is when we need to remember the cross. Remember the love of our Savior. Remember His willingness to undergo the greatest suffering anyone has ever undergone, and He didn't deserve it. You and I did.

Sin brings suffering. Obedience always brings benefit and blessing. Let's be Jesus to those around us today.

Isaiah 55:6,7

2011-11-14T19:25:00.000-08:00

Seek the LORD while He may be found;

Call upon Him while He is near.

Let the wicked forsake his way

And the unrighteous man his thoughts;

And let him return to the LORD,

And He will have compassion on him,

And to our God,

For He will abundantly pardon.

True seeking in faith is accompanied by repentance, which is described as forsaking ways and thoughts and turning from sinful living to the Lord. A sinner must come believing in God, recognizing his sin and desiring forgiveness and deliverance from that sin. At the same time he must recognize his own inability to be righteous or to satisfy God and cast himself on God's mercy. It is then that he receives complete pardon. His sin has been covered by the substitution of the Messiah in his place.

John MacArthur

This Wondrous Love - Conclusion

2011-11-14T10:43:00.000-08:00

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us."

Ephesians 1:3-7

"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma."

Ephesians 5:1,2

"For I am confident of this very thing,

that He who began a good work in you

will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus."

Philippians 1:6

"...work out your salvation with fear and trembling;

for it is God who is at work in you,

both to will and to work for His good pleasure."

Philippians 2:12b, 13

"Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you."

2 Peter 1:3-11

I need to go find my husband, throw my arms around his neck, and tell him I love him,
and thank you, for loving me as Jesus loves me.

This Wondrous Love - Chapter Four

2011-11-13T21:50:00.000-08:00

A Story of God's Love and Grace -

My Hero

It's time to introduce you to the Hero of my story.

My Hero is Jesus.

Before Jesus spoke creation into being, the Father planned that I would be a gift to Jesus. He recorded my name in His Lamb's Book of Life. I would be included in those who the Father would bring to Jesus. I would be part of the people of His own possession. He included me in His redemption plan. Jesus, the eternal God, shed His blood for my sins. Jesus agreed to absorb the wrath of His Father - so I could be His and bear His righteousness. He set His everlasting love upon me and determined from before creation, that I would forever belong to Him.

Yes, Jesus is my Hero. With His love and grace, He placed me in a home with a believing mother who, from the time I was born, took me to church every Sunday and prayed for me. He gave me wonderful, believing grandparents who also prayed for me. Jesus placed a Good News Club in the neighborhood in which I grew up, where, when I was nine years old, the Holy Spirit opened my heart and understanding to the gospel. It was at this Good News Club that Jesus took me from the domain of darkness and placed me into His kingdom, and began His good work in me of transforming me into His likeness.

As infinite as His glory, holiness, and worth, I was totally undeserving of His love, mercy, and grace.

From the time Tim and I got together at his sister's wedding, until the day of our wedding, we'd only spent about thirty days together. We'd pretty much carried on a long distance relationship over the phone. I woke up that July 5th morning with a lot of doubts. Did I really know Tim? Did I really love him? Now I was the one with cold feet. I wanted to back out, but I didn't. I was terribly homesick in those first months. I started to sinfully live by my feelings. It's a simple truth that transformation takes place as we look to Jesus and as we walk in obedience to His Word. When we live according to our feelings and not the Word of God, transformation is halted and Jesus is not exalted in our lives. I took my eyes off of Jesus, placed them on my feelings, and began to only see Tim's flaws. Marriage is a picture of the relationship Jesus has with His church. Tim loved me. Tim put me first. Tim was Jesus to me but I was not a picture of the church to Jesus. I did not give him the honor and significance that a wife is called to give to her husband, like the church is called to give to her Savior. Instead of glorifying my husband and serving his interests, I served my own interests. I put on a good, hypocritical face at church and around my family, but at home I was mostly quiet and withdrawn from Tim. With my eyes off of Jesus, I'd let many fears about being a wife take root in my heart. I had become a hearer of the Word only in the area of my marriage. Yet Tim continued to love me with forbearance, grace, and patience.

Jesus loves His own possession with an everlasting love. His love never stops. He doesn't withdraw His love, even when we withhold ours to Him. In reality, not loving Tim the way Jesus wanted me to love him was not loving Jesus. Jesus was merciful to me. In His lovingkindness and grace, Jesus brought about circumstances which set me on a path to obedience, joy, and blessing. He introduced me to James MacDonald's faith definition - Faith is believing the Word of God, and acting on it, no matter how I feel, because God promises a good result. When I set my feelings aside and began to act on His Word, the blessings and joy began to cascade into my life...

This Wondrous Love - Chapter Three

2011-11-12T18:33:00.000-08:00

A Story of God's Love and Grace -

"Yes!"

(The last paragraph from Chapter Two... Then, out of the blue, Tim stood up. He pulled a small, blue, velvet box from his pocket. One of his knees dropped to the floor. He looked up at me. He smiled - and then I caught my breath as he asked me the question almost every girl dreams about being asked...)

"I love you, Kath, will you marry me?"

...I threw my arms around Tim's neck, "Yes!"

Tim took me out to a really nice dinner after that but before we went into the restaurant he said, "I need to make a phone call." This was before cell phones, way before, so we found a pay phone and Tim dialed my home number. My mom answered the phone and Tim asked for her permission and blessing to marry me. My mother queried him with these three questions...

"Do you love her?"

"Yes."

"Do you love the Lord?"

"Yes."

"Will you love me?"

"Yes!"

She really did ask those questions, in that order. Tim really did answer, in that way, and his answers were all true, then, as they are now.

We had my mom's blessing.

It was Ground Hog's Day, February 2, 1980. (It is just as romantic to get engaged on Ground Hog's Day as it is on Valentine's Day.) Before I flew home to finish out the school year, we set the date for July 5th. There were a little less than four more months of school left. Four more torturous months. Five months to plan a wedding. I was still actually going to a couple of my classes. One was a calligraphy class. I never turned in my final project and was flabbergasted to learn I'd received a "C" in the class - it was totally undeserved.

I did not graduate. I had attended Biola on a four year scholarship, based on my mom's income and a fairly decent high school GPA. Biola required a year of Bible. So technically, it takes five years to get through Biola, if you don't take interterm classes, summer classes, or heavy loads. I was ready to be done with school, ready to be done with the pressure of homework, of lab-work, and term papers. I had no desire to have a career. I wanted to be married, set up a home, and raise a family. It's all I had ever really wanted. Oh, there was a time when I thought it would be fun to be a park ranger. My family grew up camping and I loved the outdoors. And then I thought I wanted to be a nurse. From a nurse it went to a PE Teacher. From a PE Teacher it went to a Christian Camp Director. They actually offered a degree in it at Biola. The last classes I took were Education classes. I'd finally settled on teaching, but the scholarship money was ending, and my enthusiasm for school was long gone.

Yes, I wanted to be married and I thought I understood what it meant to be a godly wife. I would soon learn however, just how self-centered I was.

Here's where the story of God's love and grace unfolds...

This Wondrous Love - Chapter Two

2011-11-11T20:00:00.000-08:00

A Story of God's Love and Grace -

Sleepless Nights

(Last paragraph of Chapter One - Happy Anniversary, Sheryl and Skip! It was evening by the time we got to the pier. It was just natural to take Tim's arm as we walked. We fell behind the rest of the group. It was a cool evening, he gave me his coat, I was falling in love...)

...I'm sure I didn't get much sleep that night.

Tim was going to be at church the next day and then he would be flying home, back up to the Bay Area. He needed a ride to the airport. (He picked me.) It was before 9/11 of course, when you could go all the way up to the gate and say good-bye. We sat and talked, the clock ticking closer and closer to boarding time. Tim waited until the last second, he drew me into his arms, kissed me sweetly, and then disappeared with a smile.

I loved his smile.

I know I didn't get much sleep that night.

The rest of November came and went. I spent little time in class, except for my Bible classes. (Yes, I was a rebel.) I did go to the required chapels - I loved them. I also worked my dorm maintenance job which I actually enjoyed. My dorm room was at the end of a very long hall. There were two phones in the hall to serve about one hundred girls. My roommate was engaged. She had a phone installed in our room. Now half the calls coming in were to me. Most of my earnings went to pay my phone bill. Each toilet I scrubbed meant at least five minutes on the phone with Tim. It was worth it! There were letters. I loved to write letters. I would write each day, sending Tim puzzle pieces to my life, and after a few days I would put the compilation into an envelope and mail it off. I learned Tim was not a letter writer. A phone call was his thing but every once in awhile he would manage to get a letter off to me. That he would take the time to write, a task he didn't really enjoy, told me how much he cared for me.

In December, just after Christmas, Tim flew me up to the Bay Area. I stayed through New Years. Tim owned his own home which he shared with a couple of roommates. I stayed with his parents who lived just a couple of miles away. Tim and Sheryl's parents were wonderful. We hit it off from the start of my friendship with Sheryl. They loved me. I loved them. They were thrilled about my budding relationship with Tim. Dad was a big tease and he loved to tease me and I loved it when he teased me. Dad was also a kindred spirit in that he loved the Lord and His Word. We had some great conversations regarding spiritual things.

January was Tim's turn to make a quick flight down over a weekend. He stayed with Sheryl and Skip. We hung out at their house. Tim and Sheryl and Skip came over and had dinner with my family at my house - I usually went home on the weekends. All my siblings liked Tim. Our families had just plain fun together. There was much laughter. Skip and Sheryl called my mom "Mother", just like her five children did. Tim went to church with me on Sunday, and then it was back home again. More letters and phone calls, and another huge phone bill. (Tim's phone bill was just as big. We switched back and forth. I would call him and then the next night he would call me. We talked for at least an hour each night, sometimes two. I didn't have time for homework, so why go to class?) The girls in the dormitories loved to pull pranks on each other. One afternoon I pushed a toilet stall door open, getting ready to pay for another five minutes on the phone with Tim. Half a male mannequin (from the waist up) was jutting out of the toilet. I screamed. Several girls came running into the bathroom. We all had a good laugh. I endured several practical jokes, but it was worth the time I got to spend with Tim on the phone.

I knew February would be my turn to fly up again. I finagled it out of Sheryl that Tim had asked her about my ring size. I just knew he was going to ask me to marry him! When he picked me up at the airport he was unusually quiet. He walked me up to his parent's apartment, didn't stay long, and went home. The smile that I loved just wasn't there. I knew something was up. I definitely had trouble getting to sleep that night. He picked me up the next morning. We headed over the Santa Cruz mountains to Mt. Herman, a Christian Conference Center. We were going to spend the day there. His pastor owned a beautiful home in the area. We had use of the fireplace for the afternoon. The ride over was very quiet. A knot lay in my stomach. Before going to the home, we went for a walk in the woods. I asked Tim what was wrong. He hemmed and hawed, then finally told me he had planned to ask me to marry him, but he was getting cold feet. He wasn't sure if I was the right girl for him. I spent the next twenty minutes, talking non-stop (which was totally out of character for me!), declaring my love to him. I told him I desired to be his wife, his helpmeet, and that I wanted to be married to him! He seemed to relax and the smile returned.

We went to the pastor's house - Tim lit a fire in the fireplace. We talked. We talked some more. Then, out of the blue, Tim stood up. He pulled a small blue, velvet box from his pocket. One of his knees dropped to the floor. He looked up at me. He smiled - and then I caught my breath as he asked me the question almost every girl dreams about being asked...

This Wondrous Love - Chapter One

2011-11-10T21:26:00.000-08:00

A Story of God's Love and Grace -

Happy Anniversary, Sheryl and Skip!

Thirty-two years ago today, on November 10, 1979, my dear college friend, Sheryl Hall, married Skip Ragan. Now, you might notice that her maiden name is my last name. It's because the night of Sheryl's wedding, I fell in love with her brother...

Tim and I were asked to take the wedding gifts to the home where Skip and Sheryl would be living after they returned from their honeymoon. I had met Tim a year and a half earlier, over Biola's spring break, in 1978. Sheryl and I became good friends in the early part of 1978. I was in my second year at Biola. She worked at Biola and was a part time student. We were also in the college Sunday School class together at church. Sheryl's family lived in the Bay Area, an eight hour drive north of Biola, and LA. She was going to go see them over spring break and she invited me to tag along. She had told me she had a brother but she didn't think I would be interested in him. Tim and I met on that trip and I thought he was nice, but she was right, I wasn't interested. Then, Tim came down in the late spring to visit Sheryl. We saw each other again, but it was just a nice visit. That summer I was going to be working at a camp. Tim came down again for another visit and he and Sheryl drove up to the camp to visit me on one of my weekends off. By this time we were friends but I still wasn't interested in dating. I did get his address and sent him a post card while at camp - and then a letter, later in the summer, after camp, while I was on a road trip to Alaska with some of my family.

I began my third year at Biola in the fall of 1978. Tim and I saw each other once or twice when he came down to visit Sheryl, but we just remained friends. Sheryl became engaged in early 1979 and would be married in November. That summer, I worked on campus in dorm maintenance and dated a guy that was on the work crew. I took a week off and went on a trip up to the Bay Area with Sheryl. We did some camping with her family. Tim was there. He took me out for a ride around the lake in his canoe, but it was just a fun time, nothing more.

The fall brought my fourth and final year at Biola. I had lived at home the first three years but decided to live on campus, even though it was just twelve miles from home. I wanted more independence and the experience of campus life. Truth be told, I was tired of school at this point. I had never settled down into one major. I changed my major six times! All I really wanted to do was get married and have a family. I skipped a lot of my classes right from the start of the year. I did love my Bible classes however, and made it to most of them, but the rest - attendance was sporadic to nil and I spent very little time studying.

Sheryl's wedding was coming up just a few months into the school year. I knew Tim was going to be a groomsman in the wedding and I was somewhat excited about seeing him. I thought it would be fun if we could be paired up together. It didn't work out, but we did end up taking all the gifts to the house. For fun, the wedding party decided to go to the Seal Beach pier after the reception. We would meet up with them after we dropped the gifts off. We had a really good time together and did a lot of talking as we drove to the house and piled all the gifts up in the corner of the living room and then drove the half hour to the pier.

It was evening by the time we got to the pier. It was just natural to take Tim's arm as we walked. We fell behind the rest of the group. It was a cool evening, he gave me his coat, I was falling in love...

Grace

2011-11-07T09:23:00.000-08:00

Grace is a single-word definition of the gospel. The gospel is the good news of God's grace to sinful mankind. The nature of grace is giving, and the Bible tells us much more about giving than getting, because God's nature is to give. God is a God of grace because He is a God who freely gives. It has nothing to do with anything we have done or have failed to do; it can only be received.

God is gracious because of who He is, not because of who and what we are. His grace is therefore unmerited, unearned, undeserved. It depends on entirely the One who gives it, and not on those who receive it. Grace is God's self-motivated, self-generated, sovereign act of giving.

God's grace has another dimension that places it still further above every other kind of giving. The greatest gift of grace is self. Grace is therefore God's Self donation, His Self giving. He not only gives blessings to men, He gives Himself. The incomprehensible and staggering truth of the gospel is that the holy God of the universe has given Himself to sinful mankind. God grants us His salvation, His kingdom, His inheritance, His Spirit, His wisdom, His love, His power, His peace, His glory, and every other spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. But far more than all of those blessings, He blesses us with His personal presence. God owes nothing to sinful man except judgment for our sin. He does not owe men the smallest blessing or favor. Yet in His grace He has given us the blessing of all blessings, the immeasurable blessing of intimate shared life.

John MacArthur

The Consummation of the Ages

2011-11-05T23:20:00.000-07:00

"But now once at the consummation of the ages

He has been manifested to put away sin

by the sacrifice of Himself."

Hebrews 9:26b

The consummation of the ages is Christ at calvary. He was the consummation of the ages because of His once and for all sacrifice.

He put away sin.

He did not simply cover sin, as the old sacrifices had done; He removed it.

John MacArthur

***

Christ did this great work "ONCE" - not repeatedly, but once and once only. And the point is that this sacrifice is so great, that it need not be repeated - not for all the redeemed in the past from the foundation of the world, nor for all the redeemed in the future.

It is enough.

That's how great it is.

The death of Jesus will never do a rerun, because it is so great that it cannot be improved on. It's effect is so huge that it goes on year after year, century after century doing what it was designed to do, save sinners and present them faultless to God.

John Piper

"So Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him."

Hebrews 9:28

The people always waited expectantly on the Day of Atonement for the high priest to come out from the Holy of Holies. If he did anything wrong, if he failed to follow God's precise instructions, he would die. So there was always a sigh of relief, for their own sakes as well as for his, when he reappeared. If the people were so eager to see the former high priests reappear from the earthly Holy of Holies, how much more should believers look eagerly for their great High Priest to reappear from the heavenly Holy of Holies? When the high priest walked out of the old sanctuary, the people knew that his sacrifice had been accepted. He had done everything right. Jesus Christ's reappearing will be one more confirmation that He did everything right, that His Father is satisfied with Him. And because the Father is satisfied with Him, He is satisfied with us, for we are in Him.

John MacArthur

Thank You, Jesus

2011-11-01T22:22:00.000-07:00

Precious - "Of high price or great value, very valuable or costly - cherished, dear, beloved."

Hebrews 10:1 "For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near.

2: Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins?

3: But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year.

4: For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

5: Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says,

"SACRIFICE AND OFFERING

YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED,

BUT A BODY YOU HAVE

PREPARED FOR ME;

6: IN WHOLE BURNT

OFFERINGS AND sacrifices

FOR SIN YOU HAVE TAKEN

NO PLEASURE.

7: "THEN I SAID, 'BEHOLD, I

HAVE COME

(IN THE SCROLL OF THE

BOOK IT IS WRITTEN OF ME)

TO DO YOUR WILL, O GOD. ' "

8: After saying above,

"SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS

AND WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS

AND sacrifices FOR SIN YOU HAVE

NOT DESIRED, NOR HAVE YOU

TAKEN PLEASURE in them" (which

are offered according to the Law),

9: then He said, "BEHOLD, I HAVE

COME TO DO YOUR WILL." He

takes away the first in order to

establish the second.

10: By this will we have been

sanctified through the offering of

the body of Jesus Christ

once for all.

11: Every priest stands daily

ministering and offering time after

time the same sacrifices, which

can never take away sins;

12: but He, having offered one

sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT

DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD,

13: waiting from that time onward

UNTIL HIS ENEMIES BE MADE A

FOOTSTOOL FOR HIS FEET.

14: For by one offering He has

perfected for all time those who

are sanctified."

John 1:17 "For the Law was given through

Moses; grace and truth were

realized through Jesus Christ."

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world,

that He gave His only begotten

Son, that whoever believes in Him

shall not perish, but have eternal life."

John 17:3 "This is eternal life, that they

may know You, the only true God,

and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."

Thank You, Jesus, for Your precious blood. We could never keep the Law to make us perfect. The Law only magnifies our sin. The Law points us to You. Thank You, Jesus, for the cross. Your love for us and the Father led You there. There was no need for the nails because Your love for us kept You there, until our sins were paid for. You, perfected us, for all time.

Thank You.

Daniel and the Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-31T20:42:00.000-07:00

My mom is here for a visit and we took her and Daniel to a pumpkin patch...

Don't let my mom's sweet face fool you - she is actually a card shark in disguise...

Click here for more pictures...

You're Not Guilty Anymore...

2011-10-30T14:52:00.000-07:00

"Whoever you are and whatever you've done,

however dirty your life has been,

you reach out to Jesus in faith,

you don't make Him unclean,

He makes you clean..."

Worship

2011-10-22T21:35:00.000-07:00

Worship of God, our Creator, begins with an attitude and continues with action - first, acknowledging the worth, glory, beauty, and majesty of God above all things, based on the revelation of Himself in His Word, and in response to that, surrendering our will to His. Every act of obedience is an act of worship...

"For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen. Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship."

Romans 11:36-12:1

What are you hungry for?

2011-10-20T15:46:00.000-07:00

What do you thirst after?

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness..."

Matthew 5:6

Someone who has truly given their life to the Lord is so hungry that they can't wait to get more scripture and a better understanding of who God is, so they see Him better, so they know who to be...

We need to test ourselves...do we want to dig our head into the sand or are we willing to see what God's Word has to say and act on it, no matter how we feel?

Fun!

2011-10-17T19:37:00.000-07:00

A visit from Auntie Ruhiyyih always equals fun!

Grieve, Love, Pray, Trust

2011-10-17T17:08:00.000-07:00

What do you do when a loved one boldly announces that they no longer have any convictions or beliefs about God? They question if He even exists. You have stood in church with this cherished loved one, countless times, singing praises together to your precious Savior, with their small hand in yours, and now they no longer want to be there.

You sorrow...

It is ok to grieve. Sin should bring sorrow to our hearts. Sin and rebellion grieves the heart of God. We are reflecting Him when we grieve over sin.

You love...

You continue to be Jesus to them, showing them self-sacrificial love and kindness. You speak the truth in love to them. You tell them the answers are there, if they will look.

You pray...

You humbly thank the Lord for His gift of faith to you, which you didn't deserve. There but for His grace to you, you could be in the same place. He would be just and there would be no blight on His character if He'd not granted you repentance. You ask the Lord to reveal Himself to your loved one in a mighty, glorious way, as He removed the enemy's blinders for you, so you could see Him as the One who absorbed God's wrath for your sin. Days, months, or years down the road, your loved one could come to the end of themselves, and like the prodigal son, their eyes could be opened to their sinfulness, the Lord working in concert with your faithful prayers. As long as there is life, there is hope, so don't stop praying.

You trust...

You rest in God's sovereign plan. You know as Creator and the One who holds all things together, as the eternal God, He has the story written from the beginning to the end of each person's life. God has determined from eternity past who are His and each and every one will come to Him. You know there is an even bigger story. Way, way bigger. You know the story is really about Him. He is the main character and in His amazing love, He has written you into His story. Your part in His story is to grow in knowledge of Him by spending time with Him. Your part is to live each day, walking by faith with Him. Your part is surrendering your will to His. Your part is reflecting His grace in your life back to the world around you, making much of Him.

Glorify Your Father

2011-10-16T18:40:00.000-07:00

"Let your light shine before men in such a way

that they may see your good works,

and glorify your Father who is in heaven."

Matthew 5:16

Our intent should be that, in what we are and in what we do, others may see God in order that they may glorify our Father. Our good works are to magnify God's grace and power. This is the supreme calling of life: glorifying God. Everything we do is to cause others to give praise to God who is the source of all good. The way we live should lead those around us to glorify (doxazo, from which we get doxology), to give praise to our Heavenly Father.

John MacArthur

The Doxology of Obedience

2011-10-15T14:04:00.000-07:00

"Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion;

Declare among the peoples His deeds."

Psalm 9:11

"Praise Him for His mighty deeds;

Praise Him according to His excellent greatness."

Psalm 150:2

"But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin,

you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching

to which you were committed,

and having been freed from sin,

you became slaves of righteousness."

Roman 6:17,18

Tim and I love Sundays...it's our favorite day of the week. It's the day to gather with church family and worship our precious Savior. We actually have two churches we are a part of. One we attend online, before we go to our church here near home - we love the teaching and the worship, at both churches. Both lift high and magnify the name of Jesus. Each week, in corporate worship, out of love and adoration for our Savior, we praise Him in song for who He is and for His mighty deeds - for taking sinners like us and making us a part of His family, because of His great love and mercy for us. And it is a mighty deed for Jesus, the innocent, to take us, the guilty, and exchange identities with us, giving us His righteousness, when we are more like Adolf Hitler than Him. So we sing praises to Him. He also loves and desires our doxology of obedience. We can and should praise and worship Him, every day, with our willing obedience. Every day is meant to be a day filled with giving worth to Him. Every act of obedience exalts Jesus as our loving Savior and our Sovereign Lord and King. It is the reason we were created and it is the ultimate goal of all things, to make Him look wonderful, because He is...wonderful...

Have a wonderful week, of worship...

"Let your light shine before men in such a way

that they may see your good works,

and glorify your Father who is in heaven."

Matthew 5:16

Daniel

2011-10-13T09:33:00.000-07:00

It makes God look more awesome...

2011-10-11T21:41:00.000-07:00

...when we have a right view of ourselves...

"When you choose...

2011-10-10T13:46:00.000-07:00

"...the pathway of irrevocable commitment to your mate and your marriage-regardless of how troubled your relationship may seem-you will find that choice leading you into a place of agape love and peace and personal growth. These are just some of the rewards, for the chances are very good that you will also be able to enjoy the blessings that God has wanted to bestow on your marriage from the beginning.

I am not suggesting that the healing of a marriage is an easy process when one person resists it. But are any easy choices open to you, after all? Torn relationships involve pain, whatever you do about them. As Peter points out in his first letter, it is far better to suffer (if suffer you must) for doing right, than for doing wrong. He makes it clear that God's favor and blessing shine on the one who patiently suffers, if necessary, in order to do His will. Meeting your marriage problems in a biblical manner is productive rather than pointless, and whatever hurts you encounter will be less damaging than the long term effects of divorce would be.

"The very word divorce should be cut out of the vocabulary of a couple when they marry," a woman with a restored marriage said, "because God's way is so much better for anyone who is willing to give it a try."

Another woman, considering the turbulent events of the past year that had driven her to grow emotionally and spiritually while she "loved her husband back" to their marriage, said, "You know, it's all been gain for me. I'm a different person now. The process was humbling, but it was worth it!"

A man said, "During the time when I was trying to win my wife's love and hold our family together, sometimes I got so tired of rejection that I didn't feel anything except a determination to do what the Bible said and leave the results with God. The only thing I was sure of was that somehow God would work it out for my good because He promised that in His Word. I never imagined the love affair He has actually given us. He really does do more than we can ask or think!" Ed Wheat, M.D. in "How to Save Your Marriage Alone"

The Voice of the LORD in the Storm

2011-10-08T22:02:00.000-07:00

Ascribe to the LORD, O sons of the mighty,
Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due to His name;
Worship the LORD in holy array.

The voice of the LORD is upon the waters;
The God of glory thunders,

The LORD is over many waters.

The voice of the LORD is powerful,
The voice of the LORD is majestic.
  The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;
Yes, the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
  He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
And Sirion like a young wild ox.
  The voice of the LORD hews out flames of fire.
The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness;
The LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
The voice of the LORD makes the deer to calve
And strips the forests bare;
And in His temple everything says, “Glory!”

The LORD sat as King at the flood;
Yes, the LORD sits as King forever.
The LORD will give strength to His people;
The LORD will bless His people with peace. Psalm 29

I love this psalm of David. No doubt, witnessing a violent storm produced this song of praise. David heard the majestic voice of the LORD in each lightening bolt and thunderclap and calls the angels, or great men of the earth, (commentators differ on who the sons of the mighty are) - to bestow honor and glory to God because of His awesomeness. Can't you see the landscape lighting up for a moment as the brilliance of the lightening snaps across the sky, trees bending and breaking in the swirling, whipping wind? The power of this storm even drew David's thoughts to the account of the flood. How intense and noisy was the Lord's voice at that time? Deafening...like a thousand times ten thousand Niagra Falls as the fountains of the deep opened up...

You are King over everything, ruling intentionally, righteously, justly, Lord.

You are Powerful. You are Mighty. You are Awesome.

We say, "Glory!"

The Almighty

2011-10-06T21:51:00.000-07:00

"...Jesus Christ, the faithful witness,

the first born of the dead,

and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood-

and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father-

to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever.

Amen.

BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS,

and every eye will see Him,

even those who pierced Him;

and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him.

So it is to be.

Amen.

"I am the Alpha and the Omega,"

says the Lord God,

who is and who was and who is to come,

the Almighty.

Revelation 1:5-8

New Ladies Bible Study

2011-10-04T21:21:00.000-07:00

Ok, gals, this is for you. My friend, Kristen Wisen, is teaching a great Bible Study series this year on Tuesday mornings at her church. It is called The Emmaus Road Gospel. She is taking us through the Bible in twenty-three lessons - showing how Jesus is woven all throughout scripture.

The Bible is His story. It is all about Him! Have you heard about the eternal covenant? You will learn about it in lesson one. Lesson two covers creation. Lesson three is on marriage and the fall. Lesson four is on the flood. Did you know that the Hebrew word for "pitch", that which was used to make the ark water tight, is also the same word for atonement? Christ's blood was the pitch/atonement for our sins - it keeps the judgment fire away. You'll learn lots of great nuggets like this. The Bible truly is His story and ultimately everything in it points to Him.

The lessons are livestreamed at around 10AM eastern time, 7AM west coast time. If you need to catch the lessons later, you can watch a recording of the livestream, or listen to a podcast. Just click on the link below. If you want to watch the livestream, use the link below and then click on the welcome page. From there you will see a link to the livestream. Kristen has been blogging about things from the study as well. Be sure and check out her blog, Nike Musings. There is a link to it on the right, in my blog list.

You will be stretched, challenged, and greatly blessed - it's not too late to join in.

The Emmaus Road Gospel

Chosen to Proclaim

2011-10-02T07:43:00.000-07:00

"But you are A CHOSEN RACE,

A royal PRIESTHOOD,

A HOLY NATION,

A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION,

so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him

who has called you out of darkness

into His marvelous light."

1 Peter 2:9

This verse gives us our identity and mission,

as being part of the eternal covenant

that the Father and the Son have with each other...

The Father and the Son thought of us, before time,

so we could make much of God, throughout eternity...

Jesus, You are:

Robed in righteousness...

Mighty to save...

Holy, holy, holy...

High and lifted up...

Glorious...

Victorious...

Faithful, Forgiver, Healer...

You never change...

You are King of Kings!

You are Lord of Lords!

We proclaim His excellence with our voices and with our deeds, with our obedience, with our love for others, because we've been changed by His goodness, righteousness, and mercy! Keep this going, friend, throughout your day...it's what we were made to do!

Charlie

2011-09-30T18:49:00.000-07:00

...just some more pictures I captured this morning, before Charlie left for Vietnam...

Precious Family

2011-09-29T20:04:00.000-07:00

Ben, Mai, and Charlie are leaving for Vietnam in the morning. I had to grab a family picture. They will be there for six months. Ben is going to be teaching English to Vietnamese children. Pray for safe travels for them, and safe-keeping while they are there, won't you? The mode of transportation is on a motorbike, with about a million other motorbikes within inches of yours - you will see whole families on one motorbike, sometimes! And pray also for good soil in the hearts of Mai's family as this precious little family shares Jesus with them.

I love the picture below - such sweet faces. Daniel will miss Charlie, I'm sure. Their favorite game as of late is "crawl tag." They chase each other around, squealing and laughing...so much fun to watch. Charlie is almost, but not quite walking. I'm sure when he returns, it will be regular tag, with just as much squealing and plenty of smiles and laughter...

Open Book Quiz

2011-09-20T13:44:00.000-07:00

At the baptism of Jesus, where He identified Himself with the sinners He’d come to save, the Father made the declaration that Jesus was His beloved Son, with whom He was well-pleased. Why was the Father well-pleased with His Son? Because He was the unblemished Lamb. He was spotless, and in Him could be found no sin. The Father was well-pleased with the perfection of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ also perfectly obeyed His Heavenly Father. This is another reason we can say that the Father was well-pleased with the Son.

At the great commission, Jesus told His disciples to go, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to observe, or obey, all He commanded - Matthew 28:19, 20.

In Matthew 4:10, Jesus commands us to worship the Lord and serve Him only. In Matthew 5:16, Jesus commands us to let our light shine before men that they may see our good works and glorify our Heavenly Father. In Matthew 5:44, Jesus commands us to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us. In Matthew 6:7, Jesus commands us to pray without meaningless repetition. In Matthew 6:20, Jesus commands us to store up treasures in heaven. In Matthew 6:25, Jesus commands us not to be worried about our lives, about food and clothing. Instead, we are commanded to seek first His kingdom (Mt. 6:33). In Matthew 9:38, we are commanded to pray and ask the Lord to send out workers for the harvest. In Matthew 16, we are given the commands of what do to if our brother sins. The first step is to go to him privately.

When we are obedient to the commands of Jesus, we are being transformed into the image of His likeness.

Do you know what Jesus has commanded His followers to do when they see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel? Do you know what unprecedented event is going to occur after we see the abomination of desolation? Do you know what Jesus has commanded us to do when we are told that He is in a room somewhere, or that He is out in the desert somewhere, prior to seeing His glory appear in the sky? Do you know at what signs in the sky we are commanded to look up because our redemption is near?

If we don’t know, then it is time to do more studying. If we are the generation that sees these signs, we want to be able to be obedient, to all He has commanded us, and be well-pleasing, just like Jesus was in His obedience to the Father.

The return of Christ is the blessed hope of the church. When we don’t study it, we minimize its importance. It was important enough for Christ to teach on it. Paul taught on it, as well as Peter. It was important enough for God to give specific prophesies concerning it. It was important enough for God to bring John up into the heavenlies and have him write down everything he saw. If it was important enough for God to record all of this, than it is definitely important enough for us to study.

The teacher in me has to give you one more question – Do you know what Jesus is going to do to that unprecedented event?

This is an open book quiz and I’ll even give you the place to look for the answers to the above questions – Matthew 24, Mark, 13, and Luke 21. (And the answer to the last question is in verse 22 of Matthew 24.)

Have a great time studying...

Truth

2011-09-15T07:59:00.000-07:00

...it's a Person
...it convicts the heart of sin
...it molds into Christlikeness
...it's the sum of God's Word
...Pilate questioned it
...the Lord abounds in it
...the Lord is to be served in it
...we are to walk in it
...all the paths of the Lord are it
...it preserves us
...we are to pray that God would send it out
...the Lord desires it in our innermost being
...it is to be praised
...it is everlasting
...we are to bind it around our necks
...we are to write it on the tablet of our hearts
...those who speak it will be established forever
...it preserves rulers
...it is to be sought for
...God is to be worshiped in it, according to what He has revealed about Himself with it
...God seeks it on the earth
...we are to love it
...it is constantly attacked but can never be destroyed
...the unrighteous suppress it
...it is considered intolerant
...if we spent more time seeking it, we would sin less
...it produces faith, freedom, and inexpressible joy
...It walked on the Emmaus Road causing two hearts to burn because it is bigger, way bigger than us
...when the Holy Spirit illumines your mind with it, your heart can feel like it is going to explode

A Picture of Jesus

2011-09-13T19:20:00.000-07:00

Every sacrifice laid out in scripture is to put into our minds that a price has to be paid for the guilty...

...and the guilty can't pay it...

...it's paid by the innocent...

The innocent for the guilty - a picture of Jesus...

That Christ May Be Exalted

2011-09-11T16:07:00.000-07:00

Why is there falsehood?
That Christ may be exalted as the Truth.

Why is there sorrow?
That Christ may be exalted as our Comforter.

Why is there weakness?
That Christ may be exalted as our Strength.

Why is there suffering?
That Christ may be exalted as our Refuge.

Why is there darkness?
That Christ may be exalted as our Light.

Why is there sin?

That Christ may be exalted as our Righteousness.

Why is there death?
That Christ may be exalted as our Life.

We would not know Jesus the way we do or praise Jesus the way He is worthy, if it were not for these things. These things will end, and when they do, Jesus will be exalted.

Romans 11:33 - "Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!"

Charlie's First Birthday

2011-09-10T21:13:00.000-07:00

Can't believe it's been a year already...eight teeth and not quite walking, but almost - Happy Birthday, darling Charlie!

To view the entire album, click here.

Something Fun...

2011-09-08T16:13:00.000-07:00

A good friend of my mom's came over as soon as she brought me and Karin home from the hospital. She took the footprints and then painted the tiles. The story goes that it took my mom a few days to get the ink washed off our feet. By the way, don't let the date on the tiles fool you...they are actually only thirty-nine years old...

A Spirit Led Life...

2011-09-08T11:01:00.000-07:00

...is a Word filled life.

Ask the Lord to drive His Word into your heart.

A Spirit led life is a life in which the Holy Spirit, because you have put time into God's Word, He drives it into your heart and then when you get to the decision points in your life, the Holy Spirit is involved in bringing those things that you've studied back into your remembrance so you can apply them, at the moment of decision...

"For all who are being led by the Spirit of God,

these are sons of God." Romans 8:14

Desire Wisdom?

2011-09-06T12:22:00.000-07:00

There are no short cuts. Take God's Word, drink deeply from it, get yourself to the point that as you face life's choices you become so familiar with the things that are in God's Word that you begin to think like God thinks.

Mai's Testimony

2011-09-05T19:54:00.000-07:00

This is my daughter-in-law Mai and Sunday night I had the joy of watching her be baptized. She is truly one of the Lord's many blessings, as I have watched her grow in grace over the last year and a half. Enjoy her testimony of the Lord's grace in her life and how He drew her to Himself. At the end of the video Mai gives a message to her parents who are in Vietnam. Pray for them, that they too would come to know Jesus, as Mai has. Thank you, Lord, for this precious girl...

Out of Them All

2011-09-03T17:43:00.000-07:00

"Many are the afflictions of the righteous,

but the LORD delivers him out of them all."

Psalm 34:19

An affliction is defined as something that causes pain or suffering. It's a simple, biblical truth that pain and suffering is the by-product of sin. The righteous, those who have had their identities exchanged with that of Jesus Christ, are said to undergo many afflictions. Does that mean the unrighteous don't suffer? We know of course that everyone suffers. Sin affects everyone and everything. Pain and suffering comes in all different shapes and sizes. It's intensity varies. It's duration varies. It's cause varies. It can come in the form of a rebellious child, the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, a thoughtless word or a whole volcanic eruption of reviling hatred. Illness causes pain and suffering and wars bring pain and suffering. Our own foolishness and sin brings pain and suffering, upon ourselves. "Fools, because of their rebellious way, and because of their iniquities, were afflicted." Psalm 107:17 Our sin also creates pain and suffering for others.

The second part of the verse gives the child of God great hope. The Lord delivers the righteous out of all their afflictions. There is an end to our pain and suffering, temporarily - before the next trial arrives. And yes, sometimes we undergo multiple waves at a time before we experience deliverance. There will be deliverance, permanently - all pain and suffering will end, forever, for the righteous. If He wanted to, the Lord could end our pain and suffering as soon as He gifts us with faith. But His plan doesn't work that way. He didn't design life so that once we become His child, all pain and suffering ends. At our rebirth, the sanctification process begins - the forming of Christ in us. Affliction is one of the Lord's tools for our sanctification. Affliction drives us to the Word and it is the truth of God that transforms us into Christlikeness.

Psalm 119:71- "It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes."

"Sanctify them in the truth. Your word is truth." John 17:17

Pain and suffering always passes through the loving, sovereign hand of God before it arrives at our doorstep. "For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things." Romans 11:36 The Lord is in charge of each trial, each encounter with pain and suffering that we undergo. He has enclosed Himself behind us and before us, and His hand is laid upon us. He determines the intensity and He determines the duration. When His work in that particular trial has been accomplished, He delivers us out of it until the next one. Affliction is not a way we would choose, but His ways are not our ways. He is with us through each trial, and then He brings us out. He is forming Christ in us as He leads us through the flames of His refining fires. How we act and react with the affliction we experience now, and after we come out of it, should be different than how we acted and reacted five years ago. And in five more years, how we respond to affliction should be different than how we respond today. Are we quick to recognize that what someone meant for evil, God meant for our good? If not, there's more work to be done. Are we quick to rejoice in the Lord, being thankful that He is revealing to us areas where we still need the burrs of self and idolatry shaved off so He is magnified in our lives? If not, there's more work to be done. Yes, there's always more work to be done.

"For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:6

Psalm 119:75 - "I know, O LORD, that your judgments are righteous, and that in faithfulness You have afflicted me."

Sometimes we are not aware of what the Lord is accomplishing when we are undergoing pain and suffering. This is the time to just trust - He is purposeful, He is sovereign, He is our loving Heavenly Father - who is causing all things to work together for our good, and for the other members of our family in the body of Christ.

Your Grace Still Amazes Me

2011-08-28T13:21:00.000-07:00

One of my all time favorites...it never gets old...

In Him There is no Darkness at All...

2011-08-27T18:31:00.000-07:00

"This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all." 1 John 1:5

"I am the LORD, and there is no other, the One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the LORD who does all these." Isaiah 45:6b,7

God is eternal. He existed before light and darkness existed. He created light and darkness. In Him there is no sin, whatsoever. He tells us through Isaiah that He causes well-being and creates calamity. He creates events that bring terrible loss, lasting distress, and severe affliction. He is not doing anything wrong, bad, or evil in creating these events. In the well-being God causes, His purposes are good - in the calamity God creates, His purposes are good, because in Him there is no darkness at all. By faith, we believe these truths, by faith we rest in these truths.

"I am the LORD who does all these..."

2011-08-26T21:12:00.000-07:00

God doesn't allow things, He purposefully acts...

Isaiah 45:1-7

Thus says the LORD to Cyrus His anointed,

"Whom I have taken by the right hand,

To subdue nations before him

And to loose the loins of kings;

To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:

I will go before you and make the rough places smooth;

I will shatter the doors of bronze

and cut through their iron bars.

I will give you the treasures of darkness

And hidden wealth of secret places,

So that you may know that it is I,

The LORD, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name.

For the sake of Jacob My servant,

And Israel My chosen one,

I have also called you by your name;

I have given you a title of honor

Though you have not known Me.

I am the LORD, and there is no other;

Besides Me there is no God.

I will gird you, though you have not known Me;

That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun

That there is no one besides Me.

I am the LORD, and there is no other,

The One forming light and creating darkness,

Causing well-being and creating calamity;

I am the LORD who does all these."

2011-08-25T23:05:00.000-07:00

Who will separate us from the love of Christ?

Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine,

or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Just as it is written,

“FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH

ALL DAY LONG;

WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP
TO BE SLAUGHTERED.”

But in all these things

we overwhelmingly conquer

through Him who loved us.

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life,

nor angels, nor principalities,

nor things present, nor things to come,

nor powers, nor height, nor depth,

nor any other created thing,

will be able to separate us from the love of God,

which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:35-39

Enter Your Rooms, Close Your Doors

2011-08-20T15:36:00.000-07:00

"Your dead will live;

Their corpses will rise.

You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy,

For your dew is as the dew of the dawn,

And the earth will give birth to the departed spirits.

Come, my people,enter into your rooms

And close your doors behind you;

Hide for a little while

Until indignation runs its course.

For behold, the LORD

is about to come out from His place

To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity;

And the earth will reveal her bloodshed

And will no longer cover her slain."

Isaiah 26:19-21

"For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day."

John 6:40

"In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also."

John 14:2,3

"And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them."

Revelation 21:2,3

Hmm...so here's what I have going through my head - resurrection, gathering of all the elect at the sign in the sun, moon, and stars, the signal that the day of the Lord's wrath is about to begin on the inhabitants of the earth for their sin. Will all the elect be shown their dwelling places in the New Jerusalem, before God's wrath begins to fall? There will be a remnant of Israel being protected in the wilderness at this point in time...of course I'm thinking it would be after we are standing before the throne and before the Lamb, saying, "Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb."

Resurrection, rapture, 'round the throne, rooms, wrath - just letting you know what's been on my mind today... Looking forward to finding out, longing to see Jesus, face to face...aren't you?

Psalm 105:1-3

2011-08-17T00:01:00.000-07:00

Oh give thanks to the LORD,
call upon His name;
Make known His deeds among the peoples.
Sing to Him,
sing praises to Him;
Speak of all His wonders.
Glory in His holy name;
Let the heart of those who seek the LORD be glad.

"How Distressed I Am"

2011-08-16T02:51:00.000-07:00

“I have come to cast fire upon the earth; and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished!” Luke 12:49, 50

Jesus abhors sin. It is the opposite of His pure, holy character. We should hate sin too. Jesus is going to pour out His wrath against it. And He is literally going to cast fire on the earth. (See Rev. 8:7) At the time He made this declaration, His judgment on the earth was yet future. But before He judges the earth, He had to undergo a baptism. Jesus was referring to His death and He was in agony over facing the full fury of God's wrath. The knowledge that He would be crushed by His Father's wrath crushed His emotions. Jesus experienced emotions, we see that all throughout scripture. The money changers angered Him when they turned His Father's house into a house of merchandise. He experienced anguish and sorrow over Israel's unbelief in Him as the Messiah. The emotions Jesus experienced never led Him to sinful behavior, but that cannot be said about us. We often make choices to live based on how we feel. Living by our feelings is sinful. Living by how we feel often keeps us from doing the will of God.

What are we to live by?

We are to live by the same thing Jesus lived by - the Word of the Father.

We are made in God's image. He created in us the ability to experience emotions, just like He does. He created the emotions themselves. The emotions we experience are not sinful, but they can lead to sinful behavior. Our circumstances produce emotions in us - how someone treats us. I hadn't seen Daniel for two weeks and on Friday he spent part of the morning with me. Three times, he came over to me, wrapped his sweet little arms around me, and told me he loved me, all unsolicited. This is something he's never done before. If my heart had been a dish of ice cream, there would have been a puddle of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream on the floor. Thank you, Lord, for creating us with emotions! When others act sinfully towards us, this can produce emotions in us. Sometimes it will be sorrow, sometimes it will be anger. We must give the emotions directly over to the Lord. When we find our emotions in turmoil over negative circumstances, we need to set our eyes on Jesus and not the circumstances. We need to go the Word and be in the Word. It's the only place where we find moorage. We need to remember that every negative circumstance is being filtered through God's sovereign hand, to accomplish His purposes. What man meant for evil at Jesus death, the Father used for granting us eternal life. When we live by and act on God's Word, it produces joy and peace in our hearts, even under crushing circumstances, and that's exactly where we want to be, isn't it?

My Son's Sense of Humor...

2011-08-14T17:43:00.000-07:00

Ben: "Our garden is producing cartoon characters...who knew?"

Follow Me

2011-08-13T14:56:00.000-07:00

"If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me." Mark 8:34

In order to follow someone, we must have our eyes on them.

Ashamed

2011-08-12T22:03:00.000-07:00

"If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's shall save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."

Mark 8:34-38

The last part of this passage where Jesus lays out the requirements for true discipleship has been reverberating through my mind ever since I left the laundromat yesterday. I have the wonderful opportunity of sharing the good news of Jesus Christ almost every Thursday. Thursday is laundromat day for me and I am always meeting new people. I wouldn't be honest with you if I told you it was always easy for me. Sometimes I battle with the fear of being rejected. I also battle with the fear of not knowing what to say. Yesterday, I finished packing up the van with all four baskets of my clean clothes, and hadn't talked to anyone yet about the Lord. A mom with her daughter was there when I first arrived, as well as an elderly gentleman with his dog. Later on, another man came in and began filling up the machine that was next to one of mine. We exchanged hellos, but I remained in my comfortable cocoon. I took the last basket out to the car and got in the driver's seat, but before I closed the door the Lord prompted me to go back in and talk to the man with whom I'd exchanged hellos. "But I don't feel like it, Lord." Then I came under conviction about being ashamed and fearful. I was making the situation about me and my comfort. I was setting my mind on my emotions. Not good. Sinful.

Our flesh's tendency will always be for comfort and self-preservation. By using the word "ashamed," Jesus understands the inward struggles we face. In the first part of this passage, Jesus gives us the formula for not being ashamed of Him - self-denial to the point of death, and pursuing Him. "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me." When we deny ourselves, refraining from satisfying our fleshly desires and we set our eyes on Him and follow Him, when we stick to Him, we will not be ashamed or embarrassed by Him.

As I sat there, struggling, the Lord graciously reminded me of His sacrificial love for me. He put me before Himself, He took my filthy garment of sin, put it on His purity and holiness, and wrapped me in His righteousness. He stepped into the bull's eye of God's wrath that should have crushed me for my sin. He died for me, paying the price for my sin, so that I could be forgiven and have eternal life, so that I could know Him throughout eternity, so that He could continue to lavish on me, in the ages to come, the unlimited, unfathomable riches of His favor. I could start the van and pull away and Jesus would still love me. His loving us is not prerequisite upon our performance. His love is the love of choice and the will and it is steadfast for us, enduring forever, and it began before He even created the world. I realized however the sorrow it would bring Him if I drove away, being embarrassed and ashamed of Him. He reminded me that His hand was upon me. He reminded me that I am enclosed behind and before, with Him, the sovereign God of the universe. Whatever response I would get would not separate me from His love. Boldness for Jesus comes when we set our minds on Him, by spending much time with Him in His Word, enlarging our view of Him. I got out of the van and walked back into the laundromat, and was blessed with meeting a brother in Christ.

May we let the joy Jesus had in doing the will of His Father, His joy over our salvation, and His glory and beauty be our strength in sharing the gospel.

How Many Days?

2011-08-08T19:54:00.000-07:00

Both Matthew and Mark record Jesus discussing and giving instructions concerning His return. He said He would return after He cuts the great tribulation short.

By how many days?

Jesus doesn't tell us.

A world leader, titled the man of sin in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, will commit what is known by Daniel and Jesus as the abomination of desolation in the temple. (Dan. 9:27, Matt. 24:15, Mk. 13:14) It will be a declaration that he believes himself to be God. Many will believe this and will worship him, who will also be known as antichrist. Those who do not worship him, he will seek to put to death.

No one knows the day or hour of Jesus return (Mt. 24:36), but it will occur sometime after we see the revealing of antichrist, when he makes his declaration, and sometime after the greatest persecution ever against believers begins. Jesus returns and cuts the persecution against believers off, the great tribulation, and gathers the elect, at an unknown day and hour. Jesus said if He didn't, no elect life would be saved. (Mt. 24:22)

(The last half of Daniel's 70th Week lasts 1260 days (forty-two months), the number of days the beast is given authority...Rev. 13:5, but the great tribulation will be an unknown number but less than 1260 days...make sense?)

A Firm Heart

2011-08-05T09:27:00.000-07:00

"For the righteous will never be moved;

he will be remembered forever.

He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD.

His heart is steady; he will not be afraid."

Psalm 112:6-8a

The bad news is that bad news will continue to get worse in a world encrusted in sin. We can expect more bad news, the closer we get to the return of Christ. A firm and steady heart in the face of bad news comes from knowing who God is. With some of your free time today, sit down with Him and His Word, and work on that steady heart.

Fulfillment of Matthew 23:39

2011-08-04T08:35:00.000-07:00

Just before Jesus gives instruction to us regarding His return, He turns to His beloved Jerusalem, lamenting over her with these words, because of Israel's rejection of Him as the Messiah -

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! See, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.' "

Matthew 23:37-39

Here is Psalm 118:19-29. You are going to recognize a verse also found 1 Peter 2. I've highlighted it in pink. In purple, you will see the same words from Matthew 23. Highlighted in blue are some very familiar words to you, also.

"Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the LORD. This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous shall enter through it. I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Save us, we pray, O LORD! O LORD, we pray, give us success! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We bless you from the house of the LORD. You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you. Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever!"

Let me cut right to the chase. I think Israel is going to sing Psalm 118, as she is being led by Jesus who is approaching the temple. This will be after He has destroyed His enemies at Armageddon. He is gathering Israel, which He had longed to do at His first coming, and is leading her to the temple, or perhaps they are already gathered around. While everyday is a day we can rejoice in because it is a day that the Lord has made and we witness His glory and majesty in a myriad of ways each day, the day the nation of Israel blesses Jesus is truly going to be a momentous, wonderful, awe-inspiring day. Jesus, the stone that Israel rejected, will become the cornerstone of the spiritual house, in which Israel and the church will be a dwelling for God. (Eph. 2:20-22) Jesus will be approaching and entering the courtyard to the literal house of God as this unfolds. The nation of Israel will be rejoicing in her Messiah. Her scales of unbelief will have fallen off. She will have been given her new and believing heart. She will truly recognize and give Jesus glory for His goodness and salvation and love that never failed for her, and that will continue on into eternity. I cannot fully grasp with my mind just what will be happening here, but it causes my heart to rejoice, and I sure am hoping for a front row seat...

(Thanks to my blogging friend, Orange, for the inspiration of this post...)

FIVE STEPS TO HELP US OUT OF A SPIRAL OF SELF-CENTEREDNESS AND DESPAIR

2011-08-03T15:39:00.000-07:00

1. REPENT: Recognize that allowing our emotions and feelings to guide our conduct is sinful.

2. CHOOSE: Make the decision that you will do the right thing, even when you don't feel like it.

3. RENEW YOUR MIND: In the Word.

4. GET ACCOUNTABILITY: If you are struggling with the way you are feeling or your attitude, find someone who will speak into your life in this area.

5. REACH OUT: Telling someone about Jesus takes your focus off yourself. Being obedient is the first step to changing your feelings.

Why we must remember the cross, daily...

2011-08-02T18:34:00.000-07:00

..there’s not a day in our lives that we don’t need to be forgiven and we will never graduate from our need for grace until we reach the consummation of our sanctification. For every person who has trusted Christ, God's wrath was appeased on the sinless flesh of His Son. We are in Christ, Christ is in us, and we are wrapped in His righteousness. The love and grace of God has been poured out into our hearts. His love and grace continues to wash over us and through us and in us, in a never-ending flow. When we are sinned against, we need to go immediately to this continuous flow of grace. It is from this flow of grace to us that we draw mercy and grace for others. It is into this flow of grace which we must place the seeds of anger and malice for the wrongs committed against us, that can take root in our hearts, sprouting into bitterness and finally into unforgiveness. Those seeds will never make it to the ears of another when placed in the flow of grace. It is in this continual flow of grace from which we draw a forbearing and forgiving spirit. It is from this flow of grace that we overcome evil with good. When reviled, we can say we are hurt by the words, but we still choose to love, we don't revile in return. Are you holding a grudge? Withholding forgiveness? Remember this lavish flow of beautiful grace continually washing over you, with it's origins at the cross, where Jesus was crushed by the fury of the wrath of God for an eternity's worth of your sin, and mine.

Maturing in Christ

2011-08-01T18:37:00.000-07:00

I love this definition of maturing in Christ -

"Finding out who God is..."

The Place of Security and Blessing

2011-08-01T00:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, my pastor's message was out of Matthew 14, the account where the disciples are sent by Jesus to Gennesaret, via a boat, immediately after Jesus feeds the five thousand. Matthew tells us Jesus made them get into the boat, while He sent the crowds away. He told the large group to go one direction, and His disciples to go ahead of Him, to the other side of the sea. As they shove off, Jesus goes up on the mountain to pray. The boat is a long way from the shore and is being battered by the waves that a contrary wind is whipping up - (which Jesus ordained, as Creator). The disciples could have turned the boat around and headed back with the direction of the wind, but they kept to the course that Jesus had set them on. So we find them in the midst of a storm, but also in the midst of obedience. You know the rest of the story. Jesus comes to them, walking on the water. They are terrified, thinking He is a ghost. When Peter hears His voice, "Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid," I think he recognizes it immediately as the Lord's, even though he questions Him. Peter says to Jesus, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." Jesus commands Peter to come. Peter continues with his obedience, steps out of the boat and walks on the water toward Jesus.

One of the things I love about Peter is that he wanted to be right where Jesus was. I bet when Jesus and the disciples were walking down the road, Peter was either right beside Him, or right behind Him, and when Jesus stopped, Peter would run into the back of Jesus. Peter had seen Jesus quiet a storm earlier while being in a boat with the disciples, He simply told the storm to be quiet. Peter already had a measure of faith from that experience. So here he sees Jesus walking on the water, in the midst of the storm, and once again he wants to be right with Him. He exercises faith and gets out of the boat at Jesus command.

We know from the account, that at the moment Peter took His eyes off the Lord and placed them on his circumstances, his faith faltered. Jesus said to Peter when he began sinking, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" But as Jesus said that, He reached out His hand to Peter and took hold of him. When our faith falters, the grace of Jesus will never let it fail us completely. Peter later went on to write in his first letter, that we are protected by the power of God through faith. Our faith is a gift from God, which He builds and refines and burns the impurities out with various trials. God cares about refining our faith like gold so that when we reach the end it is praised and gloried in and honored - and I think this attention will go straight to Jesus for He is the author and perfecter of our faith. (Hebrews 12:2)

One of the truths of the story is to teach us that when a believer is in the place of obedience, no matter how severe the storm, we are as safe as if we were at home in our own bed, because the place of security is not the place of proper circumstances or of desirable circumstances. The place of security, for the believer, is the place of obedience to the Lord. An example is in the wife with a husband who is resisting God's call on his life, who is not loving his wife as Jesus loves the church, as a sacrificial-servant leader, and the sorrow and tumult this brings into the wife's life - the wife's security and blessing is not found in leaving him, or nagging him to do what God has revealed in His Word for him, but to do what God has revealed in His Word for her. (1 Peter 3:1-6)

The miraculous happened for the disciples when in His presence, to demonstrate to them that He indeed was God in the flesh. He can be trusted in the things that He asks for our obedience, even when we don't feel like it, and He is to be worshipped, which is what the disciples did after they saw the storm stop as soon as Jesus and Peter got into the boat.

Where have you been resisting obedience? What circumstances are you keeping your attention on rather than the Creator Who is Lord over your circumstances?

Faith is believing the Word of God, and acting on it, no matter how we feel. Our faith is strengthened when we place our eyes on Jesus and with every act of obedience when we feel like it, and when we don't. We place ourselves in the path of God's blessing when we exercise our wills according to His Word. We forfeit peace and joy and set ourselves up for depression and bitterness when we live according to our emotions.

I say this just as much to myself as I do you, my beloved readers - Let's fix our eyes on Jesus, remembering He has enclosed us behind and before and His hand is laid upon us. (Psalm 139:5)

Be obedient, and be blessed and secure, in the midst of the storm.

Latest Pictures of the Boys

2011-07-31T13:20:00.000-07:00

The boys LOVE being pulled in the wagon. Summer finally arrived here in the Pacific Northwest and we spent a fun morning yesterday riding all over our property and the neighborhood.

We didn't know the neighbor next door was having a sale...

The boys made out pretty good, wouldn't you say?

Woke up to drizzle this morning...we sure enjoyed our one day of summer!

Oh the Depth, of God - 4

2011-07-30T11:27:00.000-07:00

"From him and through him and to him are all things."

God is the source and origin of our existence. We have no life apart from Him. All things were created by Him. That means that every circumstance that touches your life and mine, including even severe loss and testing, comes into our lives through the filter of His sovereign hand.

He is also the Sustainer.

He is our supreme purpose. He is our goal. He created all things...for Himself and His pleasure.

God is the sovereign Lord and Director of all things. Nothing is beyond His ability to control, to transform, and to use for His glory and your good.

And what is our response?

"To him be glory forever. Amen." Romans 11:36

The appropriate response to the fathomless depths of God's wisdom and ways is to step out of the spotlight and turn the spotlight on Him. It is to say, Amen!-wholeheartedly affirming our agreement with the Word of God. We believe that our bottomless, unsearchable, all-encompassing Lord is the sum and the whole point of everything there is. Therefore, we submit our entires lives to His holy, eternal purposes. Amen.

Let it be so!

Nancy Leigh DeMoss

Oh the Depth, of God - 3

2011-07-29T14:56:00.000-07:00

"Oh, the depth of the riches...of God"

"God will never experience economic collapse
or even the slightest wave or bobble of uncertainty."

Nancy Leigh DeMoss

America is in a huge deficit.

That is never so with God.

The riches of God's kindness and forbearance
and patience and mercy and grace towards us,
is limitless and inexhaustible.

It's the same with His glory, too.

Oh the Depth, of God - 2

2011-07-28T17:33:00.000-07:00

"Though we can never reach the bottom of God's unfathomable ways, we do know what it's like to reach the bottom of our own strength. Perhaps you've been there-perhaps you are there-down where life drags the floor of all human abilities, where everything feels hopeless and pointless and impossible to handle. This is where many women give up and call it quits, or slink away into a pit of bitterness, or turn their frustrations on those nearest them...The true woman knows that deeper than her own limitations and problems, is the bedrock of God's riches, wisdom, and knowledge. His unseen yet sovereign, eternal purposes are underneath it all, holding it all together...Your problems may be deeper than ever. Your issues and challenges may never before have reached such depths as you're experiencing now. But no matter how low they've taken you, there is something-Someone-who is deeper still." Nancy Leigh DeMoss

"The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms." Deuteronomy 33:27

Be in the Word with consistency. Let it dwell deep down inside, richly, so when the trial comes, it is where you automatically run...it's the best place to go and stay when the pressure hits. You can have success in the crisis, if you have success in the process.

Oh the Depth, of God

2011-07-26T21:10:00.000-07:00

"Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor? Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen." Romans 11:33-36

The latest book I am reading is "Voices of the True Woman Movement" by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. Chapter two is a treasure trove of nuggets. Nancy pulls out truth after truth about God from this passage in Romans. She explains how Paul, in the first eleven chapters of Romans, lays out the "what" of the gospel, and then the last part of Romans the "so what" - how we are to live in light of the great truths Paul has just given. The doxology of Romans 11:33-36 bridges the gap.

Nancy points out in chapters 9-11, Paul explores the mysteries of God's sovereign, electing grace, God's plan for redeeming both Jews and Gentiles. He explains how in God's sovereignty, the Jews' rejection of Christ is actually the means by which Gentiles have come to accept Him as Savior. Then he writes about how in God's great mercy He will still fulfill His plan for Israel in spite of their rejection. As Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, begins writing these truths and as he scales higher and higher through the astounding mysteries of God, he is suddenly struck speechless at the majesty of God - and His wisdom - it is beyond comprehension. All he can do is break out into a hymn of praise. Nancy says this hymn of praise provides a framework and context for our lives. This passage gives us a fixed reference point for our hearts. It secures us to God's ultimate, eternal purposes. It gives us perspective, a grid, for responding to His sovereign choices in our lives, especially those we cannot understand or explain.

I want to take the next several posts to give you some of Nancy's nuggets from this chapter. I came away with my view of God enlarged even greater. Everything...absolutely everything, finds its true meaning and purpose in God's meaning and purpose. That is what the last part of Paul's hymn is saying. When we are not willing to make God the center of everything, our lives will be drifting on a sea of changing emotions and incorrect and wayward ways of thinking. We will be prone to depression and anger. We are tempting bitterness and confusion. We are fueling a mindset that will stay in constant disarray, with no reference point to provide any kind of stability. We need to be here: "For from him and through him and to him are all things." When we are not there, we miss the whole point of our existence.

I have learned that when we pursue the unfathomable greatness and majesty and glory of God, we experience inexpressible joy. Just as we cannot find words to adequately describe Him, we cannot fully find words to express our joy in Him.

Evidences of Salvation

2011-07-20T21:29:00.000-07:00

"...Faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself." James 2:17

These works that evidence salvation go to the "heart" of the issue, not just actions...

Sincere love for the Lord
Repentance and a hatred for sin
A humble heart
Fruit of the Spirit
An active prayer life
Selfless love for others
Separation from the world
A holy (set apart) existence
Spiritual growth
Obedient living
The discipline of the Lord in our lives

Our works don't earn salvation - they evidence salvation.

Daniel and the Big Trains

2011-07-19T18:39:00.000-07:00

Tim really enjoys trains and he is passing that enjoyment for trains on to our grandson Daniel.

Our granddaughter Daisy arrived back home today, by train, after a visit with a friend in Portland, Oregon. Daniel loved seeing the big trains.

When you ask Daniel what a train says,

he responds with, "Boop, boop!" It's so cute the way he says it - his little mouth forms the shape of an "o" and his eyes start to twinkle. Daisy bought Daniel a book as a "sprize" while she was in Oregon. She read it to him on the way home. It was about the sounds that animals make. At the end of the book, the author asks the question to the reader, "What do you say?" Daniel's response was, "Peas." (Please.) We all laughed. You have taught him well, Annie!

Daniel, I pray that you will love the Lord and His Word too, just like Grandpa.