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“But there are some who say, “It is hard for God to choose some and leave others.” Now, I will ask you one question. Is there any of you here this morning who wishes to be holy, who wishes to be regenerate, to leave off sin and walk in holiness? “Yes, there is,” says someone, “I do.” Then God has elected you. But another says, “No; I don’t want to be holy; I don’t want to give up my lusts and my vices.” Why should you grumble, then, that God has not elected you to it? For if you were elected you would not like it, according to your own confession. If God this morning had chosen you to holiness, you say you would not care for it. Do you not acknowledge that you prefer drunkenness to sobriety, dishonesty to honesty? You love this world’s pleasures better than religion; then why should you grumble that God has not chosen you to religion? If you love religion, He has chosen you to it. If you desire it, He has chosen you to it. If you do not, what right have you to say that God ought to have given you what you do not wish for?”

C.H. Spurgeon
Sermon, 2 Thess 2:13

I have been told I take things too seriously; I have been told that I go too far when it comes to this precious Word which God has given us.

Yet I recall our old Pastor saying that if we are to be obedient to God’s commandments, we need to be causing a bit of trouble, for the Gospel’s sake. We must be bold!

Truth will cause those not living it to be offended, to get uncomfortable.

This is not a bad thing.

As I was reading this morning in the Book of Revelation, it was so clear to me, the severity of this Word and the value of each jot and tittle within. It was made ever more clear to me as I read and as I saw:

(Revelation 16:1 )And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon (fill in the blanks with whoever it is you know who is lost, who is backslide, who is not seeking His kingdom and His righteousness for their lives).

It IS personal. It is VERY personal.

Do we speak in love? Certainly I know I offend often. I strive to speak in love the responsibility that has been given us, the duty we are entrusted with….

Preach THE WHOLE GOSPEL. Not some. Not the pretty parts.

Preach about judgement, preach hell, speak truth about sin …

One day those vials will be opened and poured on on our family, on our friends….

People who do not know and do not believe…

Perhaps because we did not open our mouths….

IF we pray, IF we seek His face, IF we turn and repent from these wicked ways….

We will all have to give an answer to someone, a reason for why we believe, why we hope.

Let us speak that reason and that hope boldly to others.

He wants for none to perish – if we are the watchmen on these walls – what are we waiting for?

What are we doing with what we are seeing?

Don’t wait until you see those vials, that wrath, being poured on on your loved one.

As He Delights in Me

This morning I was reading in Deuteronomy….It’s not like I never read it before but this morning as I read…. Seeking something to renew me. Something to refresh me in this season in which I feel so very tired, so worn.

 

Sometimes things just jump off the page at you. You see it, as though for the first time.
There is clarity, perhaps revelation as well. Some thing made new. God is in the business of making things new right? 🙂

 

Slowly, I read words I have seen time and time again:

 

 “…ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein the Lord thy God hath blessed thee.ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein the Lord thy God hath blessed thee.”

 

Ye shall rejoice.

 

It isn’t a question. It isn’t a suggestion. It is a simple command.

 

Ye SHALL rejoice in ALL that we do.

 

Because it is in all that He has blessed me.

 

 

 

These days are not what I hoped they would be. Sassy mouths, tattling and tantrums; a house that we long ago outgrew even as our family keeps on growing. 😛

 

I am struggling with minimizing yet it seems no matter how much stuff we clean out, there is still even more to sort and store and organize.

 

So much noise; so many things making it harder to hear that still, small voice.

Lately how I just long to get away.

 

I remind myself that He is my hiding place. My refuge and my peace.

 

This world is not. Nor is my husband. And my children sure aren’t either. LOL

 

There is power in knowing that He is my portion; He is my joy.

It is said the joy of the Lord is our strength.

Can we not always have that joy if we are simply willing to be joyful?

 

To pray always.

 

To give thanks (for the mess, for the noise, even for what we believe we lack)

 

Just give thanks! 😀

 

 

When we simply obey His command to REJOICE in all things, for all things are blessings (whether we recognize them as such or not) there is rest. There is peace.

 

 

 

 

 

What do my eyes really see? Can they see beyond what is right now? Right here? Instead of seeing the natural can they look up, to the supernatural? To that Kingdom which is to come?

 

 

My ears…What do they hear? Do they hear commands? Do they hear fights and complaints? Or do they hear opportunities to teach and guide? Chances to pray for hearts and minds to soften and turn.

 

 

I am not my children’s Holy Spirit, I do not have the power to change their hearts. Only God can do this.

I Will Serve Thee

I am waiting. I recently learned that God has a waiting room.

Imagine that.

And I find myself waiting in it. Learning how to wait in it.

 

 

 

 

How tired we have become struggling to make ends meet. The project that are left on done or are unable to even begin.

Wait on the Lord and keep his way…

It is so much easier said than done sometimes. Especially when you feel like you’ve been waiting for so long.

 

I read this morning on how important it is for us to believe God for that new beginning. Believe God for those promises that He has for us.

 

We can … IF we really want to.
We must choose to believe that we have God’s in all our affairs.

In every situation we must choose to believe that He will make our way prosperous.

 

We can be healed; we can lead and be that salt and light we are called to be.

 

We will be victorious!

 

When We “Can’t” be in Church

For the last few months my younger son has been part of a local travel hockey team. He loves this board and I love watching him as he grows and makes friends with the other kids on the team. Yet I have really wrestled with this since we began last spring.

 

The unfortunate thing is that the schedule for practices and games often makes church attendance difficult if not impossible.

 

And while I know that we are the church still I also realize that there is value to assembly with others of like mind for worship and to hear the preaching of the word.

 

I was talking with a friend the other day about this very thing. Because the fall season is almost over and soon they will begin the spring season. This will be his last season to play with the team he’s grown so close to in the last few months because next year he will be older and will have to move up.

 

Kids excited to play another season and I look ahead and see the many church activities and services which will be missed if we do this. We will have more weeks ahead of juggling I’m struggling to get from hockey practice to Bible quiz practice. And I just don’t know if I should.

 

I am so grateful for the friends that God places in my path. Friends who remind me that well it is so very important for children to learn and you know the word of God there was more for them than just that. If we learn it and we memorize it But do not share it what does it matter?

 

certainly we aren’t together together all the more as we see the day of the Lord’s return drawing nearer but how many have not yet heard? How many need to know? perhaps we are in this place for a greater purpose. Could it be that we are not just there to play hockey?

 

 

It was that reminder that we are the church and we can have church wherever we go. We cannot simply attend a house of worship. We cannot simply join those Ministries I feel that we are a good and faithful servant. There is so much more to be done outside of the house of God.

 

 

Certainly I miss hearing the powerful anointed preaching and feeling the presence of God as we gather together in beautiful worship at the church alone should not sustain us. we are to be and have church wherever we go. Because God is with us always. and others will recognize that and see.

 

 

Certainly my children and I have talked a great deal about the value and the importance of being in church. As we have talked I have had confirmation, I believe. from the Lord.  As my children have shared with me the conversations they have had about God and faith. The people that they have encouraged to come and worship with us.

Showing.

 

Sharing.

 

We are salt and light! ❤

 

There are seeds being planted. There are relationships being born. This is how it all begins.

 

We simply need to be sensitive to the Lord and walk in faith that His will be done.

Shall We Agree?

It has been a bit of a dry season in my life lately. It gets tiring feeling so tired. It gets old feeling worn. And so I have been really considering what I have been feeling myself lately.

 

With my younger son on a travel hockey team this year it’s been a bit of a challenge because there are many days that games interfere with church. I admit those days that I do miss a service I feel terribly guilty but I was reminded recently that nowhere in the Bible does it tell us not to go out. We need to be the church, not simply attend a church.

 

I find this to be a bit of a relief, a reminder that we need to be out, being the church –  and yet, there is a revival and a renewing within that comes from being amongst the body of believers and feeling so powerfully and so strongly the Lord’s presence. I purpose in my heart when I am away from the House of God, to experience that same thing, to be that church, that others see and desire.

 

 

The other day, a dear sweet sister in Christ sent me a link to a teaching which I think was just what I needed for this season of my life. So many times as I listened I heard a Word of Wisdom about how we are to pray and why we are to pray. I was reminded of what the Bible truly means when it speaks about the church. Its a challenge.

 

 

 

I was reminded of the importance of not just praying the Word of God but speaking it throughout the day. A reminder of His promises and of the power that is in His word.

 

 

When I wake in the morning, what is it that I think of first? Of course it’s Jesus but after time in the Bible, after I pray and after sitting at His feet – Do I move forward in submission to Him? Complete submission? Have I heard, am I in agreement, with my God?

 

 

What a difference there is between repentance and confession. Truly we cannot have one without the other. Too often so many of us repent without ever confessing. We must confess before we can ever truly repent. Godly sorrow is what brings us to a place of repentance but we first must confess – we need to speak – agreement! We cannot repent if we do not agree – What does authority say is right?

 

 

 

 

As I was reading it occurred to me that when we confess we are speaking our agreement. So we are acknowledging that what we did was wrong and we are putting ourselves in line with his word. So confession is looking back and acknowledging that what God Said is true and we agree. Repentance is looking forward and moving forward. We cannot have God’s covering clean and white, without true repentance. We need to be forgiven so that we can be covered in His righteousness.

 

 

 

We can at times repent without really agreeing with God. Jesus said, Go and sin no more. He gives us the power to overcome sin. But wee have to want a clean and righteous walk , He isn’t going to make anyone live for Him . It’s so important for us to not just say we are sorry but truly agree with God about what is right and what is wrong and what is sin and what is not… In one Accord.

How Do We Rise?

I rise today
with the power of God to pilot me,
God’s strength to sustain me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look ahead for me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to protect me,
God’s way before me,
God’s shield to defend me,
God’s host to deliver me,
from snares of devils,
from evil temptations,
from nature’s failings,
from all who wish to harm me,
far or near,
alone and in a crowd.
—”Saint Patrick’s Breastplate,”
Old Irish, eighth-century prayer.

 

Caught or Taught?

There are many times that we have students in our home who come to study through international exchange programs. This year is no different. We have a sweet young lady from France who recently arrived. She is soft spoken, gentle, curious about all these new things she is being introduced to. Church, food, children, home learning….It is all so new and exciting for her! (and us too truth be told)

 

 

Today, to celebrate two of our children’s birthdays we headed to Green Bay; it was a day of riding amusement park rides, eating pizza and cotton candy and visiting with grandparents and great grandparents. Since we see them so seldom it is always a treat for the children to get to spend a day with them. Card games and cribbage and so much to talk about!

 

One of those things is Jesus. The great grandparents are not familiar with the joy of the Lord; they know nothing of this great life changing faith.  Nor do our exchange students most of the time. Often there are some awkward moments (mostly with my mother in law) who unfortunately (?) sees every encounter with others as an opportunity to tell them what they must do to be saved. While some may admire the way she “preaches to all” I fear it catches very few.

 

No doubt we are commanded to go and teach and preach boldly the message of the Gospel. Yet I ponder as I listened to her today telling our student and “unsaved” family about how they just dress and what they must do . .. Are we teaching or are we catching, for Jesus?

 

There is a difference. We are called to be fishers of men, We are called to teach. Certainly there are many out there who have a need. The question is, do they see this need? We can preach to every person we meet, every day, every place but if they do not see for themselves, this need for Christ…

 

Humility. It is humility that draws other to see a difference and to desire what we have. Certainly I do believe that we are to dress in a way that is pleasing to the Lord; I believe that there is a way to be saved and I have no doubt that we must be obedient to the commands of our Lord.

 

 

But what does it profit, to tell someone who does not even know Him, how they must be saved? We cannot preach modesty, spiritual gifts, salvation or any other, to those who do not yet desire the milk of the Word.

 

 

I jokingly said to someone that the difference between catching someone and teaching someone is that, when you catch them, they aren’t completely willing. Perhaps they sit and listen for a time; maybe they agree with some of what you say, but they are not seeking. They may be pacifying – seeking to keep peace – they do not feel invited though so much as they perhaps feel trapped.

 

 

Teaching on the other hand, is something that happens when someone is pursuing a curiosity. Those we meet, as we learn of them and they learn of us, we are teaching. They are teaching. We learn and share, gently, together. We show the humility of Jesus. It is our work to encourage and inspire them; just as he served so ought we to serve. In humility.

 

Perhaps there are times we believe we are being humble; we ought to be cautious though. Why are we speaking? Is it out of pride because we feel we know more? Do we speak in a way that makes our faith sound tiresome? I consider the times I have engaged in conversation about the things I do, the ways I do them … Was I glorifying Him or me?

 

 

 

Can we stop and consider if we are being gentle and patient. Let us not be as the Pharisees – telling others all that we do and seeking glory from man – let us rather show grace. To them and to one another. We all have so much to learn. As I read and study more and more about the meekness and humility of Christ, I am sure, that there is so much more I must learn. I have no doubt we must pray more and more for humility and for meekness, of Christ, within ourselves.

 

 

And so this is my prayer. I do not want to catch them. I want to walk with them. I do not want to be in a hurry. I do not want to be bothered by all that they “need” to know and to do. I want to know them, as He knows them. Learning of them as they learn of Him. Walking by faith in patience and in love. One step at a time. ❤

 

 

Who is He pouring out on?

I have been told I take things too seriously; I have been told that I go too far when it comes to this precious Word which God has given us. Yet our Pastor said, we need to be causing a bit of trouble, for the Gospel’s sake. Truth will cause those not living it to be offended, to get uncomfortable. This is not a bad thing.

 

 

As I was reading this morning in the Book of Revelation, it was so clear to me, the severity of this Word and the value of each jot and tittle within, was made ever more clear to me as I read and as I saw:

 

(Revelation 16:1 )And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon (fill in the blanks with whoever it is you know who is lost, who is backslide, who is not seeking HIs kingdom and His righteousness for their lives).

 

It IS personal. It is VERY personal. Do we speak in love? certainly I know I offend often. I strive to speak in love the responsibility that has been given us, the duty we are entrusted with….

 

Preach THE WHOLE GOSPEL. Not some. Not the pretty parts.

 

Preach about judgement, preach hell, speak truth about sin …

 

One day those vials will be opened and poured on on our family, on our friends….

People who do not know and do not believe…Perhaps because we did not open our mouths….

 

 

IF we pray, IF we seek His face, IF we turn and repent from these wicked ways….

 

We will all have to give an answer to someone, a reason for why we believe, why we hope. Let us speak that reason and that hope boldly to others.

 

He wants for none to perish – if we are the watchmen on these walls – what are we waiting for?

 

What are we doing with what we are seeing?

 

 

 

Don’t wait until you see those vials, that wrath, being poured on on your loved one.

 

 

How Often ….

 

How often do we sit and look at other posts on social media and maybe get down on ourselves? Just a bit? It’s so important for us to remember that we only see what others allow us to see. …How many of us are going to post photos of our messy homes or failed meals? Children in a tantrum?

 

 

We post what we want to share….But there is so much we never see..Before we compare ourselves and beat ourselves up over all those things others seem to do, those skills and talents others share…remember those things that they do, and that there are many things they do not do as well

 

 

 

 

 

For example, I do not:

Meal Plan
Decorate my home in lovely ways
Keep an immaculately or well organized home
Wake early in the morning
Work out at a gym
Eat as natural as I should
Keep a schedule
Volunteer
Have quiet time (ever!)
Go on fancy family vacations
Have home birth
Keep my car clean
Play with my kids
Do arts and crafts
Sew or Knit
Keep my mouth shut
Show patience and an even temper 😛
Speak softly
Have a lovely garden

 

 

This list could go on and on but I think you get the idea. I actually got this idea from another wise lady!

 

 

We look inward so we know what to look to Christ for.

 

 

Can we begin to focus on what we actually do?

 

Keeping our eyes and our focus on Him and the Kingdom of God?

 

 

So many things we do may seem small and insignificant but are very powerful!

 

 

 

Every Day

This morning was a rough morning.

I was so excited because I woke up and got downstairs to begin prayer and bible study and all my children were still in bed. I was sure this is going to be the best day ever! ( note some sarcasm in that statement).
Then I heard the yelling. And then it stopped. I breathed a sigh of relief and decided it was better to just go back to studying.

 
About that time my oldest son came downstairs and plopped in front of the computer. I reminded him that if he was going to sit there he needed to do some learning.
Once I finish my Bible study and realized that the three little ones are still in bed I decided it was going to take one of those nice hot luxurious showers. Alone. What a treat!

 

 
My shower was cut short though by blood-curdling screams which I learned when I rushed out of the shower or my older daughter and my older son fighting over breakfast food. (Big sigh)

 

 
At the same time I looked over to see both my laptop and my Bible swimming in a pool of coffee. My daughter had knocked over my coffee cup while she was fighting over breakfast with her brother. And here it’s all just sitting soaking in the coffee.

 

 

I didn’t yell. I didn’t scream. I’m so proud of myself. Instead I told my two children to go get towels and clean up the mess on the table and the floor underneath. I move my Bible and my computer so that I could drive them as best as possible and I advised the children to sit down at the table when they were done cleaning up their mess.
I took a deep breath and then I began to sing words that only God could have put in my mind at this moment.

 

 

 

 

” Everyday With You Lord is sweeter than the day before….” 

I had to laugh a bit because everyday really is sweeter than the day before. If for no other reason than because tomorrow is never promised to us. Each gift and every trial is a gift of God.

 

 

In every situation let us lay our burdens down at his feet and trust in him and walk Faithfully declaring that everyday is sweeter because of Jesus.