As I have been doing, I am going to share my life as an open book this morning. I believe transparency in being a Christian is of the utmost importance, which is probably why I struggle with it so much at times. If it were easy to be transparent and let everyone see all your faults, fears, and problems, everyone would be like that...because it gives you great freedom from deception. When I committed my life to Christ last year, the Lord told me to just let people see everything about me, good and bad. He told me to confess my sins openly with others, and to ask others for their forgiveness when I have done wrong to them, even in the smallest of things. At this time, I was so thankful for the forgiveness God had given me and I was full of joy and peace about everything. I was lacking fear of man because I had such great fear of God, there was no room in my life to care about what others thought of me. It would be great to sit here and say I stayed that way until today, but that would not be the truth.
In my former life and creation, I was a liar. I lied about big and small things, and I was full of deception with the people in my life. When I got saved, God freed from the desire and need to lie to cover up my conscience about the things I had done wrong. God gave me freedom, knowing that my salvation lies in His righteousness, not my own. He gave me the courage to begin to live openly and with transparency in everything I did. I admit, many people did not like it, and some outwardly opposed everything that I was...but I was shining bright the light of Jesus and His message of hope. I did not have a lot of friends in the beginning of being a Christian, but I followed a deep call and purpose that God had given me to tell the TRUTH. Well, over the past year, things have started to decline. This year, while God was growing me spiritually, I began to make Christian friends and be accepted by people fully for the first time in my life. I felt I was doing something right and the benefits were being favored and honored by man. The truth is, God is doing good things in my life. I began to become prideful. I began to focus too much on what man thought of me, and not enough on what God thinks. I could feel myself going farther and farther away from God. He would keep saying to me "I am with you." He has been saying that to me for months to let me know He is right here. I have still been reading my Bible every day, going to church twice a week, doing two Bible studies, and praying every day. I have not walked away from God in the sense of turning my back on Him, but in the process of everything, I moved away from Him spiritually. I kept thinking, how did this happen? I am DOING everything to stay close to Him. But my heart was not where it once was. I was worrying about women not seeing me at Bible study, or not going to this person's party or function, or visiting so-and-so. I got so socially adept that it was crowding out God.
And then I began to sin because of it. Instead of just being truthful about the fact that my life was so crazy and spinning out of control, and regaining control over it by saying "No" to people. I just began to let people run my life. I became a people pleaser to the point where I was blowing off one friend to spend time with another...and there just weren't enough hours in the day to meet all the needs of EVERYONE! I began to get tired, feel dull spiritually, and cry out to God to help me. One of my friends was with me shopping one day and read an article about "People pleasing" from a Christian magazine. I began to realize that I had a problem, and it was affecting every area of my life. Was I meaning in my heart to be wicked and disobey God? NO. I thought I was doing good because I was putting myself in a position to meet more people and tell them about Christ. I did tell people about Christ along the way, and there has been fruit for God from this time of my life, so I know I am still abiding in Christ....but it began to be too much for me.
I just kept hearing myself telling my friends "I am just SO busy, I am sorry I can't do this or that." As God began to refine this out of me, I began saying no to people. It was one of the hardest things I have done. But I also started hiding from people that wanted me to do something with them. I would just not call them, or not answer my phone. Having spent most of my life being rejected by people because of the things I did, I was falling right back into the same lifestyle. Instead of facing the truth and just telling them that I couldn't do something, or volunteer for something, or be somewhere....I just made myself hidden. I even began to tell "white lies" (which are still LIES) to people about what had happened, placing the blame mostly on someone else. I began to shirk responsibility. I began to become disinterested in meeting with God as much because I knew I was sinning in my heart. I knew what I should be doing (sort of, but I was confused) and I would feel more distant from God. I even found myself lying to the people of God about things I had done or not done, and thinking to myself "I just lied to God's Spirit in them," like Ananias and Sapphira who got struck dead for lying to the Holy Spirit. This is dangerous ground.
So, last night, God convicted me deeply of my sins. I began to weep when I realized how bad I had gotten in my sin. I realized I had stumbled because I had just looked a sister in Christ in the eyes and lied to her. This was not the Sarah that was a new creation in Christ, this reminded me TOO much of the Sarah I used to be. I know there are probably many people out there wondering when the "old me" would pop up and I would go back to my old ways....because people don't just change overnight....or DO THEY? You see, even though I stumbled in my walk with Christ, I know that God is faithful to forgive me once again. In my old life, I would have kept it all a secret thinking "If nobody ever figures it out, then it will not hurt anyone" but deception always hurts people! God has convicted me, so that I may confess my sins openly to Him and others, and ask for their forgiveness. This frees me from carrying the burden of my sin, and gives me another chance to live a holy and blameless life before God. Not only that, but I believed God allowed me to go down this road once again to free me from the need to please man, which led me into sin. I never have had one malicious thought of hurting someone on purpose. I lied because I DIDN'T want to hurt others...but in the Light, all things become visible, and in God's Light last night of my sister in Christ....He did just that. It is amazing how one word can bring down a person. My friend looked me in the eye and called me out about my busyness, and how it had kept me from her. She did not know I had lied to her....although I wrote her and confessed my sin against her. It will be her decision through the love of God inside of her to decide when and whether to forgive me. Lying brings a great cost...loss of trust and possible loss of relationship with others. I believe that is one reason why deception hurts the heart of God SO MUCH. Our lies to Him when we deny our sin keep us from being restored to a right relationship with Him, and He knows the eternal consequences of the deception (self and otherwise) in our lives. It is deception that caused the fall of man, and made Him sacrifice His own Son for our sins, and continues to destroy our relationships to this day. Satan catches us where we are weakest, and this was always a great weakness for me. Satan knows that, and He used busyness to deceptively bring me back to a place where I would lie to cover up my wrongdoing. He is truly conniving, and the father of lies.
BUT.... God is an overcomer! God said He overcame the world when He died on the cross for my sins, and He will not let go of me, even when I am in within reach of Satan's destruction of my life and relationships. I wept last night as I admitted to God that I was wrong and I had sinned against Him, His body, and others. He told me to ask for the forgiveness of those that I had sinned against, and I have done this. So...if you have not received an email from me, then it means you are not one I sinned against. There is really one, the one I was confronted with last night (by the grace of God) that I had willingly sinned against because of my shame. As a compliment to her walk with God, I probably avoided her because I KNEW being the Presence of God in her life would convict me of my sin. I didn't want to be "found out" but God outed me anyway through His conviction of the Holy Spirit. Praise God! Today, I am free again from the grip of Satan and can continue in right fellowship with the body of Christ and God Himself. I will be praying and hoping for forgiveness, but I know that it is up to each person to decide whether to extend it.
But now, I have to trust God to help me change the things in my life which have caused the problem. I will need to cut back on activities, spend more time at home with my family, and stop being SO busy. I need to be obedient to God's voice and His leading in my life. I need to be trustworthy and true to others again. I need to learn to say "No" when necessary, knowing the result of always saying "Yes" to people, and the problems that go along with it. Turning this corner might be the first time in my life when I felt FREE from people pleasing and the need to be perfect in front of others. I need to let others step up and take responsibility, starting my walk with God, then my home, and then with ministry. There is such a shortage of servants in the house of God that often times, those of us who love to serve God end up doing way too much. The body of Christ needs laborers (all over) to step up and begin to serve, so the workload can be evenly distributed between all believers. Christ said that the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. He prophesied this problem in the body 2000 years ago. Please step in your local body and serve God, not only to honor and glorify Him (first), but to help those brothers and sisters who need more time at home, and need to stop saying YES to everything because no one else will.
Lord,
I thank you today for your great forgiveness of sin. You truly are a merciful God, and your love endures forever. Today, I will give thanks to the Lord because He is good. I am truly sorry again for having done wrong to you and others, and I thank you that you have faithfully forgiven me. Please give the strength and love to those I have hurt through deception to forgive me as well. I pray that you would restore anything that has been damaged, and that you would receive all honor and glory in doing so. I thank you for never letting go of me, and loving me enough to chasten and discipline me. You say you discipline the son you love, and I am grateful for your discipline in my life! Without it, I would be lost and on my way to hell. Thank you for being the Good Sheperd and for using the rod to bring me back to the safety of Your Presence. Thank you for giving me the courage to confess my sins to others, and to share this experience on this blog, so that others might have courage to confess their sins as well, and be forgiven by You and others. Lord, I pray today for the salvation of every reader that does not know you. I pray that you would show them again through your Word that you give salvation freely to all who come and accept Christ as their Lord and Savior. They CAN live in peace, and joy in You. And you promise that you will never leave or forsake those your children. Thank you for not leaving me nor forsaking me, even though I have sinned against you. I pray that you would bless me richly with the spirit of Truth, and keep my mouth from uttering any falsehood from this day forward. Help me to be strong in saying NO to those things which are not ordained by you. Help me to acknowledge You in everything I do, and not to sit in the counsel of the wicked. Make me holy as you are holy. I pray these things in the precious and wonderful name of Christ, Amen.
Washed Clean in His Blood,
Sarah
Friday, October 31, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Unity in the Body
As many of you know who have been following my blog, I have been going through a pretty tough season of growing in my knowledge and understanding of the Lord and His plans for my life. I have to admit openly that this time has revealed many different areas of sin in my life, and I have battled discouragement and even loss of faith at times, but God is in control of my life, and I believe He is going to bring me through this spiritual darkness. He is faithful when we are faithless.
I am learning a great truth about how each different part of the body of Christ is important, and how much God desires unity in all parts of the body. He is calling us to join together and be united under His Banner. We need to become a unified army following His will, and edifying one another instead of tearing each other down. It can be hard because the pentecostals are very much into the Presence of the Lord, and His power, and the manifestation of the spiritual gifts in spirit-filled services. The more traditional and reserved denominations may look down upon the way we experience God, and follow His written will from the Bible, but everything we do is scriptural. In the same way, I have attended services from these other denominations where I feel completely limited in my expressions of worshipping God and hindered by the structure of the service. I believe God made a place for all of us within the body. He has created me to fit into the body with the gifts, and the heart He has given me. He has created some of my brothers and sisters differently with different gifts and callings on their lives. Does this mean that I will not worship OUR Lord together? Absolutely not. We must learn to be all things to all men.
1 Corinthians 9:19-23 (NKJV):
"For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; to the weak, I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. Now this I do for the gospel's sake, that I may be partaker of it with you."
The Lord has really been illuminating scriptures regarding unity of the body, and how we are to act as Christians to shine the Light of Christ into the world. I was watching a television show today called "Trading Spouses" where a Christian woman and a New Age woman switched households. I get frustrated usually with some of the shows on TV, but this one caught my attention. I wanted to see how the Christian woman would act when put into a brood of sinners who had not repented from their occultic practices and New Age ideas, including mediums, psychics, tarot cards (divination), etc. I am sure it was a very difficult situation for this Christian woman. The show represents both sides of the story, as the New Age woman had to deal with the critical nature of the Christian women friends of the Christian spouse. The Christian spouse was tested to see how she would respond to being with a group of people who did not know Christ as their Lord and Savior. It showed the Christian woman having a meltdown when being confronted with a pyschic, and storming out the room. It showed Christian women treating the New Age woman as if she was straight from hell. I know the scriptures concerning the righteous sitting in the counsel of the wicked, and I agree with these women holding their ground in defending the Christian faith. But, I was quite disappointed with my Christian sisters who utterly rejected the woman who was clearly outnumbered, and did not receive her with love and compassion. If anything, they pushed her further away from Christianity by not conveying the love of Christ. Granted, I did not probably see everything because the show is edited....but there was a clear message. In the same way, the Christian spouse reacted very strongly (and in fear) of those who did not know Christ. She rejected them, not only just their sinful ways. We must remember that we were once counted with the wicked, and we are Redeemed by the blood of Christ, that is not of ourselves, lest we should boast. We need to stop rejecting the opportunities we have to shine the love of Christ (His Light) into the lives of those who do not know Him. They are simply blinded by their sin. We are no better than they are, except that God had mercy upon us and we received Him. We have not earned our position or salvation. Stop treating sinners as if they are somehow lower in status than you. Invite them to meet Christ!
I am not trying to pick on these women, they are my sisters in Christ, and I know that we all have our weaknesses, but it made a clear point about problems facing the body of Christ, and our effectiveness in witnessing God's salvation to a lost and dying world. Our own infighting and divisions are clearly not attractive to the world around us. When they see discord and chaos within our body, it looks a lot like the world we live in. We need to be living by the Word of God, which will shine Light into the world, and we need to be unified to do that! We are misrepresenting the gospel message of salvation and peace through Jesus Christ, and we are more worried about what the other denominations are doing than what we are doing to fulfill the great commission, and follow the two greatest commandments! I admit that I am part of the problem, and I am not presuming to be any better than any other person. We all need to learn and practice humility, and let Christ be glorified in our lives! Only then will we see the greatest harvest this world has ever known! Christ is bringing unity to the body this very day, and He is calling us to grow past our minor differences, and focus on the fact that we are all in love with and following Him! I encourage you today to look around you, see the people of the Christian faith who follow Christ differently than you do, and accept them in unity. I know I am going to make more effort to look into the lives and hearts of my brothers and sisters that seem to be unlike myself, and realize that the Spirit of Christ inside of us all (The Holy Spirit) unifies us once and for all. He is coming soon for His bride, and I want to be ready, but I want ALL OF US to be ready together so that He may receive a holy and blameless bride to Himself!
I know we are not yet perfected in His image, but we are being made like Him from glory to glory. However, this is what we can do:
Mark 12:28-31 (NKJV):
"Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, 'Which is the first commandment of all?' Jesus answered him, 'The first of all commandments is: Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these."
Ephesians 4:1-3 (NKJV):
"I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."
These are the things we can do to love God, love one another, and be patient, gentle, longsuffering and unified in the Spirit, in peace! Unfortunately, I believe we have a long way to go as a body before this is a reality as a whole among Christians. I challenge you this week to follow these commandments and accept a brother/sister in Christ who seems to follow and worship God differently than you do. Let love and peace prevail in the body of Christ, and Christ will be glorified through us!
Lord,
Today, I thank you for your patience, gentleness and longsuffering with your often ailing bride. I come to you confessing that I have been party to division and I am sorry for causing strife in your Body. Please forgive my great sin. I thank you that you are currently working worldwide to unify Christians; those who believe in your holy name! Please continue to guide us as a body and help us to love You more, and love each other as ourselves. Help us to know what true and lasting peace can be found in You, and to constantly strive to keep unity in the body. I pray today that you would cast out any divisions, discord, strife or dissensions within the body of Christ, and let your Holy Spirit teach us your Word, that it may be written on our hearts and we will not sin against you. Teach us your perfect will, and guide us in how to carry it out. We need Your mercy, God! Thank You for Your promise to return and gather those of us who believe unto Yourself, and be a holy nation nation of priests. Please prepare us to serve and worship you for all eternity in a way that is pleasing to You, God! I pray today for your wisdom throughout the body, and that you would raise up, anoint, and guide leaders who can teach us Your ways of righteousness. I know that your Word says we do not need a teacher because we have Your Holy Spirit...and I thank You for sending Him to us! Please watch over and guide this coming election process, and bring Your selected candidate into power. The Word says that You choose and put into power the kings of the earth. I pray that you would give us a righteous king who will return the country of America to biblical virtues, and turn the hearts of these people back to you, Lord. Please continue to bring our country to national repentance, and turn away your anger and wrath from us. Many of us in the body recognize that You are planning to judge America for her great sin, and I pray that you would be patient and longsuffering and give us time to unite as a body and cry out for repentance among our people! May Your Holy Spirit sweep across our nation and humble all, that they would fall to their knees and recognize that You are the one true God and every knee will bow before You on the great and dreadful Day of the Lord. Thank you for staying your wrath until more come to repentance and salvation in your Son, Jesus Christ! I pray that you would quicken the hearts of Your people to pray, and continue to do Your will! I pray in Jesus name, giving You all honor and glory!
Fellow members of the body of Christ, I ask that you unite under the Banner of Christ and vote righteously in the upcoming election. This is a turning point in our country, so let's pray that heart and values of our country would be turned back to God's will! If you fast and pray, consider fasting and praying over this election 2008. God bless you richly in the name of Jesus for your faithfulness!
Seeking to do His will,
Sarah
I am learning a great truth about how each different part of the body of Christ is important, and how much God desires unity in all parts of the body. He is calling us to join together and be united under His Banner. We need to become a unified army following His will, and edifying one another instead of tearing each other down. It can be hard because the pentecostals are very much into the Presence of the Lord, and His power, and the manifestation of the spiritual gifts in spirit-filled services. The more traditional and reserved denominations may look down upon the way we experience God, and follow His written will from the Bible, but everything we do is scriptural. In the same way, I have attended services from these other denominations where I feel completely limited in my expressions of worshipping God and hindered by the structure of the service. I believe God made a place for all of us within the body. He has created me to fit into the body with the gifts, and the heart He has given me. He has created some of my brothers and sisters differently with different gifts and callings on their lives. Does this mean that I will not worship OUR Lord together? Absolutely not. We must learn to be all things to all men.
1 Corinthians 9:19-23 (NKJV):
"For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; to the weak, I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. Now this I do for the gospel's sake, that I may be partaker of it with you."
The Lord has really been illuminating scriptures regarding unity of the body, and how we are to act as Christians to shine the Light of Christ into the world. I was watching a television show today called "Trading Spouses" where a Christian woman and a New Age woman switched households. I get frustrated usually with some of the shows on TV, but this one caught my attention. I wanted to see how the Christian woman would act when put into a brood of sinners who had not repented from their occultic practices and New Age ideas, including mediums, psychics, tarot cards (divination), etc. I am sure it was a very difficult situation for this Christian woman. The show represents both sides of the story, as the New Age woman had to deal with the critical nature of the Christian women friends of the Christian spouse. The Christian spouse was tested to see how she would respond to being with a group of people who did not know Christ as their Lord and Savior. It showed the Christian woman having a meltdown when being confronted with a pyschic, and storming out the room. It showed Christian women treating the New Age woman as if she was straight from hell. I know the scriptures concerning the righteous sitting in the counsel of the wicked, and I agree with these women holding their ground in defending the Christian faith. But, I was quite disappointed with my Christian sisters who utterly rejected the woman who was clearly outnumbered, and did not receive her with love and compassion. If anything, they pushed her further away from Christianity by not conveying the love of Christ. Granted, I did not probably see everything because the show is edited....but there was a clear message. In the same way, the Christian spouse reacted very strongly (and in fear) of those who did not know Christ. She rejected them, not only just their sinful ways. We must remember that we were once counted with the wicked, and we are Redeemed by the blood of Christ, that is not of ourselves, lest we should boast. We need to stop rejecting the opportunities we have to shine the love of Christ (His Light) into the lives of those who do not know Him. They are simply blinded by their sin. We are no better than they are, except that God had mercy upon us and we received Him. We have not earned our position or salvation. Stop treating sinners as if they are somehow lower in status than you. Invite them to meet Christ!
I am not trying to pick on these women, they are my sisters in Christ, and I know that we all have our weaknesses, but it made a clear point about problems facing the body of Christ, and our effectiveness in witnessing God's salvation to a lost and dying world. Our own infighting and divisions are clearly not attractive to the world around us. When they see discord and chaos within our body, it looks a lot like the world we live in. We need to be living by the Word of God, which will shine Light into the world, and we need to be unified to do that! We are misrepresenting the gospel message of salvation and peace through Jesus Christ, and we are more worried about what the other denominations are doing than what we are doing to fulfill the great commission, and follow the two greatest commandments! I admit that I am part of the problem, and I am not presuming to be any better than any other person. We all need to learn and practice humility, and let Christ be glorified in our lives! Only then will we see the greatest harvest this world has ever known! Christ is bringing unity to the body this very day, and He is calling us to grow past our minor differences, and focus on the fact that we are all in love with and following Him! I encourage you today to look around you, see the people of the Christian faith who follow Christ differently than you do, and accept them in unity. I know I am going to make more effort to look into the lives and hearts of my brothers and sisters that seem to be unlike myself, and realize that the Spirit of Christ inside of us all (The Holy Spirit) unifies us once and for all. He is coming soon for His bride, and I want to be ready, but I want ALL OF US to be ready together so that He may receive a holy and blameless bride to Himself!
I know we are not yet perfected in His image, but we are being made like Him from glory to glory. However, this is what we can do:
Mark 12:28-31 (NKJV):
"Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, 'Which is the first commandment of all?' Jesus answered him, 'The first of all commandments is: Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these."
Ephesians 4:1-3 (NKJV):
"I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."
These are the things we can do to love God, love one another, and be patient, gentle, longsuffering and unified in the Spirit, in peace! Unfortunately, I believe we have a long way to go as a body before this is a reality as a whole among Christians. I challenge you this week to follow these commandments and accept a brother/sister in Christ who seems to follow and worship God differently than you do. Let love and peace prevail in the body of Christ, and Christ will be glorified through us!
Lord,
Today, I thank you for your patience, gentleness and longsuffering with your often ailing bride. I come to you confessing that I have been party to division and I am sorry for causing strife in your Body. Please forgive my great sin. I thank you that you are currently working worldwide to unify Christians; those who believe in your holy name! Please continue to guide us as a body and help us to love You more, and love each other as ourselves. Help us to know what true and lasting peace can be found in You, and to constantly strive to keep unity in the body. I pray today that you would cast out any divisions, discord, strife or dissensions within the body of Christ, and let your Holy Spirit teach us your Word, that it may be written on our hearts and we will not sin against you. Teach us your perfect will, and guide us in how to carry it out. We need Your mercy, God! Thank You for Your promise to return and gather those of us who believe unto Yourself, and be a holy nation nation of priests. Please prepare us to serve and worship you for all eternity in a way that is pleasing to You, God! I pray today for your wisdom throughout the body, and that you would raise up, anoint, and guide leaders who can teach us Your ways of righteousness. I know that your Word says we do not need a teacher because we have Your Holy Spirit...and I thank You for sending Him to us! Please watch over and guide this coming election process, and bring Your selected candidate into power. The Word says that You choose and put into power the kings of the earth. I pray that you would give us a righteous king who will return the country of America to biblical virtues, and turn the hearts of these people back to you, Lord. Please continue to bring our country to national repentance, and turn away your anger and wrath from us. Many of us in the body recognize that You are planning to judge America for her great sin, and I pray that you would be patient and longsuffering and give us time to unite as a body and cry out for repentance among our people! May Your Holy Spirit sweep across our nation and humble all, that they would fall to their knees and recognize that You are the one true God and every knee will bow before You on the great and dreadful Day of the Lord. Thank you for staying your wrath until more come to repentance and salvation in your Son, Jesus Christ! I pray that you would quicken the hearts of Your people to pray, and continue to do Your will! I pray in Jesus name, giving You all honor and glory!
Fellow members of the body of Christ, I ask that you unite under the Banner of Christ and vote righteously in the upcoming election. This is a turning point in our country, so let's pray that heart and values of our country would be turned back to God's will! If you fast and pray, consider fasting and praying over this election 2008. God bless you richly in the name of Jesus for your faithfulness!
Seeking to do His will,
Sarah
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Children are Gifts from God
I am thrilled to anounce big news in our family! My brother and sister in law are expecting their first child. The pregnancy is about halfway through and they went to have the ultrasound to determine the sex of the baby....and the baby is a BOY. I have been awaiting the arrival of their first child since 2002, when my own daughter, Mariah, was born. I believe Shane and Laura are very well suited for parenthood, and I am sure their child will be blessed beyond measure. I just want to share this morning some wonderful words from God about having children, and what they mean to Him.
Psalm 127:3-4 (NIV):
"Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons borne in one's youth."
Each and every child is special because it is created by the very hands of God. God forms the baby in the woman, and already has a plan for that child's life. We are blessed each and every day in the presence of our children, as they learn from us, and also TEACH us new things about life. I am so excited to know that Shane and Laura will experience all the blessings of being parents to this beautiful new son. God bless them richly in the name of Jesus!
Shane and La,
I LOVE YOU BOTH so very much!
Lord,
Today I thank you that you are full of wisdom and you know the perfect timing to bless us with children in our lives. You tell us that children are a reward, so I thank you for rewarding Shane and Laura with this coming child. I thank you that you will continue to love them each and every day, and I ask that you give them wisdom in the way to raise your child. Bless them today with patience and kindness, joy and peace. After sleepless nights, grant them rest. Show them that you are with them through it all! I thank you for the blessing that this child will be on our entire family - both sides. He is going to grow full of wisdom and strength. Bless him with humor! I pray right now that you would raise up this son of yours to be a mighty man of God. I pray that you will guide Shane and Laura through each day of their lives, and that you would show them how to train a child up in the way he should go....for when he is old, he will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6). Give their family exceedingly abundantly more than they could ever think or ask for, in the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
Blessed with a nephew,
Sarah
Psalm 127:3-4 (NIV):
"Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons borne in one's youth."
Each and every child is special because it is created by the very hands of God. God forms the baby in the woman, and already has a plan for that child's life. We are blessed each and every day in the presence of our children, as they learn from us, and also TEACH us new things about life. I am so excited to know that Shane and Laura will experience all the blessings of being parents to this beautiful new son. God bless them richly in the name of Jesus!
Shane and La,
I LOVE YOU BOTH so very much!
Lord,
Today I thank you that you are full of wisdom and you know the perfect timing to bless us with children in our lives. You tell us that children are a reward, so I thank you for rewarding Shane and Laura with this coming child. I thank you that you will continue to love them each and every day, and I ask that you give them wisdom in the way to raise your child. Bless them today with patience and kindness, joy and peace. After sleepless nights, grant them rest. Show them that you are with them through it all! I thank you for the blessing that this child will be on our entire family - both sides. He is going to grow full of wisdom and strength. Bless him with humor! I pray right now that you would raise up this son of yours to be a mighty man of God. I pray that you will guide Shane and Laura through each day of their lives, and that you would show them how to train a child up in the way he should go....for when he is old, he will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6). Give their family exceedingly abundantly more than they could ever think or ask for, in the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
Blessed with a nephew,
Sarah
Friday, October 24, 2008
Blessed and Highly Favored
Today, I ran into a dear sister in the Lord in the commissary. God always has the most amazing divine appointments laid out for me. I thought I was going to get some hot dogs, but I really was there to receive encouragement from the Lord. Since the Lord revealed the sin of pride in my life, I have been praying for and seeking humility before man and God. The Lord has shown me how He keeps working in circumstances, even when I am flopping on the floor, rendering myself useless to Him. Have you ever been there?
I often hear from my sisters in Christ that I am "blessed and highly favored." For a long time, I wondered what that even meant, as I sometimes do not "feel" favored and blessed by God. Today, I was pondering this phrase after hearing it, and realized how blessed and highly favored I really am! Yes, I lost a child in the miscarriage a short while ago. That did not feel like a blessing at the time, but the blessing was that God used tribulation in my life to cause His greatness in me to emerge. Through it, I kept telling people that I had great peace and joy...that was the only way to explain how I felt inside. I knew in my rational mind that I could have been mourning deeply, or upset over the loss, but instead....I praised the Lord for glorifying Himself through my life. As I praised Him, He filled my heart with joy and peace, and made a very difficult time easier to endure. And even though I do not have ANOTHER child, I am blessed beyond measure with the family God HAS given me. He has given me a husband who loves me deeply, amazing and beautiful children, and the life I always dreamed about having. He has blessed me with a peace that surpasses all understanding, and helps me to endure the harder trials of life. He has given me a home, a purpose in life, and the physical health to keep up with all the responsibilities He has placed in my life. He has blessed me with comfort, faith in Him, and most of all.....LOVE that I could not even begin to explain. He has blessed me with the desire to seek Him, and enabled me spiritually to be full of zeal and passion for His Word. The list of blessings could go on and on. He has pulled me out of the pit, and given me abundant life, in doing exceedingly, abundantly more than I could ever think or ask for. He is a great God and I love Him very much.
I just wanted to write today and give Him thanks for what He has already done in my life. I think many times, we are looking so vigorously toward the future that we forget to stop and thank God for everything He has done in the past. Every once in awhile, I will have a memory come into my mind of a place I have been, or something I did in the past that was wrong, and I can feel the fear, pain and shame rolling back into my heart. But then, God steps into my thoughts and helps to stop me from dwelling on the past. Many times, I say out loud "I am just not going to think about that, God has forgiven me." I do mourn over my prior sinfulness because I know it hurt God, but I also do not spend time thinking about it because I know He knows my thoughts. The Word says we should take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. I know where I came from, but I also know who God has made me to be, and that is where I get confidence from. I know that I am becoming the woman God created me to be, and every step of the way, I am blessed and highly favored....as are all of you who have been chosen by the Lord, and accepted His call on your life to bring glory to His name. If you have received salvation in Jesus Christ, you are blessed and highly favored in that one thing alone.
I would encourage you today to take a minute or two, and just thank the Lord, give Him praise for what He has done in your life. Remember for but a moment the land out of which He delivered you, and gaze into the future with hope of the promised land where He is taking you. People who say the Old Testament is no longer relevant have not spent enough time reading and getting to know the God of the Old Testament (which is the same God as the New Testament). He is a mighty Deliverer, and He has been our Savior since before the creation of this world. There is no other God but Him. He is our Everything! We are blessed and highly favored that He even chose to create us in the first place. Give Him thanks with a grateful heart.
Psalm 30:4 (NKJV):
"Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of His, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name."
Proverbs 11:27 (NKJV):
"He who earnestly seeks good finds favor, But trouble will come to him who seeks evil."
If you want to know more about the blessings of obedience to God's commands, read Deuteronomy 28:1-14. Know that, in this passage, He was speaking to Israel, but now these promises have been extended to the Gentiles (non-Jews), and God is the same yesterday, today and forever. If you want God's blessing on your life, pray that God would strengthen you to follow all of his commandments carefully.
I pray that each of you finds blessing and favor in the eyes of the Lord. May He bless your land richly and show you His favor and love once again in the name of Jesus. I thank God for the blessings and favor in my own life, and pray that He would continue to empower me to live out His will, and follow His commands obediently. I pray in Jesus name, Amen.
Blessed and Highly Favored,
Sarah
I often hear from my sisters in Christ that I am "blessed and highly favored." For a long time, I wondered what that even meant, as I sometimes do not "feel" favored and blessed by God. Today, I was pondering this phrase after hearing it, and realized how blessed and highly favored I really am! Yes, I lost a child in the miscarriage a short while ago. That did not feel like a blessing at the time, but the blessing was that God used tribulation in my life to cause His greatness in me to emerge. Through it, I kept telling people that I had great peace and joy...that was the only way to explain how I felt inside. I knew in my rational mind that I could have been mourning deeply, or upset over the loss, but instead....I praised the Lord for glorifying Himself through my life. As I praised Him, He filled my heart with joy and peace, and made a very difficult time easier to endure. And even though I do not have ANOTHER child, I am blessed beyond measure with the family God HAS given me. He has given me a husband who loves me deeply, amazing and beautiful children, and the life I always dreamed about having. He has blessed me with a peace that surpasses all understanding, and helps me to endure the harder trials of life. He has given me a home, a purpose in life, and the physical health to keep up with all the responsibilities He has placed in my life. He has blessed me with comfort, faith in Him, and most of all.....LOVE that I could not even begin to explain. He has blessed me with the desire to seek Him, and enabled me spiritually to be full of zeal and passion for His Word. The list of blessings could go on and on. He has pulled me out of the pit, and given me abundant life, in doing exceedingly, abundantly more than I could ever think or ask for. He is a great God and I love Him very much.
I just wanted to write today and give Him thanks for what He has already done in my life. I think many times, we are looking so vigorously toward the future that we forget to stop and thank God for everything He has done in the past. Every once in awhile, I will have a memory come into my mind of a place I have been, or something I did in the past that was wrong, and I can feel the fear, pain and shame rolling back into my heart. But then, God steps into my thoughts and helps to stop me from dwelling on the past. Many times, I say out loud "I am just not going to think about that, God has forgiven me." I do mourn over my prior sinfulness because I know it hurt God, but I also do not spend time thinking about it because I know He knows my thoughts. The Word says we should take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. I know where I came from, but I also know who God has made me to be, and that is where I get confidence from. I know that I am becoming the woman God created me to be, and every step of the way, I am blessed and highly favored....as are all of you who have been chosen by the Lord, and accepted His call on your life to bring glory to His name. If you have received salvation in Jesus Christ, you are blessed and highly favored in that one thing alone.
I would encourage you today to take a minute or two, and just thank the Lord, give Him praise for what He has done in your life. Remember for but a moment the land out of which He delivered you, and gaze into the future with hope of the promised land where He is taking you. People who say the Old Testament is no longer relevant have not spent enough time reading and getting to know the God of the Old Testament (which is the same God as the New Testament). He is a mighty Deliverer, and He has been our Savior since before the creation of this world. There is no other God but Him. He is our Everything! We are blessed and highly favored that He even chose to create us in the first place. Give Him thanks with a grateful heart.
Psalm 30:4 (NKJV):
"Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of His, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name."
Proverbs 11:27 (NKJV):
"He who earnestly seeks good finds favor, But trouble will come to him who seeks evil."
If you want to know more about the blessings of obedience to God's commands, read Deuteronomy 28:1-14. Know that, in this passage, He was speaking to Israel, but now these promises have been extended to the Gentiles (non-Jews), and God is the same yesterday, today and forever. If you want God's blessing on your life, pray that God would strengthen you to follow all of his commandments carefully.
I pray that each of you finds blessing and favor in the eyes of the Lord. May He bless your land richly and show you His favor and love once again in the name of Jesus. I thank God for the blessings and favor in my own life, and pray that He would continue to empower me to live out His will, and follow His commands obediently. I pray in Jesus name, Amen.
Blessed and Highly Favored,
Sarah
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Pride Creates Separation from God's Presence
Good morning, readers and hearers of God's Word! I have been spending my time in worship of the Almighty God this morning, and I kept going back to a song called "Consuming Fire" by Third Day. As I sang it back to God, and acknowledged the greatness of who He is, I had a revelation about God's character and the nature of His relationship with us. You see, I have been going through a very unusual and strange feeling season with God, and after a season of amazing grace showering down on my life....I seemed to be swimming upstream against the current. I have been praying and seeking God, and worshipping Him, and doing everything basically the same as I have before....but something just seems distant and different about my relationship with God. He seemed to be farther away...and I could not figure out why. I have come to realize that there was one serious problem with where my walk was going....I had become prideful. One of the challenges of seeing God do miracles, and work powerfully in your life is that the enemy uses pride to draw you away from God. This time, pride manifested in thinking that I was just "doing good in my walk" and that I didn't really need to put as much effort into seeking God as before. Everything seemed to be going so smoothly. I started to get lazy, apathetic, and just expect God to move without my obedience in some areas. As ugly as it sounds, I also began believing that God had positioned me to teach others about Him, without having to obey everything myself. Sounds pretty ugly, huh?
God is revealing ugly parts of my sinful nature because He wants to refine me through His fire, and make me into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ. I am a long way from being "Christ-like." To be honest, I wanted to stop writing this blog yesterday when I realized how my attitude of writing may have affected the advancement of my brothers and sisters in their walks with Christ, or in leading them to His love and forgiveness. I want to make clear that, although I hear from God, and I walk with Him....I am not Him. I am still in the flesh, and I am going to make mistakes, and get a bad attitude sometimes, and act stubbornly or selfishly. I have struggled with almost every possible sin at one point or another, and I still am being perfected by the grace of God. The Word presented in this blog, and the ideas are to be taken and measured against the Holy Scriptures. One should never just take "my word for it" but should be driven into the arms of the One, Perfect, True, Loving God. He is perfect, but I am not. The words here are intended by myself and by God to draw you into a deeper relationship with Him! I sincerely apologize for the times when my own sin may have muttled the message from God. I humbly ask for each and every one of your forgiveness.
God showed me this morning that pride is unacceptable in our lives because there is only One who is Worthy of praise, and that is the Lord God Almighty! Why is He worthy of praise....just read the Word and you will find His goodness and His majesty, and His perfection! He has never sinned, and He is above all of the worldly things that we face. He humbled Himself to come down to us, walking in the flesh as Jesus. He allowed His own creation to murder Him on the cross, and then through His great love, rose from the dead....providing salvation for all of us who follow in the path of believing in Him, dying to ourselves, and rising as a new creation in Christ. It was His great love, mercy and compassion on fallen people to rescue us from the pit of hell. He judges peoples and nations in perfect justice according to heavenly law that came down to earth through Moses. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). When we have pride in our lives, we are like Lucifer, who now is called Satan who thought he could be better at being God than the Father God already was. He rebelled against God and was cast out of heaven for his pride and rebellion. God IS, and ALWAYS WILL BE, the only One who is worthy of praise. We will never be above God, no matter how hard we try, because we are only receiving salvation through His grace and mercy in our lives. Without Him, we would all be headed for eternal damnation....so I believe He is worthy of our praise and thanksgiving!
The Word tells us that God reaches down into the miry clay (Psalm 40:2) and He saves us. He sets us high upon the Rock (Psalm 27:5). I know from personal testimony that God is my Savior. He took me from a life of misery, failure, and despair....and He set me high upon the Rock of Jesus. He has given me peace, joy and immeasurable hope in Him. He has blessed me beyond anything I could imagine, and I praise Him that I am here to write to you all another day. My life is but a vapor (James 4:14), but God has plans for this world and I am thankful that He has chosen to use me for His glory! Any knowledge or wisdom that I have is nothing without the Presence of His Holy Spirit teaching me all things. I have confessed my sin to Him and He has been faithful to me to forgive me and restore peace to my soul. Praise be to God forever and ever, Amen.
Lord,
Thank you so much for Your great compassion and mercy. Thank you for reaching down and giving me salvation through Jesus Christ, and for pouring out Your Spirit upon me. Thank you for the Great and wonderful Counselor You have given us. Thank You for searching my heart and mind continually, and revealing any anxious thought or sinful way in me. Thank you for being faithful to forgive me when I confess my sins, and for restoring peace and grace in my life. Thank you recently for all the gifts you have brought me, especially during a time when I least deserved any. That is just evidence of Who You are, and the measure of your grace upon those who love You and trust You. Thank you for giving me a heart of surrender and submission, and for showing me how to trust and love my husband in a deeper way than ever before, and to let him be the leader (head) of this household. I thank you for all the work I have seen you do in my family, and the work you are doing that I cannot see. I thank you for giving Mariah your precious voice, please make it clearer for her to hear as well. Draw her heart closer to Yours, and reveal great and unsearchable things to her heart. Show her again how much you love her. Thank you for giving my husband a confidence in You and himself that will help him to lead this family in Your ways successfully. Thank you for the continued blessing upon our household, and for the work you are doing. Please continue to persist after those who reject You, having all longsuffering and patience, and draw them closer to salvation in You. I give you all honor, glory and praise in Jesus' name, Amen.
Humbled before Him,
Sarah
God is revealing ugly parts of my sinful nature because He wants to refine me through His fire, and make me into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ. I am a long way from being "Christ-like." To be honest, I wanted to stop writing this blog yesterday when I realized how my attitude of writing may have affected the advancement of my brothers and sisters in their walks with Christ, or in leading them to His love and forgiveness. I want to make clear that, although I hear from God, and I walk with Him....I am not Him. I am still in the flesh, and I am going to make mistakes, and get a bad attitude sometimes, and act stubbornly or selfishly. I have struggled with almost every possible sin at one point or another, and I still am being perfected by the grace of God. The Word presented in this blog, and the ideas are to be taken and measured against the Holy Scriptures. One should never just take "my word for it" but should be driven into the arms of the One, Perfect, True, Loving God. He is perfect, but I am not. The words here are intended by myself and by God to draw you into a deeper relationship with Him! I sincerely apologize for the times when my own sin may have muttled the message from God. I humbly ask for each and every one of your forgiveness.
God showed me this morning that pride is unacceptable in our lives because there is only One who is Worthy of praise, and that is the Lord God Almighty! Why is He worthy of praise....just read the Word and you will find His goodness and His majesty, and His perfection! He has never sinned, and He is above all of the worldly things that we face. He humbled Himself to come down to us, walking in the flesh as Jesus. He allowed His own creation to murder Him on the cross, and then through His great love, rose from the dead....providing salvation for all of us who follow in the path of believing in Him, dying to ourselves, and rising as a new creation in Christ. It was His great love, mercy and compassion on fallen people to rescue us from the pit of hell. He judges peoples and nations in perfect justice according to heavenly law that came down to earth through Moses. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). When we have pride in our lives, we are like Lucifer, who now is called Satan who thought he could be better at being God than the Father God already was. He rebelled against God and was cast out of heaven for his pride and rebellion. God IS, and ALWAYS WILL BE, the only One who is worthy of praise. We will never be above God, no matter how hard we try, because we are only receiving salvation through His grace and mercy in our lives. Without Him, we would all be headed for eternal damnation....so I believe He is worthy of our praise and thanksgiving!
The Word tells us that God reaches down into the miry clay (Psalm 40:2) and He saves us. He sets us high upon the Rock (Psalm 27:5). I know from personal testimony that God is my Savior. He took me from a life of misery, failure, and despair....and He set me high upon the Rock of Jesus. He has given me peace, joy and immeasurable hope in Him. He has blessed me beyond anything I could imagine, and I praise Him that I am here to write to you all another day. My life is but a vapor (James 4:14), but God has plans for this world and I am thankful that He has chosen to use me for His glory! Any knowledge or wisdom that I have is nothing without the Presence of His Holy Spirit teaching me all things. I have confessed my sin to Him and He has been faithful to me to forgive me and restore peace to my soul. Praise be to God forever and ever, Amen.
Lord,
Thank you so much for Your great compassion and mercy. Thank you for reaching down and giving me salvation through Jesus Christ, and for pouring out Your Spirit upon me. Thank you for the Great and wonderful Counselor You have given us. Thank You for searching my heart and mind continually, and revealing any anxious thought or sinful way in me. Thank you for being faithful to forgive me when I confess my sins, and for restoring peace and grace in my life. Thank you recently for all the gifts you have brought me, especially during a time when I least deserved any. That is just evidence of Who You are, and the measure of your grace upon those who love You and trust You. Thank you for giving me a heart of surrender and submission, and for showing me how to trust and love my husband in a deeper way than ever before, and to let him be the leader (head) of this household. I thank you for all the work I have seen you do in my family, and the work you are doing that I cannot see. I thank you for giving Mariah your precious voice, please make it clearer for her to hear as well. Draw her heart closer to Yours, and reveal great and unsearchable things to her heart. Show her again how much you love her. Thank you for giving my husband a confidence in You and himself that will help him to lead this family in Your ways successfully. Thank you for the continued blessing upon our household, and for the work you are doing. Please continue to persist after those who reject You, having all longsuffering and patience, and draw them closer to salvation in You. I give you all honor, glory and praise in Jesus' name, Amen.
Humbled before Him,
Sarah
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