(I wrote this in December before Christmas, but felt led to share it today. As I was typing I realised that I needed to read it today. I hope it blesses you and makes you think, just as it did me)
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We come to expect so much. "It's my right to..." is a common mindset these days, especially for our generation. We want things fast, and we want them now!

But what does God say?

Proverbs 20:12
"Ears to hear and eyes to see—
both are gifts from the Lord"

Wow.

Think about it. Go back and read it again.

Done it? Good!

We question why God allows sickness into our lives, but how often (if ever) do we thank Him for our health as what it is - a gift? We don't have the right to simple things like our sight and hearing, but God gives them to us as gifts.

How much bigger then is the gift of His Son? How big is the gift of eternal life?

This Easter, rather than focusing on what chocolate we will get given, why not reflect on the gifts God has already given?

James 1:17
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

Sin is something you're not supposed to do. Right?
Wrong. Well, partially wrong. It's more than "doing the wrong thing"...it's not doing the good things that you should do.

James 4:17
Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.


I'm not a big fan of the traditional prayers/liturgies, but this one struck me pretty strongly:

The Book of Common Prayer; the Confession of Sin
Most merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us;
that we may delight in your will,
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your Name. Amen.

This is my prayer tonight. May it be yours too. Something to think about...

I know I'm not supposed to comment here but we looked at 'forgiveness of sins' at youth group yesterday and I had never heard it before but Will told us that in archery, 'sin' is missing the bullseye. Interesting huh? So its not just missing the target altogether, but its missing the bullseye! Got me thinking...

It is definitely an interesting thought. And I think it's ok if we comment here...?

If the Bible mentions something once, it needs to be recognised, as the Bible is God's word.
If it mentions it a few times, again, it is deserving of attention.
How about FOUR times in ONE chapter?

This is the case in Proverbs 16. It says, in four different ways, that it is God who is (should be) guiding our steps. FOUR TIMES! I think that's worth noticing, don't you?

Proverbs 16:1
We can make our own plans,
but the Lord gives the right answer.

Proverbs 16:3
Commit your actions to the Lord,
and your plans will succeed.

Proverbs 16:9
We can make our plans,
but the Lord determines our steps.

Proverbs 16:33
We may throw the dice,
but the Lord determines how they fall.

I read Proverbs 16:3 as part of my devotional this morning, and I come here and it's included in your 4 verses, interesting...

I found this post on a blog which I follow, it's called Chats With An Old Lady by a lady named Gina(she really isn't that old). This particular post was really challenging for me as it showed me what I needed to work on in my life, but it was also encouraging too. I know it's a bit long, but hopefully you can gain something from reading it.

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Gal. 2:20)

As I continue to read about the life of Jesus, I am becoming more deeply aware of the calling I have to live the "crucified life". I am reminded that all I do in this life should spring from a heart which offers all that I am as a living sacrifice. I also sense the constant battle of my flesh that screams, "What about ME? What about MY rights? What about MY comfort? What about MY "needs"...or MY children's "needs"...or MY husbands "needs"?"

This week I have been sharing about the importance of being involved in the lives of other believers...the body of Christ...and how much we need each other. On a daily basis I have the opportunity to choose whether or not the things that I do are going to be done with only ME in mind, or if I am going to live a life of service and reach out to the people that God brings into my life.

Here are the ways I have been challenged as I have been thinking through how I can serve others and offer my life as a sacrifice.

When I invite someone into my home, do I expect that the person I am serving will invite me over, be my friend, or be my children's friend...OR...Do I invite others over as the Lord brings them to mind, with the sole purpose of serving and encouraging them. When they leave do I hope they will reciprocate the invitation, or do I simply thank them for taking the time to come over. Am I grateful for the opportunity to serve another and expect nothing in return?

When I go to church, do I look for opportunities to reach out to those around me, find out about their week, and look for ways to build up and encourage...not expecting anyone to do the same for me? Can I be content if nobody asks about me?

When I am in a store, do I become impatient if the sales clerk is slow or unfriendly, or do I put aside my "rights" and graciously encourage and serve anyway?

When someone mistreats me, is sarcastic, or makes me feel foolish, do I become upset because they have not respected me or because my dignity has been taken from me...or do I quietly "take the hits" and offer my dignity, reputation, and hurt feelings to the Lord, serving even those who treat me this way?

When I see a friend spending time with other people and leaving me out, or when my children are feeling neglected by a friend, how do I respond? Do I get hurt or disappointed? Do I allow resentment to enter in, or do I offer my friendships to the Lord, remembering that I am owed nothing. Do I continue to seek out ways to serve those friends who no longer include me...even if they never include me again? Can I serve them and expect nothing in return?

In each situation I experience a battle. I want comfort. I want respect. I want others to serve ME....I want to feel accepted and cared for, but that is not what I am called to. I am called to offer myself as a living sacrifice. In all things, I am called to willingly offer myself, my rights, and even my desires as a sacrifice to God.

I am going to be "real" now...I must be honest...I have experienced each situation that I have shared, and each situation has brought pain. I have had my feelings hurt. However, I have a choice. How am I going to respond? Do I want to be conformed to the image of Christ, or do I want what I want? Each time I offer up my life, my rights, my comfort, my friendships, my children's friendships, my agenda, and all of these things up to the Lord as a sacrifice...I am then able to leave them behind, move on, and learn in a deeper way what it means to serve without expectations. All of these situations are opportunities for me to learn how to live the crucified life! I am ashamed to say that I have not always wanted to live the crucified life, but I am growing in this area!

"To be crucified with Christ means that you volunteer to forgo all your personal rights except one: your right as a believer to be filled and led by the Spirit of Christ who dwells withing you. Don't make the mistake of trying to simply ignore your rights when they are so difficult to lay down. Surrender them to Christ and ask Him to replace them with a supernatural work of the Spirit: with healing, with power, with wisdom!" ~Beth Moore

Serving is much more than just doing nice things for others. I serve God when I serve others. When I serve others it requires me to "die to self". I serve and obey God when I am "crucified with Christ," and I identify myself with Christ and His death. He is then able to live THROUGH me.

To think that He would even want to live through ME...that boggles my mind!
I love that!

Proverbs 17:4
Wrongdoers eagerly listens to gossip;
liars pay close attention to slander

I've always tried to avoid spreading gossip. I hated the idea of being a gossiper, and so I tried hard to avoid it.

But do you know what? It's not just the talking part that is wrong - Proverbs 17:4 says that eagerly listening to gossip is something that sinners do, and that liars pay close attention to slander.

So don't just check what is coming out of your mouth, what are you listening to? What are you reading? Many magazines are simply gossip about celebrities. many of those magazines are rubbish, filled with stories they think you want to hear. But do you?

Think about Proverbs 17:4 next time you are tempted to listen to or read gossip. And remember,

...One final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is tue, and honourable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise - Philippians 4:8

this was good to hear... because i am a gossip. i love it.... and usually i try not to very much.. but lately ive been just slipping on that. so thanx much for posting as a reminderr

This isn't an original, I saw it on my friend's FB

Ever wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our mobile/cell phone?

What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?

What if we flipped through it several time a day?

What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?

What if we used it to receive messages from the text?

What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?

What if we gave it to kids as gifts?

What if we used it when we traveled?

What if we used it in case of emergency?


Oh, and one more thing.
Unlike our mobile/cell phone, we don't have to worry about our Bible being disconnected because Jesus already paid the bill.


Psalm 119:105
Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light for my path.

Sorry I've missed a few days.
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This is from Eric Ludy's blog, but I've cut it down a bit to be shorter. If you'd like to read the whole thing, just go to ericludy.com

Psalm 81:10

It’s not an especially poetic passage, in fact it is downright ordinary to the naked eye. It reads, “I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.”

It’s the little phrase at the end that has echoed in my mind hundreds of times this past week. “Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.”

“Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.”

There is something inside of me that is afraid to open my mouth wide. But why? God promises that if I do He will fill it. Is it fear of putting expectations on my God that He can’t fulfil? Am I afraid of disillusionment, that if I actually believe God to be as big and powerful and capable as He says He is, and if I ask Him to do all He promises to do in my life, that He won’t and I’ll be left a wreck of spiritual disappointment?

I was reminded this week of the widow in the book of 2nd Kings, that had nothing but a little vial of oil to her name. What she possessed was so miniscule, and the debts she had were so vast. She was despairing, when Elisha came to her and said, go to your friends and borrow as many containers as you can, and he added, “and borrow not a few.”

Elisha poured the oil from that vial into the roomful of containers that she had collected, and as long as there were containers to fill, the oil kept flowing. And when the containers ran out, the oil immediately stopped.

God is wanting us to believe Him to be bigger than the mere supernatural filler of a single container. As amazing as it is that our God could multiply the oil in a vial to fill yet another container. Our God fills to the degree that we open our mouth wide. He has much more to give than we often are open to receive. He wants us to collect not just a few containers, but to scour the cupboards of our soul for every last container we can drum up.

I stood convicted this week. “Eric,” God was saying to me, “you’ve brought containers, yes, but you’ve only brought a few.”

So I spent this week opening my mouth wide. It was uncomfortable, yes. But it was beautiful.

So, I wrote this in early September and shared it on the Authentic Girl forum and since I forgot to do my devotional for today, I'm pretty glad I saved it. Amazingly enough, I just reread it and it was something I needed to hear. Coincidence? I think not.

I'm going to just focus on James 1:2-8. Those verses have helped me soooo much throughout the years (well, the few I've lived!).

James 1:2-
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,"

Wow. I know that I really struggle with this. Not complaining, okay I understand that, but Joy? There have been times that I've read this and just thought "Seriously? Joy? God, you've got to be kidding me. You want me to be joyful that ______ is happening in my life? No way, Jose! That is impossible!" I often convince myself that as long as I don't outwardly complain about a trial I'm facing to anyone except God, I'm doing alright. Well, not by God's standards. Joy. That's what he wants. Seems pretty impossible, right? Well, keep reading.

James 1:3-
"because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance."

Okay, now I sort of understand why I should have joy. In my opinion, God's not asking us to be joyful about what the trial is, but rather to have joy in knowing that it will cause us to develop perseverance. Some of you may think that you simply can't take this trial anymore. You can't continue on. Well, news flash, you can and you will. Often times you have no choice. So, be joyful that when its over your ability to persevere will have been strengthened!

James 1:4-
"Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

So...maybe there's not only a reason to be joyful, but also a reason to have perseverance? God didn't just give us a seemingly impossible command and then not back it up. There's the reason. Sisters in Christ, other Authentic and Lily White girls, clearly we're all striving to be mature Christians and don't want our spirituals walk to lack anything. If we don't face earthly trials, then that CAN NOT happen!

James 1:5-
"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him."

Not only does our amazing Father give us a Why, but also a How. This wisdom is not just information that we acquire, but practical insight with spiritual implications. Go to Proverbs. Read a few chapters, often you can find the wisdom you need right there.

James 1:6-8-
"But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does."

Don't doubt that God will help you through this. He will. But only if you believe he will. In Matthew 21:22 Jesus says that if we believe then everything we ask for in prayer, we will receive. Here James just reiterates that. Don't become a woman that constantly wonders if God is going to help her. Instead, fervently pray that He will guide you through this tough time and truly believe that he will. Just remember, God's timing is not the same as ours. You may think he's given up on you, but he hasn't. There have been so many times I've sat in my bed crying, believing that God has forsaken me. But, deep down I know that even if it seems like he's so far away and isn't working in my life, he is. We just need to learn to trust him and stop doubting.



I just want to encourage all of you that no matter what you're going through, God WILL help you through it. Just stop doubting him and remember that this is an ESSENTIAL part of your spiritual journey! You can not become a mature, complete Christian without facing trials that will strengthen your faith!

I strongly suggest that you go to http://tinyurl.com/5chwl7 and read this passage in The Message. I guess that's just one of the things I enjoy doing when I study something.

When asked what the greatest commandment was, Jesus responded with two:
'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'
and
'Love your neighbor as yourself'. (Matt 22:37, 39)

I don't know about you, but I find the second one kinda hard... do I have to love my neighbour? Really? Even when they're being annoying??

Well, read John 17:20-21 - this is Jesus' prayer to the Father about his disciples:
"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

We are to be one, just as Jesus and the Father are one. Seems like an impossible goal doesn't it! Well, thankfully Jesus didn't just pray that and stop - He provided a way for us to achieve that unity!
John 17:22-23a
I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me.

Whew! That makes me rather thankful - I know I wouldn't be able to do it alone.

Also, the unity has a purpose. It's not Jesus' prayer just because it'd be a nice thing - it is a witness to the world!
John 17:23b
May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

And we even get a reward! We will get to see His glory:
John 17:24
Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began!

So remember, if God wants us to do something, He provides for us, He makes a way, and obedience and faithfulness will not go unoticed

My friend Chris wrote this, and I thought I'd share it:
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I have been reading a great little book, ‘Don’t waste your life’ by John Piper, and I thought I would share something that I have got from it.

Thinking on Matt 6:25-33, about how God feeds the birds and clothes the lilies, so we should not worry about these things, for we are more important than they, and God will provide. This passage is used to comfort and reassure, and I think in our society it is often seen as saying that we will never be hungry or naked if we trust God. I know I have though of it that way, and as I have never had to experience any real going without, I have always had a roof over my head, clothes to wear, food on the table, I saw no reason to question this understanding.

But look at Paul. He trusted God in all things, and yet he speaks of his sufferings in 2Cor 11:24-28, saying he was “often without food, in cold and exposure” So he trusted God, and yet went hungry. Look to the history of the church, where many of the faithful have suffered and gone without, even to the point of death.

So what does it mean then that God will provide for us, if it doesn’t mean that we won’t go hungry?

It is rather that He will give us all we need to remain in him, and to bring him glory. We may suffer, even die in the process, but still we will be provided what we need to fulfill the purpose we were created for. That really changes our perspective on need. We can only understand this when we see that living or dying is not what matters, but in rather that in whatever happens, God is glorified.

I found it a challenging reminder of just how radical Jesus’ call to discipleship really is, and how far short of it I am.

that was great!! really eye opening I never thought about that passage in that way before...