Go unto All the World…or right next door….

A friend and I were talking yesterday about how overwhelming it can be to look around you, wherever you happen to be, and wonder how many people in that particular crowd know Jesus. It can be a daunting task to look around your own home/neighborhood and KNOW that the people that live there DON’T, and because you’ve been provided so great a salvation, it’s your moral responsibility to take the gospel of Christ to them. We didn’t come up with any life-altering answers, just to take these people before the law and the gospel and let the Holy Spirit do that which He does best–convict of sin, righteousness, and judgement.

Then, because God is soverign, this devotion came across my path this morning.

In John 3:16 we read, “For God so loved the world.” But what about His love for individuals? The rest of the verse reveals the central purpose behind God’s sacrifice of His Son: “That whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Therefore, without exception, every person may interpret John 3:16 like this: “For God so loved me!”

A. B. Simpson, a great missionary of the past, often hugged a globe to his chest and wept over the world’s lostness. Yet his global vision was marked by compassion for individuals. You and I also must feel the responsibility to take the gospel to our world—by sharing the good news with one person at a time.

Unfortunately, we often think of the Great Commission in terms of “foreign missions” only. “World missions” is perhaps a better term, for that includes our nearest neighbors, who are part of the world to which God has called us. And we are already there!

Like A. B. Simpson, embrace your smaller world through earnest prayer as you consider lost individuals in your family, neighborhood, and workplace. Then, as you seek to live and give the good news, expect God to open doors of opportunity.

My mission field is RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW. And what a better way to say thank you! to My Lord and King than to share Him with my family?

I figured I’d better put some knitting content in here too…

Recently, I’ve taken up knitting in Starbucks during the kids’ Homeschool PE time at the Y. And while I realize that certain conversations aren’t exactly evangelistic, I think that the more we talk of Jesus and His true Gospel, the more we will reach the lost, thereby exposing the Gospel to more and more people. And while I don’t have any fabulous projects to show you, I’m getting really really good at knitting washcloths. My mom’s Mother’s Day present is going to be a big big box o’ washcloths. Isn’t that thoughtful?

Here are some projects I”ve been saving up…you know….for that spectacular day when I actually get enough time to sit down, knit something start to finish, and show you.

Leftover Sock Yarn Blanket

SOCKS-THey are BEAUUUUUTIFUL. SOURCE  FOR PHOTO

This shawl/wrap thing.

Go serve your King.

Grace

Grace is . . .
your eye to see for Christ,
your ear to hear for Christ,
your head to design for Christ,
your tongue to speak for Christ,
your hand to do for Christ, and
your feet to walk with Christ.

Grace makes men of the harshest, sourest, crabbedest
natures—to be of a sweet, lovely, amiable, pleasing temper.
Grace turns lions into lambs, wolves into sheep, monsters
into men, and men into angels—as you may see in Manasseh,
Paul, Mary Magdalene, Zaccheus, and others.

(Thomas Brooks)

Amazing Grace, possibly the most sung hymn in all of human history, has it’s very roots in Christianity, yet is sung by all faiths and people. I’m quite sure that the God who provides such grace would be so pleased if all those people come to Him in submission, repentance and brokenness, for then is His grace sufficient.

Go serve your King.

Praise Him!

How do you Praise Him?

There are many many ways to Praise and Worship Him. Today, I ‘ve got singing on my mind as a way to pray to Him, to glorify Him and to Honor Him.

The Word of God says:

2 Samuel 22:50
” Therefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the nations,And I will sing praises to Your name.

1 Chronicles 16:9
Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; Speak of all His wonders.

1 Chronicles 16:23
Sing to the LORD, all the earth;Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day.

Psalm 9:2
I will be glad and exult in You;I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

Psalm 13:6
I will sing to the LORD,Because He has dealt bountifully with me.

Psalm 59:16
But as for me, I shall sing of Your strength;Yes, I shall joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the morning,For You have been my strongholdAnd a refuge in the day of my distress.

Psalm 66:2
Sing the glory of His name;Make His praise glorious.

Romans 15:9
and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy; as it is written,” THEREFORE I WILL GIVE PRAISE TO YOU AMONG THE GENTILES,AND I WILL SING TO YOUR NAME.

1 Corinthians 14:15
What is the outcome then? I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also; I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also.

James 5:13
Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises.

I am constantly singing, humming, thinking of worshipful songs in my head and heart. I will be the first to say that when I hear a new song and it’s full of good theology and scripture and joy, nothing delights me more. One of my favorites, one that when I hear it, either makes me want to Shout With Joy or fall down and praise Him is a song by Mercy Me called God With Us

Who are we That you would be mindful of us What do you see That’s worth looking our way We are free In ways that we never should be Sweet relief From the grip of these chains All that is within me cries For You alone be glorified Emmanuel God with us My heart sings a brand new song The debt is paid these chains are gone Emmanuel God with us Lord you know Our hearts don’t deserve your glory Still you show A love we cannot afford Like hinges straining from the weight My heart no longer can keep from singing Such a tiny offering compared to Calvary Nevertheless we lay it at your feet

Praise the Lord through song–it pleases Him and lifts Him high.

Go serve your King.

Learning to Understand His Provision

I got this comment from my last post “He deals with us.” and I wanted to share it with the World.

For 2 reasons:

1. Shannon has got to be sent straight to me from God Himself. Her friendship and her willingness to take this new baby Christian under her wing and help me along has been nothing short of a blessed miracle.

2. There ARE other women going through my very same situation (an unbelieving spouse, a spouse caught up in a false religion, or a confused, wayward-walking spouse) and I wanted her comment to minister to them the way it ministered to me.

Coming from a “religion” where closeness with Jesus was not only discouraged, but considered to be in the realm of blasphemy, I sometimes do have a hard time leaning into Him the way I should. It’s not a lack of desire, it’s a habit cultivated from years and years of distancing myself from Him–holding Him at arms length while doing,doing,doing all I could to earn my way to His presence. I am certain that He saved me out of that so that I could show the world what A Great God He is, and to bring Him the Honor and Glory He so deserves. He is worthy of all my Praise. So without further adoooooo, here’s Shannon.

Precious daughter of the King,

I am confident that your fervent desire to please God delights Him!

Please also remember as you move through this season of your life that God has written every moment of it in His book. Your name is engraved in the palm of His hand. We were created for relationship with the Almighty. He deserves and loves our honor, but He does not need it. Our honor can’t add one thing to God. Yet, we who are in Christ, honor Him out of obedience and even more out of wonder at His amazing love for us.

The Bible is the world’s greatest love letter. This letter from the King of Kings to his precious children is His roadmap, His battle plan, His blue print, His love letter, all designed to draw His precious creation back to right relationship with Him.

And relationship with God is the purpose for which we were created. We messed it up and He made a way for us to get back to Him. Amazing. It’s what God wants from us more than anything, and what He will not take without our permission and participation. It’s what we experience more and more of as we grow with Him.

The King of Kings and Lord of Lords knows your heart. When your cup is full, He wants you to pour it out to Him. He is not disappointed when you share your grief and even your anger with Him. Yes, maintain your awe and reverence, but if you’re furious, stamp your foot and throw a fit—He knows that’s how you’re feeling anyway.

The Psalms are also full of places where David, called by God Himself as a man after His own heart, cried out in despair and anger to the Lord. Where he pleaded for vengeance, retribution, justice, answers, resolution. (Psalm 13, for example). We are called to engage with people in this world differently as Christians, and we can do that by placing our desires for justice and righteousness in His capable hands, telling Him honestly, transparently how we feel, then trusting Him completely with the outcome.

If the Almighty God did not expect us to cry out in our agony (to Him—not whining, gossiping, sniping, dissention-mongering, etc.), He would not have given us the Psalms that expressed His children’s anguish. He would not have given us the book of Job. He would not have let us hear about Hannah’s anguish. Moreover, He would not have rewarded these people with such honor.

Your King is also your Daddy. He’s a good Daddy—Abba Father—who, while expecting and deserving reverence and awe, also desires that you crawl up in His lap, pour out your heart to Him, and let Him put His arms around you and comfort you like no earthly parent ever could. For those of us with a rough parental upbringing, this is a pretty hard concept to wrap our mind around. But His ways are not our ways, as you well know.

Beloved, the Lord who gave us Psalm 46, designed to fill you with courage in the face of terror, also gave us Psalm 131:1-2.

My heart is not proud, O Lord,
My eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters
Or things to wonderful for me.
But I have stilled and quieted my soul;
Like a weaned child with its mother,
Like a weaned child is my soul within me.

And every mother knows that before a child is weaned and still and quiet sitting next to her mama, safe and trusting and peaceful, there have been lots of screaming, sleepless nights while that child learns that she can trust that parent completely, for all sustenance and love. When we face something gut-wrenching or terrifying or challenging—when we are alone and trying to figure it all out, we are like the infant, still learning to trust the Lord in this season, this situation, this challenge. Still learning to understand His provision, to be quieted by His love.

I’m not just writing this for you, of course, but for those who might read this and be going through similar situations. And there are many, believe me.

Beloved child of God, I urge you to be gentle with yourself during this stormy season of your life. Dare to walk boldly into the throne room of God Himself, and climb up on His lap. Sob and thrash and stomp and be as grumpy as you need to be (He loves you exactly as you are and is not disappointed in you). When you have exhausted your expression of confusion and grief, you’ll find you’re still on His amazing lap, you remain in His loving embrace, and you still have his complete unmerited acceptance. There, you’ll find yourself still. Quiet. Safe. At peace. And so near to your King—exactly where He wants you to be.

Let this minister to you.

Go to Him.

Stay in the Word.

Go serve your King.

He deals with us.

I have been wondering lately, in my mind, not aloud, why I am in the precarious position that I am. What could God POSSIBLY be doing with me in this position? I am yoked to a man who does not believe the same as I, and as in love with him as I am, I find it difficult to sometimes keep my mouth shut. To respect his beliefs without dis-respecting my own. Also, I’ve been placed here by Him for a reason–to minister to women in my same situation. But in my small view, I just cannot see how. So I question. I wonder. I ask and ask and ask and ask. And quite frankly, I think the Lord is tired of me asking. I got this devotional in my email this morning. Coincidence? I think not.

All God’s dealings with us

(J. R. Miller, “Home Beautiful”, 1912)

“Be silent before the Lord.” Psalm 37:7

We are not to speak back to God, when He speaks to
us. We are not to reason with Him or dispute with Him;
but are to bow in silent and loving acquiescence before
Him. “Be still, and know that I am God.” It is in those
providences which cut sorely into our lives, and require
sacrifice and loss on our part—that we are especially
called to this duty.

There is a moving illustration of silence to God, in the
case of Aaron when his sons had offered strange fire,
and had died for their disobedience and sacrilege. The
record says, “And Aaron held his peace.” He made no
natural human outcry of grief. He accepted the terrible
penalty as unquestionably just—and bowed in the
acquiescence of faith.

This silence to God, should be our attitude in all times
of trial, when God’s ways with us are bitter and painful.
Why should we complain at anything that our Father
may do? We have no right to utter a word of murmuring,
for He is our sovereign Lord; and our simple duty is instant,
unquestioning submission. We have no reason to complain
—for we know that all God’s dealings with us are in
loving wisdom. His will is always best for us—whatever
sacrifice or suffering it may cost.

“I was silent; I would not open my mouth, for You
are the one who has done this!” Psalm 39:9

So if I were wise, I’d take the counsel of My God, and I’ll keep silent. I will know that He knows best.

Seeking and Saving that which is lost….

How often do you share gossip? How often do you share stories of your husband, wife, boyfriend, ladies at church, the neighbor? How often do you share your faith? Shouldn’t your desire to be to share Christ with every single person in your house, on your street, in your city, state, country?

I often listen to podcasts during the day, as a way to wash my mind in the Word, and to transform my mind and heart through the hearing of the Word. One podcast in particular is called Way of the Master Radio. They are a phenomenal group of people, simply proclaiming the Word, and teaching others to do the same. Taking the law to someone before sharing the gospel as Jesus did. It is truly amazing to listen to them “street-fishing”, as most every single person will say that they are a good person. When they are taken through the law (the 10 commandments, the standard by which we will be judged by a just and Holy God), it becomes so clear that they are not such a good person after all (Not by God’s standards, anyway…)

So maybe you should take the test. I know I failed. But there is good news. Please consider thinking about where you will spend ETERNITY. It’s a long time to live with whatever it is you chose.

Choose Christ and Choose ETERNITY with Him.

Choose something, ANYTHING ELSE, and choose eternity where the fire and thirst are never quenched, a place of eternal torment, where the worm never dies and the darkness never ends.

But don’t choose Christ because you are afraid of Hell. Choose Him because He has been so kind to save you from Hell. Romans 5:8 says

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Please consider what you’ve read today. It is the MOST important thing you’ll read today.

Go Serve your King.

On the Sufficiency of Scripture…

An event happened yesterday  that called into question the Inspiration, Inerrancy, Infallabity, and Authority of the bible.

I’m here to show what men I respect have to say about that. Men who are Godly, and follow the Word of God.

#1 John Macarthur

here also (Part 2)

#2 This has a lot of LINKS to other great writers, pastors and men of God.

Please consider reading at least some of those links. God’s Word is under attack. Let us keep it in it’s high and holy place.

Nothing Compares…..

But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith (Philipians 3:7-9)

 

I have to say… coming from a place where I didn’t know the true Jesus Christ, I have a small glimpse of how incredibly blessed I am to have come from the darkness into the light. Jesus Christ has saved me from the darkness, and has shown me the power of His saving Grace and Mercy.

 

There is a song by the contemporary group, Third Day, that emulates this verse….

I’ve heard all the stories
I’ve seen all the signs
Witnessed all the glory, yeah
Tasted all that’s fine

Nothing compares
To the greatness of knowing You, Lord

I see all the people
Wasting all their time
Building up their riches
For a life that’s fine

I find myself just living for today
‘Cause I don’t know what
Tomorrow’s gonna bring
So no matter if I rise or fall
I’ll never be alone

Go serve your King.

He Meets all your needs

But He isn’t Santa Claus. He’s not The Easter Bunny. He’s not the welfare system. He’s God. He is Almighty to provide for us, according to His Riches, His Will, and His Grace through Jesus Christ.

That means that even if I really really really want this yarn, or these needles, or this bag, or this book, I’m not gonna get it–from Him. I’ll work hard and make money and if it fits in my budget, I”ll get it. And that doesn’t take away from His Grace, or His goodness. It’s just not something that’s in His Will. He’s not our eternal Santa Claus, He’s our Savior.

I wish people would stop preaching about health and wealth and prosperity, and get back to Biblical Truth. They are just making it a better world for people to go to hell from.

A fascinating excerpt from a devotional I read:

I have promised to meet all your needs according to My glorious Riches. Your deepest most constant need is for My Peace. I have planted Peace in the garden of your heart, where I live. But there are weeds growing there too: pride, worry, selfishness, unbelief. I am the Gardener, and I am working to rid your heart of these weeds. I do My work in various ways. When you sit quietly with me, I shine the Light of My Presence directly into your heart. In this heavenly Light, Peace grows abundantly and weeds shrivel up. I also send trials into your life. When you trust Me in the midst of trouble, Peace flourishes and weeds die away. Thank me for troublesome situations; the Peace they can produce far outweighs the trials you endure.

And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)

For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison (2 Corinthians 4:17)

Go serve your King.

ps. for a great study on Pride, go to Walk Slowly Live Wildly….

Sometimes, Life is Hard.

And not just because a day goes by without knitting.

But because the Lord, in His wisdom, grace and knowledge, gives us things and allows things that are hard. But in His Word, He makes promises that the trials we face are for our good and His Glory.

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,  so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:6-9 ESV)

So take heart. He knows. He understands. He  holds you in the palm of His Hand. And the refiners fire ( He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord. Malachi 3:3) is the best thing that could happen to us. Because the outcome of that is the salvation of our souls.

Go serve your King.