I Needed That

For the past couple of weeks, I have been in a rut. Nothing really significant has happened to me to make me feel a little down in the dumps..........I have just not felt like myself. I know that part of it is a certain preschooler who has been trying to assert his own will when it conflicts with the will of his parents. I know that I have been a little homesick, too. It has been 7 months since I've seen my parents, family, and friends back in Texas. I have also had some concerns that my thyroid medication is not right.

But, I think the real reason I have been feeling down is because a couple of Saturdays ago, I stopped doing my daily Bible reading. And, I have really missed spending that time in His word. And then today during Bible class, the teacher read this verse, one of my favorites (and an Acapella song!):

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:14-21

I am so thankful for the Spirit of God that gives us strength! And how AWESOME is the love of Christ!

I hope that if you are feeling a little down today, that you will look to Him for strength. He loves you so much and can do way more than you can ever ask or imagine.

Have a blessed week,

Manda

See what HE did!

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:1-10

Recently, I have been reading a book called The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism by Timothy Keller (l-o-v-e having a hubby in a ministry training program because I get to read all his neat books!). The book addresses some of the age old questions skeptics ask when they are struggling with belief in God. It was a good read, but as always, you have to chew up the fat and spit out the bones.

One statement on page 19 of Keller's book really caused me to stop and think:

"God's grace does not come to people who morally outperform others, but to those who admit their failure to perform and who acknowledge their need for a Savior." Timothy Keller in The Reason for God pg. 19

Our Christian faith centers on our belief that we are saved by grace through our faith in Jesus as seen in Ephesians 2; NOT because we are better than non-believers. My brain has comprehended this fact for a long time, but I am sorry to admit, my heart and actions have many times failed to follow suit.

We need to pray.......I need to pray that God will change my heart in the way I view others. I need to remember that I was dead in my sins and needed so desperately a Savior to reconcile me to God.

If you are already a Christian reading this, I ask that you evaluate the way you view and treat those without Christ..........we were in the same mess they were before we found Him.

If you have not given your life to Him because you don't think you are good enough or that you think you can't live the life He calls you to live........know that it is His grace that will save you through your faith in Him. He will help you live for Him if you will only give your life to Him. The Bible teaches that He made you to perform His will in Christ Jesus! If I can help you learn more about that, please let me know.

What is my portion?

Give me neither poverty nor riches;
Feed me with the food that is my portion,
That I not be full and deny You and say, "Who is the LORD?"
Or that I not be in want and steal,
And profane the name of my God. Proverbs 30:8b-9

Is this my prayer? Do I ask God to give me just what I need and no more? It became very evident to me when I was 18 years old and visited a small island called Dominica that I am a rich person. Yes, there are lots of people in the United States who have lots more than me. But, compared to millions around the world and even millions here in the U.S., I have always been rich. I have always had enough to eat, clothes to wear, and a warm bed to sleep in at night.

Yet, there have been numerous times in my life that I have been unappreciative of what I have because I want more. And, I can think back to times where in my abundance, I failed to give God the glory and have forgotten that He is the source of all that I have.

My encouragement today to you and especially me, is to pray a prayer that sounds like Proverbs 30:8-9. I think when we pray a prayer like that with a sincere heart, the Lord will bless us with a true appreciation for what He has done for us. Because, really, despite how much or how little we have materially, we ALL have the most precious gift offered to us by God our Father..........and that is the salvation that comes through Jesus.

Jesus is my portion!

Dear Father, I pray today that you will give me only what I need......no more and no less. Lord, I praise your name for the way you have cared for my physical needs. Help me to only desire the things that I need, and most of all, create in me a heart focused on the love of your Son Jesus so that I can shine His light to others. Amen.

A Must Read

I have always enjoyed reading a good book. Lately, I have been enjoying the author Karen Kingsbury. She is a Christian fiction author who has written several series and several stand alone titles. I am currently reading her Redemption series. They are very hard to put down! I like Kingsbury's books, because her characters express their faith or you can see them as they come to believe in God and obey him. I have been very encouraged by them.

In addition to fiction, I am trying to alternate a fiction book with a non-fiction book about the Bible or Christianity. The first of these books was a book Ryan had to read for school. It is called The Case for Christ: A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus by Lee Strobel. The back of the books says,

A Seasoned Journalist Chases Down the Biggest Story in History

Is there credible evidence that Jesus of Nazareth really is the Son of God?

Retracing his own spiritual Journey from atheism to faith, Lee Strobel, former legal Editor of the Chicago Tribune, cross-examines a dozen experts with doctorates from schools like Cambridge, Princeton, and Brandeis, who are recognized authorities in their own fields.

Strobel challenges them with questions like How Reliable is the New Testament? Does evidence exist for Jesus outside the Bible? Is there any reason to believe the Resurrection was an actual event?

Reads Like A Fast-Paced Novel

Strobel's tough, point-blank questions make this remarkable book read like a captivating, fast-paced novel. But it's not fiction. It's a riveting quest for the truth about history's most compelling figure.

What will your verdict be in The Case For Christ?

I enjoyed this book tremendously! It was very faith building to read about all the historical evidence for Jesus. I really think it will help me as I share my faith with non-believers. I hope that you will check it out, and tell me what you think after reading it.

Promise

....for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. I Timothy 4:8

Godliness - Reverencing God, and his character and laws; obedient to the commands of God from love for, and reverence of, His character; conformed to God's law; devout; righteous; as, a godly life.

The Bible, in numerous passages, talks about the godly and encourages us to be godly. Personally, I have understood the reason why I should strive to live a godly life - it is my response to the grace offered to me by Him through faith in his son Jesus so that I could one day live with him in Heaven. And, I fully understand that what I do will not earn me a ticket to Heaven, while on the other hand, faith that produces no fruit is a dead faith (James 2:26).

But today, after reading the verse quoted above, I noticed something new. It's the phrase, "promise for the present life." I have often only thought about the "promise for the life to come." Heaven. But we have promise for NOW. Today.

So, how does trying to live a godly life hold promise for me today? How does it contrast to the alternative.....an ungodly life? Being a Christian does not exempt me from life's hardships; sickness, death, heartache, poverty, etc. These things are experienced by all, Christian or not. But, I have noticed without a shadow of doubt the blessings that come when I try to pattern my life after Him. When I love and submit to my husband in a godly way, we fight less and work together SO much better. When I forgive someone a wrong, God takes away the burden of holding a grudge and He forgives me. When I choose not to engage in the "night life" that is so popular among people my age (okay, who am I kidding, I am quickly getting older than that!), I can avoid some of the consequences that come from those activities; addictions, sexual sin......the list goes on. When I choose to serve instead of be served, I get to witness how the love of Jesus changes people's lives for the better. When I spend my time with other Christians worshiping or working, I am encouraged to keep on running because I am not alone. What an awesome God we serve who blesses us in this life AND the one to come!

In what ways have you been blessed here in THIS LIFE by trying to do it His way? I would love to hear how that promise reaches you personally. So, please share!

Everything We Need............

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 2 Peter 1:3

We sing with our children at church, "Neglect your Bible and forget to pray and you shrink, shrink, shrink".......and while we sing, the children "shrink" until they are laying on their stomachs on the floor. It is such a cute song with such a profound message.

Daily. Bible. Reading. This spiritual discipline has always been a tough one for me. Taking the time to read God's word. And, reading with a focused heart. You can read more about my personal attempts at becoming a regular Bible reader here. It has been about 8 months since I started the Milk, Meat, and Honey daily Bible reading program. I have stuck with it pretty well, and it has been a HUGE blessing in my life. I must have been starving before............but, now I am being fed everyday from many different parts of God's word. Again, if you'd like to know more about Milk, Meat, and Honey go here. This was Ryan's post about it.

From Blogger Pictures

2 Peter 1:3 tells us that we can KNOW what to do in our lives to be godly through our knowledge of HIM. There aren't any mysteries. He has laid it out for us in his word. I pray that you will find a Daily Bible Reading program that will work for you. Whatever you choose will be nourishing to your soul.

What gets in the way of you reading His word daily? If you are reading daily, please share the method that works for you. I can't wait to here your comments!

Oh, yeah! The second verse of the song we sing with the children is, "Read your Bible and pray everyday and you grow, Grow, GROW!

Jesus, the Mediator of a New Covenant

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel. Hebrews 12:22-24

I can't remember the day or time when I came to believe that Jesus was God's son. I was taken to the church that my Grandma and her sisters were founding members of in my hometown since I was a newborn. We went every time the doors were opened. My dad was a song leader. My parents met at that church, and both sets of my grandparents and some aunts and uncles all attended. So, I always knew that one day I would confess Jesus and be baptized for the cleansing of my sins.

When I became a teenager, I started to struggle with the WHEN. When would I make that commitment to God? Was I ready to live a Christian life? I had long reached the age of knowing right from wrong, but I was very unsure that I could live a life without sinning. And that was the problem. I thought being a Christian equaled not sinning.

The summer I was fourteen, I started to talk with some friends from church about being baptized. If I remember correctly, these conversations happened at Camp Bandina. A few weeks later, on a Sunday night after worship, an elder who worked very closely with the youth approached me and said, "Amanda, I hear that you are thinking about being baptized?" I told him yes, I had been thinking about it. He asked, "What is holding you back?" I told him something about not knowing if I was ready. His next words will forever be etched in my memory. "Amanda, do you sin?" I told him yes. "Are you responsible for those sins?" Again, I replied with a yes. "Amanda, wouldn't you like those sins to be washed away?" I can't remember what I told Farmer Krejci that day, but I do remember being convicted of my sins for the first time in my life and wanting SO badly to have Jesus take them away for me.

On the way home from church that night, I told my dad that I wanted to be baptized the next Sunday. Looking back, I should have done it right away! Nevertheless, we went home and told my mama, and the next Sunday we all went to church. It was July 7, 1991. When the invitation song was being sung, my dad walked with me to the front.........I was SO nervous! After filling out the response card, Virgil Davis asked me if I wanted my Dad to baptize me. I hadn't even thought of WHO would do the baptizing and never thought it could be Daddy. I said yes! So, on that day, in front of my family and church family who had known me my whole life, I confessed Jesus and my precious earthly daddy baptized me for the cleansing of my sins. It was a happy day! After the closing prayer, I came out of the little room by the baptistery and the youth group surrounded me and sang "We Love You with the Love of the Lord". (Below is a picture of that youth group just weeks before coming home from Camp Bandina.........I am the blond girl in the bottom left with the striped shirt.)



That day was the beginning for me like it was for so many others. That day I made a covenant with God through his son Jesus.............a covenant that at that time, I still didn't fully comprehend. Yes, I knew enough and was ready to make the covenant, but I had so much to learn. In the days, months, and even years after being baptized I struggled with keeping Jesus as my focus. I still held to the thought that being a Christian simply meant not sinning. During those times, sin was so enticing, and I often felt guilty because I knew I was not living the life that I had promised to live. I was faithful in my attendance and involvement with the church, but at other times I was doing things that were contrary to God's will.

Through it all, though, God has always provided the straight path for me to choose and follow. As I have gotten older, saying no to temptations has become easier. Especially with the encouragement of my husband and church family. Also, I have come to realize that it is much more than living right. It's the WHY we are living right; it's the excitement of knowing He has won the victory; it's looking at my life here on earth as temporary; it's seeing His mission for me to shine His light to others. My prayer today, is that I continue to seek God, know His ways better, and DO THEM! I get the DON'Ts..........and now I am ready to live a life that shouts the fact that I am planning to be with Him in Heaven and that I want others to be there, too.

What was your beginning like? If you have not had your beginning yet, what is holding you back? I would love to hear your comments.

Manda