A blog that serves to encourage Christians, moms, wives, families and anyone walking with the Lord. Also a place to find yummy recipes and DIY projects.
I love inspirational quotes. I am cheesy! I print them, laminate them, send them to my friends, hang them in my office. Yep, I'm that girl!
And, I got the new iPhone 6 plus for Christmas and I downloaded an awesome new app. Now I can make my own inspirational quotes!!
I hope you enjoy these. I hope maybe you will even print and laminate a few for yourself. (Add a magnet ...stick on the fridge..) The possibilities are endless!
I was reminded recently that each believer has their own interpretation of God. We may agree on the foundation of biblical principals, but God has revealed himself to each of us individually. While there may be many similarities, our faith looks and feels different to each of us. God does this because he is relatable. He is not trying to hide from us. He is trying daily to reveal himself to us. Therefore, we all have our own ideas of who He is and how he works. This is not a bad thing. It is a good thing because it allows each of us to know him intimately.
However, these different interpretations of God can cause people to get cross with each other.
Found at http://mightymag.org
One of the most controversial times in the bible is in the book of Acts. It continues today to be a point of contention amongst believers. Just how real is the Holy Spirit? Does everyone speak in tongues? Do we need an interpreter? The list goes on. I don't want to debate the book of Acts, but I want you to see that the disciples were certainly at a different spot spiritually than others.
I found this cute art over at http://compellingparade.com.
God revealed himself to the disciples after he died. He spent 40 days with them. It makes sense they would be a little different after that experience. I'm thankful this happened or the gospel would not have gone beyond Jesus' death. But, at the time, it was not well received by some. "He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God." (Acts 1:3) Then, he ascended back to heaven. Then they waited for the Holy Spirt just like he told them to do. (Along with them were the women and Mary the mother of Jesus (Acts 1:14). And, after the Holy Spirit came down on them, they were filled with power. (YAY!!!) These guys began operating in the power of the Holy Spirit like no one had ever seen at that time. And, it was not well received by some of the Jewish people. They were skeptical to say the least. But, God had a bigger plan. He wanted them to take this power and go into the world and spread the gospel. It didn't matter what the Jewish people thought of them. They were on a mission from God. They had a job to do. "Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. ...It is Jesus' name and the father that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see."(Acts 3: 12, 13, 16) The book of Acts continues to be well debated amongst different denominations. Even inside the "spirit filled" church, there are many who don't like people to operate in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Prayer is good, but don't lay hands on anyone...and sure don't speak in tongues. Praise and worship is great but don't lift your hands or clap. Right? My point is we are all at a different place in our walk with God. Some are not walking at all. They have never really entered into a relationship with God. Some are showing up on Sunday mornings and getting fed completely by the Pastor of the church and never open their bible. Some are in such deep relationship with God they can't find a church on their level. Some are in the middle.
http://capturedbychristblog.wordpress.com/
The good news is that God loves each person...right where they are. The challenge is for us, the people, not to get crossways with other believers. We should all be understanding that God only takes a person as far as they are willing to go. And, that is not always a bad thing. It can be extremely frustrating from time to time. It can cause some people to leave the church, but God will continue to be God. It is our job to do what God is telling us to do. It is not our job to force others to do it too. If the enemy can keep us frustrated with one another, he can keep God's will from being done - or so he thinks. Our focus needs to be on God and his purpose for our life. If we keep HIM as our focus, the rest will fall into place. Your battle may end in you shaking the dust off your feet and moving on to the next place. The disciples were never going to convince the Jewish people to change. They (the Jews) stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. (Acts 13:49-52) The trouble makers thought they had won because they ran off the holy rollers. But, what really happened is God moved them on to the next place. And, they were not bitter about it. They were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit. I realize this is much easier said than done, especially when you are in conflict with another believer. But God is God and his love for us abounds any frustration or political point we may want to make. And, we all need to remember not to get to comfortable where we are. God may want to move us and use us in a new location. So, the next time you get frustrated, just remember that nothing is new under the sun, and God loves you and the other person!!
Yesterday at church I was reminded of heaven. We heard a beautiful sermon about heaven and all the things we would be doing in heaven. The pastor gave us some scriptures to look up at home because he could not get to all of them. Today, I looked up one of them...Luke 16: 19-31. This not only gave me a little glimpse of heaven, but a big glimpse of hell. Take a look with me...
(scripture via www.biblegateway.com)
The Rich Man and Lazarus
19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried.23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.24So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family,28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’
30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”
This convicts me on many levels. Notice I said "convicts" and not "condemnation". Conviction is a good thing. It reminds us to do right. Condemnation brings shame and guilt and usually we self medicate to deal with how bad it makes us feel. Conviction challenges us to rise above our circumstances and live the life Christ intended.
Here are my convictions:
1. It reminds me that hell is a real place, and I do not want to go there.
2. It reminds me that I don't want anyone to go there so I need to tell others about Jesus.
3. It reminds me of the finality of hell. There is a "great chasm set in place....nor can anyone cross over from there to us".
I believe in Jesus because of his love for me and the awesome love that I feel for him. I believe his power and his goodness are so great that I don't want to live without him in my life. I can't live without him. He has become so ingrained in who I am, that I don't want to live any other way. He is my hope. He is my rock. He is my truth.
Those are the things I dwell on. This is a relationship to me, not just fire insurance, so I don't spend much time thinking about hell. This scripture of the beggar and the rich man reminds me, "oh yeah, and there is that hell thing too!". (lol)
The rich man saw that it was too late for him, and he pleaded for the life of his family. He begged God to send someone from the dead to convince them to repent and believe. But, he was told even that would not work. Was it too late for them too? Had they already been told many times and simply refused to believe? Ouch!
Heaven is a real place...but so is hell. I don't like to think about hell very often, but it is a good reminder that we don't want to live there for eternity. And, as if hell were not bad enough, can you imagine if we had to be in hell and then watch those in heaven? That would be pure torture.
The good news is ... it is our choice. We choose where we want to live for eternity. And, I chose heaven. I hope you do too.
I woke up this morning full of anxiety. I hate anxiety. Don't like the way it makes me feel...jittery....snappy....shaky...just don't like it.
Drove the kids to school...still anxious.
Got to work...still anxious.
Found this cute little scripture at http://courageouscowgirl.blogspot.com
Then I grabbed my little bible I keep in my desk and read John, Chapter 19 titled, "Jesus Sentenced to be Crucified" and "The Death of Jesus". This is my least favorite chapter in the bible for obvious reasons. It hurts me all over to read about my Savior being crucified. And, to know they killed an innocent man simply because they didn't understand who he was or what he was telling them, just hurts me even more.
As I was reading this, I was reminded of a phrase I use often in my line of work, "We eat our own".
The very people that are trying to do good in a community are the ones that get attacked and destroyed by others in the same community. Everyone jumps up and down about wanting progress, or wanting something new, and they want to "keep the town alive". Yet, when someone starts making small steps in that direction, they chop them off at the knees, hoping they die out, much like the two men that were hung on the cross beside Jesus. They weren't all the way dead so the soldiers broke their legs so it could all be over.
But, the bigger picture was that Jesus was a Jew who came to fulfill the Jewish law. He was the savior they had prayed for, waited for, longed for. And, when he came, they did not recognize him and they had him killed out of selfish ambition and fear.
Many times, in community development the person or people trying to be the change that the people want, are often times the ones that those same people devour. On a larger scale, America is much the same way. We devour politicians who are striving to make change for the better. We lump them all in one big basket and complain rather than being part of the solution.
Let's not "eat our own". Let's not be divided on so many different issues. Let's work harder to see all sides of the coin. Often times that means compromising and working together. Let's work harder to find common ground. And, in doing this, it will help us all to "love our neighbor as ourself"...the one commandment that Jesus left for us to fulfill. We can do it.
Wrapping up, I want you all to know after cracking open my bible, my anxiety has subsided.
It works every time. Scripture cures all my ailments!
My problems still exist but God has given me peace.
My anxiety is not actually job related (today!), but reading this passage reminded me that we have a tendency to "eat our own"... so that is what I am sharing with you all.
May the peace that passes all understanding be with you today and everyday. God Bless!
