It has been a long, long time! Lots has been happening in my life these past few months. The biggest has been preparing for baby Caroline, who is due in just 2 days! I have had some episodes of labor that nearly had me calling the hospital, but would fade after just a few hours. Just trying to be patient while waiting. Patience is a virtue!
An update to my past prayer requests:
Dave is more than half-way through chemo and is doing wonderfully. We have seen God's hand of healing and provision the entire time. The doctor's have been very pleased with the results of his treatment so far. Please continue to pray for complete healing!
Erin had an uncomplicated C-section and her beautiful, sweet little girl is now 2 months old!
We've also prayed and watched in wonder as God has preserved and protected my dear friend, Mary Lou and her new little boy, Ben. Mary Lou delivered Ben by emergency C-section at only 28 weeks gestation due to HELLP sydrome. Praise God Mary Lou is doing great and healing nicely. Ben has grown from 2 lbs, 1 oz to 2 lbs, 14 oz and is also doing very well.
But, the real reason I have dusted off my blog is because God has been laying some things on my heart that are just too lengthy to share in a Facebook status ;-). For months, actually over a year, we as a church have been seeking God for revival. We have been praying, really praying, for an outpouring of His Spirit in our church and our families, that would spill out all over our towns and counties, our state and our nation. We have spent many hours in all-night prayer meetings and have wept many tears at the altar in repentance and in prayer for the lost. And we are beginning to see God really move in our midst!
But the past few weeks, while at church, I have felt a little discouraged. Not because I don't think that God is answering. I know that He is! Discouraged as I watch people on their knees, crying out to God while I'm playing referee between my 2 children. Discouraged as I'm holding my 4 year old to keep her still and reminding my oldest that it is time to pray. I sometimes feel like I'm just not effective, or even wonder why I am there if only spend the entire worship service caring for my children. And even worried over how I'm going to keep my 2 oldest in order all by myself once Caroline arrives (hubby is worship leader and is busy playing drums). But God whispered some reminders to me this past week. They were precious words to my heart and I thought they were too good not to share. I know that there are many mothers out there who can echo my feelings.
God gently reminded me that there will eventually come a time when I don't have children fussing next to me, but on their knees, praying with me. The time I spend with them now, teaching them to pray, to worship with all thankfulness, to seek God's face, and many times just to be reverent and respectful while others are praying is priceless. These children that He has blessed me with are our future congregation; our future worship leaders, and Sunday School teachers, and elders and pastors (actually elder's wives and pastor's wives...since I have all girls). They are the ones who will very soon be on their knees, crying out to God for revival and for the souls of the lost. My time each Sunday is not at all wasted, but so desperately needed at this time where real disciples of Christ are becoming fewer and fewer; where persecution of Christians is becoming a reality even in America, and where their lives as followers of Christ will most certainly require so much more strength and courage and grace that will only come from a real and living relationship with their Savior. He has placed me here at this phase in my life "for such a time as this."
And He also reminded me that my focused prayer time is still powerful and effective, regardless of whether it is with the congregation during Sunday morning service or alone in the early morning hours while the rest of the house is asleep. There are other times that I can spend in prayer, seeking God's face. At 2 AM when I can't sleep due to heartburn or contractions now, or later when I'm up for middle of the night feedings. I can worship Him as I'm folding laundry or washing dishes. I can praise him together with the girls as we sing in the car or dance in the living room. We can pray together for lost loved ones while we're in the car, driving to see them. What a blessing God has given me in these precious little ones; and what an enormous responsibility He has entrusted me with.
We mothers must never make light of the importance of our role on Sunday mornings!
I have more blogs brewing in my mind. Hopefully, soon, I'll have time to sit down and share them too.
Showing posts with label convictions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label convictions. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Irony
To quote another blog:
Innocent Victims of an Obama Presidency
by Marcia Segelstein
The good news out of Election 2008 is that all the predictions that racism would ultimately prevent Barack Obama being elected did not come true. There is, however, a tragic irony that may well also occur as a result of this election. James Kushiner, publisher of Touchstone: A Journal of Mere Christianity, writes about it on the magazine’s website:
“[W]hile blacks have risen from the indignities and injustice of slavery in which their bodies were sold and consumed as property, and have endured segregation and second-class citizen status and racial discrimination, and have now one of their own elected to the highest office in the land, this very president-elect, Barack Obama, will increase the death toll among black human beings if he fulfills his promise to enact a Freedom of Choice Act, which will serve as a firewall around Roe v. Wade, the Dred Scott decision of our times…Discrimination based on the color of one’s skin is not now the burning issue of our time…It’s that we’ve forgotten the value of human skin in the first place.”
Innocent Victims of an Obama Presidency
by Marcia Segelstein
The good news out of Election 2008 is that all the predictions that racism would ultimately prevent Barack Obama being elected did not come true. There is, however, a tragic irony that may well also occur as a result of this election. James Kushiner, publisher of Touchstone: A Journal of Mere Christianity, writes about it on the magazine’s website:
“[W]hile blacks have risen from the indignities and injustice of slavery in which their bodies were sold and consumed as property, and have endured segregation and second-class citizen status and racial discrimination, and have now one of their own elected to the highest office in the land, this very president-elect, Barack Obama, will increase the death toll among black human beings if he fulfills his promise to enact a Freedom of Choice Act, which will serve as a firewall around Roe v. Wade, the Dred Scott decision of our times…Discrimination based on the color of one’s skin is not now the burning issue of our time…It’s that we’ve forgotten the value of human skin in the first place.”
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Time to wake up and get busy!
Ok. So this morning I wanted to climb back under the covers and stay there. I have shed my many tears over the future of our nation, but now it's time to pick ourselves up off the floor, dust ourselves off and get busy. We need to get busy sharing the gospel with an urgency like never before - while we still have the precious freedom to do so publically. Since we cannot count on laws to protect the precious lives of the unborn, we need to work even harder at finding other ways to protect them - intervening in the lives of those with unwanted pregnancies before they make a decision that will haunt them forever. We still need to pray fervently for God's mercy on our country. Maybe this is what we Christians need to wake us up and get us out of our comfortable lives and spur us to immediate action. Although it is a very dark day, God is still on the throne and in control.
"See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil." Eph.5:15-16
"See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil." Eph.5:15-16
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Another reason...
"In Isaiah 41:11 the Lord is promising Israel "All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish."
Newspaper 'suppressing' Obama link to anti-Israel professor
Newspaper 'suppressing' Obama link to anti-Israel professor
Friday, October 24, 2008
Good advice?
"Follow your heart!"
Sounds good. Romantic. Even noble, right? That's the advice given in all great fairy tales. Disney's really got it down. I know I've had a little fixation with the movie Fireproof this week, but there was this one line in the movie that really gripped me. It was so piognant! There is a part in the movie when Ken says to Caleb, "DON'T follow your heart. LEAD your heart!" It totally went against all great love story movie advice.
Think about it. The bank robber from the next town over followed his heart. So did the child molester and the serial killer. My heart in it's human, sinful state cares only about one person - ME! Without the saving, transforming grace of Jesus, my heart is dark and selfish. Imagine a world where people (especially Christians) stopped following their heart, and instead surrendered it completely to Christ. Maybe instead of chatting it up with our best friends at church, we might spend some time getting to know that person who's visited every week for a month and still sits alone, . Maybe we'd take our oldest child with us to the grocery store just this once and really focus in on them instead of claiming those few minutes of "me" time. Maybe we'd stop arguing with our spouse about our plans long enough to really hear his dreams.
Maybe we're all too busy listening to the advice of fairy tales and following our hearts to notice the person right next to us.
"For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander." Matt. 15:19
"I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun." Eccl. 2:10-11
"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." Psalm 51:10
"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." Ezekiel 36:26
Sounds good. Romantic. Even noble, right? That's the advice given in all great fairy tales. Disney's really got it down. I know I've had a little fixation with the movie Fireproof this week, but there was this one line in the movie that really gripped me. It was so piognant! There is a part in the movie when Ken says to Caleb, "DON'T follow your heart. LEAD your heart!" It totally went against all great love story movie advice.
Think about it. The bank robber from the next town over followed his heart. So did the child molester and the serial killer. My heart in it's human, sinful state cares only about one person - ME! Without the saving, transforming grace of Jesus, my heart is dark and selfish. Imagine a world where people (especially Christians) stopped following their heart, and instead surrendered it completely to Christ. Maybe instead of chatting it up with our best friends at church, we might spend some time getting to know that person who's visited every week for a month and still sits alone, . Maybe we'd take our oldest child with us to the grocery store just this once and really focus in on them instead of claiming those few minutes of "me" time. Maybe we'd stop arguing with our spouse about our plans long enough to really hear his dreams.
Maybe we're all too busy listening to the advice of fairy tales and following our hearts to notice the person right next to us.
"For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander." Matt. 15:19
"I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun." Eccl. 2:10-11
"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." Psalm 51:10
"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." Ezekiel 36:26
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Do you trust Me?
Octamom just posted a wonderfully written blog on reproductive decisions. She ended with the following questions, so I thought I’d dive in and try to answer.
“So what about you? So how about your family? Are you done? Are you just beginning? What questions, fears, dreams have shaped the number of people in your family? How do you know if there may be someone else lining up for membership in your family club? How do you know when the club is complete?”
Did you ever play that game as a child where you stand facing away from a friend, close your eyes and fall backwards…trusting them to catch you? I believe the name of the game was actually called “Trust”. I played it many times. I can remember wondering if they would really catch me, or just watch me fall. I was sure that my true friends would try to catch me…but what if they dropped me?! I always knew that there was really only one person I could totally trust to catch me – my Dad. It was such a cool game if you could really totally trust the person behind you to catch you!
After 11 years of wondering how I really feel about family planning, God has recently brought me to a place of totally trusting Him. I know that if I leave it completely in His hands, He will not let me down. Like that game of trust, I know that He will never leave me or drop me. He knows so much better than I do what is best for me and my family. I have always felt that by using “birth control”, I was trying to take my future out of God’s hands and “control” it myself.
In no way am I saying I believe it is wrong or a sin to prevent pregnancy. I believe that there are times when serious health issues require prevention of pregnancy, and God uses medical science and our doctors to direct us. What I am saying is that for me, it is a matter of trust and complete surrender to God. It is saying “God, You are sovereign. Your ways are higher than my ways. You see the beginning from the end. I trust Your plan.”
Some would say it is easy for me to think like that because I don’t get pregnant very easily. It has always taken years of trying. I don’t have to worry about having children a year apart or having 3 in diapers. But right now, God has me on the other side of the issue – yearning for another child and trusting that His timing is perfect. The same convictions still apply. He is the opener and closer of wombs. Although I desperately want more children and at times feel impatient (ok, lots of times), again, I still must leave it in His hands and surrender my hopes and dreams completely to Him.
I LOVE the way that Octamom put it. I hope she doesn’t mind my quoting her:
“So in the end, the answer is this: we are standing on holy ground. To be invited by an infinitely creative Creator to participate in such an amazing way to make people is holy. To see those people enter our lives is miraculous.” She goes on to say of her 8 children, “To look in each of the faces around our dinner table, to know that we thought we were probably done with the baby thing after 1, then after 2, then after 3...sometimes my heart is in my throat as I think, "What if I had called it quits? You wouldn't be here! I would have missed the amazing miracle of you..."...wow. That's heavy.”
So I’ve answered the question from my heart. All that being said, I cannot leave my answer as it is and not warn anyone who doesn’t already know the disturbing and horrifying facts about “The Pill” that I have just recently learned over the past few years. It breaks my heart to know that I took those pills for nearly 3 years altogether without ever knowing exactly how they work. Most doctors will not volunteer this information, but after hours upon hours of research, I have found enough evidence that I will never use “the Pill” again. Although I have found many sources, the video below is the simplest explanation I've found. Pastor and author Randy Alcorn has also done extensive research on the subject and has posted his findings here, as well as in his book titled Does the Birth Control Pill Cause Abortion? which includes endorsments from many doctors. Please watch!
“So what about you? So how about your family? Are you done? Are you just beginning? What questions, fears, dreams have shaped the number of people in your family? How do you know if there may be someone else lining up for membership in your family club? How do you know when the club is complete?”
Did you ever play that game as a child where you stand facing away from a friend, close your eyes and fall backwards…trusting them to catch you? I believe the name of the game was actually called “Trust”. I played it many times. I can remember wondering if they would really catch me, or just watch me fall. I was sure that my true friends would try to catch me…but what if they dropped me?! I always knew that there was really only one person I could totally trust to catch me – my Dad. It was such a cool game if you could really totally trust the person behind you to catch you!
After 11 years of wondering how I really feel about family planning, God has recently brought me to a place of totally trusting Him. I know that if I leave it completely in His hands, He will not let me down. Like that game of trust, I know that He will never leave me or drop me. He knows so much better than I do what is best for me and my family. I have always felt that by using “birth control”, I was trying to take my future out of God’s hands and “control” it myself.
In no way am I saying I believe it is wrong or a sin to prevent pregnancy. I believe that there are times when serious health issues require prevention of pregnancy, and God uses medical science and our doctors to direct us. What I am saying is that for me, it is a matter of trust and complete surrender to God. It is saying “God, You are sovereign. Your ways are higher than my ways. You see the beginning from the end. I trust Your plan.”
Some would say it is easy for me to think like that because I don’t get pregnant very easily. It has always taken years of trying. I don’t have to worry about having children a year apart or having 3 in diapers. But right now, God has me on the other side of the issue – yearning for another child and trusting that His timing is perfect. The same convictions still apply. He is the opener and closer of wombs. Although I desperately want more children and at times feel impatient (ok, lots of times), again, I still must leave it in His hands and surrender my hopes and dreams completely to Him.
I LOVE the way that Octamom put it. I hope she doesn’t mind my quoting her:
“So in the end, the answer is this: we are standing on holy ground. To be invited by an infinitely creative Creator to participate in such an amazing way to make people is holy. To see those people enter our lives is miraculous.” She goes on to say of her 8 children, “To look in each of the faces around our dinner table, to know that we thought we were probably done with the baby thing after 1, then after 2, then after 3...sometimes my heart is in my throat as I think, "What if I had called it quits? You wouldn't be here! I would have missed the amazing miracle of you..."...wow. That's heavy.”
So I’ve answered the question from my heart. All that being said, I cannot leave my answer as it is and not warn anyone who doesn’t already know the disturbing and horrifying facts about “The Pill” that I have just recently learned over the past few years. It breaks my heart to know that I took those pills for nearly 3 years altogether without ever knowing exactly how they work. Most doctors will not volunteer this information, but after hours upon hours of research, I have found enough evidence that I will never use “the Pill” again. Although I have found many sources, the video below is the simplest explanation I've found. Pastor and author Randy Alcorn has also done extensive research on the subject and has posted his findings here, as well as in his book titled Does the Birth Control Pill Cause Abortion? which includes endorsments from many doctors. Please watch!
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Disturbed!
Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves, when our dreams have come true because we have dreamed too little, when we arrive safely because we have sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess, we have lost our thirst for the waters of life; having fallen in love with life, we have ceased to dream of eternity; and in our efforts to build a new Earth, we have allowed our vision of the new heaven to dim.
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, to venture on wider seas where storms will show your mastery; where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars. We ask you to push back the horizons of our hopes; and to push into the future in strength, courage, hope, and love."
-Sir Francis Drake, explorer and naval pioneer during the Elizabethan era
I found this quote by Sir Francis Drake yesterday while looking for something gripping to add to the weekly church newsletter. It gripped me! How often are our dreams about living the good life, the American "dream", and not about our lost loved ones and neighbors giving their lives to Christ, embracing the cross, and finding victory in Him? How often do we sail through safe "waters" so that we don't "rock the boat" with the Truth? How often are we so distracted by all of our stuff that fills us up so that we aren't even thirsty for Him any longer?
My prayer is that I would become more "disturbed" by the Lord! That I would venture out onto those wild seas, in faith knowing that He is the one controlling them. That I would not remain in the comfortable safety of the lukewarm and apathetic, but dare to boldly venture out into the storm, my hand in His. That I would forget those things that moths and rust destroy, and lose myself in what is eternal.
Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess, we have lost our thirst for the waters of life; having fallen in love with life, we have ceased to dream of eternity; and in our efforts to build a new Earth, we have allowed our vision of the new heaven to dim.
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, to venture on wider seas where storms will show your mastery; where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars. We ask you to push back the horizons of our hopes; and to push into the future in strength, courage, hope, and love."
-Sir Francis Drake, explorer and naval pioneer during the Elizabethan era
I found this quote by Sir Francis Drake yesterday while looking for something gripping to add to the weekly church newsletter. It gripped me! How often are our dreams about living the good life, the American "dream", and not about our lost loved ones and neighbors giving their lives to Christ, embracing the cross, and finding victory in Him? How often do we sail through safe "waters" so that we don't "rock the boat" with the Truth? How often are we so distracted by all of our stuff that fills us up so that we aren't even thirsty for Him any longer?
My prayer is that I would become more "disturbed" by the Lord! That I would venture out onto those wild seas, in faith knowing that He is the one controlling them. That I would not remain in the comfortable safety of the lukewarm and apathetic, but dare to boldly venture out into the storm, my hand in His. That I would forget those things that moths and rust destroy, and lose myself in what is eternal.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
A teachable moment
So I was just over at my friend MandyMom's page, and she was talking about the trap of materialism and the way it screams at us everywhere we look. Our culture is soooo saturated in it! So I felt compelled to share a discussion I just had with Maia this morning on the topic. It went something like this:
"Mom, I REALLY, REALLY want a horse. (HA!) If we all put our money together, you, me and Dad, couldn't we have enough money to buy a horse?" Then she went on to say, "If we go on Who Wants To Be A Millionare, Dad could win a million dollars and then we could buy a horse, right Mom? We could buy lots of stuff then!"
Aha! Prime "teaching moment". So I said that yes, we could buy a horse if we had a million dollars. There are many things we could buy for ourselves. And there is nothing wrong with buying a horse, or things for ourselves. But, whatever we have actually belongs to God. He is just blessing us with it, so that we can in turn bless others. If we use it selfishly, than why should God bless us with anything? We talked about ways that we could use a million dollars to bless others. We could adopt a child (or more...a lifelong desire of mine) who had no family to call their own; we could help fund other adoptions for childless couples; we could buy ultrasound machines for Crisis Pregnancy Centers that would save the lives of helpless unborn babies; we could build homes for the poor in Peru where Grandma and Pop went last summer; we could build an addition onto our church building and make needed repairs so that we could reach more people for Jesus; we could do so much that would bless others and honor God. I hope that I maybe made a slight difference in her thinking. But...maybe not. 3 minutes later she was telling me about a Pogo stick she REALLY wanted that she saw on a commercial. And about 10 minutes after that, she wanted a Gameboy. Hopefully, it will someday sink in :)
"Mom, I REALLY, REALLY want a horse. (HA!) If we all put our money together, you, me and Dad, couldn't we have enough money to buy a horse?" Then she went on to say, "If we go on Who Wants To Be A Millionare, Dad could win a million dollars and then we could buy a horse, right Mom? We could buy lots of stuff then!"
Aha! Prime "teaching moment". So I said that yes, we could buy a horse if we had a million dollars. There are many things we could buy for ourselves. And there is nothing wrong with buying a horse, or things for ourselves. But, whatever we have actually belongs to God. He is just blessing us with it, so that we can in turn bless others. If we use it selfishly, than why should God bless us with anything? We talked about ways that we could use a million dollars to bless others. We could adopt a child (or more...a lifelong desire of mine) who had no family to call their own; we could help fund other adoptions for childless couples; we could buy ultrasound machines for Crisis Pregnancy Centers that would save the lives of helpless unborn babies; we could build homes for the poor in Peru where Grandma and Pop went last summer; we could build an addition onto our church building and make needed repairs so that we could reach more people for Jesus; we could do so much that would bless others and honor God. I hope that I maybe made a slight difference in her thinking. But...maybe not. 3 minutes later she was telling me about a Pogo stick she REALLY wanted that she saw on a commercial. And about 10 minutes after that, she wanted a Gameboy. Hopefully, it will someday sink in :)
Monday, July 21, 2008
Revival Prayer
Our pastor has most recently been preaching on revival. We as a church have been praying for and desperately seeking revival. Christians in America have been sleeping. We have become comfortable with the world and grown lukewarm. I know I have, and I look around and see the same thing all around me. Our pastor just posted this on our church bulletin board. It is an excerpt from Why Revival Tarries by Leonard Ravenhill. God had already been working on my heart about spending more time in prayer. It was a powerful challenge to me and I thought I'd share.
"No man is greater than his prayer life. The pastor who is not praying is playing; the people who are not praying are straying. The pulpit can be a shop window to display one’s talents; the prayer closet allows no showing off." "Poverty-stricken as the church is today in many things, she is most stricken here, in the place of prayer. We have many organizers, but few agonizers; many players and payers, few pray-ers; many singers, few clingers; lots of pastors, few wrestlers; many fears, few tears; much fashion, little passion; many interferers, few intercessors; many writers but few fighters. Falling here, we fail everywhere.""The ministry of preaching is open to few; the ministry of prayer – the highest ministry of all human offices – is open to all. Spiritual adolescents say 'I’ll not go tonight; it’s only the prayer meeting.' It may be that Satan has little cause to fear most preaching. Yet past experiences sting him to rally all his infernal army to fight against God’s people praying. Modern Christians know little of 'binding and loosing,' though the onus is on us – 'Whatsoever YOU shall bind…' Have you done any of this lately? God is not prodigal with His power, but to be much FOR God, we must be much WITH God.""This world hits the trail for Hell with a speed that makes our fastest plane look like a tortoise; yet alas, few of us can remember the last time we missed our bed for a night of waiting upon God for a world-shaking revival.""The secret of praying is praying in secret. A sinning man will stop praying; and a praying man will stop sinning. We are beggared and bankrupt, but not broken, nor even bent.""In the matter of New Testament, Spirit-inspired, hell-shaking, world-breaking prayer, never has so much been left by so many to so few. For this kind of prayer there is no substitute. We do it – or we die!"Leonard RavenhillWhy Revival Tarries
"No man is greater than his prayer life. The pastor who is not praying is playing; the people who are not praying are straying. The pulpit can be a shop window to display one’s talents; the prayer closet allows no showing off." "Poverty-stricken as the church is today in many things, she is most stricken here, in the place of prayer. We have many organizers, but few agonizers; many players and payers, few pray-ers; many singers, few clingers; lots of pastors, few wrestlers; many fears, few tears; much fashion, little passion; many interferers, few intercessors; many writers but few fighters. Falling here, we fail everywhere.""The ministry of preaching is open to few; the ministry of prayer – the highest ministry of all human offices – is open to all. Spiritual adolescents say 'I’ll not go tonight; it’s only the prayer meeting.' It may be that Satan has little cause to fear most preaching. Yet past experiences sting him to rally all his infernal army to fight against God’s people praying. Modern Christians know little of 'binding and loosing,' though the onus is on us – 'Whatsoever YOU shall bind…' Have you done any of this lately? God is not prodigal with His power, but to be much FOR God, we must be much WITH God.""This world hits the trail for Hell with a speed that makes our fastest plane look like a tortoise; yet alas, few of us can remember the last time we missed our bed for a night of waiting upon God for a world-shaking revival.""The secret of praying is praying in secret. A sinning man will stop praying; and a praying man will stop sinning. We are beggared and bankrupt, but not broken, nor even bent.""In the matter of New Testament, Spirit-inspired, hell-shaking, world-breaking prayer, never has so much been left by so many to so few. For this kind of prayer there is no substitute. We do it – or we die!"Leonard RavenhillWhy Revival Tarries
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Christians and drinking
This seems to be a hot topic lately. We just discussed it in our small group a few weeks ago and I just found a discussion about it on Happy To Be Called Mommy's site. I thought I'd share my feelings by posting on my blog the comments that I left on hers. Here it is:
I grew up in a Christian home, attended Christian school, spent every Sunday at church and believed that a little drink now and then (as an adult over 21) was fine. I knew 1 Corinthians 10:23-33, 2 Corinthians 6:3, and particularly Romans 14, but really believed that as long as I was out alone with my husband, or in my own home...a single drink every now and then was fine for me.
When I was about 27, my husband and I were HS youth leaders in our church and were very active in other ministries. One night, I was having dinner with some of my girlfriends for a girl's night out about an hour away from home. We were ordering our drinks and I started to order a mixed drink, but decided on an iced tea (due to budget concerns) instead. We had a wonderful dinner and as we stood to leave, one of the new teenaged boys to our youth ministry came to bus our table. He remembered me and said "Bye, Miss Lisa...see you Wednesday". It was that night when I decided to never drink another alcoholic drink again. I realized that it doesn't matter where we are, we are a testimony...either good or bad. I never know who may be watching me. If I had ordered that drink, he wouldn't have known whether it was my first drink of the year or my 5th drink of the night. I could have severely damaged my testimony for the LORD without ever really doing anything wrong. The Bible says in 1 Thessalonians 5:22 "Abstain from all APPEARANCE of evil."
It's not that I believe that the drinking of any alcoholic drink is a sin for any Christian. I believe that because I have been convicted in my spirit not to drink, then it would be a sin for me to drink (Romans 14:19-23: Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another. 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense. 21 It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak.[a] 22 Do you have faith?[b] Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. 23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.[c]).
Sooo, in my desire for holiness (1 Peter 1:16 "for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."), I have decided that abstaining from alcohol was a small price to pay to preserve a good testimony for the Lord.
Please don't hear this as judgemental. Just something to think about.
I grew up in a Christian home, attended Christian school, spent every Sunday at church and believed that a little drink now and then (as an adult over 21) was fine. I knew 1 Corinthians 10:23-33, 2 Corinthians 6:3, and particularly Romans 14, but really believed that as long as I was out alone with my husband, or in my own home...a single drink every now and then was fine for me.
When I was about 27, my husband and I were HS youth leaders in our church and were very active in other ministries. One night, I was having dinner with some of my girlfriends for a girl's night out about an hour away from home. We were ordering our drinks and I started to order a mixed drink, but decided on an iced tea (due to budget concerns) instead. We had a wonderful dinner and as we stood to leave, one of the new teenaged boys to our youth ministry came to bus our table. He remembered me and said "Bye, Miss Lisa...see you Wednesday". It was that night when I decided to never drink another alcoholic drink again. I realized that it doesn't matter where we are, we are a testimony...either good or bad. I never know who may be watching me. If I had ordered that drink, he wouldn't have known whether it was my first drink of the year or my 5th drink of the night. I could have severely damaged my testimony for the LORD without ever really doing anything wrong. The Bible says in 1 Thessalonians 5:22 "Abstain from all APPEARANCE of evil."
It's not that I believe that the drinking of any alcoholic drink is a sin for any Christian. I believe that because I have been convicted in my spirit not to drink, then it would be a sin for me to drink (Romans 14:19-23: Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another. 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense. 21 It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak.[a] 22 Do you have faith?[b] Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. 23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.[c]).
Sooo, in my desire for holiness (1 Peter 1:16 "for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."), I have decided that abstaining from alcohol was a small price to pay to preserve a good testimony for the Lord.
Please don't hear this as judgemental. Just something to think about.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Contentment
This week in our Compass Group we are studying 1 Timothy 6:6-19 NKJV. Verses 6-8 state "Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content." Then skipping down to 17: "Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life."
I was given such a vivid picture of discontentment this weekend, that I just had to share. My husband and I both just celebrated our birthdays over the past 2 weeks and our 11th wedding anniversary on Saturday. As a gift, my sister and her husband so generously gave us a gift card to a very nice seafood restaurant (complete with overnight babysitting) for us to use on our anniversary. You know, the kind of restaurant that we would normally admire from afar, but never spend the money to go to on our own. Tom and I were talking and laughing and enjoying our time alone by candlelight dinner overlooking the marina. We couldn't help but overhear the man next to us whining and complaining about his life and how miserable he was with his pathetic salary...etc. It was obvious from his conversation that his salary couldn't possibly be all that "pathetic" and that he dined quite frequently at restaurants like this one.
That night I rediscovered how truly beautiful contentment really is...and how ugly discontentment can be! Contentment is something to be pursued, prayed for, eagerly sought after. Contentment allowed me to enjoy that beautiful, delicious dinner and still believe with all my heart that no fancy restaurant can compare to our dinners at home around our table, maybe eating just frozen pizza, but surrounded by giggles and silly stories and love, trusting the Lord to provide all our needs. I'm not saying that I prefer to never go out alone with my hubby. We had a wonderful date night, reminiscing over the past 11 years (16 counting all of our years as sweethearts) and dreaming about the future. We need that time to come away from everything and focus on each other. What I am saying is that we don't need a lot of money or possessions to live RICHLY! I was even able to thank God for placing us at a table next to that whining man. After listening to his complaining for awhile, I looked at Tom and said "We are SO BLESSED!" -and he had to agree!
Proverbs 19:23 "The fear of the LORD leads to life, and he who has it will abide in satisfaction; He will not be visited with evil."
I was given such a vivid picture of discontentment this weekend, that I just had to share. My husband and I both just celebrated our birthdays over the past 2 weeks and our 11th wedding anniversary on Saturday. As a gift, my sister and her husband so generously gave us a gift card to a very nice seafood restaurant (complete with overnight babysitting) for us to use on our anniversary. You know, the kind of restaurant that we would normally admire from afar, but never spend the money to go to on our own. Tom and I were talking and laughing and enjoying our time alone by candlelight dinner overlooking the marina. We couldn't help but overhear the man next to us whining and complaining about his life and how miserable he was with his pathetic salary...etc. It was obvious from his conversation that his salary couldn't possibly be all that "pathetic" and that he dined quite frequently at restaurants like this one.
That night I rediscovered how truly beautiful contentment really is...and how ugly discontentment can be! Contentment is something to be pursued, prayed for, eagerly sought after. Contentment allowed me to enjoy that beautiful, delicious dinner and still believe with all my heart that no fancy restaurant can compare to our dinners at home around our table, maybe eating just frozen pizza, but surrounded by giggles and silly stories and love, trusting the Lord to provide all our needs. I'm not saying that I prefer to never go out alone with my hubby. We had a wonderful date night, reminiscing over the past 11 years (16 counting all of our years as sweethearts) and dreaming about the future. We need that time to come away from everything and focus on each other. What I am saying is that we don't need a lot of money or possessions to live RICHLY! I was even able to thank God for placing us at a table next to that whining man. After listening to his complaining for awhile, I looked at Tom and said "We are SO BLESSED!" -and he had to agree!
Proverbs 19:23 "The fear of the LORD leads to life, and he who has it will abide in satisfaction; He will not be visited with evil."
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