01.05.10 Grace that is Greater than all our Sin

Today I was overwhelmed with amazement at how God takes everything we read and uses it to aid in explaining whatever He is teaching me!!

I have missed a couple of weeks of The Disciplines of Grace study in our small group due to work. I decided not to skip to the chapter they are on, but pick back up where I left off reading and catch up. I skimmed the first chapter until I came to parts I didn't remember well. And here is the point where I realized that I know I read this, but it didn't mean as much too me then as it does now because of all the things the Lord has been teaching me!!! Only God, only His Word!!!

Bridges says, "It is only the joy of hearing the gospel and being reminded that our sins are forgiven in Christ that will keep the demands of discipleship from becoming drudgery.

It is only gratitude and love to God that comes from knowing the He no longer counts our sins against us (Romans 4:8) that provides the proper motive for responding to the claims of discipleship."

But, we tend to swing from one extreme (being proud of our accomplishments like the Pharisees) to the other (constant feelings of guilt).

"When we pray to God for His blessing, He does not examine our performance to see if we are worthy. Rather, He looks to see if we are trusting in the merit of His Son as our only hope for securing His blessing."

All of this points to my need to be in His word and in prayer and listening to the Holy Spirit. This is why I'm blogging scripture and prayers and plan to do this all year. I need time with him. I need accountability!

Philippians 3:9, I want to be “found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.”

"We look to God, not as our enemy or as a frustrated father who can never be pleased, but as our Father who is 100% for us because of Christ alone. Therefore, we trust him, that because of Christ (his death and righteousness), he will give us the Spirit—and everything else we need. " John Piper

01.04.10

I've had this verse rolling around in my head all day....

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

Then, these came....

"Why then is there no healing for the wound of my people?" (Jer. 8:22 NIV)

and...

"They go from one sin to another; they do not acknowledge me." (Jer. 9:3 NIV)

this prayer is from Stormie Omartian's Praying God's Will For Your Life

Lord, I know You are God of the universe, and I recognize that You are present in my life. Please help me sense Your hand on me as I go about my daily tasks. I love You, Lord, and I thank You for Your love and care for me.

In Jesus Name,
Amen.

01.03.10

Joshua 24:14

Now therefore, fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the river and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Well, if that isn't the way to start the new year off right!!!! 'nough said!!!

01.02.10

Charm is deceitful,
beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the Lord,
she shall be praised.

Proverbs 31:30

01.01.10 "Restoring the Years of Loss"

(from Love to Eat, Hate to Eat by Elyse Fitzpatrick)

"I hope that these thoughts don't discourage you
or bring you any sense of condemnation.
Perhaps you've never thought about your body in this way before,
and now it seems as though it's almost too late.
Perhaps you are already suffering the effects of neglecting or abusing your body (or life).
Don't give up.
It's never too late to begin serving God.
He can restore and help you.
Listen to these words from the prophet Joel (from the Lord):

"I will make up to you for the years that the swarming locust has eaten,
the creeping locust,
the stripping locust,
and the gnawing locust,
My great army
which I sent among you."
Joel 2:25

God's people had sinned and they were reaping the consequences of their behavior.
Just think-- God could have said,
"Well, tough luck, guys. I told you not to sin and you went ahead,
so now you'll just have to reap the consequences of your actions."
But that's not what He does.
No, He calls them to repentance,
and THEN He tells them that He will make up for all the losses they have suffered".
(Italics mine)


"These have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name."
John 20:31

New Year!!!

Happy New Year to all!!!! I'm starting mine a day early. I've been thinking about my reading for the coming year. We'll mostly spiritually. I really want to keep myself in the Word. I think I'll start blogging about my scripture reading and supplimental reading that encourage me spiritually.

For today, I'll start with my Operation Christmas Child week 1 memory verse, which I've read many times in the last couple of weeks.

For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

Isn't it AMAZING how he came?

Oh the places....

Dr. Seuss, I believe said it best, "Oh the Places You Can Go". I came across a great passage in The Russians series by Michael Phillips and Judith Pella. Book 1, The Crown and the Crucible, tells the story of a poor peasant girl who is leaving her small village to go to St. Petersburg, Russia. I love her description of how the few books she has had the opportunity to read (which she read over and over and over) have given her a glimpse into a world she otherwise would have had no idea about.

Anna knew more of the outside world than did most of the sixty inhabitants of Katyk. Even though such knowledge came from the pages of romantic books, she knew there were splendors as well as evils to be encountered. Even if from fairy tales, she knew something of the scope of human nature. She realized there were good people and evil. She knew there were choices to be made that would determine her future. She had an idea that a girl's heart, mind, and spirit might be stretched to the very limits.

...In her own small way, Anna felt like a knight in one of the ancient stories, leaving home for distant lands to seek out a dragon in some unknown corner of the empire, thus to prove her mettle and fulfill her destiny.