Sometimes we lose our way. We find that the opinion of man becomes more important than the opinion of God. In those times we need a little reminder! Thanks to Jason Gray for that reminder today.
Category: Bible
1,000 Little Blessings Chapter 2
Nehemiah 8:8 They translated the Book of The Revelation of God so the people could understand it and then explained the reading. 9 Nehemiah the governor, along with Ezra the priest and scholar and the Levites who were teaching the people, said to all the people, “This day is holy to God, your God. Don’t weep and carry on.” They said this because all the people were weeping as they heard the words of The Revelation. 10 He continued, “Go home and prepare a feast, holiday food and drink; and share it with those who don’t have anything: This day is holy to God. Don’t feel bad. The joy of God is your strength!”
My days have been busy as my husband is out of town and there is much to do. My hands and feet are busily moving from work to home and back again. Yet there is much to be grateful for. This day is holy to God. In other words, this day is set apart. I am not guaranteed tomorrow and yesterday has past. I have only this day.
Today my blessings are many.
1. I woke up and it was raining. What a blessing to have a roof over my head.
2. I thanked God for a hot shower that just flowed from a tap.
3. Yesterday when I went to Starbucks I was hungry and wanted a Protein Bistro Box. They were out of them. Today when I showed up they gave me one for free! Got to love Starbucks and blessings.
4. Sales at the store were great yesterday and the store is full today so I’m sure we’ll see another great day.
5. Today my cousin gave birth to a baby boy. She named him after my uncle, her father, who died suddenly not too long ago. Richard Scott is a beautiful legacy and tribute.
6. I watched a great documentary that will be a blog entry or two as I wrap my head around what I want to say.
7. I took my jeans out of the dryer and put them right one. No jumping up and down and sucking in to button them up.
8. I laughed with friends.
9. I have really good kids!
10. I was able to be a blessing to our community today. Because of that I got my picture taken for the newspaper.
Taking the Lord’s Name In Vain
Proverbs 30:7 Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die : 8 Remove far from me vanity and lies : give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: 9 Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.
When I married Doug Young, I took on his last name. I now represented him and claimed to be a part of his family. I now have a choice to make. I can either wear that last name well or make a mockery of it.
This is what it means to take the Lord’s name in vain. We can claim to be followers of Christ, all the while following our own agenda or we can represent him well. Taking the Lord’s name in vain is so much more than we think it is. It’s about our reputation, it’s about our walk with him. It’s about the respect for the name and more importantly his position in our life.
Very Same Power
We need to remember this!
1,000 Little Blessings
I hear some people in the Christian faith say miracles aren’t for today. I say miracles happen every second of every day. We merely have to look for them. You are a witness to blessings and miracles every single day of your life. You hear about them all the time. With cable, Internet and smartphones we are a privileged generations who are a witness to even greater things than any generation before us.
Yet, do you see miracles and blessings for what they are or do you just take them for granted? Do you acknowledge them or do you swipe them away with a wave of your hand as coincidence or luck?
Deuteronomy 30:19 I call Heaven and Earth to witness against you today: I place before you Life and Death, Blessing and Curse.
Even if we choose today a curse rather than a blessing, we still see blessings if we only open our eyes to them.
Ask any woman who has miscarried, if her healthy baby’s cry in the labor and delivery room is a miracle?
Ask anyone whose cell phone rings with the command to get to the hospital immediately because an organ has been donated for their transplant if this moment isn’t a miracle?
Ask any family whose soldier has come home from war if it isn’t a miracle?
Ask anyone whose home has remained standing after a disaster if it wasn’t a miracle?
So today I begin a new series where I’m going to find blessings and hopefully some miracles in my life. I’m going to purposefully look for them. I’m hoping you do too. I’m also hoping you’ll begin to add your voice to mine and we’ll begin to see the world on a whole different level.
So here are my ten blessings for today. If you feel inclined to share I’d love to hear your top 10 too! Even if you just noticed one, post it!
1. I woke up today. Yeah I’m a pretty grouchy morning person but I have to say waking up is a blessing that not everyone gets.
2. I looked around the bedroom as my eyes adjusted in the darkness. It was 4 a.m. My dog Lulu was curled up and stuck in crook of my knee. My husband, Doug, was snoring and hugging a pillow, mouth open and oh so cute! What a blessing to have them beside me.
3. It was a cool fall morning today and the good thread count sheets and the comforter felt, well, comforting. What a blessing to have have warmth on a cool morning.
4. I had a nice hot shower. Not everyone gets to turn on a tap and wait for hot water before getting into a shower.
5. I had groceries in the fridge. I promptly put a roast in the crockpot for dinner and made some oatmeal for breakfast. Food was plentiful this morning. I need to give thanks!
6. I had a few quiet uninterrupted moments to read.
7. I got ready to go to work. Work is a blessing especially if you are a workaholic, which some have accused me of being. 🙂
8. I got into a car that starts. Just the mere fact that I have a car is a blessing.
9. The sun was shining, the flowers were blooming and the birds were singing. I’m not sure if this is three blessings or just one but I said I’d only give 10 things so I’m counting it as one.
10. I was greeted by great employees.
…..And it’s only 9:30 a.m.
In The End
What were you worried about last month on the 24th of August? What were you worried about last year on the 24th of September?
If you’re like me, you were worried about something, you always are, but for the life of you, you can’t remember what it was.
Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Somehow it all works out. Just as God said it would.
So relax! That insurmountable thing that is weighing on your mind today will soon be replaced by the next big mountain. One thing is for sure and that is that there is something new worry coming on the horizon because there always is. What is not for sure is how you will handle it. Will you trust God with the faith it takes to work it out, or will you allow it to consume your days?
In the end it will work out. Maybe it will not work out as you envisioned an outcome, but an outcome nevertheless is on its way!
TLC Begins Its New Study
Transforming Life Center 4 Women begins its new fall semester tonight @ 7 p.m. @ Oasis Church, 1005 I Street.We look forward to seeing you there!
Knowing The Truth Will Set You Free
There are some people who are anti-church, anti-pastors. That’s cool with me, they are free to think as they please, but please speak in knowledge rather than in ignorance. I recently heard of one of these people saying Jesus never preached in a church so that he could be the example of why church is not necessary. For the sake of not belaboring a point, I did not quote all the scriptures that talk of Jesus preaching in a temple but just a few. Here is the truth:
Mark 1:21 They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach.22 The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.
Luke 4:42 At daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. 43 But he said, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” 44 And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.
Luke 19:47 Every day he was teaching at the temple. But the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people were trying to kill him.
NIV
Jesus was Jewish. Of course he was dedicated into his faith. He sat at the feet of temple scholars at a very early age:
Luke 2:41 Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. 42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to the Feast, according to the custom. 43 After the Feast was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. 44 Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.” 49 “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”
I understand people have their beliefs but if you’re going to use the bible for your argument make sure it’s really in there.
Tapestry Of Love
I heard a Pastor say that when storms come they take out the trees that are not deeply rooted.
Colossians 2:2 I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God. Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God’s great mystery. 3 All the richest treasures of wisdom and knowledge are embedded in that mystery and nowhere else. And we’ve been shown the mystery!
I heard a teaching once that God blesses with an open hand. Rain comes to the just and the unjust, just as sunshine, children, jobs and paychecks. But for those who seek relationship with him, for those who willingly place their hand in his, there in his fist is wisdom. The Proverbs say wisdom is crying in the street. Those who choose to answer the call are rewarded.
4 I’m telling you this because I don’t want anyone leading you off on some wild-goose chase, after other so-called mysteries, or “the Secret.” 5 I’m a long way off, true, and you may never lay eyes on me, but believe me, I’m on your side, right beside you. I am delighted to hear of the careful and orderly ways you conduct your affairs, and impressed with the solid substance of your faith in Christ. 6 My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. 7 You’re deeply rooted in him. You’re well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving. 8 Watch out for people who try to dazzle you with big words and intellectual double-talk. They want to drag you off into endless arguments that never amount to anything. They spread their ideas through the empty traditions of human beings and the empty superstitions of spirit beings. But that’s not the way of Christ. 9 Everything of God gets expressed in him, so you can see and hear him clearly. You don’t need a telescope, a microscope, or a horoscope to realize the fullness of Christ, and the emptiness of the universe without him. 10 When you come to him, that fullness comes together for you, too. His power extends over everything. 11 Entering into this fullness is not something you figure out or achieve. It’s not a matter of being circumcised or keeping a long list of laws. No, you’re already in – insiders – not through some secretive initiation rite but rather through what Christ has already gone through for you, destroying the power of sin. 12 If it’s an initiation ritual you’re after, you’ve already been through it by submitting to baptism. Going under the water was a burial of your old life; coming up out of it was a resurrection, God raising you from the dead as he did Christ.
The question that then follows is are we Sunday church attenders or are we answering the call? Do we seek the relationship which grants wisdom or are following the empty traditions of man and the empty superstition of spirit beings? I spoke to a new believer on Sunday. He said he sits and reads his bible one hour a day when he gets up in the morning, he says he becomes so engrossed in it, that he’s been late for work because he says he tells himself, “okay just one more page” then one turns to two. Funny thing is happening though. He is getting some pretty heavy revelation. I mean God is moving him at warp speed. He excites me with his knowledge because he’s asking deep questions and I am amazed at his wisdom.
But then
maybe I’m notbecause he’s heard wisdom’s cry
and has decided to answer the call.
The question then is are we deeply rooted in Christ? Or will we be swayed with the wind, off on those wild-goose chases trying to understand “the secret”? Will the storms of life come and uproot our delicate root system? Will we be able to stand when the world is quaking around us? I pray we are beloved. I pray we are learning, seeking, praying and most of all I pray that we have taken up the Lord’s promise to give wisdom to those who seek it and are living it out! Be someone who lives it and experiences Christ. Not someone who stands on the sidelines and watches. Be deeply rooted and know whose you are and what you’ve been called to! I pray that we woven into that tapestry of love.
Small Church Big Problem
A question posed by a reader goes like this:
Message: A female friend of mine had a brief affair with another member of the church. My friend sang in the choir with the man and his wife. The couple were longtime members with extended family members. My friend is single. The affair was exposed and everyone in the church was aware. My friend was asked to find another church by the pastor. She was upset that she was asked to leave, but I couldn’t understand why she wanted to continue attending services there. Was the pastor wrong? Just wondering. Addition: her sister recently moved in with her and plans on attending the same church and sing in the choir. This is a small community church just several blocks from their residence. This all seems pretty bizarre to me and asking for friction.
This breaks my heart for the congregation that is dealing with the fallout of this. It just goes to show that although sin is personal, it’s never private as it affects many and in this case it affects an entire church. It’s impossible for me, and maybe for you, to know what the details of this case are within the church.
Biblically we are supposed to try and restore a brother/sister caught in a fall. Then there’s the Corinthian church in the New Testament, where the son was having an affair with his stepmother and when he was asked to stop he refused, so they put him out of the church until he repented. I guess the question would be then, was there repentance? If there was repentance was there an attempt to restoration?
So let’s say the Pastor is really trying to do his job biblically. Did perhaps your friend not fully understand the ramifications of her action and therefore was put out of the church because there was no repentance? Obviously she’d have to step down from her ministry of worship and submit to the restoration process. Was this done willingly by your friend? If the husband wasn’t asked to leave was it because he showed true repentance and has submitted to the restoration process? The pastor and the church must consider that people who looked up to your friend as a member of her church family and even those in the community as the talk spreads but the details don’t, are affected by the hearts and actions of those involved.
One thing is for sure, the sister who has moved to town and wants to attend the church shouldn’t be penalized for her sister’s actions. I think in a small community church this actually could be hard on her since some may judge her by her sister’s action. Hopefully this group is more matured than that. I agree with you that it seems easier to find another church and avoid the mess altogether. Could it be that the sisters are a certain denomination and this church may be their only option to practice their faith?
Sorry I can’t be more helpful. I sincerely hope that everyone stay focused on Jesus right now and that you all continue to pray for your friend as well as the couple who all have repairs to make, not only internally, to each other, to the congregation and to their faith and God ultimately.
Thank you for reading and if you have further questions I will do my best to answer.
Pastor Susan 