Thursday, May 3, 2007

JESUS IS A WAYMAKER
Jesus is a way maker,
He made a way for me,
Placed my feet on higher ground,
And set this captive free.
He loosed the chains of bondage
That held my troubled soul,
Fed me from the manna dish,
And took me into His fold.
He's no respector of person,
And he'll do the same for you,
Change your outlook on life,
Bring heaven into view.

Forgiving Ourselves- My Devotion today By Mart De Haan

Why do we punish ourselves for old regrets long after we believe God has forgiven us? The question stuck in my mind after a conversation with someone I’ll call TC. TC described himself as being in recovery for multiple addictions. A couple of times he said, “My problem was forgiving myself. I found it a lot easier to believe God had forgiven me than to forgive myself for what I’d done.”
In some ways I knew what TC was talking about. Long after believing God had forgiven me, I have silently cursed myself for doing things that embarrassed me and hurt others. What unnerved me is that TC seemed more willing than I was to admit that forgiving ourselves is something we need to do.
Is it up to us to forgive ourselves?
Although I was willing to beat myself up for past wrongs, offering mercy to myself seemed like playing God. If God wants us to pardon ourselves, I wondered why the Bible doesn’t quote Him as saying something like, “Even as I have released you from guilt, so you must now release yourselves.”
What surprised me is that TC helped me see that, without realizing it, I was doing the very thing I thought I was trying to avoid. He said, “I have a friend who got on my case for acting like I was greater than God. This friend kept saying, ‘Who do you think you are, God Almighty? God forgives you. But you don’t. What is this you’re telling me? Are you greater than God?’”
The good-natured prodding TC took from his friend helped me. Later, I remembered words of the apostle John who wrote in his first New Testament letter: “This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in His presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and He knows everything” (1 John 3:19-20 NIV).
Why is it important to remember that God is greater than our hearts?
John reminded us that when the sin we have already confessed continues to torment us, God sees more clearly than we do. He sees everything. He sees the wrong and the regret we have acknowledged. He sees the price He has paid to release us from that sin. He sees the trust we have put in His Son. He sees the good work He has started in our hearts. And He knows that what He has begun He will finish (Philippians 1:6).
God also sees something else. He sees the people around us who are negatively affected as long as we continue to condemn ourselves. He knows we will never be good at loving others as long as we refuse to let the love and forgiveness of God flush the guilt and shame out of our lives.
Just before raising the problem of self-condemnation, John wrote, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?” (1 John 3:16-17 NIV).
John’s question prompts another. How can the love of God flow through us to those around us if we are saying, in effect, “I know You have forgiven me, Lord, but I have higher standards and expectations for myself than You do. I can’t walk with You. I can’t join You in Your mission of love, because I haven’t lived up to my own expectations.” We may think that’s humility. It’s probably wounded pride.
What does lingering guilt tell us about ourselves?
1.We may be expecting too much of ourselves. Whether we are struggling with our own wounded pride or grieving what we have lost, God’s thoughts are more reassuring than our own. Psalm 103 says, “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father pities His children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust” (vv.10-14).
2.We may be limiting our ability to be what God wants us to be. Refusing to forgive ourselves as God has forgiven us does nothing but prolong and multiply our sin. Self-condemnation is the opposite of the gratitude that opens our hearts to God.
Open hearts to God and others is what the apostle John had in mind when he went on to write: “Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from Him anything we ask, because we obey His commands and do what pleases Him. And this is His command: to believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as He commanded us. Those who obey His commands live in Him, and He in them. And this is how we know that He lives in us: We know it by the Spirit He gave us” (1 John 3:21-24 NIV).
Every day of self-absorbed self-condemnation is a day spent robbing ourselves of the joy of a grateful heart. Every hour of beating ourselves up is an hour spent robbing others of the good that God wants to do for them through us. By contrast, every day lived in the freedom of forgiveness is a day spent praising God. Every hour lived in gratitude for forgiveness is a day spent loving others on God’s behalf.
Father in heaven, in our thoughtful moments we know You are greater than our hearts. You see infinitely more than we do. You see the work You have begun in us, the Spirit You have given us, the forgiveness You have bought for us, and the desire You have given us to live in freedom rather than to hide behind past failures. Please help us to use that freedom to love others as You have first loved us. —Mart De Haan-- Mart De Haan

Wednesday, May 2, 2007

No One Ever Cared For Me Like Jesus
(1) I would love to tell you what I think of Jesus.
Since I found in Him a friend so strong and true;
I would tell you how he changed my life completely,
He did something that no other friend could do.
CHORUS:
No one ever cared for me like Jesus,
There’s no other friend so kind as He;
No one else could take the sin and darkness from me,
O’, how much He cared for me.

(2) All my life was full of sin, when Jesus found me,
All my life was full of misery and woe;
Jesus placed His sstrong and loving arms around me,
And He led me in the way I ought to go.

(3) Every day He comes to me with new assurance,
More and more I understand His words of love;
But I’ll never know just why He came to save me,
Till some day I see His blessed face above.

Todays Devotion

Patience is not the same as indifference; patience conveys the idea of someone who is tremendously strong and able to withstand all assaults. Having the vision of God is the source of patience because it gives us God’s true and proper inspiration. Moses endured, not because of his devotion to his principles of what was right, nor because of his sense of duty to God, but because he had a vision of God. ". . . he endured as seeing Him who is invisible" (Hebrews 11:27 ). A person who has the vision of God is not devoted to a cause or to any particular issue— he is devoted to God Himself. You always know when the vision is of God because of the inspiration that comes with it. Things come to you with greatness and add vitality to your life because everything is energized by God. He may give you a time spiritually, with no word from Himself at all, just as His Son experienced during His time of temptation in the wilderness. When God does that, simply endure, and the power to endure will be there because you see God.
"Though it tarries, wait for it . . . ." The proof that we have the vision is that we are reaching out for more than we have already grasped. It is a bad thing to be satisfied spiritually. The psalmist said, "What shall I render to the Lord . . . ? I will take up the cup of salvation . . ." (Psalm 116:12-13 ). We are apt to look for satisfaction within ourselves and say, "Now I’ve got it! Now I am completely sanctified. Now I can endure." Instantly we are on the road to ruin. Our reach must exceed our grasp. Paul said, "Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on . . ." ( Philippians 3:12 ). If we have only what we have experienced, we have nothing. But if we have the inspiration of the vision of God, we have more than we can experience. Beware of the danger of spiritual relaxation.

Don't fall behind on your studying or homeschooling just bcz you're heading into the summer months... stay at it, stay at it, stay at it... Finish well.WEED YOUR GARDEN!!Don't wait until the weeds overtake your garden beds

Tuesday, May 1, 2007

I feel compeled to write another blog today, because something has been on my heart. I wanted to share with everyone that my God is here right here. Working in me, and with me so prepare yourselfs, lol.
TRUTH #1: " I WILL GIVE YOU A NEW HEART, AND I WILL PUT A NEW SPIRIT IN YOU. I WILL TAKE OUT YOUR STONY, STUBBORN HEART AND GIVE YOU A TENDER, RESPONSIVE HEART"- EZEKIEL 36:26

TRUTH#2 "I AM FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE"

TRUTH#3 " LOVE THE LORD GOD WITH ALL YOU SOUL, WITH ALL YOU HEART AND MIND LOVING HIM ALONE."

TRUTH#4 I AM HIS CHILD
TRUTH #5 I AM JUSTIFIED ROMANS 3: 24

TRUTH#6 OUR SINS ARE TAKING AWAY AND WE ARE FORGIVEN EPH.1:7

TRUTH, IS SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL. ESPECIALLY WHEN ITS DIRECTLY OUT OF GODS WORD. SOMEITMES, WE AS CHRISTIANS FEEL JUSTIFIED TO US SCRIPTURE AGAINST EACH OTHER, AS IF ONE SINGLE PERSON ACTUALLY CAN CONTAIN ALL THE INFORMATION THAT FLOWS FROM IT. BUT IT IS MY BELIEF HOWEVER, THAT GOD CREATED US UNQUICKLY AND WONDERFULLY DIFFERENT. WHICH MEANS THAT MY READING THE BIBLE, AND ME RECEIVING THINGS FROM GOD IS GOING TO BE DIFFERENT THAN ANYONE ELSES, BECAUSE GOD NOWS HOW I UNDERSTAND THINGS. THATS WHAT IS AMAZING ABOUT IT, WHEN WE SHARE IT AND NOT USE IT AGAINST EACH OTHER THEN AND ONLY THEN WILL WE GET THE REASON GOD GAVE US THE BIBLE IN THE FIRST PLACE.

MY GOD IS A LOVING GOD. HE GAVE ME THE RESOURCE TO TAP INTO THAT, THE BIBLE. AND ITS NEAT HOW GOD RESPONSES TO THAT. EACH TIME, EACH NEW DAY I GET SOMETHING DIFFERENT FROM SOME OF THE SAME SCRIPTURES. AND THAT EXCITES ME BECAUSE I FEEL GOD GETS CONNECTED WITH ME MORE AND MORE.

BUT ITS SAD ON THE OTHER HAND BECAUSE CHRISTIANS USE IT AS A TOOL TO TEAR DOWN OTHERS, NO LIFT THEM UP. IT'S SAD THAT A CHURCH CAN BE TOTALLY BLIND TO THAT REALITY. GOD ENCOURAGES THOSE WHO ARE AND HAVE NOTHING. WE AS CHRISTIANS HAVE SOMETHING, HIM. WE ARE TO SPREAD THE GOSPIL LIKE FIRE, FOR THE KINGDOM. BUT IN THESE DARK DAYS, CHRISTIANS AND NON CHRISTIANS ARE IN BATTLE, NOT WITH ONE ANOTHER BUT WITH DARK FORCES.

AND IF WE DO NOT STAND UP AND FIGHT THE IMPORTANT FIGHT, STANDING SIDE BY SIDE WITH ONE ANOTHER, THEN THE ENEMIES WON. (NOT LIKE HE IS GONNA) REALLY PUTTING ASIDE WHO NOWS WHAT AND WHO'S NOT LISTENING TO ME STUFF AND BE UNITED.

I KNEW THIS AWESOME PASTOR ONCE. WHEN THIS PASTOR WAS ON LEAVE THE ELDERS OF THIS CHURCH DESCIDE TO MAKE EXAMPLES OUT OF SOME SINNING CHRISTIANS. THEY KICKED THIS PERSON OUT FOR THE BASIS THAT THEY SIN. HUMM, WHEN I READ THIS AS I TYPE THAT IS SO HORRIBLE SAD. IF GOD LIKE WANTED TO MAKE EXAMPLES OUT OF US NO ONE WOULD BE HERE. BUT THAT IS WHERE GRACE AND MERCY COME IN, GOD HONORS THAT WHEN WE REPENT HE IS QUICK TO FORGIVE US. NOT SLOW, NOT JUDGING AND CERTAINLY NOT HAISTY. KICKING US OUT BECAUSE WE SIN.

HOW SAD THAT OUR CHURCHS ARE COMING TO THIS. HOW SAD FOR THE PEOPLE WHO FOLLOW THAT, AS NORMAL. SCRIPTURES MAY SAY THIS AND THAT ABOUT SINS, IN WHICH I AGREE. BUT NO WHERE DOES IT SAY THAT WE SHOULD LET ONE OF THESE GET LOST. MY HEART GOES OUT TO THAT PERSON, BECAUSE I AM THAT PERSON.
For a while, we are fully aware of God’s concern for us. But then, when God begins to use us in His work, we begin to take on a pitiful look and talk only of our trials and difficulties. And all the while God is trying to make us do our work as hidden people who are not in the spotlight. None of us would be hidden spiritually if we could help it. Can we do our work when it seems that God has sealed up heaven? Some of us always want to be brightly illuminated saints with golden halos and with the continual glow of inspiration, and to have other saints of God dealing with us all the time. A self-assured saint is of no value to God. He is abnormal, unfit for daily life, and completely unlike God. We are here, not as immature angels, but as men and women, to do the work of this world. And we are to do it with an infinitely greater power to withstand the struggle because we have been born from above.
If we continually try to bring back those exceptional moments of inspiration, it is a sign that it is not God we want. We are becoming obsessed with the moments when God did come and speak with us, and we are insisting that He do it again. But what God wants us to do is to "walk by faith." How many of us have set ourselves aside as if to say, "I cannot do anything else until God appears to me"? He will never do it. We will have to get up on our own, without any inspiration and without any sudden touch from God. Then comes our surprise and we find ourselves exclaiming, "Why, He was there all the time, and I never knew it!" Never live for those exceptional moments— they are surprises. God will give us His touches of inspiration only when He sees that we are not in danger of being led away by them. We must never consider our moments of inspiration as the standard way of life— our work is our standard.--

A Loving God

It seems that God is at work in me.
I rejoice,in Him.
for every gift is from Him and Him alone.

I take pleasure in meeting him every morning.
Filling my cup, way up to the top.
He calls me there, every day.

Renew your spirit, he calls out to me.
But, Lord its hard sometimes.
Dear child I now.

But have faith in me, and me alone.
For I cover you always, and love you dearly.
No matter how many enemies try to steal that from you,
know that it can never be stolen.

My love is never ending, always excepting.
Repent and call out to me,
Turn away from that sin.
Follow me, and I will substain you.

Remember our walk together is our walk,
And no one elses.
When you go through valleys, I am there.
When you go through moutains, I am always there.

How could this be that you love a sinner like me?
Because I now you, watch over you, and created you for my purpose.
I now its hard not to sin, but you must remain in the truth, ME.
For I alone can help you in this journey.

Take courage, my dear child.
Time is coming soon, that we will be together forever.
Let us rejoice together, cry together, laugh together, and walk together.
I desire more of you Lord, today and always.

My walk is a hard walk sometimes Lord, and sometimes I can not go on.
I now child, in those times that you can not walk anymore, I carry you.

Rest in me and fill you spirit with my truth,
BELIEVE
obey my commands
Repent and turn away from your sin.

Love you ALWAYS, God

Monday, April 30, 2007



The joys and sorrows of friends we have and ones that we have lost. To all, I extend a hand. To you in love, that we may finally one day be as we should!!!!!!!!!!!!

A WORD FROM GOD

ROMANS 2: 1

YOU MAY THINK YOU CAN CONDEM SUCH PEOPLE, BUT YOU ARE JUST AS BAD, AND YOU HAVE NO EXCUSE! WHEN YOU SAY THEY AR WICKED AND SHOULD BE PUNISHED, YOU ARE CONDEMING YOURSELF, FOR YOU WHO JUDGE OTHERS' DO THESE VERY THINGS!