ʚїɞ Through The Looking Glass ʚїɞ

The More Things Change, The Less They Stay The Same . . .

2011-01-16T02:56:00.001-05:00

For anyone who knows me, they know that I have an ongoing obsession with butterflies. I love and adore them! As much as I hate change though, if it were not for change (metamorphosis) I wouldn’t have my beautiful butterflies that I love to look for. They change from little green caterpillars into these magnificent flutterfly butterflies!

For the past year and a half, I’ve really been struggling with many of the changes that have happened in my life. I was in a horrible car accident, I almost lost my life and my foot and I had to move back in with my mom and my step dad. I went from being completely independent to being totally dependent on my family and friends. My mom and stepdad have been great through it . . . we’ve had our obstacles, but we’ve overcome them. My friends have been AH-mazing! I would have gone insane without some very special people.

In the last year and a half though, a lot of my relationships have changed. Many, I’m blessed to say that many have grown closer . . . but some feel as if there is a huge chasm standing between us. There’s one particular one where each day my heart breaks a little bit more because the distance is becoming wider and there’s a thick fog rolling in. I’m scared that I’ve lost this person, or maybe even that I never had them in the first place. I had soo many wonderful times with this beautiful person. As an only child, I’d always wanted a sibling and with this person I thought my dream had finally come true.

I know that I should sit here and count my blessings. I have many other wonderful friends who love and care about me. It’s just soooooo hard to let go of this special person. I miss them more than they probably realize. The sad thing is, I think somehow or another that I managed to sabotage the friendship. Looking back over my past I think I’ve done that a lot. There is a quote that says . . .

“Sometimes you put walls up not to keep people out, but to see who cares enough to break them down.”

I guess I’m still searching for the one who’s willing to scale the wall or to take a sledgehammer to it and take it down.

It’s really funny because transparency used to be easy for me but I’ve found that life has made that more and more difficult. I’m more guarded now and I’m careful who I let into my heart. I have a deep fear of being hurt, wounded or left behind . . . a deep fear of being . . . forgotten.

It’s kind of funny looking back now, but a little over two weeks ago one of the guys locked me in the bathroom just as we were about to leave Target: Dayton Ministries in Ohio. He was doing it to be funny, there was no malice behind it . . . but my fear runs so deep that when they let me out like 45 seconds later . . . I was crying my eyes out because I seriously believed that I had been accidently locked in and that they had forgotten me. I can laugh about it now ~ but I balled my eyes out when it happened. It that really small, really short span of time, I was CONVINCED that they had forgotten me and left me there.

On a brighter note, I start back to college on Wednesday! Yay! I’m super excited and I really hope I do well! So . . . if you could please pray for me, I’d really appreciate it. I’ve really been struggling with my attitude and wrestling with a lot of emotions. I pray that 2011 is much better than 2010 and 2009. Those were not so great years for me. I have to admit though, I’m scared. It seems like every time my life gets back on track that there’s an all out nuclear attack on the train track of my life and I get derailed all over again.

Also, this is super exciting . . . I’m hopefully going on a missions trip May 30, 2011 – June 4,2011 to Jamaica! It’s with a group called Cruise with a Cause and it’s a 6 day cruise with many different Christian Pastors, Teachers, and Artists. You get to spend two days in Jamaica working in the school system or prison system sharing the gospel. If you want more info check out www.cruisewithacause.com I’m going with an awesome ladies ministry called Church4Chicks. It’s an awesome ministry run by an awesome woman of God named Shelley Hendrix. I’m really excited and praying that God will open doors for me to go. I need at least one person to come with me – but there’s room for more.

P.S. If you took the time to read this . . . I love you and it means soo much to me, more than you’d ever know! Thanks for taking your time to read my words and read about my life! I love you all!

~Amy

You Are Dearly Loved . . .

2010-12-26T02:29:00.002-05:00

So I am sitting here and I am listening to Jimmy Needham’s song “Dearly Loved.” The basis of the song comes from Matthew 11:23.
“Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
I am at the home of my second family and I’ve had a very blessed Christmas, but as I sit here writing this, my heart is heavy laden and my eyes are watering up with tears. The lyrics of the song have pierced my heart on a dual platform.
January 1, 2011 will be 12 years since my dad went home to be with our Heavenly Father. I am soo thankful that he came to know Jesus Christ before he died. But I have to tell you that tonight my heart is on the floor, shattered in a million pieces because I REALLY miss him! It’s kind of cool though, because every time I go to the movies, I think of him. He was always my movie buddy! He was a big kid at heart! He loved to build model cars and add all the intricate details of the car. He would wire the engine, detail the dashboard and interior and spend a good couple of hours making sure that he airbrushed the paint exterior just right. He loved dogs, cars and I could talk to him about almost anything. My dad was terminally ill. He had cirrhosis of the liver, hepatitis C and had dealt with type 1 diabetes all his life. When I was a little girl, my dad worked for the city as a garbage man and one day he got stuck by a needle. He thought nothing of it and by the time I was 12, we learned that he had contracted hepatitis C and that he was already in liver failure. My dad wasn’t perfect, but man did he love me! He loved me well!
When my dad gave his life to Christ, he had one of the most transparent transformations that I’ve ever seen! He did a complete 180 with his life and I’m still in awe of it to this day.
I’ve been thinking about him a lot today, missing him and thinking about those transformations that God did in His heart. It reflects the lyrics of the song, that even now I’m listening to on repeat! The song says . . .
Please lay down your arrows
For they're sure to pierce the skin
And water from a broken well
Will make you thirst again
When all things you've acquired
Are tested by the flames
And you can see them melting
Then will you call his name
It's worth it brothers
It's worth it friends
To know your maker
To lose your sin
Did you know that you are dearly loved
To the slaughters you are being led
Being told that it's a party
That this God is in your head
And every single lie
Sounds just like the greatest truth
But the one truth you're not hearing
Is that he died for you
No greater joy
No greater peace
No greater love than this
It's worth it brothers
It's worth it friends
To know your maker
To lose your sin
Did you know that you are dearly loved
It seems that this is a truth that I have forgotten recently! I have forgotten that I am dearly loved. I’ve neglected my relationship with the only Father that I have left and He’s the ULTIMATE Father!
I hate it when I get soo consumed with life or that I make the decision to wallow and have a pity party! I’ve forgotten the focal point of Matthew 11:28 ~ Jesus wants us to come to Him with ALL OF OUR BURDENS, so that He can give us rest! He doesn’t want us to slug out life by ourselves every day. That’s why He died, so that He could mediate between us and the Father! That’s why we have fellow heirs in Christ, so that we can work together and function as the body with Christ as the head. The problems comes when we try to be the head. The problem comes when we try to charge head first into each and every day and don’t stop and pray, don’t seek Him, but follow after our own dreams and desires.
So pray for me and I’ll pray for you! Take your burdens to the cross and lay them down and I’ll be right there beside you. The best part though, is Christ is already waiting right there for you and for me! I hope this peek into my heart, helps you along in your walk. As always, you can email me or leave me questions!
I’m leaving on Monday for a mission trip. We’re heading to Dayton, OH to work with the Target: Dayton Ministries and serve the homeless and those drastically impacted by our fledging economy! I’m excited to serve there! It always blesses my heart! I’m hoping to blog from there – so we shall see!

‘Twas The Night Before Christmas . . .

2010-12-25T03:25:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas Eve to all my friends and family! May the true reason for this joyous season warm your hearts and fill you from your toes to your head with the precious and wondrous love of Jesus Christ! The baby who was born in a manger, to save us all from our wicked sins! I love you all!

Perfect Perfection

2010-10-23T00:50:00.001-04:00

Perfect perfection and perfectly perfect are oxymoron's, in fact the words perfect, perfectly, and perfection are impractical. They are unrealistic terms that we inflict upon people in society. Everyone strives for perfection, they strive for this idealized dream of happily ever after. I'm not saying that fairy tales, dreams and happily ever after don't happen, I believe that they do, but this packing of perfection isn't real.

There has only been one man who has walked on this earth and lived in this world that has been perfect and that man was Jesus Christ. To be perfect means that you are without fault or flaws. Perfect is not an adjective that should be used to describe people, unless you are talking about God or His Son, Jesus Christ. We ascribe perfection to people and we place on ourselves a desire for something that we won't be able to obtain while we are on this Earth.

One of the things that I've been learning and trying to understand and let go of is this idea of perfection and coming before God as perfect, or only wanting to depend on God when I am perfect. I can't do it! The only way that I can be made perfect is through the death of Christ and His blood that is shed for me! I am going to sin, I do sin. We all sin! I hate when I sin though! It eats me alive and soo many times I've chosen to wallow in guilt over sin and that isn't what Christ wants for us. Our lives are not about us! The bible is not about me or us or what we can get out of the bible. The theme of the bible is this: It's about a battle for Kingdom and a King.

When God created the universe he had a plan. He created the angels and He created Lucifer, who was God's "light bearer" and he was a specific type of angel, a cherub. Lucifer was God's most beautiful angel. He was covered with every precious stone and he was created so that He could reflect God's beauty and to lead the "sons of God" in worship and praise to God. Lucifer was created by God before sin ever entered the picture. Lucifer though, was the first to sin. Look at Ezekiel 28:12-17.

12Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. 13Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.14Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. 15Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
16By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. 17Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

Iniquity was found in Lucifer! Pride! He wanted to ascend to God's through and He wanted to be like God. Look what it says is Isaiah 14:12-15

12How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 13For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. 15Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

Lucifer sinned and God kicked him out of heaven, to earth. He fell from grace. Lucifer became the Devil, aka Satan. So God created man and woman in His image. Adam and Eve. He gave them the Garden of Eden and gave them dominion over the earth and every creature in it. God wanted Adam and Eve to replenish the earth. They only way that could happen would be the intimate relationship that God created to happen between husband and wife. God created Adam and then created Eve from Adam so that they could accomplish God's plan for "Sons of God." But Eve was beguiled by Satan and she and Adam sinned. Through Adam and Eve sin entered the world. The only cure for sin is Jesus Christ. That was why He needed to come and die and shed His blood. Jesus was sinless as he walked on the Earth and He died on the cross sinless, until He took on our sins. Check our Psalm 6:4-6

4What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? 5For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. 6Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:

Soo many people are in pain and are hurting because they don't measure up to societies standards. They aren't model thin, their skin isn't smooth as ivory, they don't have designer clothes, or they think that there's something wrong with them because they don't think like everyone else does. The truth is, we all have a disease and this disease is killing us. The disease is sin. Sin isn't about not following what's morally right, although that is part of it. God is holy and just and He set forth a law that He knew in our humanness we would never be able to fully keep 100% of that law. The law is a teacher, it points to the holiness, the character and the nature of God. Therefore, when we sin, we transgress against the character and nature of God and because God is holy, he cannot be apart of sin. None of us is perfect. We all have flaws. But our lives also shouldn't be lived in the pursuit of ourselves, our needs, our desires . . . it's not all about SELF. Check out this verse: Colossians 3:1-2

If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

We are called to set our affections on things above, to seek those things which are above. This void that people feel in their lives, that they try to fill up with alcohol, sex. drugs. shopping, big cars, having the best of the best . . . these voids, these holes, can only be filled by God. Salvation is important, it's through the blood of Christ and our confession of our sins and repentance that we are saved from eternal separation from God, but the greatest gift that we receive in salvation is the relationship that we get to have with Christ. An intimate, loving relationship with the God that knit us together, with the God that knows our every thought, with the God that knows every wicked sin we will ever commit, yet still He loves us, yet He still died for us.

Isaiah 61:1-3 This was Jesus purpose for dying for me and for dying for you!

Isaiah 61

1The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; 3To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.

Our purpose on this earth is to die daily to our selfish desires and to live lives that glorify God. The wonderful thing about God? He is a forgiving, loving God who knows that we are not yet perfect. Still His love for us is perfect and when we sin, when we fail . . . He is still there, He is still loving, He is still forgiving. God isn't caught off guard by my sin or by yours. We have free will, so when we sin we can wallow in the guilt or we can call out to God, humble ourselves and repent. God will pick us back up, dust us off, wrap us in His embrace and continue walking with us. God never walks away from us, but He gives us the opportunity to walk away from Him and when we walk away, He patiently waits for our return.

I think this blog was more for me tonight. I've been struggling this week. Striving and trying for perfection. But I'm not perfect. God knows my thoughts and struggles just as much as I do. So I'll pray for you, and you pray for me. God loves you! No matter what you've battled with, no matter how weary or battle scared you are . . . GOD LOVES You! and I do to!

Though None Go With Me . . .

2010-09-24T04:55:00.004-04:00

Still will I follow . . . no turning back, no turning back! What powerful words of FAITH! I've been reading through the book of 1 Samuel and I also just finished a fiction book called "Gods and Kings" by Lynn Austin. "Gods and Kings" tells the story of King Ahaz and his son Hezekiah. The story is a true story, one based on the book of Chronicles and the book of Kings in the Bible. The author, in telling the story added dialogue and details from history. It was amazing for me to sit there and read the story, because it is a true story, told through a lens with some fictional elements. I think what blew my mind the most was the aspect of the king sacrificing his son to a idol of fire. I just can't even fathom it! But God spared Hezekiah, redeemed his grandfather the former High Priest Zachariah and it illustrated the truth of how one compromise leads to another compromise until things are spinning out of control and you don't know how you've come so far and fallen so hard. Compromise is also witnessed throughout the life of King Saul in 1 Samuel. Saul continually chooses to follow after his own desires and flesh. He runs ahead of God's prophet Samuel in the end, loses his whole kingdom to God's rightful king, David.

David is one of my most beloved people from the bible. There have always been three hero's of the bible for me.

1. Jesus Christ
2. David
3. John, the disciple Jesus loved.

David is described as a man after God's own heart! Can you imagine being given that label? David was human though, and he did sin. He was an adulter and a murderer, but he was also forgiven by God. I love David's plea to God after he had sinned . . .

Psalm 51

1Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. 2Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. 4Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. 5Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. 7Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. 9Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. 10Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. 11Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. 12Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. 13Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee. 14Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. 15O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. 16For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. 17The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. 18Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem. 19Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.

My friend Rachel and I have started going through this bible study. It's called "Searching For Truth." It's by a pastor named Jeff Adams and I'm already completely awe-struck by what I've learned. I think the thing that stands out the clearest is the aspect of the inspiration of the bible. When God created Adam, He leaned down and LITERALLY breathed His Spirit into Adam and brought him to life. God has done the exact same thing through the scripture in the bible. He inspired men though the Holy Spirit and used their personality traits and characteristics to tell HIS STORY (history) through their eyes. The Bible was written over a span of 1600 years and by a variety of authors, yet it was truly written by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit . . . it's like He literally God-breathed the words onto the pages. So you see . . . when we read God's word, it's like we're having an intimate conversation with Him, well we are! When we read God's Word, the bible, we are having the breath of life from God breathed into us! Wow!

I'm still learning so much about God, about who He is and how He loves me. I was talking to my friend Stephanie tonight and was just sharing about how my week hadn't been the best. It wasn't awful, but it wasn't great either. She really encouraged me. I wish I had the quote here so that I could post it, but I don't. I'm so thankful that God has put people in my life that are somehow able to love me just as I am. But you see . . . that's one of the many awesome things about Him . . . He Delights in us! He doesn't expect perfection, just obedience. Sadly, I'm still working on the good ole obedience area. See . . . it comes down to surrender, living your life for Him. I must decrease, so He can increase. That idea flies right into the face of the world. The world, our flesh, our lives . . . we have this drive to be noticed, to be something, to bear some sort of title. All God wants . . . is us! Our lives poured out and empty so that He can work in us and through us. God's still working on that in me. I'm a work in progress . . . so are you!

If God takes everything . . . will your faith remain or will you turn back? If God strips you bare . . . will you carry on in faith or will you run and hide your face?

The truth of the matter is . . . God is present, active, living and working in our lives. But the truth is also this . . . God gave us free will and through our free will we can smother and quench the fire of the Holy Spirit in our lives. That's what sin, wilful disobedience, and seeking to fulfill the lusts of our flesh will do. God's word is living and active. It is food for God's Spirit that lives inside of us. If you don't stoke a fire, it's going to grown dim and flicker out. Without a relationship with God, without repentance of sin . . . then God cannot redeem you.

So . . . if no one goes with you . . . will you go? Will you get out of the boat and walk on the water to Jesus? Or will you stay in the comfort of the familiar and the safe and never come to truly know God's power and presence in your life?

Though None Go With Me . . . Still Will I Follow . . . No Turning Back . . . No Turning Back!

I surrender! I lay it all at the feet of Jesus and I will follow Him. I know that when the storms rage and my faith is weak, that Jesus will carry me through it all . . .

I know this because He's been carrying me for the past 14 months.

What's In A Throne?

2010-09-19T03:44:00.002-04:00

What's in a throne? Who and what do we serve with our lives? A throne has always been represented as a seat of power. It's the place where a King or a Queen sits with authority. God created us and therefore He should be the ultimate authority in our lives and should on the throne in our lives. The issue is a simple one. We think that we can run our lives better than Jesus can and therefore we kick him off of the throne in our lives and take his seat. This springs forth from our flesh and whatever it is in our lives that we serve for security and satisfaction. Those things become idols in our lives . . . they become our King and we ultimately dethrone Christ.

I think the most interesting thing that I learned from Sundays message was the passage from 1 Samuel 16:13-20
13Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah. 14But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him. 15And Saul's servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee. 16Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning player on an harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well. 17And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me. 18Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the LORD is with him. 19Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, which is with the sheep.

If you look at Saul's story throughout 1 Samuel you see that he becomes king because Israel goes to the prophet Samuel and demands a king. Israel has noted that the heathen kingdoms have Kings to lead them and they want to be led by a man, not by God. So God grants them their desire, but reminds them that this request is sinful and out of Gods will for them. So God sends Samuel forth and he anoints Saul to be King over Israel. Well Saul was not God's rightful choice for king, but God has a purpose in everything he does. God uses Saul to be a picture of our flesh and to show how His Word is still living and active today. The problem that Saul faces is that he constantly chooses to follow after his own flesh. He starts out making little compromises and before you know it Saul is offering sacrifices to God because Samuel was late in arriving to make the sacrifices before the Lord. Saul compromises over and over again until God finally says in 1 Samuel 15:11

It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night.

God removes Saul as King of Israel and sends Samuel to find Israel's true king, who is the son of Jesse, David. Saul stays as a figure head but when Samuel anoints David king, the spirit of the Lord leaves Saul and descends on David. Once the spirit of the Lord leaves Saul, God sends an evil spirit upon him. Now the evil spirit that God sends is not a demon . . . its a depression, a sadness, he is vexed in his soul because he's follow after his own desires and flesh. He's reaping the consequences of his actions. The amazing thing about God is that he sends David to minster unto Saul. It is only David's singing and praising of God that soothes Saul's troubled soul.

What soothes you when you are troubled? Where does your hope and your comfort come from? Are you sitting on the throne in your life thinking that you can do a better job at handling it than Christ can?

I know for me that through this series I've really been examining my life and I see so many areas where I've compromised and settled for less than what God would desire and want me to have. Surrender is the key that unlocks everything. A realization that I can't direct my paths and keep myself from sin. That's why when Jesus left this earth, he sent the Holy Spirit. I've broken my Saviors heart many times over because I've selfishly chosen sin or my flesh over the one who died for me.

It comes down to a simple choice . . . Do I want to be a Saul or a David?

My hearts desire is to be like David. He stood before Goliath and challenged him because he insulted the Living God of Israel. He intimately KNEW God and KNEW that God would slay Goliath. David was just the tool that God used. God wants us to be His tool also. He wants us to stay close to Him so that when He wants to use us, we're right there close to Him and able to hear His voice and follow Him in obedience.

It is only when we are intimately connected with God that we can surrender and not compromise in our lives. The REALLY IMPORTANT and AH-Mazing thing that I also want you to understand about God is that He is a God of REPENTANCE and REDEMPTION!!!! Soo many times we use the excuse or we believe Satan's lie that "I've messed up too many times and I've already sinned, so I might as well just keep on down this path and live it up and have fun!" That's such a lie from the devil and it's a lie we selfishly tell ourselves because a lot of times we find sin more fun than the christian life. But the truth is . . . GOD DESIRES SOOOO MUCH MORE FOR US! He loves us and we are created in His Image!

Sin leads to death! Sin in a Christians life leads to separation from God and an unfulfilled life! God is waiting for YOU! All you have to do is trust Him, turn and repent and seek Him. Run to Him because He longs to hold you in His arms and He longs to have a relationship with you! He loves you because He created you!

I hope this made sense. It's a bunch of what has been rolling around in my heart these past few weeks. I hope that you will take some time and get to know the God of the bible! He's soo awesome and amazing and He has a plan and purpose for you!

Goodnight all! As always, if you have any questions just leave a comment or email me! Love you guys!

Poison Ivy

2010-09-10T03:05:00.003-04:00

So 1 Samuel and Dave's Messages are still running through my heart and my mind. I have a choice, we all have a choice. I can choose to conform to and follow after my flesh or I can surrender to the Holy Spirit and follow Him and be transformed. I want God to reign in my life, I want Him to sit on the throne of my heart, but I constantly choose to fulfill my fleshly desires. I've come to realize that the flesh is like Poison Ivy . . .

You see, the flesh wars against the spirit. It is a daily battle and if we are not diligent, we can become lulled into a false sense of security. The flesh creeps in like a vine of ivy and it slowly winds and twists itself into our lives. When we finally notice it, we tend to disregard it because it's so deceptively beautiful. So we ignore it and the next thing we know, the ivy has taken over our life. Also . . . ivy can be poisonous!

When we chose to follow our flesh and pursue our own desires, we poison our lives, our spirits. We may not get the visible red, itchy rash, or the red bumps or the puss filled blisters; instead our minds get filled with trash, our guilt and pain comes out when we lash out at people, or we are face with depression and guilt. Internally we're plain miserable because we know that we've been playing where God's told us not to play. We may enjoy the benefits of the sin for a split second, but ultimately we've quenched the Spirit of God in our lives and that leads to squelching our intimacy with God.

I can say all of the above, because I'm guilty of it! I sin, I lie, I struggle with my emotions and with how I think people see me. I hate living my life that way. I hate falling into that same old trap.

It's like this . . . the world appeals like a bright shiny penny and you think you're lucky because you believe the lie of "find a penny, pick it up, all day long, you'll have good luck." But the world and Satan set the stage with veiled lines and illusions. So, you walk over and pick up the penny. You peer at the penny closely and realize that you've been deceived! It was all an illusion! It's really covered in rust and grime and as you try to wash it clean, you realize . . . it's on tails!

The world weaves a charm, an illustrious illusion that ensnares you like a snake charmers flute, or a spiders woven web!

The truth is . . . Jesus is the answer. He paid it all for you and for me. Through His blood, He washes me clean. The bright and shiny penny that you saw, that's me. When you look closely, you'll see the grime, the rust, the sludge and the smut. I'm imperfect! I've played in poison ivy and I've been burned.

I'm also a priceless vase that's been shattered and glued back together. I'm a cracked pot. But it's through those cracks and through my imperfections that Jesus' light shines. I just need to be able to accept my imperfections and let Jesus shine through me.

I'm a sinner, saved by the grace of God. I'm a rusty grimy penny that tries to be all bright and shiny.I've played in the poison ivy and I've tried charming the snakes. I've failed at weaving the spiders web. . . so all that leaves is this . . .

I'm the girl who tries so hard to be everything to everyone . . . because I'm afraid of never being loved for who I truly am, who God created me to be. I'm the woman who is seeking to know her savior and accept his unconditional love.

I . . . Am . . . Amy!

I . . . Am . . . Found . . . In . . . Him!

I . . . Am . . . His . . . He . . . Is . . . Mine!

I . . . Am . . . His . . . Beloved!

Heavy Hearted . . .

2010-08-11T01:09:00.002-04:00

So today has been a difficult day. If I am completely honest with myself . . . the past two months have been hard, but those days were days of which I made the choice to not invest the time in God's Word. Surgery is definitely difficult to go through and the remnants of anesthesia are miserable, especially when paired with a horrible antibiotic that makes you feel sick all the time. I have to be honest though, as time went on . . . those became excuses for me. I got lazy, I got comfortable with my own way and found myself entrenched in the land of make believe. I enjoyed piercing the veil of the real world and going beyond into the land of fiction where I could escape and enjoy being a detective, a baker, a blacksmith, an English lady who is 32nd in the line of succession, or live the life of one of Karen Kingsbury's Baxter or Flannigan Family characters. It was just much more appealing than my everyday, real life.

Today though, my heart breaks and is weighted down for my best friend Kim and her family. Her grandfather (Paw) is in Piedmont Hospital in the CCU and is currently listed as critical. He's on 100% oxygen, has fluid around his lungs, an infection that is resistant to penicillin and his heart is having to work harder due to the stain that everything is placing on his body. I found myself sitting there beside him today, begging God to give his frail and exhausted body peace, so that he could rest and sleep. Paw is worried about leaving his family behind and is even slightly fearful of death. My heart just broke today watching his wife Linda and Kim as they spoke to the doctors and as they grieved. My heart is heavy, but I am still holding out for God to work in wondrous ways. He is the great physician, but I also know and realize that God knows the time that He has appointed unto everyone. I just want to make their pain and sadness better.

Yesterday, Monday was a bittersweet day. I got to spend it with three of my absolute favorite people in the world. Jenna, Luke and Ethan Manbeck. We went to the library and Luke, who will be 4 in September, wanted to push me around the library and also wanted to learn how the breaks work on my wheelchair. He is such an intelligent little boy. Then we took the boys to McDonalds to let them play. Meagan also come with Benny bear and Kayla. It was so much fun to get to spend that time with all of them. I actually ended up going back to Jenna and Chad's house and Luke and I watched Thomas the Train and then I read him one of his library books, Pies In The Oven. It was soo wonderful to just sit there curled up with Luke and share a love, not only for books, but for reading! While the boys were napping, Jenna, Stephanie and I hand addressed, signed, sealed and stamped about 150 envelopes invitations for the church plant small launch that will take place in Elk Grove, CA over Labor Day weekend. I'm soo excited for the opportunity that Chad & Jenna have to serve there in the Sacramento Mission Field! I know that God will use them greatly and Mission Community Church will be blessed to! Selfishly though, my heart breaks at not getting to have Chad and Jenna lead Sixty1one and having them just down the road! I will also miss Chad's messages! I learned so much from them! My heart breaks that I'll miss Luke's 4th birthday because they'll be in Cali then and I won't get to watch in person, my two most favorite little boys grow up. I'll miss Luke's hugs and his wonderful sense of focus! He has a one track mind. All he could think about yesterday was about how the breaks on my wheelchair work! It was adorable! I'll miss hearing Ethan say my name and all the wonderful and adorable sayings he'll come up with. I comfort myself with this . . . I WILL VISIT! ;) Of course, Chad will continue to get random bible question texts and I'll always be able to pick up the phone and call him or Jenna when I need to talk or need advice. Sometimes it's just hard to say "See ya later . . . " That though, is the wonderful thing about our God! He gave us the gift of salvation through the death of Jesus Christ . . . so those who are in Christ . . . never say goodbye . . . but instead . . . "See ya later."

I am thankful though that God still provides. I still have lots of kids at church to love on! I'm so excited for Nate because he started Kindergarten last week and he is loving it. He also has an adorable little brother Ben and of course there is Jude & Titus and Ema and a new baby - baby Ezra. Not to mention Elijah and Clint and others. I will definitely miss my Lukie Monster & Ethan Bear though!

So for everything that I've listed above . . . please be praying for:

Carl (Paw) & Linda Fowler & Family

Mission Community Church Plant & Launch

Chad, Jenna, Luke & Ethan Manbeck~ Move to CA & Church Plant

Jay & Rhonda Sloan ~ http://www.lovethemission.com/

River Church of Acworth & Sixty1One - transitions & pursuit of God

http://www.riverchurchofacworth.org/

Kayla Pohl ~ On Missions in CA teaching pre K

Robbie & Amanda Hardage ~ Leading Sixty1one

Sixty1one College Students - School starts back next week

Amy Freeman (Me) - That I will seek God & live my life for Him

This has been the song that has encouraged me today and lifted my heart!

"You Never Let Go" Matt Redman

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death

Your perfect love is casting out fear

And even when I'm caught in the middle of the storms of this life

I won't turn back

I know you are near

And I will fear no evil

For my God is with me

And if my God is with me

Whom then shall I fear?

Whom then shall I fear?

(Chorus:)

Oh no, You never let go

Through the calm and through the storm

Oh no, You never let go

In every high and every low

Oh no, You never let go

Lord, You never let go of me

And I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on

A glorious light beyond all compare

And there will be an end to these troubles

But until that day comes

We'll live to know You here on the earth

(Chorus)
Yes, I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on

And there will be an end to these troubles

But until that day comes

Still I will praise You, still I will praise You

From The Mountain To The Valley . . .

2010-06-22T20:28:00.001-04:00

So it's been almost two weeks to the day since I had my surgery and they fused my right ankle. I go to the doctor Thursday and they will take off my splint cast. My surgery actually went well and for it being my 4th surgery, I have to say the two most difficult aspects of this surgery have been the pain and the pain medication.

I don't know if I've just managed to block out and forget the pain from the last surgeries or if this surgery has just proved to be more painful. I hate pain medication and I especially hate narcotic pain medication because I truly believe that it not only affects your mental state, but it also affects your spiritual state. The pain medication definitely takes away about 90 percent of the pain, which is good because otherwise I'd have tears streaming down my face, but it also puts you in a fog and almost completely numbs you.

I was suppose to only have to stay in the hospital for 23 hours, but as life always go . . . things change. I actually ended up staying for 5 days. I was in a lot of pain when I woke up, but thankfully this time the nerve blocker they inserted in my leg kept me fairly numb, but they finally gave me a PCA of morphine. So that definitely helped. As always, anesthesia always makes me sick and that was a battle, I barely ate while I was there - my staple was the fruit . . . the strawberries. honeydew, cantaloupe, and grapes were the only things that won the battle with my stomach. I also spiked a 101.6 fever so needless to say I went in for surgery on Wednesday and finally came home on Sunday.

In regards to the surgery, they fused my ankle is two places. They removed all the cartilage from the ankle, cut out all the arthritic bone , did a bone graft and also added a purple rod into my leg. The rod is embedded into my ankle and goes halfway up my leg. I, of course, thought that they just slid the rod in . . . but I was scratching my leg and realized that they cut halfway up my leg! :( I'm just so tired of scars . . . but I've resigned myself to calling my right leg . . . the Frankenstein! Trying to have fun with it! ;)

My emotions have done ok. I'm really struggling with my quiet time right now and that is the most difficult aspect for me to deal with. This medicine makes it's so hard to focus on words and sometimes reading makes me feel physically sick. But I'm trying to push through it and deal with it and not let the devils use of guilt trip me up. I definitely keep talking to God . . . even if I can't always read.

I think one of the most wonderful things that God has taught me through this time is perseverance. I can't give up and I can't let guilt lead and guide me. I have to hold on to my faith in God. In my trust that He is there and He is working in me and through me. Even when I sin, I have to just take and immediately turn myself back to him.God has also taught me the benefits of patience and using this time that He's given me. When I fail and mess up I can't stay down. With God's help, we pick me up and keep going!

I guess my final thought would be this:
Even is the midst's of the fiery furnace . . . You're never alone. God is always with His Children. This is the time to hold onto Psalm 23!

Psalm 23

1The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 5Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Christians Never Have To Say Goodbye . . .

2010-06-21T21:17:00.000-04:00

I've finally come to accept that life will always change. When we want to freeze time and keep it from moving forward, it's just isn't within our power to do that. I have had a lot of changes take place in my life this past year. Many of you know, but some may not, that I was in a pretty serious car accident last July. My right ankle was almost severed and my left one was broken. I had a lot of continusions and bruises and spend 10 days in the hospital. Tomorrow my fourth surgery will take place. For once in my life, I'm at peace with this upcoming surgery. Alot of that has to do with the wonderful things that God has shown me and taught me in the past two months. God has radically changed my life. In the span of changing my life radically in the past two months, He has been gradually changing and growing me to. I've been very blessed that I have had many wonderful christian families and role models pour their hearts into my life and no matter where time and God may lead, we will all be woven together in the tapstery of our memories.

Alot of people give me a hard time and tease me because I LOVE to take pictures . . . and let me tell you, I take ALOT of pictures! Some people grumble because they don't look their best, and some people marvel at the expressions that I capture on people's faces. The reason why I love to take pictures though is because I love PEOPLE. If you mean something to me, I want a visual memory that I can physically hold and think back to when that memory took place. I'm stringing together all of these words because I want to capture a written snapshot of this period of my life and my prayer is that as you read this, God would stir your heart and you would come to know the most amazing Godman that ever walked this Earth - Jesus Christ.

I can also guess that your rolling the title of this blog around in your head and wondering why I've chosen the theme tonight that Christians never say goodbye. It's a biblical truth that has been a soothing balm to my soul!

2 Corinthians 5:8 (King James Version)
8We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

I'm thankful though that this blog is not in regards to someone entering in the Gates of Heaven, but moreso on embarking on an adventure with God. Chad, Jenna, Luke and Ethan Manbeck are moving to Sacramento, CA to be apart of planting Mission Community Church. I'm so excited for them, but sad also. It's definitely bittersweet. The Manbeck family has definitely had a great impact on my life and the lives of the people that I love most. Chad for the past 3.5 years was our singles pastor and he and Jenna did a great job. I think what will be most difficult will be distance. Thankfully God is bigger than distance. I'm really excited through about the adventrue that God is laying out before them. To find out more about their mission check out http://www.lovethemission.com/ and see just how awesome God can be.

I guess my charge in finishing this blog is this thought . . . "Don't be afraid of CHANGE, be willing to follow where God is leading and get on mission to go on an adventure with God. ;)

Shhh . . .

2010-06-02T16:29:00.002-04:00

All I can say is WOW! God is just rocking my world and I'm so thankful that He is FAITHFUL! I've been reading the Book of Ecclesiastes this past week and it has comforted me, convicted me and allowed me to curl up beside my Father and hear Him speak to me. His words aren't an audible voice, but a clear cool breeze that blows across my heart, reminding me of a verse from the day, a song that I've heard or just feeling His arms wrap around me. Today is a day for conviction . . . and I'm thankful for that because it means that God is actively working in my life, in my heart to transform me into more of His image. How AWESOME! ;)

Ecclesiastes 10:12-15 (King James Version)

12The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself. 13The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness: and the end of his talk is mischievous madness. 14A fool also is full of words: a man cannot tell what shall be; and what shall be after him, who can tell him? 15The labour of the foolish wearieth every one of them, because he knoweth not how to go to the city.

For any of you who read this and know me, you know that sometimes I struggle with talking incessantly, especially if I am nervous. So I will open my mouth and I will talk about what I am most familiar with . . . dun dun dun . . . myself! Which I hate because if you look at the verses above . . . then it defines me as a fool. I don't want to be a fool! So I had a great talk with my Father about it today and I want to work on having gracious words and learning to be quiet and listen more than I speak.

I love the first verse because, as scripture is . . . it's completely true and paints an accurate picture of the verse. A fool will talk and talk and talk . . . about themselves, their lives and they will babble on like a fool to anyone who will listen. But here is the awesome part . . . a wise man speaks with favor, grace and charm. A wise man does not feel the need to jump into a conversation and hijack it, spiraling it into a completely different direction. At least that's what I've done in the past. I'm a lot better about it, I don't act that way nearly as much, but I still do it.

For me, the reason why this fool is so full of words, is because many times I have an overwhelming desire to be apart of things. So in order for me to feel connected, I'd jump into a conversation and from there on out, everything would free fall into a tailspin. In a group setting many times, I feel like I'm on the outside looking in. I've come to realize that I do better in groups of 3 or 4, if the number gets higher then that and I don't know the majority of people then I tend to fall back into that habit.

The thing is, God has been trying to teach me the aspect of letting go and just praying about it. I'm pretty stubborn, but God is working on that to. ;) I've always felt the need to take a hands on approach and work behind the scenes . . . but this past month God has been showing me that I need to stop trying to do His work and that I need to get down on my knees and pray instead. It's been hard, but God is faithful and I can see Him working and changing my heart and changing how I react. I am human though, so I still fall way short of God's standards, but He's faithful in picking me back up, dusting me off and setting me back on my feet. So when I've fallen flat on my face and He's picked me up, that's when I have to be faithful and plant my feet back on His firm foundation, because anything that I attempt on my own, cannot and will not prosper.

This is God's plan of attack for me . . . I just have to follow it!

Philippians 4:6-7 (King James Version)

6Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

To Everything There Is A Season . . . .

2010-06-01T14:24:00.000-04:00

And a time for every purpose under heaven. I love how God tells us that we will go through different Seasons of Life. It's like an automatic disclaimer for God when we run to Him and complain about the trials and tribulations that we are going through. ;) But then when we come running to Him and curl up beside Him and unload our hearts . . .. He's never surprised with what we have to say. I continue to find myself more and more in awe and enamored with my Savior and all that He has done for me!

This past week I've been reading through and finished Karen Kingsbury's Firstborn Series. I love how God not only uses His Word to teach me, but that many times He will speak to me though a song, a book or even a butterfly that comes and flutters down beside me. I think what I've come to learn and cherish the most is God's unyielding, unrelenting and unending love, not only for me but for the people that I love. You see, the amazing thing about Jesus is that He puts Prince Charming to shame. God gave Adam and Eve Free Will, when He created them. He gave them the rules about the Garden, what they could and could not eat and then He left it up to them to either obey His rules or to disobey them. They chose to disobey God and they ate of the fruit. Here's the amazing thing though . . . God knew what would happen, He knew that they would disobey and so He had a back up plan ~ A Plan Of Redemption! He removed them from the Garden and they had to live in the real world and work and labor - day in and day out. Time and time again throughout scripture God pursues His chosen people. He gives them the 10 commandments, provides for a way to atone for their sins, He leads them out of Egypt and finally send Jesus to be their Messiah. Yes Israel wanted nothing to do with Jesus, they just wanted Him hung on a tree, dead and laid in a tomb where they could go on with life as if Jesus had never come. If you look at the gospels, you will see that with everything that happened, none of it was a surprise to God. Everything unfurls perfectly and weaves together to bring God glory and to teach us about God's power.

I guess what I'm trying to elaborate on is the gift of Free Will. God gives us the choice to believe in Him, He gives us the choice of having faith, He gives us the choice of repenting and accepting Christ's death so that we can be saved, He gives us the choice of it we want to be saved! God gives us options, He doesn't force His will upon us. He pursues us, tells us of His love for us and seeks that we will chose Him. But He NEVER forces Himself on us. I'm not sure how to explain it - because God is still teaching me about it - but God knows EVERYTHING! He sees the whole picture and while allowing us the free will to chose the paths that we take, He still works things out to bring us back to Him and give Him glory. He's God who REDEEMS His children from their sins, their mistakes and takes and weaves them into a beautiful tapestry of His Perfect Plan for us.

God is not malicious. He allows trials and tribulations and seasons in our lives, so that we can grow and be transformed into the likeness of His Son. We are gold that needs purifying and the only way to purify gold is to put it through the fires. But the thing is, as the LORD was with David in the Lion's Den and with Shadrach, Meshach, & Abednego in the Fiery Furnace; He is with us through the trials and tribulations. He promises that we will never walk alone, that He will never leave us or forsake us. It comes back to our choices . . . we can either chose to walk alone through the trials and tribulations or we can turn to Him and have Him walk through it with us; sometimes He even carries us! That's His love for you and His love for me. So take some time and dwell on Ecclesiastes 3.

Ecclesiastes 3

1To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: 2A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; 3A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; 7A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. 9What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth? 10I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it. 11He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. 12I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life. 13And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God. 14I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him. 15That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past. 16And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there. 17I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work. 18I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts. 19For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. 20All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. 21Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth? 22Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?

So hold on tight to Jesus and know that in His own perfect timing that God will make all things beautiful, because you are beautiful to Him, you are His Beloved and He Cherishes you more than rubies. diamonds, gold or silver. In whatever season you are in . . . God is there with you and for every negative thing listed, God brings something good to light that comes from the seasons that are darkest. Christ is the LIGHT of our Lives and He will dispel the darkness and will pick us up and carry us when we can move forward no more.

If you have questions about Jesus, I'd love to share my best friend with you! Feel free to email me at belovedbutterflies06@yahoo.com or leave me a comment below. I'm praying for all of you who read this.

Captivated . . .

2010-05-28T19:03:00.000-04:00

I was captivated this weekend and got to have a great experience that is really still ROCKING my world about how amazing God is. I actually got to be home alone. My mom and step dad left Saturday morning and came home Tuesday afternoon. It was a really great time of learning for me. At first, I was a little scared because I really and truly haven't been by myself since before my accident. I was gone the majority of the day Saturday and was home for about four and a half hours in the afternoon on Sunday and then of course was alone from 9 pm on. Monday I got to spend the day with an amazing friend and then got to spend the evening with some other amazing friends. So as you can see, I was never truly alone for extended periods of time. Most of the time it was at night that I found the house empty and was able to allow the peace and quiet to settle into my soul! ;) I had the most wonderful experience on in the wee hours of Tuesday morning. I had been reading a book Monday evening and as always time eclipsed me quicker than I realized and it was 2 am Tuesday morning. So I got up, took out our dog Princess but she wouldn't move off of the porch. So I went out with her and saw the most wonderful and amazing sight.

The scene that God showed me is painted like this: it's a beautiful pitch black dark night with magnificent white clouds lapping across the night sky. The moon is huge and shining brightly, illuminating and bathing the lawn in a warm luminous glow. As I am standing on the landing outside I see a wonderful and amazing picture unfold before my eyes. I saw a demonstration of :

John 1:3-5 (King James Version)

3All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

You see as I was standing out there looking up at the beautiful night sky it was as if the clouds where trying to hide the reflective light of the moon. You see the moon reflects the light of the SUN. I must have stood out there at 2 am in the morning and contemplated what I was seeing for a good ten minutes. The clouds could never fully distinguish the light that the moon was reflecting from the Sun. The moons light could never be fully diminished. As I stood out there I realized that the Sun works in the same manner, except of course it is a light of it's own. The sun cannot not be besieged by heavy thunder clouds and that light cannot be fully hidden. It like this:

Luke 8:16-17 (King James Version)

16No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light. 17For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.

When we accept Christ as our Savior, He puts His light in us for us to shine in the dark lives that the people of this world live in. When Eve ate the apple and disobeyed God's command and then she gave the apple to Adam to eat and he took and ate it, he disobeyed God. They both sinned and they came into the knowledge of good and evil . . . they became sinners and darkness enter God's creation. That is why we are called to be the salt and the light of this world.

Matthew 5:12-14 (King James Version)

12Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. 3Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. 14Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

To me those 10 minutes that I spent in the wee hours on that Tuesday morning was God speaking into my soul, teaching me more about His precious Son. Isn't that just like Jesus . . . that no matter how much Satan may try and beguile the children of God, no matter how he may try and extinguish the light in our lives and reveal to the world that yes . . . we are sinners . . . and yes we STILL sin . . . but the great thing, the amazing thing is this . . . I am a sinner and I am saved by the GRACE of God. His spirit dwells and lives with me and is each day working to transform my old sinful nature into the heart, soul and mind of Christ. Will I get it right every day . . . NO! But you see . . . as Jesus is the Son (SUN) of God we are His Reflection (MOON) as we live each day that God gives us on this earth. So the clouds will roll in . . . they will try and hinder the light that we are reflecting of our Savior, but the great thing is this . . . Jesus is the author and creator of everything on this Earth and everything created must ultimately bow before Him. We will all have storms and we will all have days where our lights may not shine as brightly . . . but Satan can NEVER EVER EVER extinguish our light for Christ! How awesome is that?

The wonderful thing about God is that although the storms will roll though our lives . . . we are NEVER EVER alone because He is always with us. You just have to be willing to be still and know that He is God. That He is watching over us and that when we are quiet and truly listening . . . we will always hear His STILL SMALL voice . . . God will speak in the storms of lives, but I've come to see it more in my life that when I am still and when I quiet my heart that I hear Him speak and He directs me.

Last night I was in an oppression . . . I was being torn in half . . . wanting to give in and be disobedient and fulfill my own fleshly desires, but my heart cried out wanting and desiring to be obedient. I can tell your that from 3 am until 6 am I begged God for sleep to come and to deliver me from the oppression that I was under. You know what, when I was finally able to still my heart and quiet my mind . . . I heard a whisper of "I will lie you down in peace and sleep" and I grabbed my Ipod beside my bed because it has my 2nd bible on it and I went directly to Psalm 4 because it was a series of verses that God has comforted me with before. This is what God said to me at 6 am this morning and how I find myself continually CAPTIVATED by my Savior . . .

Psalm 4

1Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer. 2O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? Selah. 3But know that the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call unto him. 4Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah. 5Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD. 6There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? LORD, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us. 7Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased. 8I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.

And that my dear and wonderful friends is just what God did for me at 6 am this morning and some of the things God has been teaching me this week. This morning I was finally able to lay down in peace and sleep because the LORD makes me to dwell in safety. But I also had to be willing to surrender my desires and be set apart by God so that the LORD could hear my cry and I had to offer the sacrifices of righteousness and TRUST God, I had to be still and commune with my heart on my bed and put my TRUST in Him to deliver me, because I could not have delivered myself. Isn't God just Ah-Mazing in how He works and speaks to our hearts and just how He works when we want to be obedient and seek Him to make a way to deliver us from the temptations of our old lives? I don't know about you, but I love my Jesus. I'm so thankful that He's saved me, that He's redeemed me and that even when I do fall short and sin, He's right there when I turn to him, admit my failures and sin and repent! If you have any questions about my Savior Jesus - I'd love to share Him with you - so leave me a comment or shoot me an email at belovedbutterflies06@yahoo.com ;)

God Bless,

Amy

Be Careful What You Dwell On . . .

2010-05-15T01:11:00.002-04:00

Sin is the little three letter word that we all love to run and hide from; well at least I know that I do. Why is that? Sin is evidence in my life that I have done two things;

1. Disobeyed God & His Word
2. Failed & fallen flat on my face.

The trickery thing for me is that once I get in a pattern and I'm doing well, I find my dependence on God begins to slip a little each day. It's funny because my dependence on God is what keeps me on my toes regarding the lion that encircles me and seeks to devour me. I am always suppose to be on guard because God's Word clearly warns me of this very thing:

1 Peter 5:6-9 (King James Version)

6Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 7Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. 8Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 9Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

I am to be sober and to be vigilant because if I am not then holes will begin to form in my spiritual armor and it will leave me vulnerable to Satan's attacks. To be sober is to be calm and collected in spirit; your mind is not muddled and you are clear and focused in your purpose in serving God. To be vigilant is to give strict attention to something, to watch and to be cautious. These two actions are both things that need to be:

1. Actively done on a daily and hourly basis
2. To be on guard of my heart, my mind and my soul.

If I am not on guard of my heart, my mind, and my soul then I open myself to be beguiled as Eve was by the serpent in the garden. If you look at the book of James in chapter 1, it explains:

James 1:13-16 (King James Version)

13Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 14But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. 16Do not err, my beloved brethren.

We all face temptation! But temptation does not have to become sin in our life. God's Word clearly says that every man is tempted, but it becomes the road to sin when we are drawn away by our own lusts and are enticed or beguiled as Eve was. Once you begin to dwell on that lust it takes root in your mind and becomes sin. Sin in our lives brings forth death, whether it be sickness or shortening of life.

Colossians 3:1-3 (King James Version)

1If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

Those who are in Christ need to set their affections, to direct one's mind to a thing, to seek, to strive for things above. We need to think on our heavenly home, not the things of this earth that rust, break and fall apart. Everything on this earth is temporal, but the things of Heaven are what we have eternity for - worshipping and serving Christ forever.

Christ is our strength! The foundation of our lives are built on Him and when we take our eyes off of Him and set our affections on this world, we have the same thing happen to us that happen to Peter. Peter saw Jesus walking on the water and he wanted to go and meet him out there on the water. Peter stepped out in Faith, and as long as He kept his eyes focused on Jesus, he was safe. But as soon as he took his eyes off of Jesus, he began to sink in the water.

Matthew 14:24-33 (King James Version)

24But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. 25And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. 26And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. 27But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. 28And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. 29And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. 30But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. 31And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? 32And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. 33Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.

So pretty much when we take our eyes off of Christ we fall flat on our face. At least that is what happens for me. Normally when I am overtaken in sin, I run and hide because I let down the one who paid for my sins, who was beaten, bruised, pierced and died for me. In all my sinfulness though, Christ still asked for me and asks for you as his inheritance (psalm 2:8). How awesome is He?

I guess my thought and my challenge for you tonight is two fold:

1.Be careful what you think on because when you allow temptation to take root in your mind and you entertain it, then you've set yourself on a very quick downhill slop. Once you entertain and dwell on that temptation it becomes lust and that lust will lead you right into the jaws of sin. So beware of the lion who is roaming about seeking to entangle you into sin. Don't let your focus slip off of Christ for a second. Cling to Him for dear life!

2. If you hit the downward slop of sin and fall flat on your face, turn and repent immediately when you recognize that you've chosen sin and to fulfill your own desires. Humble yourself as David did after he sinned with Bathsheba. Check our what he has to say to God over his sin - this is the attitude we need!

~Psalm 51
1Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. 2Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. 4Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. 5Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.6Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. 7Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. 9Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. 10Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. 11Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. 12Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. 13Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee. 14Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. 15O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. 16For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. 17The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. 18Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem. 19Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.

When God Gives You Lemons . . .

2010-05-11T23:55:00.002-04:00

Make Lemonade!

Hebrews 13:5-6 (King James Version)

5Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. 6So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

Worry and fear are two things which God commands us not to do. Yet these are the two things which I find my thoughts dwelling on tonight. Today has been a good day, I've spent it at home and I've gotten to sleep, read, study, journal and chat with some good friends who encouraged me in the Lord today. So it was an all around good day. My anxiety began to set in around bedtime. Amazingly it seems as I am always haunted by fears and worries at night. (Gee - I wonder why, there is a biblical reason for that, darkness doesn't keep company with the Light). But I also realized tonight that it is when my step dad gets the most antsy. He becomes fretful and stressed over things beyond his control, which I think is why he is having so much trouble sleeping at night. Tonight his focus came back to the almighty dollar, the end of our nation and the poor man's blight.

My heart breaks for him, because I feel partially responsible for their financial struggles. I was in a terrible car accident last July and my right ankle was almost completely severed, my left ankle was broken and I had numerous bruises and injuries. I am recovering and actually have another surgery in June, but I have been unable to return to my job. So I had to move back home and I know my presence here has been an added financial strain. My step dad lives on a fixed income as he is retired and disabled, he's legally blind. My mom works for wellstar health systems as a hostess for an assisted living community and she works very hard and is only paid decently. I am thankful that they have allowed me to come back home and have helped me as much as they have, but life is full of hardships and God never said that our lives would be perfect. As Christians, we endure trials, hardships and temptations and it saddens me to see the hopelessness in my step dad. The rising medical costs and the expense of everyday living is draining him. I've tried to encourage him and some days he does better, but I just wish he'd see the truth of God's Promises as God has taught me recently:

Matthew 6:19-21 (King James Version)

19Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Matthew 6:24-34 (King James Version)

24No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. 25Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 26Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 31Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

We have nothing to fear or worry about because God is on our side. He loves us more than the birds of the air, the Lillie's of the fields and the grass, therefore He will care for us. He promises that He will feed us, clothe us and provide for us. It may not be up to the status of the Hilton, but who cares?

In all honesty, my pride cares. My pride hates charity! But God is so much more wiser than us and has a much better sense of humor. In the King James Version the word Charity means L O V E! How bout them apples?

Proverbs 16:17-19 (King James Version)

17The highway of the upright is to depart from evil: he that keepeth his way preserveth his soul. 18Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. 19Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.

The point of my blog tonight is not to tear down my step dad, but to shed light on how we destroy the joy in our lives when we worry and fear. That is not God's desire for us. God's desire is two fold:

Matthew 11:28-29 (King James Version)

28Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

Nehemiah 8:10B

The JOY of the LORD is my STRENGTH!

Job was a man who faced many trials and tribulations; all because the devil believed that if he took away everything the Job loved; his children, his stature, his possessions, his health, his comfort, his everything that Job would turn from the living God and curse him . . . boy did Satan have Job pegged wrong. Instead Job said:

Job 13:15-16 (King James Version)

15Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him. 16He also shall be my salvation: for an hypocrite shall not come before him.

Did you read that? THOUGH HE SLAY ME, YET WILL I TRUST HIM? Can you say that about your relationship with God? Is your walk with God so intimate that if God came to you right now and said:

~ Amy, At 28 I am ready to take you home to Heaven to be with me. I know that you haven't accomplished all your dreams, that you desire to be married, to have kids, to be a teacher and make a difference, but I want you in Heaven with me.

Honestly,I'm not sure of what I would say. Part of me would rejoice to be rid of this body, this flesh and the evil of this world, yet another part of me longs to live still and experience life to it's fullest. I pray that I would be humbly obedient and not murmur in dissent.

This is my challenge to me and my encouragement to each of you tonight:

James 1:2-4 (King James Version)

2My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 3Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

And this is the reward that God promises us:

James 1:12 (King James Version)

12Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

I know that I've given you those verses before, but God is rocking my world with them and I needed them again to be encouraged. This is my desire and I hope it is your desire also:

Psalm 146:5-6 (King James Version)

5Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God: 6Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever:

My H O P E Is In The L O R D, who do you hope in? Remember that the things we store up here on earth; the things that we might hope in, will rust, break, fail and possibly corrupt us. So set your eyes and your affections on things above . . .

Colossians 3:1-3 (King James Version)

1If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

Every Princess Deserves A Prince . . .

2010-05-08T23:26:00.001-04:00

Now I know what your thinking regarding the title to my blog . . . 'Oh goodness - another diatribe about the Disney Princesses or some other fancy.' Well I can assure you that doesn't come close to what I want to share, but what I do what to share is about regular everyday people who have accepted Christ as their Savior and surrendered their lives. Those who have accepted the gift of salvation are now heirs with Christ and are called 'Sons & Daughters of God,' therefore as adopted children of the King of Kings, we have inherited the titles of Prices' and Princesses.

Woo hooo! I get to be a Princess! I always wanted to be one! ;)

1 John 3:1-3 (King James Version)

1Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 2Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 3And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

John 1:11-13 (King James Version)

11He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 12But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

So today I went to a beautiful wedding and watching the events of the day unfold reminded me of God's love for us and the price that Christ paid on the cross to ransom us from our sins. I think that Psalm 2:7-8 demonstrates this truth perfectly.

Psalm 2:7-8 (King James Version)

7I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. 8Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.

Out of everything in the world that Christ could ask for as His inheritance . . . He CHOSE Us! How awesome is that?

Weddings are soo Ah-mazing to me because they are a picture of Christ as the Bridegroom of the church. We, as the Church are the Bride and because Christ has redeemed us, He clothes us in a BEAUTIFUL White Gown. The Bride's white gown symbolizes how she has set herself apart and kept her self pure for her Groom. Purity is soo important - not just physical purity but emotional purity and mental purity.

Matthew 5:28 (King James Version)

28But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

God takes it seriously and so should we. I wish I would have striven more to guard my heart, my eyes, and my ears from what secular TV and music treat so casually. Anyways, I digressed again . . .

Every Princess, Every Prince deserves a Godly counterpart. That's what God's word commands for those of us who call ourselves Christians. Check this out . . .

2 Corinthians 6:14 (King James Version)

14Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

With marriage and even dating relationships, these relationships need to be established on a strong and sure foundation. That foundation is Christ, He is the Chief Cornerstone. If a couple, dating or engaged are not like minded (unequally yoked) in spiritual things, money management, disciplining of future children and so on and so forth, then there is no common ground. As a couple grows closer to God, it draws them closer to each other. Now, of course, these couples will not be perfect, they will still argue, disagree, and deal with everyday stressful issues. But you see - they have an awesome secret, well not so secret weapon. The HOLY SPIRIT! He's our help mate and He guides us in God's will for our lives, He convicts us when we've done wrong and compels us to make it right.

God has a perfect will and a perfect plan regarding each and every one of our lives. Bryan (the groom today) has been an awesome picture of seeking God with His whole heart and trusting in God's perfect plan for his life. Bryan turns 33 this year and has had a desire to be married since his 20's, but his greater desire was to marry the right Godly woman, who just so happens to be Jackie. ;) Jackie came to our church 2 years ago with her sister Lexie because our singles pastors wife, Jenna had become friends with Lexie at work.

Jeremiah 29:11 (King James Version)

11For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

Isaiah 55:8-9 (King James Version)

8For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.

9For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

God's way is much better than our way. Trust me, I learned that the hard way. God loves us with a perfect, unfailing and unconditional love. Because of His love for us, He wants to give us abundantly more than we deserve, but the awesome thing about God is that He only gives it to us when were ready for it, we need it and we've surrendered everything to Him. We need to get to the point of this verse . . .

Philippians 4:11 (King James Version)

11Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.

If the desire of your heart is one day to be married and have children would you be able to be content if instead God called you to a life of singleness in service to Him? That's the precept that I am standing on now? Do I trust God enough that His dreams are better for me than my own? Do I love Him more than I do my own selfish desires? We were made to worship the living God, we were made to serve the living God, who am I to question His will and desire for my life? Check out this verse . . .

Psalm 37:3-5 (King James Version)

3Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. 4Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. 5Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

God's promise is right there in black and white. Delight yourself in the LORD, Commit your way unto the LORD, Trust in the LORD and He shall give you the desires of your heart.

Your most likely thinking now that you have a get out of jail free card with God. If you do all of the above things, then you can get your way, but God is way more awesome than that. You see, once you surrender, commit and trust YOUR will to God, you find that YOUR will changes, it's transformed from an ugly ole' caterpillar into a magnificent butterfly. When God is your delight, you don't need one single thing aside from Jesus.

So in parting . . . this Princess has her Prince; but He's the Son of the King of Kings. Jesus is the love of my heart and my life right now. My delight is in Him. I still hope that one day I'll get to put on that beautiful white gown and walk down the aisle with the price of my heart to the price of my earthly life. Don't settle for less than one of God's chosen Prices' for Your life. You deserve to be honored, respected, cherished and treated as a Daughter of the King.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (King James Version)

5Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Let the Lord direct your paths. Chose the ones that are straight and narrow and when you walk through the valleys or in the rain storms, know that you are never alone because those who are Son's and Daughter's of the Living King, never walk alone.

What's In A Looking Glass?

2010-05-03T16:00:00.000-04:00

So my church has an amazing youth/singles ministry. The name of our ministry is Sixty1One and our name is based off of the verse from Isaiah 61:1 which says

Isaiah 61:1 (King James Version)

1The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

That is the heart and soul of our mission. We want to give everyone the good news that Christ has redeemed them from an eternity separated from God in hell. We want to tell those that are broken that God wants to bind and mend their hearts, proclaim the liberty of God to those who are held captive in sin and depression and to those who are bound in prisons of doubt, despair and depression that God wants to set them free and has made a way of freedom for them through His Son's death on the Cross. Jesus came and died so that there could be a sinless offering for our sins.

Devan preached last night and did an awesome job. It what was so amazing was how God ordered everything not only the preaching, not only my heart, but to bring someone to salvation in Christ. Devan started out with a Nike commercial and it was from the JUST DO IT Campaign. The cool thing was though, that the first phrase that came on the screen said:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> EVERYTHING YOU NEED IS INSIDE OF YOU! <~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The passage that Devan focused on was one that I had actually read in my quiet time last week and I think that God wanted me to have a deeper look into that passage and a greater understanding of what He is calling me to do.

James 1:22-25 (King James Version)

22But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. 23For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: 24For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. 25But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

We have two choices that we can make in our lives as Christians and they are pointed out in the verses above.

1. We can choose to just be a hearer of the God's word
2. Or we can hear God's word and be obedient and DO what God's Word says.

That's kinda been my battle this past week. I want to be obedient to God and do what His Word says, even if it's difficult . . . and man has what He's laid before me and asked me to be obedient in hard. But I have chosen to be faithful. Anyways . . . I digressed and lost focus --> Let's get back on track.

James 1:23-24 are a test that God has given us so that we can determine whether or not we are being only hearers, or hearers and doers! ;)

23For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: 24For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.

So if any person is just a hearer only, he looks at himself in the glass, sees himself as he is and forgetteh what he has heard and goes on about his natural life. What he has heard does not bring change into his life! Devan gave some examples of people in the bible who were only hearers:

~~> Jonah - God called Jonah to go to Nineveh. Jonah heard God's calling, but instead decided to go to Joppa. Because of that, Jonah ended up in the belly of a whale until he decided to follow God and be obedient.

~~> Israel - Israel chose time and time to go their own way. When Moses went up the mount to receive God's commandments, He came back to discover they'd built a golden calf to worship. That's just one instance that comes to mind.

We have to be careful that we are not deceiving ourselves into believing that we are being doers, when in truth we are only hearing God and then choosing to go about things our own way. Devan listed somethings that we need to be cautious about.

Hebrews 4:1-3 (King James Version)

1Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. 2For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. 3For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.

The danger here is hearing the gospel preached, but it not profiting people because they do not truly beleive.

Hebrews 11:6 (King James Version)

6But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

The danger here is without faith and belief, it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God.

James 2:14 (King James Version)

14What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?

The danger here is that people believe that they can only be saved by their good works, which isn't true. What the verse is saying is that your salvation is evident, your faith is evident because of the work that you WANT to do for God, not because you feel an obligation to God.

Devan asked this question and gave this awnser and it demonstrates who our life should be modeled after.

What is a Doer? A doer is someone who hears the word of God, and acts on God's word in faith and obedience.

(This so happens to be what God is teaching me! ;) )

The perfect example that Devan gave was ~~~~>

JESUS CHRIST

Luke 19:10 (King James Version)

10For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

Jesus came to seek and to save those that are lost. He did it! He died for me and my sins. With Christ there is no grey area. It's all black and white, right and wrong, obedience or disobedience. Look at these other verses that Devan shared.

Matthew 7:21-23 (King James Version)

21Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Many believe that they are saved because they attend church and are morally good people. Many will say LORD, LORD and will hear, depart from me, I never knew you.

Luke 9:23 (King James Version)

23And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

A follower of Christ must deny their own desires, take up their crosses and follow after Christ. The verse also uses the word DAILY - you have to daily deny yourself. You've got to die every day to your old flesh!

John 5:30 (King James Version)

30I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.

This verse is the one that blows my mind. Christ can do nothing of his own will! He seeks the will of His Father! If Jesus, who is GOD can do nothing on His own, what makes me think that I can do anything on my own?

James continues on to say regarding verses 23 and 24 that the test is revealed in verse 25.

James 1:25 (King James Version)

25But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

The looking glass is the PERFECT LAW OF LIBERTY! Any man who looketh into God's word and continues in God's Word daily will not be a forgetful hearer but a doer. This man will be BLESSED!

So why do we look into a mirrow? We look into a mirror to see our reflections and see if there is anything in our reflections that we need to fix or change.

So . . . If the NIKE campaign was God's campaign and you've signed up to JUST DO IT, then guess what? God has given you everything you need inside of you! If you are His, then you have his Holy Spirit living in you and you have his perfect law of liberty to guide you.

With all of that . . . God promises you one more thing to those who are hearers of His Word and Doers of His Word! Do you know what it is?

~~~~~~>BLESSINGS!!!!

Matthew 12:50 (King James Version)

50For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.

Matthew 10:32 (King James Version)

32Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.

~~~~> If you are a doer of God's Word, then you are family and He will confess you before His Father!!

Enduring Trials & Temptations:

James 1:2-3 (King James Version)

2My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 3Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

James 1:12 (King James Version)

12Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

~~~~> So this is a problem that I've struggled with the past yesr. Count it all joy when you fall into different temptations? Why would I want to do that?

Well because it worketh patience in us which is a fruit of the spirt - so there is your first blessing. The second blessing says that when you are tried you shall receive the Crown of Life! The Crowns of Life that we receive are what we will get to toss at the feet of God when we are in Heaven.

You also need to consider that our afflections are light in comparison to what Christ suffered to pay the price for our sins. Although this life will never be easy, we never have to face it alone. Christ's promise to those that call on his name and bare His name are that He will NEVER LEAVE US OR FORSAKE US!

So . . .

Take a look into God's Word and honestly ask Him:

~~> Am I a hearer only?
~~> Am I being obedient to what God is calling me to do?
~~> Why am I here?
~~> Am I apart of God's campaign?
~~> Am I deceiving myself?

Let's ~~~~~~~~~~> JUST DO IT! Because God has given YOU Everything YOU Need Inside of YOU! <~~~~~~~~~~

The whole message was precious to me because I felt God giving me the strength I would need for what God has called me to do this week. It encompasses the aspect of whether I will just be a hearer of His Word or if I will be obedient and Do what He has asked of me. So if you think of me this week - say a little prayer for me . . . cause Satan's already nipping at my heels trying to distract me from being obedient to God. I've been on the side of disobedience with God - Trust me . . . You don't want to be there and I don't wanna go back there!

The Call Of Christ

2010-05-01T14:58:00.000-04:00

The past two weeks of my life have been amazing. Oh that I could go back and know then what God has taught me now. But, God's will and timing are perfect and I see how the puzzle pieces form to bring me to this moment now. My heart has been so full these past two weeks; full of the grace of God, of His mercy in saving my soul and His unconditional love for me. Never once has my Father given up on me, although numerous times I've given up on Him because I did not feel worthy of His love, worthy of Christ's death on the cross, or worthy of the life that He has given me.

Although my heart has been full to overflowing, it has been heavy also. I have been called to live my life for Christ. I must admit for the past twelve years that I have done a crappy job of it. I have sought to have my own will in my life, sought to fulfill the desires of my heart and sought to please everyone else but MY Savior and MY God. My heart is breaking right now over the years of wilful sin and wilful disobedience, but I'm not gonna dwell on that because Christ and I crucified that two weeks ago. ;) What I want to share with you is what Christ has been calling me to these past two weeks.

Galatians 5:16-17 (King James Version)

16This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 17For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

The scripture above is a truth of God's Word that I was blatantly disobedient to. For the past 12 years I have lived in the world and loved the world. I did not walk in the Spirit, although many times I, myself strive to, and therefore I willing chose to fulfill the lusts of my Spirit. I was in opposition to God and wilful disobedience. I wanted what I wanted but still wanted to please God. I was trying to serve two masters and that is impossible.

1 John 2:15-17 (King James Version)

15Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

When we chose to love this physical world that Satan is the god of then we chose to love the things that are not of God. For me, my life was all about fulfilling the lust of my flesh, the lust of my eyes and the pride of my life and in my life. What it boils down to is I was being double minded and lukewarm. I have been a Christian for 12years but I've been trying to be my definition of a Christan. The following verse show that you cannot live a life for God when you are double minded, lukewarm and trying to serve this fallen world and God. God won't have it! He's a JEALOUS God!

James 1:7-9 (King James Version)

7For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. 8A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. 9Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted:

Revelation 3:15-17 (King James Version)

15I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. 17Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

Matthew 6:19-24 (King James Version)

19Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 22The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. 23But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! 24No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

So you see, I was double minded - I was unstable in everything that I tried to do. God specifically says that He would rather us be HOT or COLD! Those who are LUKEWARM He will vomit you up! I desired treasure on earth and in heaven. But these things that you desire, these things that you think on and dwell on, speak to the spiritual condition of your heart.

Exodus 20:4-6 (King James Version)

4Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

Exodus 34:13-15 (King James Version)

13But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves:14For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God: 15Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice;

God is JEALOUS over His people and will not tolerate idolatry or sin of any kind. All sin is equal before God and He is not a respecter of persons. God doesn't play favorites. He is Holy & Just and will therefore meet out punishment and consequences for sin. God is also the authority in our lives. The reason that He gave us fathers is because they are suppose to be a picture of Him. Of course the world we live in is fallen in sin and human man will sin and make mistakes. But that is why we need to seek after God, to follow hard after Him. His Son, Jesus Christ is the only man that EVER lived on this Earth who was perfectly sinless, perfectly blameless and was able to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins.

Matthew 12:33-35 (King James Version)

33Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. 34O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. 35A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.

So the CALL Of CHRIST is this . . . we have to DIE each and every SINGLE day! Why? A dead man cannot raise himself from the grave and do things in his own power. For the past 12 years I was doing things in my own power each day. I tried to control my sin, I tried deny my sin, I tried to suppress my sin MYSELF. Do you want to know my success rate with that? Zip! Zero! Nada! I'd get one sin under control and what do you know - another sin would rear it's ugly head. The thing about sin that I have learned the past two weeks and that goes along with the aspect of being a dead woman walking is this . . . the instant that you think on a sin, you start to entertain and dwell on that sin, that sin becomes enticing and before you know it . . . BAM! You sin! A dead woman though is simply dead. A dead woman doesn't think. If I can't think, then I can't dwell and if I can't dwell, then Satan can't entice me into sin.

James 1:12-15 (New King James Version)

12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

Galatians 2:19-21 (King James Version)

19For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. 20I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 21I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

Romans 6:5-7 (King James Version)

5For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: 6Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 7For he that is dead is freed from sin.

Galatians 3:1-3 (King James Version)

1O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? 2This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

Crucified! Jesus was crucified on a cross! He laid aside HIS Will and accomplished the will of His Father. I need to live each and every day crucified. I need to empty myself of all of my selfish desires and do as Christ did. That's the awesome thing about Christ, I can't do anything in my own power! It is only through the Holy Spirit's enpowering that I can live. When I acccepted Christ as my Savior, I died to my sinful, fleshly desires. The truth of the matter though, is that I can pick up that old sinful fleshly nature and put it back on at anytime. So each day I have to take up my cross and follow after God. I have to lay aside that old nature and live my life in Christ. It's my choice.

The Call of Christ comes down to this . . .

~~~~~~> Live as a dead woman walking - I'm crucified with Christ!
~~~~~~> My Love for Jesus has to be greater than my love of the world
~~~~~~> Obedience - I can chose my will or God's will
~~~~~~> Keep my eyes on things about and not on this world!

2 Corinthians 13:3-5 (King James Version)

3Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you. 4For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you. 5Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

Galatians 5:22-25 (King James Version)

22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 25If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

Galatians 6:14 (King James Version)

14But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.

James 4:7-8 (King James Version)

7Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

God's Word is pretty clean and I know this has been convicting to me. My prayer is that you will seek God and follow Him with your WHOLE heart. Trust me, surrendering everything to Him is worth it in the end. Even if you lose everything, God will always be there because he promises to never leave you or forsake you!

Rejoice!

2010-04-30T02:49:00.000-04:00

So it's almost 3 am and here I am blogging again. The funny thing is, is that I have started two previous blogs and have not been able to move forward with them, but apparently they just haven't made the cut as a part of God's Plan yet! ;)

I was reading Psalms before trying to go to sleep because I need God's Word running rampart through my mind in order to be able to sleep. So I'm sitting here reading Psalm 30:5 and this is what is says:

Psalm 30:5 (King James Version)

5For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

I just love God's promises! For the first time in my life they have become real to me again. What jumped out and caught my attention was the phrase "weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." I mean God just can't be any more AH-mazing than that, can He?

I guess I need to give you the context of my past week for you to be able to understand why this section of God's Word stirred soo deeply within my heart. It resonated with me because I saw God demonstrate it to me in living color one night this week.

I wrote back in my blog on Tuesday that I felt like I was in a battle and that my mood and my emotions had been feeling off, I had a feeling of dread. Cue the cheesy scary music . . .

DUH DUH DUN! ;)

The simplest way to explain this without giving away information or pointing fingers is that someone deeply hurt my feelings by an observation they made in my life that I felt to be untrue. This observation truly broke my heart because of a couple of things:

1. I'll be honest, it hurt my pride.
2. I felt as if I was being a negative reflection on Christ
3. The situation for which she observed this trait was one that I was prayerfully trying to sort out how to handle as it is a sticky situation regarding something that I feel God is calling me to be obedient about.

So I cried my eyes out when I got home, sat at the foot of the cross and had a long talk with God about my motivations and attitude regarding the situation, and sought an outside opinion from a dear friend that I knew would give Godly counsel. I wrote in my journal, tried to write an unsuccessful blog and just ended up spending time with the person that completes my soul and fills me with Joy!

Through that night and the various conversations that I had with my Heavenly Father, God worked in my heart to turn my weeping into joy. I still have alot to pray about. I believe that God is calling me to a somewhat intimidating confrontation, but I'm fully trusting Him. I want Him to receive the glory of my obedience and maybe in the process another soul will be turned to the Lord again.

James 5:19-20 (King James Version)

19Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; 20Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

This was the verse that God revealed to me today, well actually convicted me with. The verse is from James and is written to the 12 tribes that are scattered throughout the world. To summarize the verse:

Brothers in Christ, if any of you turn from the truth of God and a brother in Christ restores you to the truth of Gods Word and they repent and turn back to God, then you help save them from physical death, not that they will live forever, but that their lifespan will not be shortened.

There is another verse that I believe sums it all up nicely:

Galatians 6:1 (King James Version)

1Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.

I was sorrowful for a night because my heart had been injured by words spoken in haste. But as I sorrowed that night, God showed my His truth and His will for my situation. When I awoke the next day, my joy was restored! All I can do is rejoice because I am loved by God and He hears my prayers and chooses to answer them.

I've been falling asleep listening to Chris Tomlin this week and his song "Rejoice" has been a soothing balm to my soul. So I thought I'd share them with you in closing! ;)

REJOICE - Chris Tomlin

See the morning, see it rising
Over the mountains high
See the mercy in the mighty hand of God

Living Water come and fill us
Only You can satisfy
Turn our sorrow into singing
The song of life

Rejoice, Rejoice
Sing with the angel voices
Rejoice, Rejoice
All Heaven and earth rejoice

Lord, Your strength is a tower
The righteous run into
Lord, Your love is a banner over us
And we hold on to the promise
That Your hold on us is true
There's no other like You, Jesus
No one like You

Always
Again I say rejoice

So take courage! Your day is not through! Though your night may be filled with sorrow, God promises that He will renew your morning with Joy. It may not be the next morning or the next morning, but He is Faithful and will answer your cry! So REJOICE! Take Heart! For Christ has overcome the world and this is only a temporary dwelling place for us. This world is not our home! :)

The Battlefield Of My Mind . . .

2010-04-27T13:31:00.000-04:00

Hebrews 13:5-6 (King James Version)

5Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. 6So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

God has greatly blessed me, not only this past week, but through each and every day of my life. The truth is though that I was blind to alot of the blessing that God has given me. I was not content with my lot in life and I thought I deserved better. God though in His wisdom has seen fit to strip me down and show me the ugliness within myself. The ugliness that I speak of is my sin. I was full of it and I was so prideful. I'm so thankful that God loves me enough to show me my wickedness so that I can humble myself before His Son and receive the grace and redemption that I truly don't deserve. Christ is the Great High Priest and it is through his sacrifice and death on the cross that I can come into the holiest of holiest and lay my petitions at the feet of my Heavenly Father.

Deuteronomy 30:19-20 (King James Version)

19I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: 20That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

With everything that God has given me and will give me; God has set before me the specific choices that I can chose to live each day:

~~~~> 1. I can choose to live each day or choose death.
~~~~> 2. I can choose to be a blessing or a curse to the people that I encounter.
~~~~> 3. I can choose to obey or disobey his voice.
~~~~> 4. I can hold on tight to him or do things my own way.

The past two days, yesterday and today, I have felt off; saddened and sorrowful. I can't put my finger on it but I believe that I am entering into the battlefield. Looking through my thoughts from yesterday and today I can see that their is a war raging between my thoughts and the truth of God's Word. A woman's thoughts are a dangerous place to enter into, at least my thoughts are. I talked a couple of blogs ago about wanting to establish myself and desiring the praise of men but the bible tells me that I can not serve two masters and I cannot love the praise of men. If you were to take a stroll through my thoughts you would find that insecurity abounds like the dew on the grass, doubts cling like a spider entangling its prey in its web and that deep down it's really hard for me to accept that anyone truly loves me just as I am. That, of course includes my old thinking towards God. This past week He has shown me and showered me with His unconditional love. So today is a war on Faith, Belief, and Contentment.

These verses are my meditation today:

Philippians 4:6-8 (King James Version)

6Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 8Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

I love the line the PEACE of God. I love also how God tells you to endure and to hold fast when your mind is besiege by satan's lies. The key is what you THINK On because what you think you believe and what you think on demonstrates the condition of your heart.

Philippians 4:10-12 (King James Version)

10But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity. 11Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. 12I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

Matthew 15:18-19 (King James Version)

18But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. 19For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:

Luke 6:45 (King James Version)

45A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

Not only do we wage a battle in our mind against out thoughts but there is a battle that seeks to entangle us up in the sins that beset us. Look at what God's word declares regarding the flesh and the spirit: this is another daily battle.

Galatians 5:16-18 (King James Version)

16This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 17For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. 18But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

I think also that I feel the winds of change coming and I believe that God might be asking me to be obedient in one of the hardest things that He may ever asked of me. I want to be obedient, so I am seeking His will full force. I don't like confrontation and I've just got a couple of different situtions that are weighing heavy on my heart. I have to keep surrendering them both because I keep taking up the mantle of worry and that is NOT God's calling on us. He wants us to trust him in all things! So please be praying for me, for my faithfulness and obedience to God no matter how difficult things may see. God is on the throne and He is fully in control. I think that I will leave you with these verses and may they comfort your heart as they have comforted my heart today.

Psalm 9:10 (King James Version)

10And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (King James Version)

5Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Psalm 18:2 (King James Version)

2The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

Hebrews 12:1-8 (King James Version)

1Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. 4Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. 5And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: 6For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 7If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 8But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

~~~~> Here I am Lord, I am laying aside every weight upon my heart and the sin that tries to beset me. Instead I will look unto Christ who is my Strength, my Sure Foundation, my Buckler (shield), my Rock & my Fortress! You alone, O God, are worthy of my praise and my honor! My life is hid in Christ and His nature and His character are my identity! In You Alone Will I Place My Trust! <~~~~

"What's In A Name . . .

2010-04-25T15:32:00.000-04:00

That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. ~ Juliet

I love discovering what a name means. My name Amy means Beloved and I like to believe that God knew that I would need to be reminded that I am His beloved and I am loved by him. Names are important and I believe that they can define us in many ways. I have always wanted to establish a name for myself, but in this past week I have come to realize that I want my name to be established by God. I want my nature and character to be a reflection of the work that God is doing in me. I want to be worthy of bearing the title of "Christian - little Christ."

Philippians 1:5-7 (King James Version)

5For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now; 6confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: 7Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.

Names are important to God also. They explain his nature, define his character and shows the ways he cares for us. Some of Gods names are:

Abba - which means Father, ELOHIM which means strength or power, Yahweh which means I Am, He is the Shepherd, The Potter, The Great Physician, Friend, Master, Creator God, and so many more. His names are endless, yet each speak to who He is. He is also Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the Redeemer, the Great High Priest and the mediator between God and man. It is because of Christ, that we may enter BOLDLY into the Throne Room of Grace!

I have been reading in the book of Hebrews this week and let me tell you, it has blown my mind! Hebrews sets out to establish Christ as the Son of God, the High Priest who mediates on our behalf to His Father and our one and only Redeemer who can save us from the punishment that we deserve - eternal separation from Him and the Father.

Do you realize that Jesus Christ left the right hand of His Father to come to earth, to be born of a virgin, to live a mortal life and not sin? He did that so that He could walk the road to Golgotha, lay down upon that cross and have his hands and feet nailed to that horrible cross. He was Innocent and we were and are guilty. We deserve Hell, yet Christ wanted us with Him for eternity.

Hebrews 4:14-16 (King James Version)

14Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 15For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 16Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Christ is our High Priest. He is the one who mediates between God the Father and us. He died on the cross and ascended into Heaven to sit on the right hand of His Father. Christ was God wrapped up in human flesh. He was tempted by Satan and He lived a human life - He was touched with "our infirmities" but remained sinless. Because of the blood of Christ we can come boldly into the throne of grace and find mercy and grace when we ourselves are faced with temptation.

Isaiah 53:4-6 (King James Version)

3He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all

Do you see what those verses say? He was wounded because of my transgression, he was bruised for my iniquity! Christ was smitten of God!! His own Father smote him because it was only through the shedding of Christ's pure and Innocent blood that I could be saved.

Isaiah 53:10 (King James Version)

10Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

It pleased God to bruise his ONLY Begotten Son! It please Him to Put Christ to Grief and to make his soul an offering for my sin and for yours.

Psalm 2:7-8 (King James Version)

7I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. 8Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.

God told his Son that He could ASK FOR ANYTHING for His inheritance and you know what he asked for . . . ME! Why me? I am lowly, sinful, selfish and so unworthy. But he also knit me together in my mother's womb for a purpose and despite my sinful nature, he wanted to redeem me. Jesus loves me and get this . . . He LOVES you to!

Jeremiah 29:11 (King James Version)

11For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

Isaiah 49:15-16 (King James Version)

15Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. 16Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.

A mother will never forget about her child, nor will she not have compassion on him. Therefore Christ has not forgotten us, and He has had compassion on us. We are graven on his hands, the scars that tell the story of redemption. His nail scarred hands are His testimony of His love for us and show his desire to have mankind as His inheritance from his father.

What name do you bear on this Earth? Do you claim the name of Christ, do you carry His banner, proclaiming you are a "little Christ" on Sunday and returning to everyday living on Monday? Do you intimately know God? Do you know His word? Has Christ Jesus came and inscribed His living Word on your heart? If Christ were to once again step down out of Heaven and spend the day with you, would he be ashamed of your actions? Would he be ashamed of what you do when no one else is around?

I ask these questions only so that I may share my answer with you. Until last Sunday April 18, 2010 Christ would have been horribly ashamed of me. But I fully surrendered my life to Him. I repented of my blatant and willful sin and He restored me to fellowship. Am I perfect? No not even close. I still sin and mess up, but the desires of my heart have changed. I want my life to be pleasing to Him and when I sin, I run to Him and repent for I no longer EVER want to harden my heart towards the one who paid the ultimate price to save me from an eternity separated from Him in Hell with Satan. Now I look forward to my eternal rest. I hope that if you don't know my Jesus, that you'll ask questions that you will seek him out, cause he wants to be found by you. God doesn't play hide and seek, he plays seek and find.

Go Change The World You're In . ..

2010-04-23T02:34:00.000-04:00

So it's after 2 am and I am unable to sleep and so I turned on Jonny Diaz and chose the song "He Would Tell You." I hear the song come on and as I listen to the words I feel my dads arms reach down from heaven, wrap around me and confirm what God has been telling me this week.

I lost my dad on January 1, 2000. He died from complications from diabeties and cirrosis of the liver. My dad came to know Christ as his Savior about two and a half months before he passed away and sitting here right now, I rejoice in the assurance that I will see him again.

My dad was my best friend, a big kid at heart who was not only my dad, but my movie buddy, my confindante, and the person that could always make me laugh! These past 10 years have been so difficult without him. I have greatly missed him and mourned him, but listening to this song tonight I felt God speak to my heart and my dad confirm God's word through the song. The lyrics say:

He is half of the reason you were born in that november rain
but he’s fully the man that taught you to love and made you who we love today
it’s sad that i never could meet him but i see him in you every day
and if he had a chance to tell you his thoughts i feel that i know what he’d say

He would tell you he loves you and he is so proud of the woman once his little girl
you look just like your mother when she was your age and there’s nothing that’s more beautiful
he would say that he’s near and promise he hears when you speak to him late in the night
and it hurts him so bad to look down when you’re sad and know he is the reason you cry and he can’t quite promise you when but he knows that he’ll hold you again but until that time keep your eyes on the sky and go change the world you’re in

He'd remind you of christmas with family and that jesus should always come first
and it’s much more amazing he’s now celebrating with the angels embracing the birth
and he can’t walk with you down the aisle but maybe it’s better that way cause he is so sure that he’d cry like a baby the day that he gives you away

~~~> The song is about a woman who's fathrer has gone onto Heaven to be with God and her husband is singing the song from the perspective of the dad and what he would say to his little girl. The father is reassuring his daughter that although he is not physically there with her to walk her down the aisle, and that he can't hold her when she cries, that he sees her and misses her and thinks of her.

The part of the song though that stood out for me was the last line of the chorus:

"and he can't quite promise you when but he knows that he'll hold you again, but until that time, keep your eye on the sky and GO CHANGE THE WORLD YOU'RE IN!"

My dad is at peace in Heaven with God. But God in His wisdom has left me here to accomplish a purpose:
1. To keep my eyes on Christ
2. Go change the world that I am living in.

Wow!

Just to back up the song scriptually, here are some key verses that god brought to my heart as I was laying in bed listenting to this song!

~~~~~>
Matthew 28:18-20 (King James Version)
18And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Colossians 3:1-4 (King James Version)
1If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

My dad's purpose has been accomplish and he has been called home but the bible also says that:
~~>John 4:34-36 (King James Version)
34Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. 35Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. 36And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.

So this is my challenge to you and to myself:
Will you take up your cross and follow after Christ?
Will you boldly speak the truth in love to those in your life who do not know Christ?
Will you pray, asking God to open doors of utterance for you?
Will you Ask God, so that it can be given unto you, will you Seek God, so that you will find, Knock, so that the door may be opened to you.

Jesus has given his children the keys to all these doors. The question comes down to this . . . DO YOU BELIEVE? Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1)

~~~> Galatians 2:19-21 (King James Version)
19For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. 20I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 21I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

~~~> Ephesians 2:7-9 (King James Version)
7That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9Not of works, lest any man should boast.

So Here Is My Final Thought and it's off to bed for me . . .

~~~~~~~~~~> GO CHANGE THE WORLD YOU'RE IN!!!! <~~~~~~~~~~

Follow The Yellow Brick Road . . .

2010-04-22T20:05:00.000-04:00

They always say to be careful what you wish for . . .

Poor Dorthy and her trusty dog Toto . . . They got swept up in a tornado and carried over the rainbow to the Land of Oz. She killed the Wicked Witch of the West with her house and all of a sudden was a stranger in a far away, yet unknown land. She meets the Munchkin people and Glenda the Good Witch of the North and also encounters the Wicked Witch of the East who is pretty ticked off that Dorthy killed her sister, the Wicked Witch of the West. Glenda hands over the ruby red slippers that belong to the WWW (Wicked Witch of the West) as a form of protection against the WWE (Wicked Witch of the East) and in her fury the WWE declares revenge on Dorthy. Dorthy's original dream had been to run away from Kansas and the problems that were plaguing her there. She got her wish, only to find out that she wanted to go back to Kansas because she truly realizes that there is no place like home.

So you may ask me now . .. why is Amy giving us a synopsis of The Wizard of Oz? I promise . . . I do have a parallel to this story.

The story continues on that Glenda sends Dorthy to Oz, the great wizard of the Emerald City so that he may help Dorthy get back to Kansas. Glenda and the Munchkins direct Dorthy to follow the yellow brick road and to not stray from it. As Dorthy travels she gains three trusty companions, the Scarecrow who wants a brain, the Tin Man who wants a heart and the Cowardly Lion, who wants courage. Of course as you must know . . . every good story has a villain who I introduced earlier as the WWE. The WWE wants those ruby red slippers and wants Dorthy to fail and therefore tries to lead her astray from the yellow brick road. The WWE has many well laid traps for Dorthy along the way and sadly she does fall victim to the poppy field just outside the Emerald City because Dorthy and her friends decide to take a shortcut hoping to reach Oz quicker and therefore receive their expected outcomes. Instead party of well intentioned motives quickly begin to fall into a deep sleep. Thankfully they are rescued and delivered to Oz. The hope that Dorthy and her companions have in Oz is quickly dashed when he only agrees that he will only help if the party will destroy the WWE.

Dorthy and her friends have no choice but to concede to Oz's wishes and therefore set out on their mission. Needless to say, Dorthy is captured, the Scarecrow is destrawed, the Tin Man rusted and the Cowardly Lion flees with his tail between his legs. Thankfully the Cowardly Lion manages to gather an ounce of courage and comes back to aid Dorthy. Dorthy accidentally melts the WWE when she tosses water on her and the she and the Cowardly Lion go to help their injured friends.

Returning to Oz with the WWE's broom and a new light of hope dawning within them, the friends hope that they may now have their hearts desires granted. As you all well know, Toto reveals Oz to be a fraud but he teaches Dorthy's friends a valuable lesson: each trait which her friends found lacking in themselves were truly only buried down deep within them. Oz grants their request, but in order to fulfill Dorthy's he must fill up his hot air balloon and attempt to fly over the rainbow. This of course fails, yet Glenda appears to assure Dorthy that she has had in her possession her means to return home the entire time. . . the Ruby Red Slippers! All she must do is click her heels together three times and say, "There's No Place Like Home, There's No Place Like Home, There's No Place Like Home."

Doesn't that chant echo with you? There's no place like home! Where is your home? I'm not talking about the physical location that you dwell in here on this earth, but where you will spend your eternity!

Matthew 7:13-14 (King James Version) Says:
13Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
14Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

And Jesus declares in John 14:6 (King James Version)
6Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

So then God's Word declares 3 Things:
1. Jesus is the ONLY way, truth and life to the Father (God).
2. Life is found through the straight and narrow gate and that there are few that will find it.
3. Destruction is found through the straight and wide gate. The way is broad and many will find it.

So then why tell you the story of Dorthy and the Wizard of Oz? I can very well be wrong, but the parallel that I see between The Wizard of Oz and life is this:

Dorthy wanted to escape from reality. Toto was about to be taken away from her and she felt as if her family and friends were being disloyal by allowing Toto to be taken. So she runs away, only to come back because of a tornado that sweeps up the house and lands in Oz. Dorthy then realizes when she arrives in Oz, that she wants to go back home. She is directed to follow the yellow brick road and to not stray from the path. As she travels, she gains three companions who have no faith in themselves, yet help her along in her journey. The Wicked Witch of the West and of the East reminds me of how Satan tries to slyly work behind the scenes. She constantly tries to lead Dorthy away from her final destination - her true home. Through the winged monkeys, the poppy field and setting the Scarecrow on fire and terrifying the Cowardly Lion and attacking the Tin Man. I really think it's cool that the Scarecrow wants a brain and to gain knowledge, the Tin Man wants a heart, and that's where our emotions lie and the Cowardly Lion wants courage, which is what the Holy Spirit en gifts to us. Dorthy defeats the witch, only to find out that Oz is a fraud. Her friends discover that they already possess their gifts, they were just hidden deep down but Dorthy gets short changed. Oz is unable to get her home, but Glenda appears and tells her that she's had the key to go home all along, the Ruby Red Slippers can get her there.

I guess what I am trying to say is that many times we are our own worst enemies. We sabotage ourselves because we don't believe we have what it takes and that God can't use "someone like me." But that's a lie straight from the lips of Satan. God lays out a straight path for us, but He gives us the free will to travel the yellow brick road any which way we chose. We can stay on the yellow brick road or take the lovely, yet deadly detour through the poppy field where we will enter a sleep that we might never wake up from.

My heart's desire is for you to examine and decide what path you have chosen. Are you following the yellow brick road and seeking to be obedient to God or have you detoured off to the poppy field?

I will leave you with this final thought:

Christ says in Revelation 3:20 (King James Version)
20Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

Have you opened the door to your heart to the knock of Christ Jesus? If not - invite Him in. You will never be sorry that you did.

This is the promise of Jesus Hebrews 13:5-6 (King James Version)
5Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
6So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

He Is Jealous For Me, Loves Like A Hurricane, I Am A Tree . . .

2010-04-21T16:49:00.000-04:00

You may find my title a little bit interesting. It is from a line in a praise song called "How He Loves" and I am finally beginning to understand how God loves. How He loves me and how He loves you. I guess I should begin with introducing myself first. My name is Amy and I'm 28 years old. I have been a Christian since I was 16 years old and in the past 12 years I have been on an interesting adventure with God. I have struggled with the issue of my salvation and if I had fully accepted Christ as my Savior and if I had, why I continued in sin that God was convicting me of. I guess everything came crashing in on me last July. On July 24, 2009 I came very close to losing my life, but God in His grace spared me. I did suffer an almost severed right ankle and a broken left ankle, horrible bruises and a number of other injuries that I am still healing from. The past 10 months have been a blessing and a curse. I've gone through a lot of physical, emotional and spiritual pain. But many times what Satan intends for evil, God uses for our good and His glory.

On Sunday, April 18, 2010 I got my answer. My singles pastor preached on the last 8 messages from Jesus' sermon on the mount and each message hit a bulls eyes straight to my heart. To sum it up, it came down to what my motives are, am I single minded or double minded, consumed with worry, judgemental, and if I spend my time - asking God, seeking Him and Knocking for Him to open doors, and whether or not I'm on the wide road of the world or the narrow road walking with Christ, to be careful of others and myself and whether I want to be obedient to Christ or obedient to myself and my fleshly desires.. I have to be honest that God straight out knock me on my butt and that I had a decision to make. I could fully and completely surrender everything to him and be obedient or I could continue on completely lukewarm and have Christ spit me out of his mouth and to continue on in my own self inflicted misery, but the choice was mine alone.

I Surrendered!

So I write all that out because I want to share with you what God has taught me in the past three days. I started out on Monday reading chapter 1 in Hebrews and then yesterday and today I've read chapter 2 and 3. I am also studying the book of Hebrews to. In the past three days I have studied Hebrews 1:1-4 and let me say it has blown my mind and taught me so much about who Christ is and what He did for me on the Cross and what He did for you. So I just want to break it down for you and share the highlights of how Christ is rocking my world. ;)

HEBREWS 1:1-4
1God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; 3Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high: 4Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

GOD'S SON BETTER THAN THE ANGELS
~ God has at various times and in different manners spoken to Israel by the prophets and in the last days to them through Christ, who God appointed as in heir in all things and who He created the worlds with. Christ is a complete reflection of the image and brightness of God's glory and in order to fulfill scripture and the law, upholds the Word of his power when He, himself purged us of our sins and then ascended into Heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father and took off the cloak of humanity and revealed His Majesty. The angels were created by God and Christ is apart of the Trinity and therefore was not created. In order to save mankind from sin, He took on humanity but remained the Son of God. He is God's chosen heir and we are His chosen inheritance. As God's heir, Christ bears a more excellent name than the angels.

With the study that I did, I used the TSK ~ Treasure of Scriptural Knowledge to cross reference the above verses. All four verses totalled 16 key words and gave numerous verses to support the key words. So I'm going to list the key words and one of my favorite verses that spoke to me the most regarding that specific key word. I'm just learning and this is what God has been teaching me, so I may fall short or be wrong in something. If so, please let me know, in a nice way. I'm just excited to share with you!

Hebrews 1:1 - 3 Key Words:

At Sundry Times: (various times)
~ Genesis 6:3 -And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

In Diverse Manners: (different manners)
~ Joel 2:28 -And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:

Unto The Fathers: (Israel)
~ Luke 1:72 -To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant

Hebrews 1:2 - 4 Key Words:

These Last Days:
~ Deuteronomy 4:30-31 -When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; (For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.

Spoken Unto Us:
~ John 1:14 -And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth

Appointed Heir:
~ Psalm 2:6-9 -6Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.

By Whom He Also Made The Worlds:
~ Isaiah 44:24 -Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself;

Hebrews 1:3 - 7 Key Words:

The Brightness Of His Glory:
~ 2 Corinthians 4:6 -For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Express Image Of His Person:
~ Colossians 1:15-16 -Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him

Upholding All Things:
~ Psalm 75:3 -The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved: I bear up the pillars of it. Selah.

The Word Of His Power:
~ Ecclesiastes 8:4 -Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou?

By Himself Purged Our Sins:
~ Hebrews 7:27 - Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.

Sat Down On The Right Hand:
~ Hebrews 12:2 - Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

~ Hebrews 10:12 - But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;

Majesty On High:
~ 1 Chronicles 29:11 -Thine, O LORD is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all.

Hebrews 1:4 - 2 Key Words:

So Much Better Than The Angels:
~ Hebrews 2:9 -But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man

~ 2 Thessalonians 1:7 -And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,

By Inheritance Obtained A More Excellent Name:
~ Philippians 2:9-11 -Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

~ For me, these are some areas that God wants to work in and change in me. But the greatest thing to me is to see through scripture how Christ chose us for his inheritance. He could have had anything, and he chose us, he chose me. I don't deserve his grace or his mercy but I am so thankful for it.

I'll leave you with the 1st and 2nd verse of the song "How He Loves" because I think it's a perfect depiction of what I've tried to share today. I know this is long, but I hope it touches your heart as God has touched my heart.

How He Loves
He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane,
I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realise just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

We are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.
So Heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss,
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about, the way…