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Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Let God be True and EVERY man a liar!

You will have to read this for yourself. UNREAL! This is a so called pastor (who needs Jesus if you ask me) who showed up in the pulpit as transgender!

Romans 3:3-5

3What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God's faithfulness? 4Not at all! Let God be true, and every man a liar. (emphasis mine) As it is written:
"So that you may be proved right when you speak
and prevail when you judge."[a]

5But if our unrighteousness brings out God's righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.)

My blogging sister Shelly

I am about to come out of my seat for my blogging sister Shelly...follow this link and you will know why. You will see our mutual hero in the faith with her. I have to admit I am jealous but the Lord has let me have my own time with Beth! He he :)

PEOPLE GET READY!

I am getting really excited!!! Beth Moore's updated version of "A Woman's Heart God's Dwelling Place" is scheduled to come out June 1st! It is the updated version with updated hair! That is Rods 40th birthday to! I called Lifeway just now to see if they by chance got it early! I will be wearing them out until it hits the shelf! I can't wait!!!!

Morgan

I meant to link to this and I kept forgetting. This will go in Morgans baby book!

In God, whose word I praise!

This is Bible gateways verse for the day (Psalm 56:4) and it really struck something deep within me. As much as I have faltered and failed the Lord, as much as I have denied Him by my actions, He is my true love. In God, whose word I praise! I praise Him for His word. Where would I be without it? How blessed I am because of it! I praise You Lord! I thank you that I can put my trust and hope in You! You are Awesome and most worthy of our praise! You sent forth your word and you healed this broken child. My heart and flesh yearn for You! My soul thirsts for You in a dry and weary land. Quench my thirst with Your Word. You are the only thing One satisfies. You are the Eternal, Immortal, Invisible God. Send forth Your word and heal others. That is what You do! You are good and Your love endures forever. Thank you that You love me, that You created me because You delighted to. May my life be an offering of praise to You, one that brings You glory. Not to us, not to us O LORD but to Your name be the honor and glory forever. You are our portion, strong tower, deliver, and lover of our souls. Thank you for saving this girl! I praise You.


Psalm 56:4
4 In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I will not be afraid.
What can mortal man do to me?


Psalm 107:20-21
20 He sent forth his word and healed them;
he rescued them from the grave.

21 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for men.


Stick with me here!

NIV Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-- this is your spiritual {1 Or reasonable} act of worship.

2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-- his good, pleasing and perfect will.

(This is long and Rod tells me to keep them short or people won’t read them…but please prove him wrong in hanging in here with me and allowing the wind of the Spirit to breath on you and speak to your heart…even if it takes some time)

I am not sure how long I will have to hash this out before Morgan starts flipping! So here goes...
Often when God speaks to this seemingly stubborn child, He will use repetition. This weekend I was studying the transfiguration of Jesus in Mark chapter 9. I stopped at verse 2 where it says "There he was transfigured before them." The word for transfigured is the Greek word Metamorphoo (This is where we get the word metamorphisis (think caterpillar transforming into a butterfly). I am going to give the definition out of the lexical aids of the Key Word study Bible:
"denoting change of place or condition, to form. To transform, transmute, change one's form; to alter fundamentally. Used of Jesus' transfiguration which involved the miracle of transformation from an earthly form into a supernatural one, as signified by the radiance of His garments and countenance (Mt 17:2; Mk 9:2). This perhaps hinted at what the bodies of the righteous may be like in the age to come (1 Co 15:51 ff.). (THIS NEXT HALF IS WHAT I WANT YOU TO PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO.) Used of spiritual transformation, an invisible process in Christians which takes place already during their life in this age (Ro 12:2, 2 Co 3:18). Romans 12:2 could be translated in expanded form, "And quit being so concerned about keeping up with the fads and fashions of the present age; rather, concentrate on letting your character undergo a metamorphosis by the renewing of your mind; in order that you may be able to evaluate and ascertain what the will of God is-that which is good, well-pleasing, and ideal."

So often we struggle with God's will. We wonder what is His will for my life? Did I miss His will already? Was it His will that I married this person? Is it His will for me to have children? And the list goes on and on.
As I was reading last night and listening for His voice, He spoke very loudly in my Spirit that I miss what He has for me and those around me because I am not living in obedience. He wants my mind to be renewed so I can discern His will. First of all what is a renewed mind? Lets look to Romans 12. (Oh and as a side note...i read Romans 12 on Saturday night, I then said to the Lord, "Lord, I feel like these verses on the renewed mind are especially for me right now. Please confirm if this is something that you want to work in me, and that I need to pitch a tent on these verses and allow them to get down deep in me by giving them to me again. THE NEXT MORNING my bible opened to Romans 12. Then a verse for the day was guess what Romans 12. Coincidence I think not!).

Therefore in verse one backs us all the way up to Romans 11 with this doxology:

Romans 11:33-36 33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and {33 Or riches and the wisdom and the} knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!

34 "Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?" {34 Isaiah 40:13}

35 "Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?" {35 Job 41:11}

36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.

Paul urges us to offer ourselves as living sacrifices in view of His great riches, mercy, and glory. We are to offer ourselves to Him as literal bond-slaves (doulous) to our master in light of the cross and the great mercy He has shown to us in not treating us as our sins deserve. Verse 34 and 35 point straight to the cross in my opinion... 34 "Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?"

35 "Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?"

When we come to the cross we are all on level ground regardless of past sin or position we are all sinners coming to the foot of the cross. We have given Him nothing that He should repay us. We have never been His counselor nor does He need a counselor. We come to the cross wretched, stained, and sinful. We come with nothing that we can give Him. So in turn we can offer our life to Him daily with the deep gratitude and affection for Him saving us when we were dead in our sins.

Romans 12:2 says “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed (there is our word metamorphoo) by the renewing of your mind.”

What does it mean to not conform any longer to the pattern of this world? The word conform is Syschematizo. This word is derived from two words in the greek: syn meaning together with and schematize meaning to fashion. “To conform to the same pattern outwardly. The exhortation in Romans 12:2, ‘”Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world,”’ urges Christians not to focus their lives upon the external and fleeting fashions of this age nor be shaped by them. Rather, they should pursue a deep inner change of character (“but be transformed by the renewing of the mind").” So to conform to this world simply means that we pattern our lives after this world system. We are going to have to be intentional if we are going to not conform to the pattern of this world because the world system and all it has to offer are constantly begging us to come. The enemy knows all to well that if he can get true followers of Christ to feed their flesh that they will become ineffective and most likely ruin their testimony. He knows that if he constantly appeals to our senses through media, malls, money, and the pleasures of life and we buy straight into it our focus won’t be on things above. We can not live life on the fence. Either we are both feet in the world system or we aren’t. The Lord has called me specifically to starve certain areas of my flesh, areas that suck me in if you will. He and I know what they are and I am cooperating on offering myself to Him, in losing myself in Him. I have spent a lot of time feeding the flesh. It has proved to be a counterfeit an imposter. All that it offered left me cheated and empty. It is my prayer that I will remember intensely just how empty it is and that the Holy Spirit will convict me when I start to "go there". We live in this world and God means for us to be highly effective. I believe with all that is in me that we are missing out on our promised lands because of our unbelief. We go after self-gratification because it feels good and we buy into the lie that God is holding out on us. That is the same lie that caused Adam and Eve to sin in the garden. I had a choice before me this weekend that my flesh was warring with my spirit over. I literally had to stop in my car and say “Lord, my flesh wants to do this but it is contrary to Your word. PLEASE trump my flesh with the power of the Spirit and help me not to give in to how I feel right now.” The Spirit won that time, Praise Him!

Once we get into a pattern of conformity it can be hard to break but it is never too late. We need to get on our face and pray for the godly sorrow that leads us to repentance. It may take time but through prayer and the word we can be victorious in areas that may seem devastated. Nothing is a lost cause with Christ. Another thought I have when I look over my past is that conformity always brought some manner of sorrow and consequence with it to teach me and leave a mark on me reminding me of the repercussions I brought on myself. Still there is no telling the mercy that has been poured over my life in spite of my failures to believe and obey. Let’s learn from our mistakes, allow God to free us and heal us and use our past sins to pay the enemy back because of our great redemption from the very things that once enslaved us in our conformity. Another picture of conformity in the life of a Christian is a visual the Lord gave me several years ago. It is what I call a “Chameleon Christian” a person that blends in and doesn’t look any different than anyone else, yet calls themselves a Christian (that is my picture of conforming). Let me ask you a question that I am asking myself: does your life look any different than the life of one that does not profess Christ? If someone came into your home as a fly on the wall would there be anything different about you? Christ calls us to come apart and to be different (not weird…ha ha) but different…to be transformed. To show a life to the dying world that has been changed by the power of the blood and the testimony of the Word. We are to be walking to the beat of a different drummer with our drummer being Christ not the ruler of this world satan.

So how do we keep from conformity? Well first I would say that Romans 12:2 gives us a direct word on that. We are to be transformed (changed, altered, and renewed) by daily walking with Christ in the power of the Spirit. We are to have our minds renewed. How do we do that, we spend time in the Word and prayer. We have our minds transformed and renewed by abiding in Him. We put good things into our hearts and minds, namely His word. We can listen to sermons, surround ourselves with people who sharpen us, and spend time meditating on His word. I promise based on experience that the more you feed the Spirit the more influence you will have on the lost. You will be compelled to reach out to others and you won't be able to help telling of the great things the Lord has done. You and I will be like the apostles who were commanded to no longer speak in the Name of Jesus:

Acts 4:19-21

19But Peter and John replied, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God. 20For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard."

21After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened.


The word for renewing is Anakainosis and it means “to renew. Renewal, renovation, rejuvenation, the process and work of restoring something back to a new condition. Refers to spiritual renewal; of the mind as the object (Ro 12:2, the degree to which one can ascertain [determine through evaluation] God’s will corresponds directly to the degree to which he has been transformed by his mind’s renewal); the Holy Spirit as the agent (Titus 3:5, “[the] washing effected by…regeneration and [the] renewal effected by…the Holy Spirit.”

I don’t know about you but my mind works overtime. Whatever we think about is where we start to steer our bodies until what we are thinking becomes an action. We can dwell on some pretty bad stuff or we can take our mind to the Word and our Healer and begin to bear fruit for the kingdom. If I dwell on my problems or even my feelings long enough I begin to walk around in defeat. Our problems are real so I am in NO WAY saying to ignore the hurts of life. What I am saying is to take all of those things and bring them to Jesus. Do these verses with all that is assailing you:

Lamentations 2:19

19 Arise, cry out in the night,
as the watches of the night begin;
pour out your heart like water
in the presence of the Lord.
Lift up your hands to him
for the lives of your children,
who faint from hunger
at the head of every street.

Psalm 62:8

8 Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your hearts to him,
for God is our refuge.
Selah

Sometimes the best medicine for a bleeding heart and a messed up mind is to just come and offer Him some praise. The “living sacrifice” comes to life when life is really hard and we don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel but we continue to walk by faith, not by sight and we trust in our Sovereign Lord when our flesh screams not to trust Him but to take matters into our own hands. I know some really precious people right now that are going through painful divorces, infertility, singleness, loneliness, depression, anxiety, financial difficulties, health problems, people who are suffering from wrong choices they made, people who are struggling to forgive, people who are dealing with bitterness in their soul, men and women who are struggling with a broken heart that has been ripped out and stomped on, they have been betrayed, abandoned, and struck down. Life has turned out to be hard. The enemy has a field day trying to toy with us to stay in a place of defeat and despair instead of us lifting our head to Jesus and allowing Him to send forth His word and heal us. Our rival wants to offer us counterfeit medicine that will only numb the pain without us ever getting to the root of it. If we truly offered ourselves to the Lord, giving Him the good, the bad, and the ugly all of the hurts would become servants to us. I can truly say that if I had not gone through some major disappointments, hurt, rejection, abuse, failed relationships, the loss of my first child, health issues, if I had not been through those trials I would not know the Lord like I do. I would not know and rely on His love, I would probably not even seek Him at all if life were so grand. I wouldn’t know His comfort, His mercy and forgiveness, His Fathering of me, His unfailing steadfast love toward this child. The Lord has started calling me back to some basics and maybe He is doing the same for you. He is calling me to quit living so much for me and my own interests and to come back to finding my life hidden in Him. You see when we focus so much on how we have been dealt a raw deal we begin to go after whatever means possible to make ourselves happy. If it is monetary things, we chase after that. The world tells us “if it feels good do it.” You deserve better is what we here. Hey problems in your marriage, find a new spouse, difficulties at your job, find a new one, no longer satisfied with that car buy something better. Is your house to small, get a bigger one! Please… please… please yourself, and don’t forget to look out for number one…You! Then we are more miserable and nothing will ever fill our cavernous needs yet still we strive. If Jesus were here today in the flesh, would He be amazed at our lack of faith like He was in His hometown or in examples like the one in Mark 9? When He comes will He find faith on the earth (Luke 18:8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?")? The Lord is calling me and you as well to take Him at His word to come with the faith of a child and trust Him when the path is dim. He is faithful! Okay so all that is to say we need to be in the word to be effective in this world and to be changed in the attitudes of our mind. We also need to do a little practicing of the famous Phil 4:6-9 passage. We don’t just need to have it memorized we need to do it. One of my hardest struggles is to change my thoughts from what I am feeling to what is true. Here is Phil 4 in the Amplified version:

Philippians 4:6-9

6Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition ([b]definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God.

7And God's peace [shall be yours, that [c]tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall [d]garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

8For the rest, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them].

9Practice what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and model your way of living on it, and the God of peace (of [e]untroubled, undisturbed well-being) will be with you.

Now back to the beginning: 1. We need to offer our bodies as living sacrifices to God. He is our master and in becoming a bond slave we become captive to Him to do His will. We have the liberty to omit things that are permissible but maybe not beneficial because we are servants of the Most High. 2. We run to the word instead of conforming to the patterns and fads of this world. We come and grow like Jesus did in Luke 2:52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” We will not be people of influence unless we are growing in Him. 3. We have our minds renewed daily by confessing our sins, turning from them, not giving into the flesh and its lusts and by abiding in Him.

John 15:4-6

4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

5"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.

Psalm 16:2

2 I said to the LORD, "You are my Lord;
apart from you I have no good thing."

May our life be testimony to the verse above that apart from Him we have no good thing!

After all of this offering, renewing, being transformed, then what? We will be able to test and approve what His will is. Through renewal and being set apart for His work we will have His mind. We already have it in Christ but our mindsets become drastically altered as we loose focus and are focused on earthly things. 1 Corinthians 2:15-16 says “15The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment:
16"For who has known the mind of the Lord
that he may instruct him?"[a] But we have the mind of Christ.”

We have the mind of Christ but will we use it? Will we feed it? Will we trust in Him or will we trust in ourselves?

After we have done what the verses speak of we will be able to test and approve what His will is. Test and approve (Dokimazo) means “approved, tested. To test, try, prove, scrutinize, discern, distinguish, approve. It has the notion of testing a thing to ascertain whether it be worthy to be received or not. Something good is expected of every trial, proof. (1) To prove through demonstration, scrutinize, examine, test, try, assay, determine the genuineness or value of something through testing…(2) To determine the identity of something through evaluation…(3) To approve, pronounce good, fit, worthy, or acceptable after testing.”

In essence God is after renovating our minds, refashioning them from the world to the mind of Christ in each and every situation. Think about renovating a home or restoring an old car. God wants to renovate to get out the old, rot, garbage, mold and decay. He wants to replace it with the good, admirable, worthy of praise and He is after restoration, restoring the old, beat down, broken and dilapidated places in us. Since the fall He has been all about the business of restoring us to Him. Thank you for the cross Lord.

So we will be able to test and approve His will. Will here (Thelema) means “to will. Will desire, inclination, choice, determination. The suffix –ma (in thelema) conveys the notion of result; in this case, that which results from the exercise of the will. Hence, thelema is the actual thing willed, the will specifically, particularly, and concretely. It means, then, will, not to be conceived as demand, but as an expression or inclination of pleasure; a want or desire which pleases and creates joy. When it (the word thelema) denotes God’s will, it signifies His gracious disposition toward something. Used to designate what God Himself does of His own good pleasure…”

So if I were to sum this up in a verse from the Bible it would be this one:

Psalm 27:4

4

Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

As we offer ourselves to Him, stop conforming, be renewed and transformed, we can discern His will, His good pleasing and perfect will because we are delighting ourselves in Him. His desires become our desires. His perfect hatred for sin becomes our hatred for sin. His pity and compassion on the lost, or the believer stuck in the pit of sin becomes our pity and compassion for we are one in Him.

He knows what we need better than we do. Oh we think we know and we find out all to soon like Solomon that life is fleeting and full of vanity a chasing after the wind. But when our life is hidden in Christ it is full of meaning and purpose. So lets stop believing lies and start believing the truth.

If you read this far I pray that this helps you and encouraged you like it does me. I need to be reminded. In closing I am going to give you a verse that the Lord has been speaking to me this week. I read it Saturday and then my friend Jessica called me this morning and told me to read it! I love how the Lord works! Lets not miss what He is doing!

Isaiah 26:3-4

3 You will keep in perfect peace
him whose mind is steadfast,
because he trusts in you.

4 Trust in the LORD forever,
for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal.

Much love

jenny

Thursday, May 24, 2007

so good

Okay I had to link to this it is so good.

Addicting to Sharing

I am so addicted to sharing Everything that I learn that it is not even funny. When will the madness end?!?!?
No but really...
Tuesday, we started Daniel (by Beth Moore of course). Rod came down with what Morgan and I had which was now determined to be GI flu. Nasty stuff people!! Anyway, we were in the ER all Monday night and Tuesday morning. All I could think about was how we better get out of there because I had a bible study to facilitate. I had to find someone to watch Morgan and the Lord totally provided his aunt and uncle to step in. Well, long story short Wednesday afternoon I met his aunt and uncle to get Morgan and I found them in the store with their backs faced toward me. As I got closer I yelled "Morgan!". She immediately turned around in the buggy and starting flapping her arms she was so excited that she recognized her mommas voice. It made me think of the following verses:
John 10:3-5 3The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice."

John 10:27
27
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

When we walk with God and learn His word and abide in it we begin to recognize His voice. We are His sheep and He is our Shepherd...He will lead us especially if we take the time to stop and listen. Let the cry of our hearts be this:

Psalm 27:7-8
7
Hear my voice when I call, O LORD;
be merciful to me and answer me.

8 My heart says of you, "Seek his [a] face!"
Your face, LORD, I will seek.

Psalm 100:2-4
2
Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.

3 Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his [a] ;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

When things don't turn out like you planned

Wednesday, May 23, 2007
When things don't turn out like you planned

Jeremiah 12:5
God's Answer
5 "If you have raced with men on foot
and they have worn you out,
how can you compete with horses?
If you stumble in safe country, [a]
how will you manage in the thickets by [b] the Jordan?

Proverbs 16

1 To man belong the plans of the heart,
but from the LORD comes the reply of the tongue.
9 In his heart a man plans his course,
but the LORD determines his steps.

Life is just plain hard people! There are good times but there are also some
really hard times. I have a hard time when the rubber meets the road with
trials to not focus so much on how I feel. One thing that really gets on my
nerves (especially in churches and among believers) is when we try to basically
tell people that their feelings don't matter. People are suffering so much from
pain, loss, deep deep hurts and we just spout out a verse as if that would take
all of their pain away and we tell them that they should just stuff the beast
of emotion down. I don't think that is God's agenda for us and I believe that
is why so many people think that Christianity just doesn't work for them. God
created us to feel to be alive...I can't remember the guy who said it maybe St
Augustine...but he said the glory of God is a person fully alive. What we
really long for is Jesus but He also created us with desires that are good like
marriage and children. My heart aches for my single friends who are still
waiting on the Lord to bring their husbands. Also, I have so many friends,
godly friends, that are struggling with infertility...you try to tell them that
they shouldn't hurt over that. I AM NOT suggesting that we operate from
feelings because we need to operate from truth...but it is still ok to feel is
all I am saying. I have been going through a certain trial for the past 4+
years. I am waiting on it to get better but things have not changed. I have a
magnet on my fridge that says "What might have happened doesn't exist so don't
even go there." Sometimes I feel like the enemy lives in my home and taunts me
constantly trying to drag me to the ground. Then is when I have to believe God
BIG TIME...when day in and day out things are the same. What I am trying to say
is that through all of the attacks and disappointments I want to extol Him at
all times and have His praise continually on my lips. I love Jeremiah 12:5 it
says :
5 "If you have raced with men on foot
and they have worn you out,
how can you compete with horses?
I am challenging you as I am myself to persevere and keep in the word and
prayer regardless of your circumstances and you don't have to stuff your
feelings...pour them out to God. Tell Him. Cry to Him. Beg Him to change you
even if no one else changes or your circumstances don't change. Don't let your
focus be so much on how things haven't turned out to where you can't serve the
Lord form lack of focus. Lift up your head for He is the lifter of your head.
Run to Him he is your refuge and your stronghold. Keep believing even when you
feel like you can't take another step. He will use everything to work for His
purposes and we will learn so much about Him if we stick it out and allow all
of our past sins and defeats along with our disappointments to become servants
to us. To use them to reach others with the compassion of Christ. If we get so
worn out with flesh and blood how can we compete with horses? We have some
serious tasks ahead of us for Him. Even when things don't turn out how we hoped
He is still ordering our steps. Hang in there with me!! Let's keep believing
Him together and delighting ourselves in Him to where our desires are His
desires. We will never be able to satisfy our cavernous needs of the soul
without Him satisfying them. I know first hand what it is like to spend myself
in vain only to come up exhausted and empty.


Psalm 119:41-43
w Waw
41 May your unfailing love come to me, O LORD,
your salvation according to your promise;

42 then I will answer the one who taunts me,
for I trust in your word.

43 Do not snatch the word of truth from my mouth,
for I have put my hope in your laws.

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Phil 2

Beth Moore had the best commission statement on Phil 2. Click here to read it. Oh and here is Phil. chapter 2 if you want to read it as well!

Monday, May 21, 2007

Taste and see! Try Him!

This weekend I was talking about this verse with someone and it is so fitting that the Lord would use it in this devotional. I was sharing that because I have tasted and seen that the Lord is good, I can not rest when I am wigging out in sin and outright disobedience. I am absolutely miserable if I am not in fellowship with Jesus..because I have walked with Him and know what it is to be led by the Spirit and keep in step with the Spirit...I know when I am not walking with Him. A believer that has had continual fellowship with Christ through His word and time spent with Him in prayer should know when they are not in step. Hebrews says that "Today if you hear His voice do not harden your hearts against Him." (Hebrews 3:7 So, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert,)This verse is talking about how God brought the Israelites out with a mighty hand and outstretched arm, how He miraculously delivered them from slavery and the hand of Pharoah and they did what???...they rebelled against God. The Lord tells us not to harden our hearts against Him. The way we harden our hearts is through disobedience. He tells us something like a mother tells their child and we put our hands over our ears and say NO LORD, I can't hear You, I won't hear You. I am going to do things my way right now. That is in essence what we do. We want to feed our flesh so we harden our hearts and go our own way. After we do that enough we lose sensitivity to the Holy Spirit the eyes of our heart become calloused and hard. In Ephesians 1:18 Paul prays for the saints (we are all saints in Christ) 18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,God wants us to have our hearts enlightened so that we know the hope to which he has called us, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints. Obeying the Lord means that He will be on our side. When we disobey, we set ourselves against the Lord and forfeit His protection and blessing. I prayed this weekend about asking anything in His Name and He will do it...I prayed that He would help me to believe Him and obey Him since it is for my good. I prayed that I would believe and trust Him when He says that His commands are not burdensome and that He blesses obedience. He says without holiness no one will see Him. I want to be holy as He is so I can be in right relationship with Him. I am not speaking of perfection but blamelessness...not living in premeditated sin. I asked Him to remove me from any yokes of bondage or unbelief so I could run hard after Him and stay focused. The thing is that when I am in sin and my heart and mind are focused on earthly things I can't even be about His kingdom agenda because I am so steeped in my own junk. I miss out on the joy and sweet fellowship. I am afraid that many "so called" believers have not truly tasted of the sweetness of the Lord so they don't even know what they are missing and then settle for the lesser things that this world has to offer. Let me say from my own experience, what the world has to offer truly is fleeting and pales in comparison to the sweetness of the Lord. It is my prayer and let it be yours that we have tender, pliable hearts that are sensitive to the Holy Spirit. I am praying that He would give me an undivided heart for my own good and that we would drink deep and taste that the Lord is good. He is so good!In the words of my favorite Bible teacher Beth Moore " There is no high like the Most High." Okay here is the devotional.
love jenny

Monday, May 21, 2007
. . . IF INDEED YOU HAVE TASTED THAT THE LORD IS GOOD.1 Peter 2:3 If." Then this is not a matter to be taken for granted concerning every one of the human race. "If"--then there is a possibility and a probability that some may not have tasted that the Lord is gracious. "If"--then this is not a general but a special mercy; and it is necessary to ask whether we know the grace of God by inward experience. There is no spiritual favor that may not be a matter for heart-searching. But while this should be a matter of earnest and prayerful inquiry, no one ought to be content while there is any such thing as an "if" about his having tasted that the Lord is good. A jealous and holy distrust of self may give rise to the question even in the believer's heart, but the continuance of such a doubt would be an evil indeed. We must not rest without a desperate struggle to clasp the Savior in the arms of faith and say, "I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me."1 Do not rest, believer, until you have a full assurance of your interest in Jesus. Let nothing satisfy you until, by the infallible witness of the Holy Spirit bearing witness with your spirit, you are identified as a child of God. Do trifle with this. Do not be satisfied with "perhaps" or "if" or "maybe." Build on eternal truths; really build upon them. Let your anchor be cast into that which is within the veil, and see to it that your soul is linked to the anchor by a cable that will not break. Get beyond these dreary "ifs"; stay no longer in the wilderness of doubts and fears; cross the Jordan of distrust, and enter the promised land of peace, where the land ceases not to flow with milk and honey. 12 Timothy 1:12
Please note: Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg. Copyright (c) 2003, Good News Publishers and used by Truth for Life with written permission. Scripture quotations are taken from Holy Bible: English Standard Version, copyright (c) 2001, Good News Publishers.

Friday, May 18, 2007

Meat on the bone

Tonight I was feeling famished after my week long illness and I decided to go get some Mexican to go. I couldn't wait! I went home, dropped off some milk and hurried back to the restaurant (without wearing my seatbelt...I was so focused on it) to get my order. I got home broke out the tv tray and began to dig in. I am a very picky eater. If I were in a third world country I would make some compromises, until then I will live in today with choices. Morgan and I began to devour and then to my horror, my absolute horror, there it was...A BONE! I will not eat mexican for some time...until I can get a renewed mind and the Lord removes the memory of it as far as the east is to the west. I began to scream and Rod was like what in the world? Take it away I said. I began to run to the sink and spit out my food immediately. I couldn't even look at it. I need to get this serious about my sin people. Seriously...to be disgusted over it like I was that nasty little bone (I cringe to think of it). Rod had to explain to his friend on the phone that Jenny can't eat meat on the bone. It is quite embarrassing :). I was in a restaurant a couple of years ago and I ordered a piece of chicken...I was sure it was boneless or it would specify. The waitress brought it out and I had to explain to everyone at the table that I couldn't eat it. My sister, Heather, washed my feet that day by cutting the chicken off of the bone while I turned away and she disposed of the bones. Rod is teaching morgan to like sea roaches now (shrimp). I know I will have to face my fears with this one. The Lord would have it that I married my polar OPPOSITE. He will sit there and naw on bones like an animal eating its prey...SICK! Anything he eats I won't we have separate meals almost always. That one little bone ruined the whole thing for me. That is just like sin it may be pleasurable for a season but it will always leave us bone dry and ruin the feast that we could have at the Lord's table instead.

1 Corinthians 5:6-8
6Your boasting is not good. Don't you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough? 7Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.


So, since dinner was ruined I began to pick through my skittles and get the red and purples out so I could feast on them...I will take orange for the last resort but the yellow and green get tossed. Weird I know. I don't want to think about this anymore...I am going to go and take thoughts captive now. Oh I failed to mention that I was in Walmart and the lady from the deli was putting out some rotisserie chicken (I have no clue if I spelled that right) and she was making quite a scene trying to get customers to buy the $2 bbq chicken. I wanted to scream NO! DONT DO IT to all of the people who were taking her up on it. But I can't control their free will. Anyway, she looks to me and I did the look away thing so hopefully she wouldn't know I heard her proposition. She said it louder: "Mam, do you want this chicken it is $2?" No, I replied kindly, I do not eat meat on the bone...EVERYONE in line turned and looked at me. oh well.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Pretty in Pink




Generational Sin

Okay, I confess I have a love for shoes. If you really know me you will know that about me. It is sad. I like all kinds of shoes...mainly the tomboy ones. I would like to introduce some evidence for a case I am building. Introducing Exhibit A: Morgan. Take careful note of the scene.
1. She is going to bed
2. She has her bible
3. Her drinkie
4. Her passy (all of the essentials)
5. Her pink jammies
6. and for #6 her shoes. She has her shoes on with her jammies! Where in the world is she going in those shoes? Doing a little sleep walking Morgan?
I am afraid that I am passing on the generational curse of a love for shoes. At 22 months she already inherited it! Lord please help us.

Am I the only one? :)








Wednesday, May 16, 2007

One of my VERY favorite artists

Listen to Jason Upton for yourself...

Dr. Ergun Caner

I thought this link by Dr. Ergun Caner was better fitting for Rev. Falwell.

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Jerry Falwell goes to be with Jesus

Jerry Falwell goes to be with Jesus. So sad...yet I know he is so happy to be with Jesus.

Psalm 116:15
15 Precious in the sight of the LORD
is the death of his saints.

Sunday, May 13, 2007

I was reading this devotional by John MacArthur Jr and I was reminded that when I am lacking in zeal that I need to pray for it.
I feel very lacking this week. Morgan went through such a rough week last week and I have been so sick this week. I just finished praying and asking God to fill me more with His Spirit and that I would feed the Spirit and not the flesh.

Saturday, May 12, 2007

This is pretty much my favorite movie ever!


Uncle Rico!

Eat your food Tina!!

Friday, May 11, 2007

Fed by the Ravens


1 Kings 17
Elijah Fed by Ravens 1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe [a] in Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word."
2 Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah: 3 "Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. 4 You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there."


5 So he did what the LORD had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.


The account of Elijah, in the Bible, being fed by the ravens is very meaningful to me. See the deal with ravens is that they do not even take care of their own young. When they have their babies they kick them out and will not even migrate in the same area as them. I love how the Lord uses the ravens who won't take care of their own to do His bidding in feeding Elijah during a time of famine and drought.


Matthew chapter 6 is another one of those passages that beckons us to trust God and seek Him for our daily bread, not worrying about tomorrow. We are over and over told to trust and believe God, for Him to supply all of our needs according to His riches and glory in Christ Jesus.


I have been sick the last two days. I was reminded of this passage as I layed on the couch with my body aching. Morgan brought Cheez-its to me and tried to feed me. I thought it was so sweet. Crackers are normally the only thing that I like to eat when I am sick (as the Lord knows). That baby grabbed the box and brought them to feed me. She put one cracker in my mouth after another. I wasn't hungry but I had to take them since she was giving them to me. I was fed by my own young! She loved every second of it to!! Another little reminder she gave me tonight was as she was leaving to go up to her room with her daddy, she grabbed his Bible and tucked it under her arm and headed up to bed. Thank you Lord for the reminder that man can not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4). Thank you Lord for reminding me that You will take care of me even when I am sick. You are so good to Your children. Please help me to trust You more!


Wednesday, May 9, 2007

He has been good to me...reflections for Mothers day



Here is Shelby and then Morgan fresh out of the oven...

As mothers day approaches I am so honored to be a mom. Morgan has been the sweetest gift. I never knew I could love someone so much or that my heart was capable to love her like I do. This Sunday will be bitter sweet...I will never have had the chance to mother our other daughter, Shelby Hope. I can't ever forget her and will not forget her. As time rolls past (it has been almost 3 years since she was born and died) people forget but she will forever be etched in my heart. One day I will get to tell Morgan about her sister that is in heaven with Jesus. Speaking of Jesus...I don't know where I would be without Him saving my poor and needy soul. What would I have done when I went through that tragedy if I did not know Him? What kind of bondage would I be in? He is SO worthy and so Holy. His ways are perfect and just.
When I first found out that I was pregnant I got on my face and cried before the Lord. I NEVER thought I could be a mother. When Shelby was born the Lord unlocked my handicapped heart and gave me the heart of a mother. My heart bleeds for the women who aren't able to have children. I know so many godly women who struggle with not being able to conceive. It breaks my heart especially when I see the abuse and neglect that some children have endured and they don't have a home to be raised in that is loving or a haven for them. I pray constantly for some of the women that I know personally that do not have children yet. I never mention it to them...but I pray. My heart breaks for the empty arms of the women whose children have died.
And then I ask..Why me? Why do I get to have a child? I am so thankful that I am able to raise Morgan. Her heart is so tender and she is so loving. She has taught me so much about God's love for me. When I first had Morgan I did not want to be away from her at all...I was so excited with each new day that I could spend with her. I can't believe my baby will be two next month. I still get excited every time I leave the house and come home to her little face. We have a tight bond and she is a mommas girl for sure. Who can blame her? I hope I do a good job raising her and teaching her about Jesus. I pray that she will love Him so much and that He will be everything to her.
Thank you Lord for your gift of grace. Please give me the wisdom and love to tend to such a sweet thing like Morgan. Thank you for Shelby. Give her some love for me...until I meet her again in heaven. Please open the wombs of the godly women to have babies of their own. May we be faithful to nurture and love these little ones with the love that You give.

Monday, May 7, 2007

King Herods Tomb Found

Tomb of King Herod article.

I'm Back!

I have not posted in a while. We have been crazy here at the Williams place. Morgan has had rotavirus and had to go in the hospital all of this past week and I have been busy catching up around the house and getting a few naps in from my lack of sleep while in the hospital.

I have been learning volumes from Psalm 107 this week. I will have to share as soon as I have time...

Wednesday, May 2, 2007

Motherhood: "Not for the Faint of Stomach"

Today was one of "those" days. It is almost 1 am and I just finished cleaning up some good ol' puke! The irony of it all...I had just changed Morgan's sheets (and what do you know puke everywhere). I try to do that once a week and then not even 5 minutes later I hear a growling cough. As I go upstairs to find a heap of vomit! All in a days work people, all in a days work! Now that I have had all the "Blue's Clues" I can stand I am going to go clean some more, read my Bible and go to sleep! :)

Fill me Lord, Fill me!

Tuesday, May 1, 2007

You think anyone wants a round house kick to the face while I'm wearing these bad boys? forget about it -Rex Kwondo


The Diaper Ninga! I am embarrassed but this one goes in the baby book!

Seriously! This is me, Jenny the diaper Ninga! I had to show Morgan what her mother went through for her oneday. Morgan had a poo so bad today that I grabbed the quickest thing I could find (which was my bath robe tie) and wrapped that bad boy around my nose tight to try to trap out the odor. This was one of those REALLY bad, make you nauseous, what I like to call #4 poo's!! Rod would not change it even thought he can stand to gut a deer...he could not muster it up to help a sista out! This is me before make-up...I know it's a sin!