Flee and he will flee

I have had a sentence stuck in my head for days (And I know it is a word for somebody). It is something like this:

Flee from any person, place, or thing that is causing temptation.

We are told a few things that we need to absolutely flee in the word of God. Why these things? Well, I certainly think it is because we will get sucked in and it is harder to take the way of escape so we are to run like crazy from them.

1. Flee from sexual immorality
There is no room for playing here because once you get in a heated situation and your emotions begin to lie to your mind, the sinful nature totally takes over you can jump wide into a pit.

2. Flee from idolatry. Anything that is taking the place of God in our lives. It could be a person. It could be shopping, an addiction of any manner, the love of money and on and on. You can fill in your own blank here. If we are not in submission to God we are really idolaters because we are setting ourselves in opposition to God in sort of a wrestling match. God will always win but unfortunately as we continue on our own path we may suffer grievous pain. I know. God is for us. We sure don't want to submit to the devil. He is out to completely destroy you with his agenda. We have to be aware of his schemes and listen to the still small voice when we are being convicted.

3. Flee the evil desires of youth. Let's face it we have all done some really stupid stuff along the way. Especially me. We need to grow up in our walk with the Lord and continue to mature in wisdom. Besides the things that we have done in the past that are plain foolish have only brought us shame. I don't want to be the dog returning to the vomit of her youth. I think we have all seen a dog throw up and then go back and eat their throw up. It is a gross sight to behold.

Finally, as we submit to God and resist the devil, he will flee from us. We go around wondering why we can't get the victory when we are not doing what God's word says in these areas. We are not running from these things. I really don't need to use the word "we" because I know some of you are getting the victory. This whole simple concept of my sentence at the top has really got me thinking about all of my decisions and whether or not I have peace with God. It is causing me to question my obedience to Him. Maybe it will help you as well as we seek to rid ourselves, with the power of the Holy Spirit, from what is keeping us entrenched in sin.

Finally, lets just confess our past failures and start afresh today with new mercies. He loves you so!


1 Corinthians 6:18 (New International Version)
18Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.

1 Corinthians 10:14 (New International Version)
Idol Feasts and the Lord's Supper 14Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.

2 Timothy 2:21If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.
22Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 23Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.



James 4:7 (New International Version)
7Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

The last thing I need to be doing is blogging...

I have so much to do even as I type but I just felt the need to sit and think.

So here are a few random things from me this week:

1. Rod and Morgan have an issue with allowing spoons, forks, and etc to go down into the garbage disposal. Even if we have a cover, it always seems to get moved. Well, tonight I was cleaning the kitchen and I had to stick my down the disposal (which is a big production followed by gagging...and yes I wear gloves) and get a part out of the disposal. Morgan wanted me to buy some spreaders for her to put her cream cheese on her bagels in the mornings and little did I know that one of them fell down the disposal. So, it jammed it and I reached my hand down there (with a Lysol wipe) and got it out. Y'all I FORGOT TO TURN THE DISPOSAL OFF!!!! Fortunately, it jammed or my hand would have been mangled once I got the spreader out. I thought I broke the thing then I realized that there is a reset button and I pushed it and it started back. I got chills all over me when I realized what could have happened to my hand. Thank you LORD for not allowing that.

2.
1 John 1:9
⁹If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Rods parents surprised us and showed up at our front door this morning. They came from Pell City and asked if we wanted to get lunch and go to the thrift store. Well, I can not pass on the thrift store. I found some cute things for Morgan and her and her pop were in the store playing. He was getting her good telling her that he was going to take her dresses and etc. Well, she would laugh and try to grab the dresses and hold on to them. No big deal. Well, tonight Morgan set on the couch and said Mommy I need to call Pop and tell him I am sorry about the dresses. She said it over and over and over. Rod called Pop and Morgan apologized SEVERAL times. First off, she did not do anything wrong. It broke all of our hearts because she thought she had hurt her Pops feelings.

My first words to Rod were, "Rod, oh no she is getting this from me." I will beat the dead horse apologizing over stuff. Especially with the Lord. I got a message loud and clear tonight that I needed to let some things go and accept His forgiveness for my sins instead of constantly fretting over them and telling God how sorry I am. I seriously can think up things that happened two years ago or more and keep on bringing them up when He has already removed my sins as far as the east is to the west. I know it hurts Gods heart when we continue in unbelief and He has already forgiven us yet we keep beating ourselves up. That is such a tool of the enemy. Yes, we have consequences and we won't forget where He has brought us from....but we have got to accept the forgiveness He gave us on the cross and move on. It puts us in bondage to guilt and shame when we continually do this. Godly sorrow leads to repentance and if we have confessed and repented we are forgiven, no matter what anyone says.

I am so out of time because I REALLY need to read my bible and go to bed.

She Speaks Conference

1 Corinthians 14:¹²So it is with you. Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church.

I can't believe it is time again for the She Speaks Conference from The Proverbs 31 Ministry. Time is flying! Please visit the above sites to find out more information. The Conference helps to equip people to use their spiritual gifts and boost confidence.

Growing up was a very painful thing for me. My biological father left the picture when I was one years old. I saw him up until I was four, then that was it. I had such a yearning in my heart for a father. I grew up very fast in my opinion. My mom remarried when my twin and I were 6 and my older sister 7. We were soon adopted and I idolized having a father so bad. I clung to his side every second that I could. I also grew up and was abused until the age of 18. While most kids were working for insurance money, I had to work to survive. I lived on a lot of land growing up and I would go outside, look into the big blue sky and think. I wondered why I was here, where was I going, what was God like?
In my home we went to church but that was about it. I didn't have a clue about Jesus or any of the stories that other kids knew (that went to the baptist church...lol). We did not take our bibles to church. In fact I remember men and women at our church standing in the kitchen talking about those bible toting baptists, meanwhile I wished I was one of those kids who went to that "big" church. I grew up learning legalism. Nothing about a relationship, it was all about rote traditions that do not even come from the bible.
I prayed to receive Christ when I was 13 at a youth lock in. I was so on fire for Jesus but I never was discipled so it sort of fizzled out.
I really believed that I was going to get to heaven by being a good person. I had no idea about grace and the sacrifice Christ had made for me. In other words the church I went to did everything they could to make God as boring as possible. James MacDonald once said that he thought one of the greatest sins was to bore people with God's word. I agree because His word is alive and active.
Anyway, my life was one of co-dependency especially when it came to having to have a man in my life. The Lord literally stripped me of all of that and performed major heart surgery on me before I was ever healthy enough to be with my husband. The Lord wanted me to know that I would still live without a man in my life since I had idolized it so much.
Beth Moore said before that if you have a passion to tell everyone what you are learning you are probably called to teach. Growing up I had zero talent. I could run and that was it. I always wondered if I was in a talent show what in the world could this clumsy girl do? Make a bed on stage? Wash some clothes? I had it so embedded in me that I was not gifted or talented. Oneday, our singles minister came to me and asked me to pray about teaching. So, I began teaching for the next 7 years. It made me learn so much and challenged me so much. It gave me more joy than I could describe here. I was never once burned out. It gave me purpose and made me excited about life in general.
My very first exposure to a Spirit filled person was when I saw Beth Moore teaching Breaking Free right when it came out. When I saw her I felt the power of the Holy Spirit and prayed silently, "Lord, whatever she has I want that." She has mentored me along with countless others through the Moody broadcasting network over the last 11 years.
I married when I was 23. Our first daughter, Shelby Hope, died prematurely on August 20th 2004. I had gone to the Patriarchs taping and Beth Moore prayed over all of the pregnant women so I thought for sure this life was going to be so special. And it was. The Lord revealed to me that it wasn't Lazarus that He was crying over, but the Mary's and Martha's like me who are left with the sting of death. It was never meant to be that way. Her life brought God glory, even though it was one of the hardest times of my life. I had to stay in the Word and walk by faith even when I did not feel it. I am so blessed with my daughter Morgan hope now. We have been through more than our share of trials in getting her here and health problems in general. I feel like I can relate to most anyone who is suffering from what I have been through and how God has redeemed my life from the pit.
So to wrap up this long story...
I have felt a call to vocational ministry for several years. When the Living Proof Live conference was held in Birmingham, AL, she told us to go home and do some homework. Looking at our past, present, and how we wanted to use all of that to help the next generation. Well, I did my homework and I asked God to put something on my heart to pray. I prayed that if I was called to vocational ministry that Beth would call me out of that crowd of 18,000 people and I would know that this was the call on my life. So, she was teaching on Ephesians and how we think God doesn't notice us but He does when she stops teaching and sees me. She remembered that I was the one from the Patriarchs that had lost the baby. She made me get up in front of all of those people and I told everyone what I prayed.
Well, almost 4 years have come and gone and I have been tested and humbled until Psalm 130 has been engraved on my heart. I have been facilitating bible studies but nothing else. That is why this blog came about. I wanted to have an outlet to share what I am learning.
At times I have thought maybe the Lord has forgotten about me or that I have missed my calling. I am still just going to keep trusting Him. I feel so ill equipped but I also have such a passion for people to know God. To know Him through His word. To be set free from legalism, bondage, things that have happened in the past and on and on. I don't know where I would be without Jesus. I was headed for destruction and He reached down and took hold of me. If it weren't for other people who have stepped out to believe God, and be a voice proclaiming His word, I don't know where I would be. So, I just want to be a vessel that He can use even though I have sinned so greatly against Him. It amazes me that He has never dropped or abandoned me. I love Him so and want others to have more than a Sunday relationship with Him.

Before He Speaks

LOL

Perfect You, Imperfect Me

Psalm 84:2
² My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God.


Jesus, Jesus, Jesus You truly are the One and Only.
Out of the depths I cry to You.
Oh Lord hear my voice.
I yearn for You.
I thirst for You in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
I call to You Lord, as my heart grows faint.
Lead me to the Rock that is Higher than i.
You Oh High and Lofty One.
You O LORD clothed in majesty and strength, wrapped in light.
You knitted me together in my mothers womb, fearfully and wonderfully made...then why do I think so little of myself? You prized Your children above all...but what have I given You when I scorn Your creation with my very own words. Lord, that You would change my heart.
O LORD I have chased so many lesser things that have only made me implode with myself. I have been so blinded by this world. I have tried to stuff my soul with things that I thought would fulfill and they were only broken cisterns that held no water. I have held idols in my right hand. I have thought so little of You and fed on ashes and delusions.
I am so sick of myself, my pride, me. Lord, that I would die to myself and follow You. O that I would love You and seek You as the pearl of great price. That I would love You with all of my heart.
I have been the woman at the well.
I have been like Lazarus wrapped in grave clothes.
I was on a path to destruction and You reached down from on high and took hold of me.
I have been the one who has cried to You over and over: Lord, help my unbelief!!
I have been Mary. I have been Martha.
I have been like David who you said was a man after your own heart yet fell into grievous sin.
I have been Gomer turning back on You...as a dog returns to her vomit.
I have been the one to reach out and touch the hem of Your garment in the midst of my infirmity and anguish.
I have been the brute beast before You.
I have been like Gideon, afraid that You had chosen the wrong person.
I have acted to quickly, not waiting for Your call like Moses.
I have been Peter, denying You with my actions.
Jacob the deceiver. Jonah running from You. King Nebuchadnezzar in my pride.
I have been to great heights and depths with You.
I have been in the pit of sin, and a prisoner set free.
Lord, You know my every thought before I think it and yet You still contend with me.
Why? I will never know. But because Your love is better than life my lips will glorify You!
Thank You that Your mercies are new every morning.
Thank You that You are my husband, father, friend, counselor, peace, comforter, and refuge.
Your ways are too high for me.
You allowed Elizabeth to get pregnant when she was past menopause. You brought the Messiah through the virgin Mary. With You nothing is impossible. Please God do not let me settle for lesser things or unworthy thoughts of You. You are for my good, not my destruction. May my soul cling to You. You are Worthy Lord and I am not. By Your stripes I am healed from my sins.
If You O LORD kept a record of sins who could stand? But with You there is forgiveness therefore You are feared. I wait for You Lord. My soul waits. More than the watchmen wait for the morning. In Your Word I put my hope. You are the Only One who is True. You have no dark side. I am desperate. Come fill me with Living Water. Hem me in Lord. Take my heart and seal it for thy courts above.
Thank You for not growing weary of me. Thank You for Your constant love.
I do not deserve You...but I never want life without You. You are the air I breathe. Don't let me leave Your side.

poo-poo medicine

I just have to share this again.
Morgan asks me everyday if my drink has poo-poo medicine in it. In public or at home it is non-stop. I am glad I am not moved by this topic or I would be so upset with her when she says it so loud!
So, I walk in her room and she is playing in her rose-petal cottage. I was listening to what she was selling to her pretend customers, and it was poo-poo medicine. I about died laughing. She even went as far as to get her cups and fill them with water or pretend poo-poo medicine.

We really need to be the poster children for Miralax. LOL

Any funny stories?

Here are all of my memory verses so far:

Psalm 94:18-19

18 When I said, "My foot is slipping,"

your love, O LORD, supported me.

19 When anxiety was great within me,

your consolation brought joy to my soul.

Psalm 42:8 (New International Version)

⁸ By day the LORD directs his love,
at night his song is with me—
a prayer to the God of my life.

Psalm 73:21-23

21 When my heart was grieved

and my spirit embittered,

22 I was senseless and ignorant;

I was a brute beast before you.

23 Yet I am always with you;

you hold me by my right hand.

Psalm 73:21-23

²⁴ You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.

²⁵ Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

²⁶ My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.

Psalm 73:28

²⁸ But as for me, it is good to be near God.
I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge;
I will tell of all your deeds.

Psalm 89:15

¹⁵ Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you,
who walk in the light of your presence, O LORD.

Psalm 56:13

¹³ For you have delivered me from death
and my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before God
in the light of life.

Siesta Scripture memory #6

<sup>Psalm 42:8

8</sup> By day the LORD directs his love,
at night his song is with me—
a prayer to the God of my life.

Steven Curtis Chapman Believe me now

I think the fact that I LOVE music is an understatement. I have always loved it. I love how my sweet child has loved music from infancy. We truly are fearfully and wonderfully made. Anyway, I remember several songs that ministered to me when I lost Shelby. Here is one of them from Steven Curtis Chapman:

Steven Curtis Chapman Believe me now Lyrics:
I watch you looking out
Across the raging water
So sure your only hope
Lies on the other side
You hear the enemy
That's closing in around you
And I know
That you don't have the
strength to fight
But do you have the
faith to stand and

Believe me now
Believe me here
Remember all the times I
told you loud and clear
I am with you and I am for you
So believe me now
Believe me now

I am the one who waved my hand
And split the ocean
I am the One
Who spoke the words and
raised the dead
And I've loved you long before
I set the world in motion
I know all the fears
you're feeling now
But do you remember who I am?


Will you believe me now
Believe me here
Remember all the times I
told you loud and clear
I am with you and I am for you
So believe me now

Believe it's true
I never have I never
will abandon you
And the God that I have always been
I will forever be
So believe me now

I am God
Who never wastes a single hurt
That you endure
My words are true
And all My promises are sure
So believe me now
Oh believe me now

So believe me now
Believe me here
Remember all the times I
told you loud and clear
I am with you and I am for you
So believe me now
Believe it's true
I never have I never
will abandon you
And the God that I have always been
I will forever be
So believe me now
Believe me now
Believe me now
Lyrics: Believe me now, Steven Curtis Chapman

Just Wondering

****QUICK UPDATE---I have been heartbroken over the needs here. As I was praying over each one outloud Morgan kept throwing in this guy at the mall today that was "choking". He was really hacking up snot and spitting it into a cup. Every time I said a prayer for you...she prayed for "that guy". Y'all it was so gross I was like dude get up and quit grossing everyone out. It was THE LOUDEST snot hacker I have EVER heard. Everyone around him was cracking up. I even asked one of my janitor friends to go make sure he wasn't choking. Nope he was just hacking up. But I wanted you to know I have prayed for you!!!***********


I would like you to leave an anonymous comment here and let me know what you are struggling with right now. It can be anything so please be honest. I will also pray for these as well, knowing that the LORD knows who you are.

The reason is we are in such a war and life is hard and I think that so many of us have voids we are trying to fill because of how watered down the true gospel, Gods Word, and passion of Christ is in some of our churches. I know of some great teaching and preaching and wonderful churches so I am not saying that. I do feel like people do not feel like they can be real even with other believers just from what I have observed. I also hear of so many people desperate for more of the Lord and all they hear at times is something for a two year old Sunday school class. I hope you know my heart and what I mean. Anyway, I do have a reason behind this. Please be anonymous.

Hoover AL Police Department Seized Porche

I just have to post this. I am digging the Porche.

CLICK HERE

Feeshin'

Rod's poor parents. I have told you how Morgan does not sleep well. There is NOTHING normal about it other than the fact that her mother "me" was the SAME way. For example. My mom was divorced when I was about one and I can remember being 4 years old and getting up in the night to make milkshakes (with raw eggs in them and vanilla extract--ew and milk...don't do that at home...it is a wonder I am alive). I would wake my twin sister up since we shared a room and tell her that we were going to throw a party for ourselves and she needed to GET UP! I couldn't have a party by myself of course. So, I would go get food out of the refrigerator (eggs, bacon, raw hotdogs, velveeta cheese) and we would have a party. My mom was FURIOUS when she got us up the next morning and I was sleeping with raw bacon and had hotdogs in my side drawer. We were on a budget! Anyway, I have always been weird with sleep. So Morgan goes to bed last night at 10pm, mind you she had gone strong all day long with no nap. SHE DOES NOT WANT TO MISS A THING. She then wakes her MiMi up this morning at 5:00am and says "Good morning MiMi." MiMi told her that it was not time to wake up. Then, Morgan asked if she would turn the tv on after she went to the window to make sure it was really still dark outside. At 6:00 am she says MiMi we need to get up I have to go feeshin' (fishing since they live on the lake). They are even going to let her stay another night after all of that! Whew!!

ps. Rod was watching Morgan for me so I could study and guess what: She cut her hair! I got to her in time. She had only taken one chunk out with child safety scizzors.

Laws against texting while driving...

So...in Alabama they were working on a law to make it illegal to text while driving. As I was texting and driving today (gotta live on the edge a little) I wondered how in the world police are going to know we are texting and give out tickets??
Just curious.

Girls Night Out- Sherry Burgess- Hunter Street Baptist, Hoover AL

On April 28th at 6:00pm Sherry Burgess is coming to speak at our church for Girls Night Out. Tickets are only 5 dollars. Most of you are familiar with her but if you are not she is Rick Burgess' wife from the Rick and Bubba show. You can register online HERE. Also, I will be selling tickets so let me know if you need one.

He who blots out YOUR transgressions

Isaiah 43:25
"I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more

Yesterday, I walked into the bathroom to see Morgan up on a stool with the water going full blast. Then I noticed that the sink was not draining. So, I ask her if she stuffed tissue down the sink. With no one else to blame she said, "um nn..yes." Anyway, I got it out and managed to pull a toothbrush up from down the drain as well. As a side note Morgan flushed a toothbrush down the toilet and we had to buy a whole new toilet (I ought to get her to do that in the other bathroom...kidding).

I have been teaching her 1. that it is better to tell the truth and 2. when we confess and are sorry that the Lord removed our transgressions as far as the east is to the west. She is a lot like me when I get a guilty conscience. I can't stand it. So she (like me) will apologize again and again. She told her dad what she had done and I said, "Morgan stop bringing it up. You said you were sorry. You asked God for forgiveness and we are not going to do it again." She did look straight up to the ceiling and pray in the bathroom and said, "sorry God." She cracks me up.

Last night, I had a couple of things hit me like a ton of bricks. First of all, I am such a work in progress and I fight the same battle of Romans 7 when I do the things I don't want to do. Romans 6 is how I want to live. Dead to sin, alive in Christ. However, I falter everyday. As the words fell from my mouth to my child, it was like the Lord (in my spirit) saying, "Jenny, you don't believe what you are telling her." The LORD is right. I will confess things to Him over and over. I will live in condemnation at times even though Jesus died on the cross before I ever committed the sin. I am often the one who gets in the way of running in freedom. I will punish myself more than the Lord even disciplines me Rom. 12. Please go read Romans 6 and 7 when you have time.

Dig these prayers from David after the affair with Bathsheba and having her husband killed (I think this was a year later...I think).
Psalm 51:
[ For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba. ] Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.


Psalm 51:Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.

God the Same yesterday, today, and forever cannot resist the repentant. I could go on about this giving you examples like king Ahab (he did more evil in the eyes of the LORD than anyone before him, and provoked the LORD.):

1. 1 Kings 16:30
   Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the LORD than any of those before him.
   
   
2. 1 Kings 16:33
   Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than did all the kings of Israel before him.

Then, look at this later on (1 Kings 21:26-28):

²⁶ He behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols, like the Amorites the LORD drove out before Israel.)

²⁷ When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted. He lay in sackcloth and went around meekly.

²⁸ Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite: ²⁹ "Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself, I will not bring this disaster in his day, but I will bring it on his house in the days of his son."

God took note that Ahab, wicked Ahab, humbled himself.

So, my eyes darted across the room to my bible. My bible was opened to a page where I had written about a horrible season for me personally. One day, I thought to myself why keep reminding myself of that and baring up under a load of condemnation. So, I took a pen and blotted over it. I could cry right now. As I looked at where it had been scratched over the Lord recalled this verse to me:

Isa. 43:5

"I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more

Picture a list of all the sins you have committed. He died to blot out those sins with the Precious Blood of the Lamb, who was slain before the foundations of the world. AMEN!!!!

These are random snow pics and other stuff. Morgan took some of them. ;)

What happens after you die?

This is from Got Questions.org and it is such a good short read on life after death. It really sums it up.

Question: "What happens after death?"Answer: Within the Christian faith, there is a significant amount of confusion in regards to what happens after death. Some hold that after death, everyone “sleeps” until the final judgment, after which everyone will be sent to Heaven or Hell. Others believe that immediately after the moment of death, people are instantly judged and send to their eternal destinations. Still others claim that when people die, their souls/spirits are sent to a “temporary” Heaven or Hell, to await the final resurrection, the final judgment, and then the finality of their eternal destination. So, what exactly does the Bible say happens after death?First, for the believer in Jesus Christ, the Bible tells us that after death, believers’ souls/spirits are taken to Heaven, because their sins were forgiven from having received Christ as Savior (John 3:16,18,36). For believers, after death is to be “away from the body and at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:6-8; Philippians 1:23). However, passages such as 1 Corinthians 15:50-54 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 describe believers being resurrected and given glorified bodies. If believers go to be with Christ immediately after death, what is the purpose of this resurrection? It seems that while the souls/spirits of believers go to be with Christ immediately after death, the physical body remains in the grave “sleeping.” At the resurrection of believers, the physical body is resurrected, glorified and perfected, and then reunited with the soul-spirit. This reunited and glorified body-soul-spirit will be the inhabitance of believers for eternity, in the New Heavens and New Earth (Revelation chapters 21-22).Second, for those who do not receive Jesus Christ as Savior, after death means everlasting punishment. However, similar to the destiny of believers, unbelievers also seem to be sent immediately to a temporary holding place, to await their final resurrection, judgment, and eternal destiny. Luke 16:22-23 describes a rich man being tormented immediately after death. Revelation 20:11-15 describes all the unbelieving dead being resurrected, judged at the Great White Throne, and then being cast into the lake of fire. Unbelievers, then, are not sent to Hell (the lake of fire) immediately after death, but rather are in a temporary realm of judgment and condemnation. However, even though unbelievers are not instantly sent to the lake of fire, their immediate fate after death is not a pleasant one. The rich man cried out, “I am in agony in this fire” (Luke 16:24).Therefore, after death, for both believers and unbelievers, a person resides in a “temporary” Heaven or Hell. After this temporary realm, at their final resurrection, peoples’ eternal destiny will not change. The precise “location” of that eternal destiny is what changes. After death, believers will ultimately be granted entrance into the New Heavens and New Earth (Revelation 21:1). After death, unbelievers will ultimately be sent to the lake of fire (Revelation 20:11-15). These are the final, eternal destinations of all people - based entirely on whether or not they had trusted Jesus Christ alone for salvation (Matthew 25:46; John 3:36).
Recommended Resource: What the Bible Says about Heaven & Eternity by Ice & Demy.

Think With Discernment

There is a reason why this is so important to me and I hope to get it typed out tonight. :)


Think with Discernment, Part Oneby Charles R. Swindoll
1 Corinthians 2:12-16
There is a Persian proverb that sounds more like a tongue twister than sound advice. My high school speech teacher had us memorize it for obvious reasons:
He who knows not, and knows not that he knows not, is a fool; shun him.He who knows not, and knows that he knows not, is a child; teach him.He who knows, and knows not that he knows, is asleep; wake him.He who knows, and knows that he knows, is wise; follow him.
All four "types" can be found on every campus, in any business, among all neighborhoods, within each church. They don't wear badges, nor do they introduce themselves accordingly. You'll never have someone walk up, shake your hand, and say, "Hi, I'm Donald. I'm a fool." Chances are good that the last thing he will want you to discover is the deep-down truth that "he knows not that he knows not."
Then how in the world are we to know whom to shun, to teach, to awaken, or to follow? Discernment is the answer. Skill and accuracy in reading character. The ability to detect and identify the real truth. To see beneath the surface and correctly "size up" the situation. To read between the lines of the visible.
Is it a valuable trait? Answer for yourself. When God told Solomon to make a wish---any wish---and it would be granted, the king responded:
"Give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people to discern between good and evil." (1 Kings 3:9)
And who doesn't know about the wisdom of Solomon to this very day? Paul informed us that discernment is one characteristic that accompanies genuine spirituality (1 Corinthians 2:14-16). The writer of Hebrews 5:14 called it a mark of maturity. Discernment gives one a proper frame of reference, a definite line separating good and evil. It acts as an umpire in life and blows the whistle on the spurious. It's as particular as a pathologist peering into a microscope. Discernment picks and chooses its dates with great care. It doesn't fall for fakes
. . . or flirt with phonies. . . or dance with deceivers. . . or kiss counterfeits good night.
Come to think of it, discernment would rather relax alone at night with the Good Book than mess around with the gullible gang. You see, it's from that Book that discernment learns to distinguish the fools from the children . . . and the sleeping from the wise.
Before you start in on the old bromide, "But that doesn't sound very loving!" better take another look at John's counsel. You remember John. He's the guy known for his tender love for Jesus. He wrote:
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. (1 John 4:1)
In today's talk: "Stop believing everything you hear. Quit being so easily convinced. Be selective. Think. Discern!"

Excerpted from Come Before Winter and Share My Hope, Copyright © 1985, 1994 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission.