1 John 4: 7 - 16
"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but tat He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love on another. No one has seen God at any tim. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in Him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in Him."
and...
Chapter 5: 14-15
" Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him."
I love these verses :)
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Thoughts..
God works in mysterious ways.
Some days I just feel like packing it all in and trying something different. Other days, I love my life and I love what I do, still other days I have a hard time trying to stay focused because I'm tired, or stressed.
To be honest, my life right now is crazy. I sometimes feel as if I have no extra down time to do anything to just...relax. And then I think, "well maybe that's being selfish." Because I mean, our lives aren't even our own to begin with, so what right do we have to live them around our own plans and preferences right? I don't know..it's something I really struggle with. How much time are we allowed to take for ourselves to just quiet down from our crazy, hectic schedules and use that time to spend more in His Word, or even just to enjoy the gifts of creation that He's created for us?
I'm really trying to figure out where that fine line is.
And then there's the moments in our lives, those days where everything seems to be going just the way we think it should go. We're happy, and there's really nothing that we feel should be different about it. And then it changes. Everything. You feel as if everything's turned upside down and you don't know what to believe anymore...time passes and then something changes. Again. Except this time, it's amazing. What you thought before would never happen, it does!...in the most incredible and miraculous way!
Those are the times, the days when you just stop. You can't help but lift your voice to Him. When everything seemed all wrong, when you couldn't seem to figure out why..it all makes sense. Sometimes I don't even have words for it. I don't know how to thank Him how He ought to be thanked. But I do with all of my heart, because I love Him, and I love Him for all the mysterious ways He works in my life. I love Him for lifting me up in His hands when I most feel like falling. When He speaks through His Word during the times I least feel like trusting.
I guess it's like when you're closed in all around you..the only place to turn, the only place to look , is up. Where He's there. He's never left, and He never will! ..Honestly, what could be more comforting than to have Christ, the Lord, our King surround you with His loving arms, and ever-present Spirit?
Ecclesiastes 3: 1-15
"To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which has been planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep and a time to cast away; a time to rend, and a time to sew, a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate, a time to war, and a time of peace. What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth? I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it. He hath made everything beautiful in his time: also he hath set to the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh form the beginning to the end. I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life. And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God. I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever: nothing can be put into it, nor anything taken from it: and God doeth it it, that men should fear before Him. That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past."
Some days I just feel like packing it all in and trying something different. Other days, I love my life and I love what I do, still other days I have a hard time trying to stay focused because I'm tired, or stressed.
To be honest, my life right now is crazy. I sometimes feel as if I have no extra down time to do anything to just...relax. And then I think, "well maybe that's being selfish." Because I mean, our lives aren't even our own to begin with, so what right do we have to live them around our own plans and preferences right? I don't know..it's something I really struggle with. How much time are we allowed to take for ourselves to just quiet down from our crazy, hectic schedules and use that time to spend more in His Word, or even just to enjoy the gifts of creation that He's created for us?
I'm really trying to figure out where that fine line is.
And then there's the moments in our lives, those days where everything seems to be going just the way we think it should go. We're happy, and there's really nothing that we feel should be different about it. And then it changes. Everything. You feel as if everything's turned upside down and you don't know what to believe anymore...time passes and then something changes. Again. Except this time, it's amazing. What you thought before would never happen, it does!...in the most incredible and miraculous way!
Those are the times, the days when you just stop. You can't help but lift your voice to Him. When everything seemed all wrong, when you couldn't seem to figure out why..it all makes sense. Sometimes I don't even have words for it. I don't know how to thank Him how He ought to be thanked. But I do with all of my heart, because I love Him, and I love Him for all the mysterious ways He works in my life. I love Him for lifting me up in His hands when I most feel like falling. When He speaks through His Word during the times I least feel like trusting.
I guess it's like when you're closed in all around you..the only place to turn, the only place to look , is up. Where He's there. He's never left, and He never will! ..Honestly, what could be more comforting than to have Christ, the Lord, our King surround you with His loving arms, and ever-present Spirit?
Ecclesiastes 3: 1-15
"To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which has been planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep and a time to cast away; a time to rend, and a time to sew, a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate, a time to war, and a time of peace. What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth? I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it. He hath made everything beautiful in his time: also he hath set to the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh form the beginning to the end. I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life. And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God. I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever: nothing can be put into it, nor anything taken from it: and God doeth it it, that men should fear before Him. That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past."
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Spirit Breathed..
Hebrews 4:12
"For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."
"For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
and these people...I love :)
A sort of last minute Thanksgiving family picture :)
Left to right: Wes, Jana, Brad, Charity, Jacinda, Cheryl, Heidi, Mom, Opa, Dad, and me...
Monday, October 12, 2009
Christ bought every good thing and every bad thing that turned for good...
Convicting. Very.
- Excerpt taken from Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper
"Why is this the case? Because for redeemed sinners, every good thing-indeed every bad thing that God turns for good- was obtained for us by the cross of Christ. Apart from the death of Christ, sinners get nothing but judgement. Apart from the cross of Christ, there is only condemnation. Therefore everything that you enjoy in Christ- as a Christian, as a person who trusts Christ- is owing to the death of Christ. And all your rejoicing in all things should therefore be a rejoicing in the cross where all your blessings were purchased for you at the cost of the death of the Son of God, Jesus Christ.
One of the reasons we are not as Christ-centered and cross-saturated as we should be is that we have no realized that everything-everything good, and everything bad that God turns for the good of his redeemed children- was purchased by the death of Christ for us. We simply take life and breath and health and friends and everything for granted. We think it is ours by right. But the face is that it is not ours by right. We are doubly undeserving of it.
1) We are creatures, and our Creator is not bound or obligated to give us anything- not life or health or anything. He gives, he takes, and he does us no injustice ( Job 1:21).
2) And besides being creatures with no clain on our Creator, we are sinners. We have fallen short of his glory (Romans 3:23). We have ignored him and disobeyed him and failed to love him and trust him. The wrath of his justice is kindled against us. All we deserve from him is judgment (Romans 3:19). Therefore every breath we take, every time our heart beats, every day that the sun rises, every moment we see with our eyes or hear with our ears or speak with our mouths or walk with our legs is, for now, a free and undeserved gift to sinners who deserve only judgement."
- Excerpt taken from Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper
"Why is this the case? Because for redeemed sinners, every good thing-indeed every bad thing that God turns for good- was obtained for us by the cross of Christ. Apart from the death of Christ, sinners get nothing but judgement. Apart from the cross of Christ, there is only condemnation. Therefore everything that you enjoy in Christ- as a Christian, as a person who trusts Christ- is owing to the death of Christ. And all your rejoicing in all things should therefore be a rejoicing in the cross where all your blessings were purchased for you at the cost of the death of the Son of God, Jesus Christ.
One of the reasons we are not as Christ-centered and cross-saturated as we should be is that we have no realized that everything-everything good, and everything bad that God turns for the good of his redeemed children- was purchased by the death of Christ for us. We simply take life and breath and health and friends and everything for granted. We think it is ours by right. But the face is that it is not ours by right. We are doubly undeserving of it.
1) We are creatures, and our Creator is not bound or obligated to give us anything- not life or health or anything. He gives, he takes, and he does us no injustice ( Job 1:21).
2) And besides being creatures with no clain on our Creator, we are sinners. We have fallen short of his glory (Romans 3:23). We have ignored him and disobeyed him and failed to love him and trust him. The wrath of his justice is kindled against us. All we deserve from him is judgment (Romans 3:19). Therefore every breath we take, every time our heart beats, every day that the sun rises, every moment we see with our eyes or hear with our ears or speak with our mouths or walk with our legs is, for now, a free and undeserved gift to sinners who deserve only judgement."
Friday, October 9, 2009
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