Saturday, August 20, 2011

A Longing so Strong...

Recently I have had such a burning desire to see my lost friends saved and come to a deep relationship with Christ. Every morning on my way to work I listen to worship music, usually Hillsong United or Jesus Culture worship, and since I've started each day with a devotion and prayer time with the Lord, my heart has been torn for my co-workers and friends who do not know or love Christ.
What is life without You Lord? What is the meaning of waking, working, living, without the Savior of my Soul? I cannot imagine going through my day without the knowledge that He loves me, He forgives me, and He has plans for me! Working at Costco is Not my purpose in like, and I do not have to struggle through all my relationships with people, my worry with finances, my empty heart or longing for a meaning and point to life. I have a meaning! I have purpose, and I know why I'm here on earth! I want everyone I know to experience this knowledge and this freeing understanding that comes with a personal relationship with God and His Son Jesus!
I know this deep ache for the souls of my lost friends is from God Himself, and I believe I'm experiencing a tiny part of what He feels each day for His lost children - an ache and longing for their acceptance of His love, grace, forgiveness and freedom.
I don't particularly believe in the "prosperity gospel" which preaches that everything you ask for will be given to you, all your dreams will come true, and life will be wonderfully and easy when you come to Christ, however, I Do believe that life is 100% better with Jesus Christ as your Savior and your Lord. Without Him I would be lost and wandering... Without Him I would not have the wonderful marriage I have, the wonderful family I have, the wonderful friendships and relationships I have, I would not have the wisdom I have, or the health, or the financial security, or the joy, or the peace when everything around my fails and falls, or the hope of a bright and glorious future with Him alone... When I think about it - Life is actually so much better when you come to Christ!! :D
Yes, my dreams and desires come true, why? Because He changes them so that my heart's desires are His heart's desires! My dreams are His dreams! My goals His goals... therefore when our thoughts line up with the Father's we are happy when He is happy and therefore nothing can touch us because, "If the Lord is for us, who can be against us?" :D What a wonderful life I have indeed... :D

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

I can't worship enough...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qe_0ZRPoDxA&feature=related

This video of Jesus Culture band singing The Light of Your Face knocked me out...
I can't sing to the glory of God for long enough...loud enough...or with passion enough to reach what he deserves...
Enjoy the presence of the Lover of your soul...

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Pride and Prejudice quote... :)

I recently finished reading Pride and Prejudice this week and in the end there is a single sentence concerning Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy that caught me so off guard I had to read it over about five times, read it aloud to my husband, write it down, than type it here! :) It probably won't make much sense to any one but us two, but it hit such a personal string I had to post it. :) Just to think that a novel character from the early 19th century could have thoguhts and feelings so much like my own... :) Enjoy.

Elizabeth did all she could to shield him from the frequent notice of them, and was ever anxious to keep him to herself, and to those of her family with whom he might converse without mortification; and though the uncomfortable feelings arising from all this took from the season of courtship much of its pleasure, it added to the hope of the future; and she looked forward with delight to the time when they should be removed from the society so little pleasing to either, and tall the comfort and elegance of their family party at Pemberley. - Jane Austin "Pride & Prejudice". 

~Libby~

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Power of a Praying Woman #3

Chapter 3. Lord, Help Me to be a Forgiving Person
"We who have received Christ have been forgiven a large debt. We have no right to be unforgiving to others." - Stormie Omartian. Power of Praying Woman.
"Those who can't forgive have forgotten what they have been forgiven of." - John Bevere. Bait of Satan

I've recently encountered various questions concerning the idea that salvation through faith in Christ is non-revocable and guaranteed with no chance of becoming void due to our actions. And after reading this chapter on forgiveness from
The Power of a Praying... these questions began to haunt me and beg for answers.
The two sides are these: The "once-saved-always-saved" idea against the belief that when Christ says in Matthew 6, "If you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 
But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins,"  He is talking about entering the Kingdom of Heaven and not entering. I believe the debate between these two perspectives are of huge importance, for they dictate the way we see the "lost" of the world. Is the man who said the sinner's prayer in high school, though says he no longer wants to follow God's ways still "saved through grace"? Or is the pastor who has walked the Christian walk his entire life yet holds un-forgiveness towards his parents doomed to hell?
First, the Bible clearly states that only God the Father can see the heart of a man or woman, and we can only see the outside. (1 Samuel 16:7) Therefore, I would never judge the authenticity of a person's faith. However, God's Word also tells us that we will know a false prophet by the fruit of their actions. (Matt. 7:15-20) So, without judging a person's heart- which only God can see, we
are to judge a person's actions as the basis for believing or following their lead.
In Matthew 18:15 we are told to go to a brother or sister if we see sin in their lives and to
lovingly correct them in private. I believe the "lovingly" part has a lot to do with no judging their heart but simply revealing the sin to them so they have a chance to correct it and become right with God again.

The first question I'll refer to was posed about one year ago at a small group in my parent's home. After studying verses like Matt. 18:32-35; Mark 11:25; 1 John 2:9-11; and Matt 6:14,15, which all state something to the effect of, "If you don't forgive others, God can't forgive you," we had the discussion of rather un-forgiveness could actually keep you from spending eternity with God the Father. Many people seemed to think, that if that is the case, than our salvation is not wholly based on grace alone as Ephesians 2:8 states, ("For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God".)  Here we find that we are not saved by works but through faith by the grace of God.
How than, can James tell us that our faith is dead and worthless without works: 2:17, "So you see, faith by itself isn't enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless."

http://www.middletownbiblechurch.org/doctrine/JamesPau.htm explains how James and Paul do not contradict each other, rather they compliment the words of the other. Paul explains in Ephesians how an unsaved person may receive salvation - it is not achieved by good works, but by faith in Jesus Christ and by the grace of God alone. To the believing Christian, James tells us that a person can show that he is saved and that his faith is indeed genuine by his works, which echo the words of Christ in John 14:15, "If you love me, you will obey my commandments."
So, through these verses we see that although our salvation is not given us based on our works, rather by the grace and goodness of God through our faith in Jesus Christ, and it is by our works that we
prove that our faith in God and acceptance of His free gift of Salvation is authentic. May we not be one of those Jesus warns against in Matt. 7:21-23, "Not everyone who calls out to me, 'Lord! Lord!' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of My Father in Heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me 'Lord! Lord! We prophesied in Your name and cast out demons in Your name and preformed many miracles in Your name.' But I will reply, 'I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God's laws.' "

The second question raised on the finality of our salvation was in a CORE small group only a few weeks ago concerning the friend of one of the girls in the group who was in church, confessed to love and believe in Christ and the Bible, and yet she believe it was acceptable for her to sleep with her boyfriend because the laws of the Old Testament, in her mind, were out of date and no long relevant to us in present day. I was disturbed by the consensus of the group which was reached without any Biblical foundation or authority.
I do not want to add an opinion to the myriad of thoughts out there, preferably I'd like to again go to the Word of God for the answers, for 1 Tim 3:16 tells us, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness".
Similar to the first question raised above, this subject is also a matter of the heart of a person - which only God can see. Therefore, I try never to take the command to judge a person by the fruit of their actions as license to believe I know their heart as well, but I wish to keep a humble mind and to only use the findings of my examination of a person's actions to dictate how I follow that person, and never for the reason of exposing, ridiculing, or condemning them.
The question raised in this instance was rather the friend had compromised her salvation by living in sin and believing it to be acceptable in God's eyes, through still confessing to love the Lord. The answer to this question is actually quite simple and easily found in scripture.
Parallel to the context of the first subject, we find through those verses that many people will believe on the day of Judgment that they have a spot in God's Kingdom, yet to find out Christ never knew them - (Matt. 7:21-23). Also, as Christ said (John 14:15), "If you love Me, you will obey my commandments", we see that truly the love of Christ is
not genuine in a person who decides to live in a way which opposes the laws of God.
In the argument of the irrelevancy of the laws, I would suggest reading Romans 7 and 8 where Paul teaches that we are no longer captive to the law - meaning having to live according to the letter of the law only because it was commanded us - but we now can serve God in the new way of living in the Spirit - which overcomes our sinful natures, so that we do not have to continue to sacrifice animals, but we can rest in the assurance that we are saved through the blood of Christ which covers
all and any sins we commit. And instead of obeying God's commands because we must, we can obey God's commands because we desire to do so when the Spirit of God is living in us.
Jesus Himself repeated the commandment not to commit adultery in Matt. 17-19; Matt. 15:19; Mark 7:21, and many more in the New Testament - which if not considered relevant to us today, what is the Word of God at all to us?

"Lord, make me to understand the depth of Your forgiveness towards me so that I won't hold back forgiveness from others. Remind me to pray for those who hurt or offend me so that my heart will be soft towards them. I don't want anything to come between You and me, Lord, and I don't want my prayer to be hindered because I have entertained sin in my heart." - Stormie Omartian

"If you love Me, you will obey my commandments" - Jesus Christ.
God Bless,
Libby

Monday, October 25, 2010

"But don't you know who you are, What's been done for you? ...You are more than the choices that you've made..."

There's a girl in the corner
With tear stains on her eyes
From the places she's wandered
And the shame she can't hide

She says, "How did I get here?
I'm not who I once was.
And I'm crippled by the fear
That I've fallen too far to love"

But don't you know who you are,
What's been done for you?
Yeah don't you know who you are?

You are more than the choices that you've made,
You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,
You are more than the problems you create,
You've been remade.

Well she tries to believe it
That she's been given new life
But she can't shake the feeling
That it's not true tonight

She knows all the answers
And she's rehearsed all the lines
And so she'll try to do better
But then she's too weak to try

But don't you know who you are?

You are more than the choices that you've made,
You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,
You are more than the problems you create,
You've been remade.
You are more than the choices that you've made,
You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,
You are more than the problems you create,
You've been remade.

'Cause this is not about what you've done,
But what's been done for you.
This is not about where you've been,
But where your brokenness brings you to

This is not about what you feel,
But what He felt to forgive you,
And what He felt to make you loved.

You are more than the choices that you've made,
You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,
You are more than the problems you create,
You've been remade.

You are more than the choices that you've made,
You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,
You are more than the problems you create,
You've been remade.

You've been remade
You've been remade.
You've been remade.
You've been remade

God Bless,
Libby

Thursday, October 21, 2010

The Power of a Praying Woman #2

As I jumped into Chapter 2 of the Power of a Praying Woman, I found the wisdom and insight I had received from Stormie in Chapter 1 was just as powerful and relevant here in the Chapter entitled "Lord, Draw Me into a Closer Walk with You"

Some favorite excerpts from this chapter are: 

"He will transform you and your circumstances beyond your wildest dreams if you will give up trying to do it on your own and let Him do it His way and in His time." 

"That insatiable longing for more that you feel, the emptiness you want those closest to you to fill, is put there by God so that He can fill it."

Let's look at the first one, "He will transform you and your circumstances beyond your wildest dreams if you will give up trying to do it on your own and let Him do it His way and in His time."
~ I believe the most important word in this whole statement is 'if', hence why I underlined it, italicized it, and made it bold. Read that statement again, and this time read it with a pause after you say "if". It sounds like my parents when they would lay down the rules for a sleepover or some sort of special thing I would ask them to do. "You can do this, this, and this IF...you finish your chores..." :) But the Lord is a great father isn't He? and He sure gave me some great parents as well. 
I see life as a hike. There are downhill parts which give us rest from the climb, however, if we go downhill too long it's bad for our knees and actually makes the uphill parts harder than they  normally would be because our legs are so used to going down and our knees are sore. Then, of course, there are the uphill parts, the hard climbs that leave us out of breath and asking for a 5 minute break. There are also level stretches where everything seems pretty good but kinda boring. We might get lost - lose the trail sometimes. We might meet others going the same direction as us and walk with them for a while. We see others going opposite directions, and we probably wonder where they're going and if their journey is easier than ours. We may even be tempted to step off our destined path to follow someone else's. 
Now on this crazy long hike called Life, we are given a map - the Word of God. Now, although God gives us this travel guide for us to use daily, He also asks us to let Him lead us day by day and hour by hour. 'Why would we need Him to lead us if He already gave us the handbook to life?' you may ask, and it's a very good question. The answer? - The directions in the guide are written in a language we are not born understanding, but are able to learn through His teaching. And as He teaches us how to read His words and understand them correctly, we realize that there is so much more in this map than meets the eye, in fact, it seems almost "alive" in a way; it is always giving new information and always revealing new secrets to more and more "hidden passageways"  on the trail. :) Also something the map is not very clear about is specific timing in important decisions we must make on our climb - when to make the right turns, when to invite others to join us in our travels, as well as which road to take when they both look the same. Therefore, if  we give up trying to do everything ourselves and give over the leader position to the One who wrote the map and built the mountain to do everything in His timing and His way, I think we'd get a lot farther and be in much better shape when we did reach the end. :) 
Alright, enough of the Pilgrim's Progress :) 
But I do believe that God's ways are always, always better "more educated" than ours could ever be. I mean, He created the world and everything in it -right? He's not only the professor in the classroom of life, He wrote the textbook, He signed you up for the class and paid your tuition. He has the answers to everything to do with living, breathing, interacting with others and dying. He's got it all done - not only because He created the whole game, but because He's done it all just like us. He came, He was born, He lived a human life, He had relationships with other humans on earth, and He died. :) He knows what He's talking about when He tells you to do something you don't quite understand. Maybe, just maybe, He can see a bit farther ahead than you can in the grand scheme of things. :) 


"I long to dwell in Your presence, and my desire is for a deeper and more intimate relationship with You...God help me to set aside time each day to meet with You alone...Teach me to pray the way You want me to...I thrust for more of You because I am in a dry place without You."
                                                      -Stormie, Chapter 2, Power of a Praying Woman. 

God Bless
Libby

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

The Power of a Praying Woman #1

Here are some excerpts from the Book by Stormie Omartian "The Power of a Praying Woman"
God showed me once again how much He cares for me day by day when He brought this book to me through a great friend, Amber Baker, during a women's luncheon the weekend before we moved away. Out of the 30-some women I won the book from Amber, and I now know why.
I started this book just today and have been blown away already at how personally I can relate to every word this woman is saying! It's like the light bulb came on, the map was turned rightside up, and the keys to my questions dropped in my lap! :) Thank God for obediant and faithful daughters.
I couldn't wait to share some of these things with others who may be thinking through, dealing with, lost in, and/or struggling over the same issues I've found myself smack-down in the middle of.

First is a quote by Lisa Bevere in her book, "Kissed the Girls and Made them Cry"
for centuries women have "wrestled and waged war with the sons of Adam in an attempt to get them to bless us and affirm our value. But this stuffle has left us frustrated at best...In the end, it is all a senseless and exhausting process in which both parties lose. It is not the fault of the sons of Adam; they cannot give us the blessing we seek, and we have frightened them by giving them so much power over our souls. We must learn that the blessings we truely need come only from God."

Makes me want to read the book. :) Plus the title is just genius I think!
This made me think of a question I often feel confronts me when reading modern-day christian novels/romances: Is there anything in my life which - if lost or taken away from me - would shake my faith in Jesus Christ and God the Father?
See, I find so many people 'give up' on God and the whole Christian thing after a tragedy, or the loss of a loved one, or the breaking of trust in that one person you thought would always be there for you. If only they had exaimed their hearts before this tradic thing had happened to check and see if their faith was built on Christ or on the idea of Him cast by something or someone else in our lives. If indeed something as the most horrid and terrifying thing we can think of was to happen to us - where would you be in your journey with the Savior? Shaken? Maybe scared, worried, or maybe a little doubtful... but would it leave you without a foundation - or would it make you cling to that solid rock on which we stand like your very life depended on it?
I challenge you to pray King David's prayer and ask the Lord God to search your heart and see - is your faith resting on anything other than His faithful promises, His word, and Him alone? Because if it is, than you are setting yourself up for a fall. There is a reason why He asks us to put Him first and nothing before Him; He is the only thing that doesn't change, lie, fail, or let us down some how. Everything and everyone else will fail us, so don't build your faith's foundation on anything but the author and finisher of our faith itself.

God Bless,
Libby