Have you every thought about working hard each day to be the very best person you can be? And how often do you succeed? Well, I've been thinking about this lately and I had an aha moment. As I begin a new series about the Fruit of the Spirit with the Kids in Connections (elementary) I realized today that Paul in Galations 5:22 was speaking about the Fruit of the _______? The Spirit, the Holy Spirit's characteristics. When you receive Jesus you receive the Holy Spirit as well therefore you receive the Spirit's characteristics. He, the Spirit, comes alongside you and begins to develop in you love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
We can Q-U-I-T striving and let the Spirit take control and He will build our character. We just have to do one thing, Let Him.
Spiritual Truth: Each person in the Spirit has the fruit differently, and each fruit has a different shape in each person -- but all the fruit will show themselves in each Christian as he or she goes deeper into their walk with the Spirit.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Are you drinking from the Living Water?
Excerpted from: http://mitchlewis.net/blog/articles/jesus-woman-at-well/
The woman didn’t know it, but Jesus was giving her a drink from the moment she walked up. Jesus encountered her on many levels, and he was watering her spirit with every word he spoke.
First, he asked for a drink of well water. A cold cup of water is a spiritual matter. A watered soul learns compassion. There is living water for me in acts of mercy for others.
Jesus spoke to her, a woman, a Samaritan and a person apparently disconnected from her community. Jesus broke down more social barriers than you can imagine. There is living water in our fellowship, in our being one people in Christ, undivided by race or gender. There is living water in Jesus’ gracious openness to all, regardless of circumstances. There is living water in Jesus’ overcoming every form of alienation in our lives.
Jesus spoke to the woman about her husband … her five husbands, that is, and the man that she is living with now who is not her husband. I want to know more, so I can judge. Is she guilty? Is she innocent? Is she a little of both? I’ve heard so many sermons that jump to conclusions here, but we don’t know any more than the text itself says. Whatever the reason for her many marriages, there is surely a story there with heartache, grief, anger, and broken dreams. Whatever her story happened to be, she was certainly a person that had been ground down more than a little bit by life. In his encounter with her, Jesus lifted her life story into the presence of God where forgiveness and healing take place, where hope never fails and where new life is possible. There is living water for broken lives in the presence of God.
He spoke with her about worship. Samaritans and Jews had different centers of worship. Jesus and the woman had a theological discussion, which itself is quite surprising. There is living water seeking the truth with Jesus.
Our word worship comes from the English word “worthship”. You worship something because it is worthy. The ancients bowed down and built fires and burned incense and sacrificed animals and did a lot of stuff that seems strange to us today. The idea of bowing down before something seems just wrong to us today, but we all do worship! Whatever is most important to us, we worship. Jesus told the woman this: God is looking for people to worship him in spirit and in truth, regardless of where it takes place.
What was the most healing thing I did after I returned from Iraq? Worship. Behind a battered building by myself. In a congregation, in which I couldn’t get through a hymn without weeping. Worship watered my soul. Worship is giving God the honor and praise due him, but it is also a fountain of living water. There is living water is worshiping God.
The woman told Jesus that her community was expecting a messiah – a Christ – to come and make the truth known to them. Jesus declared that he was indeed the one she was expecting, so she ran to her village. Her testimony was simple: He told me about my life. Her invitation was simple. Come and see for yourself. Her profession of faith tentative: He couldn’t be the messiah, could he? The people came and they believed. Have you ever been part of the excitement of a growing body of believers? There is living water in even the most basic, unformed immature faith in Christ. There is living water in a living community of faith in which belief grows and spreads.
Jesus says, “I am he.” He claims to be the messiah, the Christ. Now from time to time people come along trying to tell us how to live our lives. By and large, we resist such people, although we’re bigger suckers than we like to admit. Who you follow can make your life better, or it can make your life worse. But Jesus is doing more than claiming to be the best leader, the best adviser, the best guide, or the best teacher. He claims to be God. I can give you living water. I can give you a spring of eternal life. Who can do that except God?
This hot, tired, dusty and thirsty man is God! In her encounter with him, this woman has a divine encounter that fills her most basic need for life. It is truly living water that Jesus offers..
Compassion for others. Acceptance and healing for yourself in the presence of Christ. Worship for God in Christ. Belief in Christ that engages the mind and the spirit. Living in Jesus’ community of faith. These are all aspects of Jesus’ living water in our lives, and I need a drink.
I couldn't say it any better!
The woman didn’t know it, but Jesus was giving her a drink from the moment she walked up. Jesus encountered her on many levels, and he was watering her spirit with every word he spoke.
First, he asked for a drink of well water. A cold cup of water is a spiritual matter. A watered soul learns compassion. There is living water for me in acts of mercy for others.
Jesus spoke to her, a woman, a Samaritan and a person apparently disconnected from her community. Jesus broke down more social barriers than you can imagine. There is living water in our fellowship, in our being one people in Christ, undivided by race or gender. There is living water in Jesus’ gracious openness to all, regardless of circumstances. There is living water in Jesus’ overcoming every form of alienation in our lives.
Jesus spoke to the woman about her husband … her five husbands, that is, and the man that she is living with now who is not her husband. I want to know more, so I can judge. Is she guilty? Is she innocent? Is she a little of both? I’ve heard so many sermons that jump to conclusions here, but we don’t know any more than the text itself says. Whatever the reason for her many marriages, there is surely a story there with heartache, grief, anger, and broken dreams. Whatever her story happened to be, she was certainly a person that had been ground down more than a little bit by life. In his encounter with her, Jesus lifted her life story into the presence of God where forgiveness and healing take place, where hope never fails and where new life is possible. There is living water for broken lives in the presence of God.
He spoke with her about worship. Samaritans and Jews had different centers of worship. Jesus and the woman had a theological discussion, which itself is quite surprising. There is living water seeking the truth with Jesus.
Our word worship comes from the English word “worthship”. You worship something because it is worthy. The ancients bowed down and built fires and burned incense and sacrificed animals and did a lot of stuff that seems strange to us today. The idea of bowing down before something seems just wrong to us today, but we all do worship! Whatever is most important to us, we worship. Jesus told the woman this: God is looking for people to worship him in spirit and in truth, regardless of where it takes place.
What was the most healing thing I did after I returned from Iraq? Worship. Behind a battered building by myself. In a congregation, in which I couldn’t get through a hymn without weeping. Worship watered my soul. Worship is giving God the honor and praise due him, but it is also a fountain of living water. There is living water is worshiping God.
The woman told Jesus that her community was expecting a messiah – a Christ – to come and make the truth known to them. Jesus declared that he was indeed the one she was expecting, so she ran to her village. Her testimony was simple: He told me about my life. Her invitation was simple. Come and see for yourself. Her profession of faith tentative: He couldn’t be the messiah, could he? The people came and they believed. Have you ever been part of the excitement of a growing body of believers? There is living water in even the most basic, unformed immature faith in Christ. There is living water in a living community of faith in which belief grows and spreads.
Jesus says, “I am he.” He claims to be the messiah, the Christ. Now from time to time people come along trying to tell us how to live our lives. By and large, we resist such people, although we’re bigger suckers than we like to admit. Who you follow can make your life better, or it can make your life worse. But Jesus is doing more than claiming to be the best leader, the best adviser, the best guide, or the best teacher. He claims to be God. I can give you living water. I can give you a spring of eternal life. Who can do that except God?
This hot, tired, dusty and thirsty man is God! In her encounter with him, this woman has a divine encounter that fills her most basic need for life. It is truly living water that Jesus offers..
Compassion for others. Acceptance and healing for yourself in the presence of Christ. Worship for God in Christ. Belief in Christ that engages the mind and the spirit. Living in Jesus’ community of faith. These are all aspects of Jesus’ living water in our lives, and I need a drink.
I couldn't say it any better!
The Woman Who Looked Back and Who Saw her Turn into a pillar of salt?
Here is one thought about why Lot's wife looked back:
The reason that Lot's wife turned back to Sodom was that she was a lost woman and saw only the material, only the hear-and-now. Her mind was not on God, her sin, or on the things of eternity. She therefore was not afraid of God, because God was not in her thoughts. It was the physical, the sensual, the emotional pleasures of this world that she was after. She wanted sin, not God.
It seems like her disobedience lasted only a split second for when Lot's wife looked back what she saw resulted in her physical change into a pillar of salt. So why a pillar of salt? Read on...
Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven;And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.But his [Lot's] wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
-- Genesis 19: 24-26 (KJV)
God has finally had it with Sodom, not to mention Gomorrah. But his confidant Abraham hopes to stave off the city's destruction, if only because his nephew Lot is still living there.
Applying all the rhetoric he can muster, Abraham persuades the Lord to spare Lot and his family, but not the city. So on the eve of destruction, the Lord dispatches two angels to get them out while the getting's good. But the angels attach a few strings to the rescue: "Escape for thy life," one says; "look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed" (Genesis 19: 17).
So you can't say they weren't warned. On schedule, Yahweh rains down his famous "fire and brimstone" -- a phrase dating in English to a rendering of this passage circa 1300. But, if just to prove that warnings can backfire, Lot's wife lets curiosity get the better of her: looking back on the horrible destruction, she is instantly turned to a pillar of salt. And that's the last we hear of her.
Why salt? you ask. Why not look back? you might reasonably inquire. What the heck is "brimstone"? you've always wondered. Let's try answering these in reverse order.
"Brimstone," simply put, used to be the common name for sulphur, but its meaning was refined under biblical influence (the influence more of Revelation 19: 20, which speaks of a hellish "lake of fire burning with brimstone," than of this passage). The word is employed today almost exclusively in allusions to God's fiery wrath, especially when channeled by righteous mouthpieces. ("Fire and brimstone," by the way, is most likely a poetic way of saying "sulphurous fire," the translation given by The Anchor Bible.)
Why not look back? Well, why not eat of the tree of knowledge? Because God commands it. Furthermore, it seems that viewing the cities' destruction would be more than man or woman could bear -- turning to stone being perhaps a concrete metaphor for terror. (Compare the Greek myth of the Gorgons, and think of common metaphors like "scared stiff" and "petrified.") In short, as E. A. Speiser puts it, "God's mysterious workings must not be looked at by man."
Why a pillar of salt? Because mineral pillars abounded in the region around Sodom and Gomorrah, and (as we shall see in "The Salt of the Earth") salt was to the Jews a most notable mineral. In other words, J describes the origins of these strange pillars with a folktale related to other ancient myths in which various individuals turn to pillars of salt when they see a god.
-- Genesis 19: 24-26 (KJV)
God has finally had it with Sodom, not to mention Gomorrah. But his confidant Abraham hopes to stave off the city's destruction, if only because his nephew Lot is still living there.
Applying all the rhetoric he can muster, Abraham persuades the Lord to spare Lot and his family, but not the city. So on the eve of destruction, the Lord dispatches two angels to get them out while the getting's good. But the angels attach a few strings to the rescue: "Escape for thy life," one says; "look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed" (Genesis 19: 17).
So you can't say they weren't warned. On schedule, Yahweh rains down his famous "fire and brimstone" -- a phrase dating in English to a rendering of this passage circa 1300. But, if just to prove that warnings can backfire, Lot's wife lets curiosity get the better of her: looking back on the horrible destruction, she is instantly turned to a pillar of salt. And that's the last we hear of her.
Why salt? you ask. Why not look back? you might reasonably inquire. What the heck is "brimstone"? you've always wondered. Let's try answering these in reverse order.
"Brimstone," simply put, used to be the common name for sulphur, but its meaning was refined under biblical influence (the influence more of Revelation 19: 20, which speaks of a hellish "lake of fire burning with brimstone," than of this passage). The word is employed today almost exclusively in allusions to God's fiery wrath, especially when channeled by righteous mouthpieces. ("Fire and brimstone," by the way, is most likely a poetic way of saying "sulphurous fire," the translation given by The Anchor Bible.)
Why not look back? Well, why not eat of the tree of knowledge? Because God commands it. Furthermore, it seems that viewing the cities' destruction would be more than man or woman could bear -- turning to stone being perhaps a concrete metaphor for terror. (Compare the Greek myth of the Gorgons, and think of common metaphors like "scared stiff" and "petrified.") In short, as E. A. Speiser puts it, "God's mysterious workings must not be looked at by man."
Why a pillar of salt? Because mineral pillars abounded in the region around Sodom and Gomorrah, and (as we shall see in "The Salt of the Earth") salt was to the Jews a most notable mineral. In other words, J describes the origins of these strange pillars with a folktale related to other ancient myths in which various individuals turn to pillars of salt when they see a god.
Perhaps then we can assess that in fact she saw God and it was too much for her physical body to take. Thus she was incinerated but turned into a pillar of salt as a testimony to the "justice" of God. So another thought, who in turn looked back at her and saw her turn into a pillar of salt? What are your thoughts on this one?
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
A prayer that moves heaven by Ron Mehl
Today I read this book during my quiet time. Yes, from 7:30am to 8:30am I read this tiny book that had so much to say. Wow! (Please come and borrow it). When a great pastor says read a book I have determined to do it. This inspired my time with God and I determined to share it with you. I have summarized it with the following but reading it truthfully is an eye opening experience. As I read this book this morning I realized that God has been teaching me about Prayer and how powerful it is in my life. Only when I get away from the distractions (including my cute whiny dog Skooter) am I able to focus on Him and hear what it is that he has to say to me. He is my early warning system about the trials that I might be facing. Thank you God for allowing me to go through this past week and learn about how You want me to pray.
2 Chronicles 20:1-30
Principle 1: Walk ready every day you don’t know when the Edomites are coming
Principle 2: Set your heart’s direction every morning…make up your mind to follow Him.
Principle 3: Drink deeply every day…from his fountain of mercy and grace.
Principle 4: Look beyond the facts until you see the truth.
Principle 5: Welcome Your fear as long as it drives you to your knees.
Principle 6: Always surrender to God, never to your circumstances.
Principle 7: Listen for His voice before you leave the place of prayer.
Principle 8 Ask God about Satan’s plans…before the enemy steals your most precious treasures.
Principle 9: Resolve to do what the Lord told you to do.
Principle 10: Cease from your own striving and wait for Him to work.
“I’ve come to believe that Satan’s radar detects the blessings of God in the lives of His children. And, just when that believer begins to feel secure and confident, he moves in to try and test that man or woman, hoping to catch one of God’s kids unawares.
There are times in your life when facts do not line up with the truth.
When trouble comes, ask three questions:
God, what do you see?
God, what are you going to do?
God, what should I be doing?
When Satan lifts his head he is never more vulnerable.
The servant of the Lord is indestructible until the Lord is done with him/her.
Blessings, Vicki
2 Chronicles 20:1-30
Principle 1: Walk ready every day you don’t know when the Edomites are coming
Principle 2: Set your heart’s direction every morning…make up your mind to follow Him.
Principle 3: Drink deeply every day…from his fountain of mercy and grace.
Principle 4: Look beyond the facts until you see the truth.
Principle 5: Welcome Your fear as long as it drives you to your knees.
Principle 6: Always surrender to God, never to your circumstances.
Principle 7: Listen for His voice before you leave the place of prayer.
Principle 8 Ask God about Satan’s plans…before the enemy steals your most precious treasures.
Principle 9: Resolve to do what the Lord told you to do.
Principle 10: Cease from your own striving and wait for Him to work.
“I’ve come to believe that Satan’s radar detects the blessings of God in the lives of His children. And, just when that believer begins to feel secure and confident, he moves in to try and test that man or woman, hoping to catch one of God’s kids unawares.
There are times in your life when facts do not line up with the truth.
When trouble comes, ask three questions:
God, what do you see?
God, what are you going to do?
God, what should I be doing?
When Satan lifts his head he is never more vulnerable.
The servant of the Lord is indestructible until the Lord is done with him/her.
Monday, March 17, 2008
The Exacting Price Of Righteousness
As I was listening to the radio this morning I thought how appropriate it was that we were studying how "sin" first entered the world through Eve. Often throughout my christian walk I have asked or been asked the following question, "did God make a mistake?" or "why didn't God just start over?" Either question requires that we ponder the word of God and without a proper explanation we might admit that our God is limited. Ah...but he is not.
Let me explain. The pastor speaking this morning said that the unrighteousness of sin required a penalty be paid and rather than exact the price of righteousness on us He exacted the price on His own Son. You see because Jesus was man (son of man) he could pay our price and because God was Jesus (son of God) he could withstand the price = complete separation from God. But Jesus died way after Adam and Eve fell and so God had to have a plan already in mind when the sin was committed.
Aha! God already knew that we were going to fail and he needed a perfect plan of redemption. Not to make it too simple because the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus are anything but simple, but it is a perfect plan.
So, as I ponder the next questions that come....here is some light reading:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/331824/Why-Did-God-Create-Mankind
Blessings to all of you this Easter Week as I ponder in gratitude what Jesus did for me!
Let me explain. The pastor speaking this morning said that the unrighteousness of sin required a penalty be paid and rather than exact the price of righteousness on us He exacted the price on His own Son. You see because Jesus was man (son of man) he could pay our price and because God was Jesus (son of God) he could withstand the price = complete separation from God. But Jesus died way after Adam and Eve fell and so God had to have a plan already in mind when the sin was committed.
Aha! God already knew that we were going to fail and he needed a perfect plan of redemption. Not to make it too simple because the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus are anything but simple, but it is a perfect plan.
So, as I ponder the next questions that come....here is some light reading:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/331824/Why-Did-God-Create-Mankind
Blessings to all of you this Easter Week as I ponder in gratitude what Jesus did for me!
Monday, March 10, 2008
The First Bad Girl - Evie, why did she blow it?
Wow! I am humbled by all my thoughts that are racing through my mind after just reading the story. The workbook is another thing! I don't know about you, but this study is powerful. I think we could study for several weeks to get something out of it. So break it down into a daily study and take each part of the scripture and read it each day then answer questions about it. Are we here to gain knowlege or are we here to find out who we are in God?
The highlights from the story in the book were the following...
Page 9 -
The highlights from the story in the book were the following...
Page 9 -
- her life was too heavenly for anything but the brightests of smiles
- her first memories were of walking with her father
- her father's pride and joy were eclipsed only by his love for his daughter
- fashioned from pure ivory taken from the finest of animals (Adam)
- obeying him was effortless then
Can you imagine being with a father who was perfect? I am living for that day when I can be in heaven with Him and walk with Him and experience perfect love with an obedience that is effortless...aaah....
The other thoughts that stood out was how easy it was for "Devin" to deceive and how easy it was for Evie to comply...So why when you weigh what she had in the Garden with Adam and being with her heavenly father could she fall? Look at page 31, Liz asks the question, "Did God plant this lovely tree in the garden for the very purpose of testing the obedience and faithfulness of his created beings?" Her response, "no doubt..."
So how does that test my faith? How does that make me look at God?
Well, if I look back at how Satan fell, an angel who wanted to be like God, I have to say, that God has created us all with a free will. He doesn't control us. He gives us the freedom to ask for wisdom directly from Him. If we daily wait upon the Lord then we don't avoid temptation but perhaps we can avoid the fall into sin. So, sin came into the world and God through Jesus has made provision for us. He is waiting for us to choose Him! Thank you and Praise You Jesus!
Liz Curtis Higgs then says to consider a way that we can handle sin after the deed is done and I like it. It is practical and easy to remember. We can learn from it and teach it to our children and to our sisters in Christ!
So after reading Psalm 51 here are my thoughts about how to handle sin:
- Talk to God and ask for Mercy: "have mercy upon me O God", vs. 1
- Ask God to "erase" your transgressions (by the blood of Jesus) vs. 2
- Acknowlege specifically what your sin(s) are: vs. 3
- Acknowlege truth, to know this you must know the word
- God can clean us up, so ask him to do so vs. 10
- Request that he restore a right relationship with Him vs. 12
- Learn from your sin and teach others vs. 13
- Offer your praise to God vs. 15
Finally, my thought is to have an accountability partner, not someone who will say to you, "That's okay...God forgives you" but someone who will say to you, have you read Psalm 51 and gone through the process with God to ask for forgiveness of sins?
I am growing through this and in case any of you have had "someone" whisper in your ear "This is easy for Vicki...she seems more right with God..." remember I am a sinful creature too.
My prayer is that each of you will grow through this! I am praying for you my dear sisters in Christ!
Vicki, Another Bad Girl whose heart has been made white as snow in Jesus!
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Who Walks Into Your Life?
I received this email from a friend today...
Who Walks into your life?
The first sentence is pretty powerful!!!
God determines who walks into your life....it's up to you to decide whoyou let walk away, who you let stay, and who you refuse to let go. Ineed this back. If you'll do this for me, I'll do it for you....
Father, God bless all my friends in whatever it is that You know theymay be needing this day! And may their life be full of your peace,prosperity and power as they seek to have a closer relationship withyou.
Amen.
It reminded me of how much God wants to be a part of my life. This picture is of my friend I met in Kansas City, Jasmine who came up to me while in the Children's area and asked for prayer. She asked me, "could you pray for strength for me, that I would be stronger in my faith?" I wanted to say, no, I need you to pray for me because my faith is smaller than yours right now but of course I didn't and I did and then my faith grew. My faith keeps on growing these past weeks and as I spend more time with God and learn that I need to lean on my sisters and brothers in Christ in times of trouble and in times of joy, my faith grows exponentially. Thanks God for sending this my way through my dear friend today!
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