I have a BIG God!!!

I just read a comment that says, "If you have a problem don't say, 'I have a problem' say 'I have a big God.'"  Well, I guess I have a BIG God.  And I thank that God every day for my life and all the circumstances in it.  Without the problems in my life I would not have a way to grow in my Christian walk.  I want to grow in my walk so I welcome the problems.  But I also want a break from my problems sometimes.  Understanding God and his attributes is my road to peace.  I'm reading this book that says, "Understanding the attributes of God makes a difference in how we relate to Him."  So as I delve deeper into God's attributes I will have this book, "A Great and Terrible Love, a Spiritual Journey Into the Attributes of God" by Mark Galli at my side.  I will also have my Ryrie Study Bible, my journal and some other reference materials.  I intend to spend these next few weeks on my knees.  What better time to do that than the Christmas season?

Abraham

I went to the Women of Faith conference a few weeks ago.  One of the regular speakers was Sheila Walsh and I purchased a book she wrote called "Beautiful Things Happen When a Woman Trusts God."  Sheila is one of my favorite Christian authors.  I have a few of her books. 

In this book Sheila writes about ten Biblical characters who placed their trust in God.  Today I was reading about Abraham.  Several years ago one of my Bible study lessons was about Abraham.  As I studied him I was impressed by his faith and trust in the Lord.  Most Christians know the stories that make up Abram's life: God's call to the land of Canaan, Abram's time in Egypt with his sister/wife and Pharoh, Sarai and Hagar, the promise and birth of Isaac and the sacrifice of Isaac.  But the part of the story that I didn't know quite as well is the part describing God's Covenant with Abram, found in Genesis 15:

God's Covenant With Abram

1 After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward." 2 But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?" 3 And Abram said, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir." 4 Then the word of the LORD came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir." 5 He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars--if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." 6 Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness. 7 He also said to him, "I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it." 8 But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?" 9 So the LORD said to him, "Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon." 10 Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. 11 Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. 12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 13 Then the LORD said to him, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. 15 You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure." 17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. 18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates-- 19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites."

In those days a covenant was sealed by the two parties to the covenant passing between the two halves of the sacrifice.  The idea behind this was that whoever broke the covenant would be torn in two just like the sacrifice.  This sacrifice was a bit different.  Abraham gathered and prepared the animals God requested and watched over them, driving away the birds of prey and others who would have feasted upon the bodies of the sacrificial animals.  But then he fell asleep.  God spoke to Abram as he slept, He spoke to him of his descendants and the future.  He spoke to Abram of his descendants' disobedience.  He spoke to him of the Israelites' time in Egypt and the subsequent exodus.  God spoke to Abram of the land his descendants would inherit.  Then, God did something remarkable.  He alone passed through the covenant sacrifice.   This placed the burden and responsibility for the fulfillment of the covenant on God alone, the covenant depends completely and totally upon God for its fulfillment.  God made it a one-sided covenant, dependant upon His grace.  God was telling Abram, and us, that he would rather be torn apart than have the relationship with humanity destroyed. 

I don't know about you, but that is a great comfort to me.  God loves me so much that He does not want our relationship to be damaged.  God has promised to do whatever it takes to preserve our relationship.  Sending His son to be the redeeming sacrifice for our sins is proof of that.  I will be eternally grateful for that sacrifice.

What I want is to fully trust God, to fully rely on Him.  I want to obey Him.  I want to emulate Christ and live the life He asks of me.  Will you take that journey with me?

Rejoice!

Rejoice in the Lord, always,
Again, I say rejoice,
Rejoice in the Lord, always,
Again, I say rejoice,
Rejoice, rejoice, again I say rejoice.
Rejoice, rejoice, again I say rejoice...

(repeat 3 times...)

We used to sing this song in grammar school, we sang it in rounds.  It really was quite beautiful while we were singing it.  I woke up with this song in my head this morning.  I haven't been able to shake it out, not that I really want to.  This song holds fond memories for me.

So what does it mean to rejoice? 



Webster’s dictionary definition: 1) to experience great pleasure or delight : REJOICE, 2) the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires : DELIGHT. Hebrew dictionary definition: 8057. simchah, sim-khaw’; from H8056 blithesomeness or glee, (religious or festival):– X exceeding (-ly), gladness, joy (-fulness), mirth, pleasure, rejoice (-ing). (Found 88 times in the Old Testament, in 22 books)


Greek dictionary definition: 5479. chara, khar-ah’; from G5463; cheerfulness, i.e. calm delight:–gladness, X greatly, (X be exceeding) joy (-ful, -fully, -fulness, -ous). (Found 57 times in the New Testament, in 18 books)






Philippians 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” (hmmm, sounds familiar!)


Proverb 12:20 “Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, But counselors of peace have joy.”

Proverb 21:15 “It is a joy for the just to do justice, But destruction will come to the workers of iniquity.”


Ecclesiastes 2:26 “For God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in His sight; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting, that he may give to him who is good before God. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.”


Galatians 5:22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”


1 John 1:4 “And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.”

3 John 1:4 “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.”


Psalm 149:5 “Let the saints be joyful in glory; Let them sing aloud on their beds.”


Proverb 23:25 “Let your father and your mother be glad, And let her who bore you rejoice.”


Romans 12:15 “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.”

2 Corinthians 7:4 “Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort. I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation.”


Proverb 5:18 “Let your fountain be blessed, And rejoice with the wife of your youth.”


Proverb 24:17 “Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles;”


Proverb 29:2 “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan.”


1 Corinthians 13:6 “(Love) does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;”



1 Thessalonians 5:16 “Rejoice always.”

Rejoice always.  That is a difficult command to follow when your heart is heavy and it seems as if all the joy has been sucked out of your world.  There is only one way to accomplish that: lean heavily upon the Lord.  Depend on Him for your joy.  He will give you the strength to rejoice when your world seems to be falling apart.  He will show you the areas of your life where you have cause for celebration.  He will comfort you when you are sad or in pain.  And of course, remember this last scripture verse: James 1:2-4  "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverence.  Perseverence must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."   God must really be working on me, I must have much to learn.  The trials seem to never end. 

HANDY LITTLE CHART

GOD HAS A POSITIVE ANSWER:
YOU SAY GOD SAYS BIBLE VERSES

You say: 'It's impossible' God says: All things are possible (Luke 18:27)
You say: 'I'm too tired' God says: I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28-30)
You say: 'Nobody really loves me' God says: I love you (John 3:1 6 & John 3:34 )
You say: 'I can't go on' God says: My grace is sufficient (II Corinthians 12:9 & Psalm 91:15)
You say: 'I can't figure things out' God says: I will direct your steps (Proverbs 3:5- 6)
You say: 'I can't do it' God says: You can do all things (Philippians 4:13)
You say: 'I'm not able' God says: I am able (II Corinthians 9:8)
You say: 'It's not worth it' God says: It will be worth it (Roman 8:28 )
You say: 'I can't forgive myself' God says: I Forgive you (I John 1:9 & Romans 8:1)
You say: 'I can't manage' God says: I will supply all your needs (Philippians 4:19)
You say: 'I'm afraid' God says: I have not given you a spirit of fear (II Timothy 1:7)
You say: 'I'm always worried and frustrated' God says: Cast all your cares on ME (I Peter 5:7)
You say: 'I'm not smart enough' God says: I give you wisdom (I Corinthians 1:30)
You say: 'I feel all alone' God says: I will never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5)

God determines who walks into your life....it's up to you to decide who you let walk away, who you let stay, and who you refuse to let go.'


Father, God, bless all my friends in whatever it is that you know they may need this day! And may their lives be full of your peace, prosperity and power as they seek to have a closer relationship with you. Amen.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

This was my daily Bible verse for Monday, November 22nd.  It has insinuated its way into my brain and taken up residence there.  I have been meditating on two separate parts of this verse: 1) "joy" and its definition in Christ and 2) giving thanks in all circumstances.  My life has been difficult lately and I am struggling with both of these thoughts.  I'd be interested in knowing your thoughts on them. 

His Faithfulness

So in my last post I spoke about a spiritual attack I have been under for the past 6 weeks or so.  I also spoke of my behavior, how I am ashamed of it, that I have been willfully sinning.  I also spoke of how I found myself at the feet of Jesus, begging for His help.  He has been faithful, as I knew He would be.  His grace and mercy are covering me as I struggle with this.  The temptation is still there but He has been walking with me through it and I have not succumbed to it since I asked Him for help.  I know that this is just a battle, not the entire war, but I am so grateful for His faithfulness and for His help.  I post this not to brag but to shout about how the praise and the glory all belong to Jesus!  God is so good!

Matthew 7:13-29

Life by the Spirit

16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. 19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.  

--Galatians 5:16-26

Hmmm, why title my blog with a passage from Matthew and then quote Galatians?  Because I believe they are closely related. 

I have been having an extremely difficult time the past few weeks.  If I sit back and look at it objectively it has been at least 6 weeks.  I have been under spiritual attack.  As a result of that attack I have stumbled and I have fallen.  I have sinned.  I have been struggling with that sin and wrestling with that sin for weeks now.  I knew what I was doing was sin and I did it anyway.  Before, during and after those acts I was consumed by guilt and regretted those acts.  Why did I do them?  Because I am a fallible human being and I was trying to fix a painful problem with my own human effort instead of relying upon God.

There is good news.  I have fallen at Christ's feet and begged Him for not only help with this struggle but also for His forgiveness.  I have asked Him to make my focus one thing and one thing only...  to follow Him.  The Galatians passage was part of my daily reading for yesterday morning, which I missed and made up this morning instead.  The Matthew passage was the passage Pastor Brad spoke on last night.  I needed to hear both of these passages right now.  Jesus has actually been calling me back to Him for most of the time I have been going through this struggle.  He spoke to me while I was down in Mexico.  He spoke to me as I attended the Women of Faith Conference.  He spoke to me as I fellowshipped with my friends after the conference.  He is speaking to me as I read the books I purchased at the conference.  He spoke to me as I worshipped in church yesterday evening.  He is speaking to me now as I write this.  He loves me.  He loves me, a sinner, one who is unworthy of His sacrificial gift.  His grace and mercy cover me.  I am completely undone, the earthly Karen surrenders all.

Okay, here's the passage in Matthew:

The Narrow and Wide Gates

13 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

A Tree and Its Fruit

15 "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. 21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23 Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

The Wise and Foolish Builders

24 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." 28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

Please pay particular attention to verses 15-20.  I'll repeat those verses again:  "15 "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them." 

The Galatians passage is a powerful tool for putting this passage into effect in your life.  As Brad said yesterday evening, there are some among us us who believe they are saved just because they "Prayed the Prayer" but who then went on with their previous lifestyle.  There is no fruit in their lives.  Now, we all know that Christianity is a faith-based not a works-based religion.  But to me, to me personally, Christianity is NOT a "religion" but a way of life.  If I truly believe in Jesus as my Lord and Savior then I want to become more like Him.  Don't we try to emulate those in life who we worship?  Don't we pattern our lives after our heroes?  the latest sports star?  the newest Hollywood actor/actress?  the talk show host or other performer?  Then why is it considered wrong to pattern our lives after the one who wants to gift us with eternal life?  Why do we run with the crowd and try to blend in with the masses?  Why don't we stand up for what we believe in and let the lives we live reflect that faith?  It's a rhetorical question, you know the answer.

Don't stop with just verses 15-20.  Read further.  Verses 21-23 say: 21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23 Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' 

Is it possible that we today, those of us who attend church every week, those of us who attend Bible studies and who serve at church will miss the narrow gate?  Yes, it is possible.  It is time to examine our hearts and our lives and see what the real fruit of our lives is.  Can we honestly say we are poor in spirit?  Are we truly humble?  Do we  mourn for all the injustices in the world?  Are we peacemakers?  Are we being persecuted because of our faith?  Do we truly love our neighbors?  Do we treat our enemies with love and mercy and compassion?  Are we forgiving?  Where do we store up our treasures, here on earth or in heaven?  Do we keep our promises, to our spouses, to our children, to our friends, our enemies?  Does our righteousness surpass even the righteousness of the Pharisees?  Brad asked us these questions and more yesterday evening.  I am daring to ask these same questions of you now.

I thank God for his gift of grace.  For I know that without His grace I am doomed to eternal separation from Him.

Coming Soon...

I know it's been more than 10 days since I returned from Mexico and I haven't written a word.  Well, that's not strictly true.  I've written on my other 2 blogs, I just haven't written here.  I will, and soon.  I go throughout my day framing thoughts and things to say in my mind.  I need some sort of neural interface like they have on StarTrek.  Until that gets invented, I will just have to sit down and type.  Hopefully this evening.  I have much to share.  Our God is an awesome God.

Sunday Evening

Wow, what a weekend!  God is so good!  I am exhausted but wanted to drop a line and say thank you for all the prayers, they were certainly felt.

"Radio Silence"

Okay, we are only a few miles from the Mexican border so I am close to going radio silence until Sunday morning.  Please pray for my team members and me as we build these homes for Tijuana's homeless.  Please pray for our hands and our hearts, that we are willing to do the Lord's work and follow the paths He is laying before each of us.  As we are going out to bless these ten families we in return will receive blessings from the Lord.  Pray that we are able to humble ourselves and not impose our personal wills and expectations on this experience.  Pray that the Lord will open our minds and our hearts. Pray that this experience will be used as a launching point for new worldwide missionaries. All of this to glorify the name of Jesus!

The Attributes of God - God is Faithful - Part V

Can you tell this topic is close to my heart?

Some definitions of faithful I found around the web somewheres:
Faithful () (4103) (pistos [word study]) from peítho = to persuade - induce one by words to believe, have confidence) is something or someone who is worthy of faith or keeps promises and is applied to God, humans, His Word, etc


Here pistos has its passive meaning = trustworthy or faithful where the basic idea is that of trustworthiness. In this sense pistos describes God, Christ, servants, His Word as faithful, reliable, worthy of belief or trust, dependable. Marvin Vincent adds that pistos used of God describes Him as "True to his own nature and promises; keeping faith with Himself and with man."


Webster says that "Faithful" means firm in adherence to whatever one owes allegiance and implies unswerving adherence to a person or thing or to the oath or promise by which a tie was contracted.


A faithful Creator - Faithfulness is God's attribute of utter dependability, the antithesis of everything fickle and fluctuating in the world around us. In 2 Timothy 2:13(note) Paul says that faithfulness is a corollary of His self-consistency. Because God is faithful, His promises are infallibly reliable (Hebrews 10:23-note).

His promises are infallibly reliable.  His promises are infallibly reliable.  From before we were even created He promised to care for us.  From the very beginning He promised to provide for us.  From the very first sin He promised us it would not be easy.  From that point, the point of our sin, He promised us a redeemer.  He promised to always be in relationship with us.  Okay, I am getting at little ahead of the first 31 verses of Genesis. 

I think it is easier for people outside of the US (and some other industrialized countries) to trust God more fully than those here.  In the US we are spoiled, we are self-sufficient.  We don't need to rely on God as much as people on the "frontera" in Mexico or in the favelas of Sao Paulo do.  I only speak of Mexico and Sao Paulo because I have personally experienced those places.  There are many more places in the world where they fully rely upon God for their day to day living.  I believe it is time for us here in America, among other places, to turn away from our self-sufficiency and turn back to fully relying upon God.  We need to follow His leadings.  We need to trust Him more, because He is faithful. 

I am headed back to Mexico.  We leave in about 2 hours.  This trip we will be building 10 homes.  Just think, on Sunday morning when we head back home there will be 10 families sleeping under a roof that they do not have today.  Jehovah Jirah, my provider.  God is FAITHFUL!  Hallelujah!

The Attributes of God - God is Faithful - Part IV

So you may be asking what does my moving have to do with Genesis 1:1-31?  Good question.  I believe this passage illustrates God's faithfulness because, being the omnipotent and omniscient being He is, He has always known every little detail of our lives.  He has always known just exactly what it is that we we want and need for our time here on earth.  He also has always known what we will need to walk the paths He has laid before each of us.  He knows that He built within each of us a deep desire to love and trust Him.  So, in His faithfulness, when He created the heavens and the earth, He provided us with all we need.  We can count on Him to pay attention to every little detail of our lives.  As we walk through our lives we learn to lean on Him and trust Him for everything because He faithfully provided for us from the very beginning.

God knew from the beginning of time what my needs would be today.  He put a plan in place for me right then.  He put a plan in place for you, too.  With that in mind I know that I can trust Him with EVERY little detail of my life, even the difficult times I am walking through right this moment.  His faithfulness is the foundation for our trust in Him. 

The Attributes of God - God is Faithful - Part III

I misquoted yesterday.  I stated that 1Peter 4:19 says, "God tests our faith so that we may test His Faithfullness."  In reality, what it says is, "So then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good." NIV  I need to do better due diligence before posting.

I find different translations and interpretations of the Bible fascinating.  For example, 1Peter 4:19 in the New Living version,  "So if you are suffering according to God's will, keep on doing what is right, and trust yourself to the God who made you, for he will never fail you."  I guess if you have several different translations of the Bible you could shop around till you get the verse that says what you want it to.  Take 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 for example.  You could use it to condem all homosexuals or you could use it to condem only practicing homosexuals, depending on your translation.  What would Jesus do?  Jesus did not come to condem or destroy.  He came to save us from our sins.  I want to be like Jesus. 

God is Faithful!  Hallelujah!