Question regarding Leviticus Chapter 5

Hey, it's Bible study time! I am reading my Bible while the BOYS are in the basement having male bonding time. I am reading in chapter 6 of Leviticus, where the Lord is spelling out what the acceptable sacrifices would be for a sin offering. Verse 6 says

And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the Lord for his sin which he hath sinned, A FEMALE FROM THE FLOCK, A LAMB, OR A KID OF THE GOATS, for a sin offering

(yes, the capital letters are mine for emphasis)

Verse 7 says

And if he be not able to bring a lamb, then he shall bring for his trespass which he hath committed TWO TURTLEDOVES, OR TWO YOUNG PIDGEONS, unto the Lord

Verse 8

And he shall bring them unto the priest...

Verse 9

And he shall sprinkle of the BLOOD of the sin offering upon the side of the altar, and the rest of the BLOOD shall be wrung out at the bottom of the altar; it is a SIN OFFERING

Then suddenly, in Verse 11, there is this VERY confusing contradiction...

But if he be not able to bring two turtledoves or two young pidgeons, then he that sinned shall bring for his offering THE TENTH PART OF AN EPHAH OF FINE FLOUR for a sin offering.

Now, I have a lot of questions about that! How can this be? God requires a blood sacrifice to cover sin. He established that principle in the VERY BEGINNING in Genesis 3:21 when he killed animals to make coats of skins to clothe Adam and Eve in the garden. He went on in Leviticus 17:11 to say

For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the BLOOD that maketh an atonement for the soul.

And again in the book of Hebrews 9:22 the writer says clearly

And almost all things are by the law purged with blood: and WITHOUT SHEDDING OF BLOOD IS NO REMISSION (of sin).

And obviously... Jesus Christ made the ultimate sacrifice for sin by shedding His own blood to cover our sin.

So, how does God say a sin offering should be a lamb, a kid of the goats, two turtledoves or two pidgeons, and then contradict it all by saying OR... if you don't have that, then bring a tenth of an ephah of fine flour?? This is not a blood sacrifice offering!?!? If this is the case, then WHY was Cain's offering not accepted in Genesis 4:3-5? If a tenth of an ephah of flour is acceptable in lieu of a blood sacrifce, then why is Cain's offering of the fruit of the ground not acceptable? I am sure there is an answer... I just don't know it yet. This is going to require some thought, prayer, and study. Any ideas from you all in the gallery? I'd love to hear your thoughts! Thanks!

My hubby rocks!

I am so proud of my husband for answering the call of God on his life. He received his call to preach at age 16, and after 20 years.... he finally preached his first church service today, and he did it as if he had been preaching for years! I was totally impressed, and God received all the glory! He preached his message with a major backache (injured at the gym just 1 day prior), but did it as if nothing was wrong. Amazing.

One very cool thing about this particular evening, is that after church was over, a couple from Tennessee showed up. He was a truck driver, she was his new wife, and they were making a delivery to the factory right behind the church we were at. They are apostolic and saw the church sign, thinking "Hey! Maybe they are having evening service!" (We weren't... they do one service from 2-4 pm). But we got to talking, and Sandy invited them to dinner with us at the house (we had a barbecue... yum!!!). We thoroughly enjoyed their company, and I think they were grateful for some good Christian fellowship! It is so neat how God orchestrates everything... He brought this couple right to the back door of the church for some much needed fellowship, and we happened to still be there!

Well, it's late and time to hit the sack. Pray for my husband that his back heals quickly so he can function at work. Talk to you soon!

Excellent teaching/preaching

Many of you know that I am a faithful worshiper with the saints of God in Memphis, TN. Every Sunday, I come home from MY church (which is always good teaching!) and log on to www.tpcmemphis.org and listen to the excellent teaching of Bro. Terry Black. My awesome friend Britt lives down there and attends this church. Then I go back to MY church for more excellent worship and preaching! I love Sundays!!!

This past Sunday, I happened to miss the preaching in Memphis as I was at FOUR... count 'em... FOUR 2nd grade birthday parties at one time at the local bowling alley. I think the entire 2nd grade class from my school was there... I felt like I was at work!

Anyway... my mother-in-law called to say we MUST watch the archived service from that day. They had a guest preacher from Boston, MA named Dr. Gerald Jeffers, and his preaching is powerful and anointed. His message was on disappointment.... meaning being taken out of your place or position. We are to be laborers with God. When we are disappointed, we are no longer in that position. God blesses many times in accordance to place. God said I have set my name in this place. When the devil comes along and begins to fight you, he tries to get you to resign your position, or place. Once you do, you miss out on the blessing that comes with being in that position or place. Hope deferred makes the heart sick. We get disappointed because we don't understand God. We think that he hasn't heard our prayers, and we don't understand why he doesn't move on our behalf. We get hurt because we watch our kids on drugs, etc etc and what is actually happening is that God is watching to see how we handle the hurt. How we handle the hurt determines what kind of person we become. God says it is necessary for us to become hurt or offended to reveal the true content of our heart. We are chosen by God to do his will by how we react in the fire of hurt and disappointed. How do you react when your wife is not treating you right? What do you do when your husband isn't acting right by you? What do you do when your children are rebelling against your authority? He's trying to prove you. Are you just puff 'n' stuff? What is your character made of? He cannot release His power in us until He forges His character in us. We want to skip the character-building part and just skip to the power part. God doesn't work that way. We are to rejoice in ALL things... good and bad. We are to have joy in every situation, because the love of God has nothing to do with situations. We keep ourselves full of His joy by staying in His presence. He inhabits the praises of His people. SING!

There was so much more to his message, but that is the main point of the preaching. It was so good! He preached two other messages as well, but I will blog those at another time.

So... do some introspection on your own life. How much of God's character is forged in your life? I know I have precious little.... not in comparison to others, but in comparison to HIM. I don't like the fire process. I don't like hurt and offense. But I do want my Jesus to be able to use me, so I choose to work on the JOY in every situation, even though I know it will be painful, and that I will at times fall far short. But my God has promised to finish what he started in me. He is faithful above all things. I love you Jesus!

Thanks for reading!

My study list is growing!

One thing I am doing this year as I read my B.R.E.A.D. is writing down thoughts and questions I have as I read. (DUH!). I know, it's a no brainer. But I have never done it! So, here are the things written on my list of "things to study" thus far:

1. Does the laying on of hands "require" you to speak? Is the power in the words spoken, or in the obedience of the act of laying on of hands? Or both? Or neither?Do a study of all accounts of this act.


2. Peter's progression as a healer in the book of Acts...

• Acts 3:6 But Peter said, "Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I thee... in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk."
• Acts 9:34 Peter said to him, "Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you! Get up and make your bed!"
• Acts 9:40 Peter asked them all to leave the room, then h e knelt and prayed. Turning to the body, he said, "Tabitha, GET UP!"

Very intriguing.... increased confidence and boldness... and the name of Jesus is missing in the third one....

3. Pre-incarnate Christ? John 17:5 is a verse that causes me to wonder...

5 Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began.

I'm looking into this because a few months ago, my pastor blew my theology out of the water concerning the Oneness of God... so I must study this out. I am convinced that God is ONE... totally! I just need to be able to understand this concept for myself. I am a Berean Christian!

4. Study Lev. 21:18-23. If Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and if Malachi 3:6 is true (I am the Lord, I change not), then how can this be?

18 No one who has a defect qualifies, whether he is blind, lame, disfigured, deformed, 19 or has a broken foot or arm, 20 or is hunchbacked or dwarfed, or has a defective eye, or skin sores or scabs, or damaged testicles. 21 No descendant of Aaron who has a defect may approach the altar to present special gifts to the Lord. Since he has a defect, he may not approach the altar to offer food to his God. 22 However, he may eat from the food offered to God, including the holy offerings and the most holy offerings. 23 Yet because of his physical defect, he may not enter the room behind the inner curtain or approach the altar, for this would defile my holy places. I am the Lord who makes them holy.”

Some verses of Scripture are just hard....

Also written on my list of things to study is not a study topic, but an observation:

As I sit here reading the book of Leviticus, wondering why in the world I'm reading all this ceremonial law stuff, I am also reading a book my pastor gave me called "Living a Joyous Life" by Rabbi David Aaron. The Levitical laws are so boring and ritualistic - Rabbi Aaron talks about his negative feelings toward Judaism and how it kept him from enjoying being one of God's chosen people. God knew when the time would be right for me to pick up this book and benefit from it. He does this over and over for me. Hinds' feet in High Places is another book that I had for months before I was able to read it... and when I did, I grew exponentially in the Spirit! Also, the Cross and the Switchblade was another book that I held onto for a while before being able to read it, and the timing was PERFECT in my life when I finally DID read it. I love the Lord! He takes care of me.

Church at home

Greetings! We are having some very snowy/icy weather here in Vermont. Our pastor in his wisdom decided to forego the midweek Bible study service due to icy roads. I was sort of glad, because I had an eye appointment today, and they dilated my pupils... I wasn't sure how I was going to be able to read the notes on my music at the piano tonight! But God knew!

I'm actually never happy in my spirit when church is cancelled. I love the Word of God and like being challenged by it. So, we had a little impromtu lesson here at home with the family (Mom, Dad, Adam, Nick, and Sandy). I have been having great difficulty with a couple of boys (ahem) in the following areas: respect, responsibility, and kindness. I've had it up to here (that would be the top of my head) with their horrible behavior here at home. So I suggested a book like Colossians.... Jason in HIS wisdom chose Galatians. Check out how some of this read, from the New Living Translation: RESPECT

13 For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. 14 For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”^[c] 15 But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.


Also, check this out...

19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

We had a little discussion about the need for a peaceful home. We discussed that these types of behaviors are displeasing to God and unacceptable in His kingdom. We also discussed that mom is at the end of her rope.....

Then we got onto the next topic... RESPONSIBILITY

4 Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. 5 For we are each responsible for our own conduct.

Yes, the lack of responsibility in my boys is a bit on the frustrating side. I have to admit that Adam is pretty good most of the time. Nick is definitely a work in progress.... with a LONG way to go! When told to do something.... ANYTHING... like clean your room, or put away your laundry, or do the dishes, etc etc. we go through the gamut of responses (with Nick)... disgusted sigh, foot stomping, eye rolling, door slamming, whining, etc etc etc. Yes, he gets the appropriate consequences and it gets done, but real obedience is in the heart, and THAT AIN'T IT!!! So we pointed out verse 5 to him that says we are responsible for our own conduct.

And the third topic we breached? KINDNESS....

22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

This was just a refresher on the fruit of the Spirit, emphasis on kindness. The cool thing? While we were discussing this very verse, there was a knock on our door, and it was Elizabeth, our next door neighbor who is Adam's age. She came in and handed each of the boys a Valentine's coupon to Friendlys that says, "I'm sweet on you! Enjoy one free kid cone with this valentine." A perfect example of kindness at the perfect time! I'm not sure how much they heard this evening, but I am praying it sinks into their hearts.

God is working for my good

Hello all! It has been a long time! However, it has been a wonderful, spiritually-charged time for me and for our church. :) As a result of being away from my computer during this time, I have managed to not only stay ahead in my scheduled Bible reading, but also read all of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and the book of Acts. That means that when I get to that portion of my annual Bible reading program, I can skip from Oct. 1st to mid-November and be a month and a half ahead! I also came up with several topics/ideas that I want to study out more... one of them being the concept of the pre-incarnate Christ.

One of the requirements of the 30 days of prayer and fasting was that we were to make at least one prayer meeting a week. Most everyone came to the 5pm prayer meeting right before our 6pm Sunday night service. Our Sunday evening services were amazing! The Holy Ghost moved in such a powerful way each week. This past Sunday, we finished up the prayer meeting, and Karen took her place at the piano. Emily, Sandy, and I took our place at the mics to praise sing. But Jason said, "I don't want you to play. God is doing something, and I am going to have the church pray... I want you all to pray too." BANG! We started to pray and the Lord swept into that room like a flood! We never sang a note! The preacher never preached a word! God did what HE wanted to do, and it was incredible! My youngest son Nicolas was surrounded by the older boys (Adam's age... 11, 12) and he began to speak in tongues and it freaked him out, so he abruptly stopped! AHHH! It's okay... God is faithful to finish what He starts! Nick is ready to receive the Holy Ghost... he just needs to prepare himself mentally!! Amy, our pastor's 9 year old daughter, came very close to receiving the Holy Ghost as well. All of our teens and pre-teens already full of His Spirit touched God and were refreshed in the Spirit! Something broke in the spiritual realm that night, and our pastor decided to continue our fast for another 21 days. (Many other churches across the country are doing the same thing, because strongholds are coming down everywhere!!) He came to me and told me that if I wanted to blog, then I should blog only about the spiritual things that God is accomplishing during this time. No problem! God is on the move and no man is going to be able to take the credit for anything! HE will receive ALL the glory! So stay tuned to see what God does next here in Vermont and across the country and globe! PRAISE JESUS!!!!

PS... I want to give God glory for a couple of things. First, we have had some amazingly snowy weather here lately. Our first nasty storm last Friday created some treacherous driving conditions. I had to go get my son Sat. morning from a sleepover birthday party. As I headed up the on-ramp of the highway, a driver coming in the opposite direction lost control of their car and instead of going down the off-ramp, shot over into the on-ramp lane, headed right for me! I tried to pull my car over to the right quickly without losing control of MY car on the slick road, and he shot past me on the driver's side, just missing me. He also somehow missed the other 4 cars behind me... THANK YOU JESUS! He is my protector!

Also, with the rash of tornadoes that broke out down south last night, one of them hit Memphis, TN, which is where my friend Britt lives (actually, she's across the border in Olive Branch, but that is a technicality). Anyway, the tornado missed their church by only about 3 miles! As far as we know, everyone in the chuch is fine. God is so good!

I'll write again soon! It's nice to be back! BETH..... OH MY GOODNESS!!! Congratulations???? Wow... you are a strong woman! I'm not sure how I would handle that................ glad your washer is working finally! LOL!

Final thoughts in 2007

Hello and Happy New Year to all! I find myself pondering tonight. My sons wanted to watch the ball drop in NYC on the tube, so I turned it on at 11:59:32, just in time to see the new year ring in here in America. Of course, we are all familiar with the chaos and pandemonium of that scene. (sudden random thought... imagine if the Holy Ghost were to descend upon Times Square at midnight on New Year's Eve?????) Anyway, I think my boys are pretty oblivious to all that was occuring... they were watching the fire works explode and the confetti fall, etc. They didn't seem to notice the partying and revelry spirit at work. I praise and thank God that our children are growing up knowing that on New Year's Eve, we go to church, and focus on all that God has done in the past year, and anticipate all He will do in the upcoming year. Our children think that New Year's Eve is about GOD..... AND IT SHOULD BE!!! Well..... they also think New Year's Eve is about food!! LOL! You should see the spread we have for pot luck after the service is over!

Anyway, speaking of food, that is a perfect segue into what I want to blog about tonight. Lack of food, that is. Beginning Jan. 6th, 2008, we will be joining the United Pentecostal Church International in 30 days of focused prayer and fasting. Our pastor has gone a step further. We are doing a "self-discipline" fast. Here is the agonizingly painful list:

Self Discipline Fast

1. To fast food for at least one day per week, for a 24 hour period.
2. To abstain from the internet, except for work-related purposes.
3. To only read books or magazines which contribute to my spirituality.
4. To abstain from TV, movies, DVDs, and any other media influence, and also withhold them from my children.
5. To read the four Gospels and the Book of Acts (in all our free time).
6. To make at least one of the sponsored church prayer meetings each week.
7. To pray at least once a day for a minimum of 30 minutes.
8. To perform one act of Christian service, per week, that nobody knows about except for the one who is on the receiving end.
9. To verbally share my faith in Jesus Christ to at least one person, per week, who hasn't heard it from me before.
10. To make every scheduled service, including mid-week Bible study, and be there before the start of the service time.
11. To teach a Bible study to my family or a friend.

So there you have it. Back in May of 2007, I did my very first 30 day computer fast. Read about it right here. Now, I am being called to try again. It may kill me (it would be GOOD if it killed the carnal man within!!!). But I know that this will bring incredible results in my walk with the Lord. So beginning Jan. 6th, pray for me!!!! I'll see you back on Feb. 6th! God bless you all!

Fabulous messages from church

Merry Christmas to you all!! Well, I would love to be able to post some pictures of the Christmas morning festivities here, but as luck would have it, our camera BROKE this morning! AHHH!!! I borrowed Matt and Brianna's camera to take pictures, but do not have access to them at this time... gotta go to Wal-Mart tomorrow when they open.

So instead, I would like to take this opportunity to share with you some of the teaching we heard this weekend at Alan and Winnie's church, the Church of the Redeemer, in Gaithersburg. Before we arrived, Pastor Dale began teaching a Christmas series called "Unwrapped". It approaches the Christmas story from several different points of view. #1 was from Mary's point of view, and was called The Gift of Courage. #2 was from Joseph's point of view and was called The Gift of Faith. #3 was from the shepherds' point of view, and was called The Gift of Significance. Then we arrived in MD to hear the 4th message on Sunday morning. It was told from the Wise Men's point of view, and was called The Gift of Purpose. I will give you a brief outline of that message, because it was excellent!

THE GIFT OF PURPOSE

To unwrap God's gift of purpose, we must:

1. Give God our full attention. We can't do that if we are:

-looking at the wrong things

-engaged in the wrong activities (too busy!!)

-Listening to the wrong voices

-living the wrong way

-filling our lives with superficial and temporal things.

2. Radically reorder our priorities.

3. Maintain our spiritual passion and persistence (commitment and continuance)

God's purpose is fulfilled in people who keep on asking, waiting, committing, looking, and working.

4. Give back to God the gifts He gives to us.

The wise men gave the gifts they had (gold, frankinscence, and myrrh... things that could be sold and used to sustain Jesus' family while in Egypt) and those gifts became central to advancing the Kingdom of God. What gifts do YOU have that you can surrender to Him, for the advancement of the Kingdom? God's purpose in your life is fulfilled when you surrender your gifts to Him.

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Isn't that powerful and thought-provoking? Now, here is the final message in the "Unwrapped" series, given on Christmas eve, and it is called "The Gift of the Name". You can guess whose perspective this is from......

THE GIFT OF THE NAME

Just as we (as parents) get to choose the name we give our children, God Almighty told Mary and Joseph that He had already chosen the name of His Son... the name was to be JESUS (the Lord saves).

Luke 1:31, Gabriel tells MARY the name.

Matthew 1:21, Gabriel tells JOSEPH the name.

The name of Jesus is like a total access pass to all that God has for you. Here are just seven things that the name of Jesus gives you access to ...

1. God's forgiveness (Acts 2:38) There is only ONE WAY to experience God's forgiveness, and that is through HIS NAME.

2. Heaven (Acts 4:12) I KNOW where I am going! I have the name applied to my life!

3. Healing (Acts 3:16) The man at the Gate Beautiful received his healing BY FAITH IN THE NAME of JESUS.

4. Deliverance from evil influences (Mark 16:17) In MY NAME they shall cast out devils.

5. Hope for our life/future (Matthew 12:21) His name will be the hope of all the world.

6. Answered prayer (John 14:13-14) Ask for anything in my name, and I will do it.

7. Expansion of life possibilities and release of life potential (Acts 2:21) Everyone who calls on the name of Jesus shall be saved.

So, are YOU under the authority of that name? Have you called on that name for yourself? Are you living based upon faith in that name? I'm not talking about - you've heard His name and you think it's good to believe in Him.... but I'm talking - you've laid claim to all that His name stands for, and you've truly made Him LORD over your life! Your life is no longer yours... no longer what it used to be, but you've started experiencing the benfits of the NAME of JESUS at work in your life. What better way to celebrate Christmas than to surrender your life to Him! Do it today! Don't save it for another day. Tomorrow is promised to no man. Today is the day of your salvation!

Snowy day

Greetings from the great white north! The storm has hit, and some areas around here already have 7 -10 inches of snow... this is supposed to last until around 7 am tomorrow morning. Yikes...

I didn't go to church this morning, because I tend to listen to people when they say, "stay off the roads... if you don't HAVE to go anywhere, stay home." But my husband feels differently, so he and Adam headed out the door. I think he's nuts! If he gets in trouble, then we have no vehicle to take to Maryland.... but I am just the paranoid one, I guess.

Nick and I stayed home and had wonderful church right here in our own home! We put in the Super Strong God DVD and worshipped for at least 1/2 hour, singing and praising and feeling the presence of God.

Then we did our version of Sunday school, which meant we spent two hours fininshing up his God and Me project for Cub Scouts. He is now ready for a meeting with Pastor, to show him what he has learned.

So... now that church is over, the kiddos want to go play in the snow... more power to ya! I don't do snow. I'm staying in and having hot chocolate. Bye for now!

God is teaching, Michelle is learning. It's a hard thing. But I'd rather learn and be refined for heaven! Keep teaching, Lord! :)

Song book

It is Saturday night. Tomorrow is Sunday morning, and I am playing the piano for morning service. I need to put together a song list. But my song book is so old and outdated, and I (and the congregation) am getting tired of the same old songs. The solution? Learn new stuff. This requires MUCH practice time. Then I have to teach it to the congregation. This also requires MUCH time (i.e. weeks). It is not a quick fix to a very tired list. I don't have boatloads of time to devote to learning lots of new songs. But the old ones are boring me to tears! GOD, please breathe new life into my very limited repertoire!! But more than anything, SEND YOUR ANOINTING! That is what I truly need. Your anointing. The anointing breaks every yoke! Is it possible to bring anointing to this old, tired song book of mine?? I just don't like to play with no anointing. It accomplishes nothing more than passing time. And while you're at it, breathe new life into the saints of God in our church... we all need a fresh anointing. We need to stop making excuses and become evangelistic, or God will use others who WILL. You are awesome Lord! I appreciate your grace and mercy!

Stewardship

Hello all! Lest you think I am slipping into depression or something, I thought I would come on here and try to post something positive and cheerful! My mom called me and said, "I'm worried about you! Your blog is causing me concern." I'm fine, really! Struggling with finances like crazy, but otherwise fine. Jason and I had a long heart-to-heart last night (until 2am) and made some real decisions and committed to making a concrete plan to do something about the debt. It's killing us. So, don't worry about us... we're just working on our STEWARDSHIP skills. My pastor preached an AMAZING lesson this morning on stewardship. I am going to listen to the CD at least 2 more times, and let it really sink in. It was really good! So many times, we find ourselves "giving God" his 10 % tithe, and the rest is "ours". That SO limits what God can do in our lives. We should instead have the mentality that all we have we have received from God, and we are giving back to Him what belongs to Him anyway. I can't even put into words what he preached... it was so profound... I'll try to explain it better once I have listened to the message a couple more times.
Thanksgiving is coming! I have been thinking about what I have to be thankful for... the list is amazing! It makes me think of a song in our songbook...

Count your blessings, name them one by one

Count your blessings, see what the Lord has done

If I named them one by one, I'd be counting for days and weeks and months on end! My God is faithful above all things! I have much to be thankful for... first and foremost... the CROSS. My salvation. Amazing.

Well, I'm gonna get my little men tucked into bed so I can read my Bible. Here is a very cool song by Carman about my Bible, and the children's choir is going to be learning this very soon. Love to you all!

Weary

Here I am. I am weary. Mentally exhausted. Wanting desperately to be able to publish something happy and positive here this evening. I feel like I give all my positive energy at work, and come home drained. That is not fair to my family. I do my very very very best to give positive energy to my children, but they, too, come home from school weary and frustrated. I sense a tremendous spiritual battle for our minds... and it is coming from the public school systems we find ourselves in. I must pray MORE, I must drink from the Word MORE, I must discipline my flesh MORE. But I am so worn out. Whoever said Christianity is a crutch for the weak is obviously NOT a Christian. Because this battle can only be fought by the strong. And our strength is found only in Jesus Christ. His Spirit rises up to fight for us, and bring glory to Himself! I will do as David did when he returned to find Ziklag burned, and all their wives, children, and possessions taken by the enemy.... David encouraged himself in the Lord. I will do that. Please continue to pray for me and my family.

Spirituality

My pastor has taught a lot on spirituality and what is really means. A quick google search will bring up a host of different topics... new age spirituality, Native American spirituality, ancient wisdom of the east, self realization, the occult, Christianity, quantum metaphysical spirituality.... the list goes on and on and on.... my google search of simply the word "spirituality" instantaneously brought up 59,400,000 websites! Yikes! In this very post modern culture, it appears that spirituality is whatever you decide it to be.

Anyway, I obviously look at what the Bible... the Word of God... has to say about spirituality. My pastor gave us a paper last night entitled...

My spirituality consists of (but is not limited to) :

Now... I am not a prideful person. I am not one who thinks they are so spiritual they have somehow "arrived". No way! I will be growing in spirituality until I draw my last breath! But I do try to live my life every day with Jesus at the center. I do make choices (for the most part) that keep my mind focused on Godly things. For example: I am reading my Bible every day. I watch entire worship services / preaching (two hours at a stretch most times) on the internet whenever I have the chance (what better way to spend a Friday evening or a Saturday afternoon or a Tuesday evening)! I do my best to have solid Christian character... not gossiping, being kind, helpful and giving, etc. I live the same life OUT of church as I do IN church. I don't watch TV or movies (except maybe Finding Nemo or the like). :) I go to church 3 services a week.

Do I sound like a certain Pharisee yet???? OH LORD, I THANK GOD THAT I FAST TWICE A WEEK AND GIVE A TENTH OF ALL I POSSESS... BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH (praying thus with himself).

Well.... Let me tell you about the parts of that list where I am severely lacking in spirituality.

• My prayer life is NOT what it should or could be.
• The last time I told someone about Jesus and taught them a Bible study was....?
• Fasting... just look at my weight... no discipline in THAT area, I tell ya!
• Hours spent on the computer.... ouch. This blasted thing is my undoing!
• Finances... they will be the death of me due to STRESS! My finances are a train wreck!

So.............my main goal is to acknowledge my shortcomings and CONFESS them to God and to someone I can TRUST to pray for me and help me improve in these areas. Accountability is crucial to the process, or you will begin to rationalize things and justify them, ending up in a state of deception. THAT is a dangerous place to be! Or you may just give up hope altogether, which is equally dangerous. I admit to feeling despair at times when it comes to the above listed things. So... I am praying about this list, and desiring to change. Will you pray for me? I would covet your prayers. Thanks for reading! You are all great!

Lead me to that rock

Hello all... I know I have not been here to post in a while. I just wanted you to know I am still around. :) I have been so overwhelmed with so much lately, that even if I wanted to post, I could not. My thoughts are so scattered, my mind so full of concern for so many things (yes, the cares of this life, so all who understand that, PLEASE pray for me). I can't even organize my thoughts enough to get them down on this blog. So, it is what it is. That is where I'm at, and when I feel like I can make it back on here to post, I will (please pray that it will be soon!).
Ps 61:2 When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the Rock that is higher than I.

Powerful repentance

Well... I am not sure I can do this post justice. Sometimes you just can't put into words what happens in a spiritual atmosphere. Tonight's church service was unprecedented. The Holy Ghost was moving in a powerful "undercurrent" as my pastor accurately described it. It was obvious that God was up to something. We just weren't prepared for WHAT. Our pastor had prepared a message and even gave us the title this morning of what he intended to preach tonight. BUT, during the worship tonight, the Lord changed the message. Our pastor preached for about 5 minutes, and the message was unnerving. The call to repentance went out, and he told us that if we walked out the door instead of falling before God in prayer, it wasn't him we were blowing off, it was God. I didn't even LOOK behind me to see if anyone left. I just hit my knees. THEN... God uttered a message through the pastor of the Burlington church (we know that because my pastor got the SAME EXACT message in his spirit, but Bro. Lyon spoke it out first). And the rebuke was pretty intense. And my pastor cried out, ( I will not tell you what he cried out) and everyone just hit the floor crying out to God. This went on for, wow, I don't even know how long... definitely 30 minutes... maybe longer. I don't know. You lose track of time in the presence of God, because in His presence, time doesn't matter. All I know is that I felt much better when I was done praying. I am sure that those of you who were not there aren't making much sense of this. It is even hard for me to process, and I was there. All I can tell you is that I have lots to change in my life, and I came clean with God on ALL of it! It is becoming VERY CLEAR that time is growing very short. His return is imminent, and right around the corner. Those not ready (the way the BIBLE says to be ready, not the hundreds of denominations that say any way is okay) will have NO time to change their minds once He has come. My favorite quote still stands... Eternity is TOO LONG to be WRONG. God I want to be right with you! And I will stay on my knees and in constant contact with you to be sure I am! I love you too much to fail you now!

Fall foliage and God's creation

As promised, here are some pictures of the gorgeous fall foliage here in Vermont. My son had a cub scout fund raiser today, so as he was at the doors, I was taking pictures. It is a gorgeous day today, and it makes the pictures all the more beautiful! Check it out!

Vermont is just a beautiful state to live in! The glory of God can be clearly seen here, every season of the year!! In winter, I marvel at the perfection of each snowflake and the beautiful designs the frost crystals make on the window. Spring flowers in bloom are also a sight to behold. And the lake in summer time can't be beat for beauty! Ps. 19 says "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament displays His handiwork." And Romans 1:20 says that "the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse." In other words, there are people who just, for whatever reason, choose not to believe that God exists, but God has put irrefutable proof of His existence and glory right in front of our faces in the natural creation of the heavens and the earth, and on the day of judgement, man will be without excuse. He will say, "The proof of my existence and glory was all around you." At least in Vermont it is!!! God is awesome!

The Process

Adam and I stayed home from church today (he was exhausted and had NO dry shoes to wear). I still wanted to hear the Word of God, so I attended via internet a church in Maryville, TN, pastored by Ken Carpenter. He preached on "the process" and it was excellent! Scriptures were Acts 2 (this is that which was prophesied by the prophet Joel....) and Jeremiah's chapter on the potter and the clay. The way he brought it all together was fabulous. He began with a story about the other day when he was driving down the highway behind a STINKY cattle truck. The cattle were on the way to the processing plant, where they would be washed, checked carefully for disease, slaughtered and made into other things. Now, nobody buys a painting of dirty cattle headed to slaughter to hang in their family room. Nobody buys a scented candle that smells like cow manure. But you bring home a big rib eye stake for the table, all attention is focused on it. Or your wife brings home a beautiful new leather purse, it is the envy of all her friends. What made the difference? The process. The potter, when getting the clay he needs to make a vessel, can't just take clay from the ground and use it. It is full of rocks and other things that, if you put the vessel in the fire with those things still in it, would cause the vessel to break and be useless. It must go through the process of being cleaned (like the cattle) by soaking in water until it is the consistency of thick soup. The potter then runs his fingers through the clay to remove the rocks and impurities. THEN it can begin the process of being made into a useful vessel. He also discussed how the priests in the old testament were required to be washed or they would die. It is the same in our life today. We have to go through the washing/cleansing process FIRST before we can be a useful vessel for God. When we got saved, God did not put a period at the end. No, we are just beginning the process of being made yet again another vessel as the Master sees fit to make us. We have to go through the process of removing the "stones and impurities" such as jealousy, bitterness, etc before he can mold us and put us through the fire to become the vessel God wants us to be. It may not feel good, it may not be pretty (the process rarely is), but the vessel you become on the other side is more beautiful than you can imagine! Thank you Jesus!

Spiritual dryness and a "Sacrifice" of praise

Matthew 12:43 (New King James Version)

“When an unclean spirit (demon) goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none."

The word rest is the Greek word anapausis which means "recreation". Now re-read the above scripture and substitute recreation for rest.....

So a good paraphrase for this would be:

Spiritual dryness is the playground of the devil.

Saul, when he was "caught" by Samuel the prophet with sheep and oxen that God had commanded to be slaughtered in the battle, made the excuse that , "Well, we saved them so we could offer them to God. It's all for Him anyway. It's for the purpose of offering a sacrifice to God and worship Him." But Samuel told Saul that obeying God was BETTER than sacrifice. He told Saul that God would not honor his sacrifice, because God is not in it.

Sometimes we wonder why we come to church and have to FORCE worship and we feel nothing.... could it be... that we live in the spiritual desert all week, Mon. through Sat., choosing NOT to obey God's commands and living how WE want to live, then come to church on Sunday and lift our hands to worship and we feel NOTHING... because God chooses not to honor our sacrifice because we have been going our own way all week? Just food for thought. Take it to your prayer closet... I KNOW I'll be taking it to mine, because it spoke to me loud and clear. God is so good. I want to please Him with my worship and with my life.

Here's a song that makes me think of this very message... check it out.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=09gTv-ldj4c
Blessings to you!

I love my hubby!! **UPDATED** (with added comment)

Hmmm... what to say? I've just been thinking lately. Reflecting. I am thanking GOD for my fabulous relationship with my husband. Really! We trust one another, we encourage and build one another up, we (mostly) agree on the things that really matter... serving Jesus in our family, raising our children, investing in our marriage, and SOME finances! LOL! Yes indeed, we definitely don't see eye to eye on that topic all the time! But... even though we have disagreements (some rather emotional)...we always manage to find common ground and work from there. I am so grateful to God that my husband is choosing to serve the Lord. I am excited to see him reading his Bible and praying. It blesses me to see him involved in the work of God.

Is my life perfect? FAR FROM IT! We absolutely have our issues. But when I look around and see marriages crumbling all around me, it breaks my heart, and causes me to love my husband even more deeply. Sometimes I love to look back at my wedding photos and just remember how "in love" we were on our wedding day... and remember why I fell in love with him in the first place! My husband is a hopeless romantic... it's kinda cool! My husband adores our boys.... that is VERY cool! My husband loves JESUS, and there is absolutely NOTHING cooler than that!