Is the Other Side Winning?

When we look around at all of the tradegy and destruction that is happening to our world today, you may wonder where God is in all of this? There have been several catastophic natural disasters that have wiped out whole villages of people.  There was a tornado in Colorado this week!  I have never heard of a tornado in Colorado before.  While it destroyed many homes, it only claimed one life.  But that one life was precious.

The depravity(sin) of our society is an acceptable way to live.  Most Christians think nothing about watching a TV show where gay couples are the norm or where teenagers or neighbors are expected to sleep around.  That is just what they do now days.  We have become desensitized to sin.  We don’t even see it as sin anymore, just a sign of the times.  If Jesus is the same yesterday, today & tomorrow then so is sin.  What was sin 2,000 years ago is still sin today.

Be careful, accepting the ways of the world as your own.  James 4:4 tells us why this is dangerous.

“You’re cheating on God. If all you want is your own way, flirting with the world every chance you get, you end up enemies of God and his way. And do you suppose God doesn’t care? The proverb has it that “he’s a fiercely jealous lover.” And what he gives in love is far better than anything else you’ll find. It’s common knowledge that “God goes against the willful proud; God gives grace to the willing humble.”

Also 1 John 2:15.

Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out—but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.

As Believers we have to live in this world but scripture tells us not to be of this world.  But, we are constantly swimming upstream.  It seems that Satan is winning.  He seems to be everywhere and in everything…even the church.  Many of our churches are even beginning to look more and more like the world in the way they function.  I think we became so concerned with blending in so to attract the unbeliever that the unbeliever can’t tell the difference anymore between a Godly place of worship and a rock concert or political rally.

Does it seem to you that the other side is winning?

Ah, Beloved let me tell you that things are not as they seem.

1 John 4:4

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

Do you understand that no matter how bad our world seems to be.  No matter what circumstance you are in, your God is greater than the one who is in the world(Satan).  The one who is responsible for all of the destruction of the morals and values in our society is not greater than God.  He has already overcome.  That happened when His son, Jesus Christ, died on the cross.

John 16:33 said,

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

OK, this is what is important to remember, we, fleshly, sinful human beings have not overcome & we will not overcome.  We are of the world, we cannot overcome the sin of this world.   We cannot stand against the temptations that are hurled against us everyday.  We are depraved, sinful and weak.  But, yet we still try.  And when our child makes a good decision or becomes a successful adult or impresses others by reciting the book of Leviticus we stand proud of ourselves as good parents.

Mom, anything good that happens in this world, in your family, in your life, has NOTHING to do with you!  You have not overcome this world.  It is the God who dwells within you who is responsible for any good that comes from you.  That is what 1 John 4:4 is telling us, it is the One who is in you who is greater than the one who is in the world.  He definitely wants to use us to bring good to our world, but it isn’t because you are so special or well educated that he will use you.  It is when you recognize your level of depravity and weakness that he will use you.

If we are to stand against the evil one of this world we MUST know in our mind that our God is greater than any evil that you will encounter.  You must not just believe that he is God, but live as though you believe it!  We will not live in fear of what this world will come to if we are standing on the Truth of God’s Word that says that HE will overcome, the one who is in us!

Faith and fear cannot co-exist in one’s heart and mind. You must choose which one will master you.  If it is master of you, it is master of your home.  What is your child’s view of this world?  I guarantee it is your view also.  Plant deeply in the heart of your child the truth that God has overcome this world.

Chapman Family Update

 

A special blog has been set up for those who want to send their condolences to the Chapman family.

In Memory of Maria

There is also a special address to send cards to if you wish:

Steven Curtis Chapman Family

P.O. Box 150156

Nashville, TN 37215

How Are You Growing in the Lord?

As a believer we should be continually repenting and growing.  If we are not, we need to wonder why?

 

I want to do something different.  Instead of me writing a post, I want you to write it. Tell me how are you growing in the Lord.  Tell me your story!  What has the Lord taught you most recently?  What scripture really spoke to you?

It is your turn!

 

Pray for the Steven Curtis Chapman Family!

The youngest daughter of Steven Curtis Chapman died Wednesday (05-21-08) after getting hit by an SUV that was driven by her teenage brother.  Please keep this family in your prayers.  Their grief is unimaginable to me.

Here is the whole story

Divorce, Yeah or Nay?

My friend, SisterLisa has written her testimony about what once was a troubled marriage.  I think you will be blessed by her story.

We live in a world where divorce is expected.  But is it OK for the Christian couple?  Lisa uses scripture and her personal experience to answer that question.

 

Read her story at Apples of God

The Living Word

 

I get a devotional everyday in my inbox written by Ray Stedman.  I thought today’s devo was a great way to start off a new week.  If you would like to receive his writings in your inbox you can go to his website to subscribe.

 

THE LIVING WORD

READ: 1 John 2:24-25

And this is what he promised us—even eternal life (1 John 2:25).

Most of us read the words eternal life as though they only apply to heaven in the future. “Everlasting life,” we call it, life that never ends. That is not inaccurate. Eternal life is life that never ends, but the essential factor about eternal life is not quantity, but quality. What John is speaking of here is not merely something we are going to get in heaven someday, but it is something we can experience and enjoy now. It is fullness of life, the full quality of divine life lived out in your situation, right now, and increasing in fullness of enjoyment forever. In other words, eternal life is the daily adventure of experiencing God’s solution to every problem instead of your own. It is the discovery of God’s program for every opportunity, instead of yours. Every time we are confronted with a problem, there are two things we can do.

In the weakness of our own intellect, relying upon our own human resources, we can try to work out the problem. When we do, the result is inevitably the same. Life dissipates into a drabness, a boredom, a routine that leaves us utterly uninterested and desiring to be uninvolved. That is our program.

Or we can have God’s solution to any problem or any opportunity. In any situation we can say, “Lord, You are in me, and You have come in me to live through me. This situation has been brought about by your planning and your programming. Father, I wouldn’t be in it if it were not for you. Now, Lord, do through me what you want to do with it.” Then we watch to see what God does, and we become instantly available to Him to move in whatever direction it looks like the situation demands. As we do, we discover that His program begins to unfold in that situation. Every obstacle becomes a glorious opportunity to display the fullness of glory, wisdom, and power that is in the God who has come to live and make His home within us.

I remember as a young Christian reading that great promise in Ephesians, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us… (Ephesians 3:20). I remember looking at that verse and saying to myself, “Is that really true? Does God really offer to do for me beyond that which I can ever ask or think at this moment? That’s fantastic! I can ask a lot of life. I can dream and imagine a great many wonderful experiences that I would love to have, to bring satisfaction to my life and heart.” I even had the program outlined in my mind, just how God could do it. But as I look back across these thirty years, I can see that God did not take my program and do it my way, but He has abundantly fulfilled the promise. My life is richer than I ever dreamed it would be when I was a young Christian.

If we are ready to give ourselves to the Word of God, to let it possess us, to understand it, and to obey it—if that which you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. The experience of that is eternal life!

Father, grant to me, through all the feeble searchings of my heart, the discovery of eternal life in my everyday experience.

This daily devotion was inspired by one of Ray’s sermons. Please read “The Living Word” (or listen to the audio file  ) for more on this portion of scripture.

Become a Mother Who Delights in Her Children

This was originally posted at Crosswalk.com. 

 

“Congratulations, Mrs. Layman,” the nurse said to my mom when she brought her first newborn and laid him in her arms. “Your sleeping days are over.”

Every mother knows the reality of that congratulatory statement! In the career of motherhood there are no weekends off, no paid vacations, no bonuses or yearly raises, and no quitting time. It is just day-in and day-out giving. There are times when we feel we do not have another ounce of energy left to offer. What we wouldn’t do to curl up on the sofa with a good book, enjoy a long, leisurely bubble bath, or simply take a nap. Yet multiple needs still require our attention.

I am convinced that no profession requires harder work or greater sacrifice than motherhood. Stephen and Janet Bly provide us with this job description:

No job on earth takes more physical, mental, social, emotional, and spiritual strength than being a good wife and mother. If a woman is looking for the easy life she might try teaching tennis, cutting diamonds, or joining a roller derby team. There is nothing easy about good mothering. It can be back breaking, heart wrenching and anxiety producing. And that’s just the morning.²

Because mothering requires constant sacrifice, the temptations to resentment, complaining, and self-pity are always close at hand. But such selfishness will quickly sap the strength of our love for our children.

I will never forget a time when my selfishness robbed me of the joy of caring for my family. My second daughter, Kristin, was ten years old, and we were out on a “date.” While our children were growing up, C.J. and I spent special one-on-one times with them each month. It was Kristin’s turn that day. We were eating lunch at a restaurant, and I was asking her questions as usual.

“Kristin,” I began, “if there was one thing about Mommy that you could change, what would it be?”

“You haven’t been smiling very much lately, Mommy,” she replied. “You just haven’t seemed very happy.”

Oh, how those words pierced me! I realized in a moment that motherhood had become a duty instead of a joy. I was so focused on the sacrifices that I had failed to appreciate the daily pleasures of raising my children. This had wiped away my smile.

As mothers, we have a choice. We can either resent the challenges and demands that accompany motherhood and persist in our selfishness, or we can draw from God’s grace and receive His help to cheerfully lay down our lives for our children.

Let’s choose the latter.

If we do, we are choosing biblical greatness. As Jesus said in Mathew 20:26: “Whoever would be great among you must be your servant” (emphasis mine).

The world may not applaud us for wiping runny noses, driving in carpools, or talking with our teenager into the wee hours of the morning. And until they are trained, our children might not thank us either. But as we set aside our own selfish desires and glorify God by joyfully serving our children, we are pursuing true greatness according to the Bible. Let us do so with tenderness, affection, and with a smile!

Tender Behavior

On his long-running television show House Party, the host Art Linkletter interviewed thousands of children. He included many of these conversations in a book entitled Kids Say the Darndest Things. Kids do say funny things, and at times they also say insightful things.

With that in mind, I decided to conduct some interviews of my own. I asked a number of young people how they knew that their moms loved them. The following is a sampling of their responses:

“She consistently makes wonderful meals without complaint.” Jimmy

“My mom is always asking, ‘Do you know I love you? Do you I’m for you? Do you know I’m your biggest fan?’” Kelley

“She writes me notes and letters. She is always encouraging me.” Andrew

“I don’t think I’ve gone a day in my life without my mom telling me she is praying for me.” Israel

“Whenever I wake up in the morning, go to bed at night, or come home from somewhere, she hugs me and says that she loves me. This is very securing. I love it a lot.” Brittany

“My mom plays chess and checkers with me.” Matt

“When I come home from somewhere and she knows I am going to be very tired, she asks what food she can make for me.” Evan

“My mom loves to have my friends over. She likes taking us out and doing things with us. She loves my friends. They are her friends too.” Kristin

“When I was little and couldn’t sleep, my mom would rock me and sing songs to me. Now at bedtime she always comes into my room for five or ten minutes and asks me about my day.” Bryce

“My mom is never too busy to talk to me. She tells me that she would rather be at home with me than doing anything else.” Erin

“Every day before I go to school, my mom asks how she can pray for me. Then when I come home, she tells me what she prayed during the day.” Jimmy

“She comes to all of my games. I can always hear her cheering for me. She’s my #1 fan.” Stephen

“My mom takes me out one time a month. We go to lunch and jus talk.” Kristin

“When it is cold outside and I have to drive to school, my mom turns my car facing out of the driveway and starts the heater so it is warm by the time I’m ready to leave.” Melanie

“When my brothers and I were little, she would always fix hot chocolate with marshmallows for us when it was cold.” Chris

“My mom packs a lunch for me every day and puts in a note that says ‘I love you’ or has Scripture on it.” Brian

“She reads me books at night.” Brielle

What is remarkable to me about these children’s comments is how simple these acts of love are. Tender love is not complicated. It doesn’t require a large bank account or creative genius. Rather, this love consists of seemingly insignificant activities like cooking, singing, reading, or talking. It includes faithful prayer and encouragement or small gestures of kindness.

Chances are, you may already be doing many of these things. So be encouraged — they are meaningful to your children. And if you realize there are ways you need to grow in expressing tender love, may these children’s observations provide you with fresh inspiration and ideas.

Excerpted from: Feminine Appeal: Seven Virtues of a Godly Wife and Mother by Carolyn Mahaney. Copyright © 2005. Published by Crossway Books. Used by permission. Unauthorized duplication prohibited.

During her more than 25 years as a pastor’s wife, Carolyn Mahaney has spoken to women in many churches and conferences, including those of Sovereign Grace Ministries, the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, and Family Life.

Originally posted on June 10, 2005

Happy Mothers Day ~ May Newsletter

Because of my super busy schedule lately, I didn’t have time to really do a good newsletter, so I decided to share with you something that I wrote for my mom several years ago.  I am very blessed to have such a Godly mother.  I teach 8th grade girls at church on Wednesday nights & my heart breaks as I listen to them talk about their moms.  Some can’t live with their moms because of drug or physical abuse.  Others do live with their moms, but are not getting any kind of spiritual guidance.  I can’t help but wish that they could have had my mom as a mom.  You’ll see why when you read my story.  It is because of her love & devotion to for her Heavenly Father that I am who I am today.

I hope that you are blessed by my story.  Even more than that, I pray that you are blessed by your family this Mother’s Day.  May you get breakfast in bed, lots of hand made cards and moments to cherish with your family.  

 

 

A Heart to Know Him

 

 

I was asked once, “What is the greatest gift you mother ever gave you?”  I thought back and quickly remembered many gifts she gave me during my childhood.  Many of them were handmade as money was often tight.  She was a very good seamstress and made my sister and I clothes, especially for Easter.  We always knew that we would have a new spring dress just in time for Easter Sunday.  But more important than Easter dresses, she lived out Deuteronomy 6:6-9 for us.

 

“These commandments I give to you are to be upon your hearts.”

 

Some of my earliest memories of my mother are finding her in our living room early in the morning reading her Bible and praying.  She loved studying the Word of God and still does.  It is because of her love for the Word that I understood the importance of hiding His Word in my heart.  It was a natural outpouring from her life.

 

“Impress them upon your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”

 

I can remember many good talks with my mother about the Bible. I know that she felt like I didn’t listen much, especially as a teenager, but I heard more than she thought I did.  I remember one time when she was frustrated with me. I’m sure we had argued over something silly.  I charged off to my room, slamming the door.  She came after me.  She opened the door, threw a book on my bed and said, “Don’t’ come out until you have read that book!”  The book was Preparing for Adolescence by James Dobson.  I never did read it, but I still have it. We definitely had our moments, but she never gave on finding ways to reach me.   If she couldn’t talk to me then she would write me notes and leave them for me to find.

 

“Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”

 

She was quite artistic also and used that talent to create fun scripture reminders for us.  She would paint scripture verses on pillow cases, rocks, book marks and other things we would have to look at everyday.  Knowing the Word of God was very important to her and she spent time with us in various ways teaching us God’s truths. 

 

Because of my mothers deep love for her Lord and his Word she also had a beautiful love for our father.  She is a great example to me as how a Biblical wife should live.  She will tell you that it is easy to love my father, though not always easy to like him.  I learned from her that it is alright to disagree with my husband; it didn’t mean that our marriage was over, only growing to a deeper level when we reconcile and forgive.  She showed me how to serve my husband out of love, not obligation.  When I was younger my dad at dinner would often shake his tea glass.  My mother thought this meant that he wanted more tea.  For years this went on at dinner time.  No one thought anything about it and my dad never asked her not to give him more tea and she never asked if he wanted more.  She just gave him more.  Finally, after many years of this excellent service, my dad asked my mother the question.

 “Why do you give me more tea when I shake my ice down?”

“Because I thought that you were saying that you wanted more tea.” she answered.

With a big grin on his face he responded with, “I shake my glass to keep the ice from falling on me when I am drinking the last of my tea.  I didn’t want anymore, but I thank you for giving me more.”

We all had a great laugh with that.  But the lesson I learned was that my father’s happiness was very important to my mom, even in the smallest of things like a full glass of tea.  Now that they have straightened out that misunderstanding I think my father gets his own tea and my mothers’ tea also.

 

Through her extraordinary love for her Heavenly Father, she developed a love for the scriptures, which grew into a love for my father, which in turn gave birth to a commitment to train my siblings and I in the admonition of the Lord.  Even now that I am married and have my own family, my mother is still teaching me to be a Godly wife and mother by her example.  She has touched so many lives and has mentored many young women by guiding them through the scriptures leading them into a deeper walk with Christ.  She is a mighty prayer warrior and is known as one by many.  As my own children grow and mature I begin to see and understand why my mother desired so much to see in me a love for the Lord.  My mother will quickly tell you that her children’s success has nothing to do with her, it is all because of the grace of her Lord that he used her in our lives. 

 

My mother saw my sister, brother and I as tiny plants to be nurtured, protected, and loved as she only knew how; according to the Bible.  She didn’t know what we would become, but she trusted her God and loved us, cultivating in us to seek the ways of the Lord.  Today, she has 3 grown children who are all committed believers in Christ.  Her greatest desire was for us to know Christ as deeply as she does.  She has watched each of us grow into our own person, each bearing a different fruit.  She has given each of us a gift that could have no price tag and whose value is immense; a heart to know Him.

 

 

 

© 2005, Dana Bailey, All Rights Reserved

No parts may be reproduced without permission from the author. If using on your website article must be complete with authors name  and a  link to my website, www.livingstones4moms.com  must be included..

 

A Thirsty Soul

The past few days have been very hectic & really busy for me.  I am on leadership in the Mom’s Ministry at my church as every year we give the moms who participated all year in our program a Tea.  It was a beautiful morning, but there were hours of planning and work that went on behind the scenes.  There were meetings to go to, reservation lists and childcare lists to maintain and there were little things like name tags & bookmarks to make.  These seemed little until it was time to make and complete everything and then I realized how many hours it would take to finish it all.  But we all did it and it is over now!

In the midst of all the preparations and meetings there were a few mornings recently when I did not get my full quiet time in.  Maybe all I had time for was to pray a short prayer or read a chapter of scripture.  But it wasn’t the full time that I am used to.

O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you…”  (Psalm 63:1)

Because of the habit of getting up early and spending concentrated time in prayer and study, when that couldn’t happen I could feel it.  I missed it, I was getting spiritually dehydrated.  I longed to spend more than 10 minutes in prayer & meditation of His Word.

“I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.” (Ps 63:2)

I have experienced the power and glory of my God.  I have experienced him in the sanctuary of my solitude and silence.  It is a marvelous thing and one that I want to experience over and over again.  It gives me a glimpse into the wonder of Heaven.  When I miss out on my time with him, I miss out on experiencing his power and glory.  Of course, He can still speak to me out of that sanctuary of silence I have in the mornings, he has many times.  But that time set aside for Him at the beginning of my day always prove to be the sweetest time for He and I to communicate.

Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.  I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.” (Ps 63:3,4)

When you see God do great things in your life…don’t keep it to yourself!  Share it with someone. Praise him! When you experience his love & goodness you are getting a taste of God and what eternity will be like with Him.  His love is better than life…it sustains and renews us.

My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.” (Ps 63:5)

There is an empty place in our heart that only God can fill.  We can read all of the best books by the best authors, go hear all of the best preachers, but they cannot fill the void and empty place that God can fill.  When we come to Him, praising Him for his love, repenting of our sin, acknowleging that He alone is God and believing that His son, Jesus Christ died for YOUR sins, your soul is satisfied.  You can do nothing else, but praise Him because you are in awe of His love for you..the filthy sinner.

I had the best time with the Lord this morning.  My soul was thirsty and he nourished and renewed me.

Are you thirsty? 

Drink of His love and goodness.  He has so much that he wants to pour into your soul.

Picture compliments of Liquid Sculpture