What Do You Desire?

There have been quite a few times lately that I have caught myself examining the desires of my heart. I have often prayed that God would fulfill these desires, if they are in accordance with His will. I guess the deepest desire of my heart is to be known and to know fully that who is my Creator. I know I am known completely by Him, but the second part is more difficult. I am aware that the only way to know God and to know His will is to pursue a personal and committed relationship through prayer and daily reading of His word. However, I am becoming increasingly aware that not everyone who does these things desire the things of God that should come from it. Many times, I have had to stop and ask myself if this is what I want or if it is truly what God intends and is pleasing to Him.

When I turn the channel on the TV and come across people like Benny Hinn, Paula White, Joyce Meyer, and others I can almost tell immediately that what they desire is not what God requires. In essence, they have created a god to suit themselves. One that will approve of their excessive lifestyles and their demands and commands of him. Their god is not one who would require them to sacrifice everything for him. Their god is not one who would take away their health, wealth, and everything else they cling to. People need to be aware that just because a person quotes scripture it doesn't mean the Bible backs them up. We need to look at the Bible in its entirity and not just in part. That's a problem I have with the Purpose Driven Life as well. He quotes many scriptures from many translations and thusly many Christians just assume the Bible is in his corner! The thing we need to be asking ourselves is this: Do we desire to be in God's will or do we want our will to be God's desire?

Worry Not

It's funny, worry is not something that usually has a hold on me. Lately that has been more true than ever. I am assured that as long as we are in the will of Christ and obedient to Him that He will provide and equip us with everything spiritually and physically that we are in need of to further be in service to His Kingdom. What an awesome thought that is! The Creator of all the Earth cares that much about our little family and our situation to have it completely in His control and He is so faithful even though we are far from worthy. We are told not to worry, for to worry about the things of the world is to put the world above that whom we are to be worshipping. Just a few thoughts I had this blessed morning.

Welcome!

I would like to take a moment and post a link to a new blog that is starting! The author is very committed to Christ and I know it's going to be a great one. Please stop by and read what he has to say! http://www.livingsacrifices.blogspot.com . I am very excited about it!

World Evangelism and Rev. 4:1-5:14

Then as I looked, I saw a door standing open in heaven, and the same voice I had heard before spoke to me with the sound of a mighty trumpet blast. The voice said, Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after these things. And instantly I was in the Spirit, and I saw a throne in heaven and someone sitting on it! The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones - jasper and carnelian. And the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow. Twenty four thrones surrounded him, and twenty four elders sat on them. They were all clothed in white and had gold crowns on their heads. And from the throne came flashes of lighning and the rumble of thunder. And in front of the throne were seven lampstands with burning flames. They are the seven spirits of God. In front of the throne was a shiny sea of glass, sparkling like crystal.
In the center and around the throne were four living beings, each covered with eyes, front and back. The first of these living beings had the form of a lion; the second looked like an ox; the third had a human face; and the fourth had the form of an eagle with wings spread out as though in flight. Each of these living beings had six wings, and their wings were covered with eyes, inside and out. Day after day and night after night they keep on saying.
"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty - the one who always was, who is, and how is still to come.:
Whenever the living beings give glory and honor and thanks to the one sitting on the throne, the one who lives forever and ever, the twenty four elders fall down and worship the one who lives forever and ever. And they lay their crowns before the throne and say,
"You are worthy, O Lord our God,
to receive glory and honor and power.
For you created everything,
and it is for your pleasure that they exist and were created."

And I saw a scroll in the right hand of the one who was sitting on the throne. There was wiriting on the inside and the outside of the scroll, and it was sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel who shouted with a loud voice: "Who is worthy to break the seals on this scroll and unroll it?" But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll and read it.
Then I wept because no one could be found who was worthy to open the scroll and read it. But one of the twenty four elders said to me, "Stop weeping! Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the heir to DAvid's throne, has conquered. He is worthy to open the scroll and break its seven seals."
I looked and I saw a Lamb that had been killed but was no standing between the throne and the four living beings and among the twenty four elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God that are sent out into every part of the earth. He stepped forward and took the scroll from the right hand of the one sitting on the throne. And as he took the scroll, the four living beings and the twenty four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they held gold bowls filled with incense - the prayers of God's people!
And they sang a new song with these words:
"You are worthy to take the scroll
and break its seals and open it
For you were killed, and your blood has ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation.
And you have caused them to become God's kingdom and his priests.
And they will reign on the earth."
Then I looked again, and I heard the singing of thousands and millions of angels around the throne and the living beings and the elders. And they sang in a mighty chorus:
"The Lamb is worthy-the Lamb who was killed.
He is worthy to receive power and riches
and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and blessing."
And then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea. They also sang:
"Blessing and honor and glory and power
belong to the one sitting on the throne
and to the Lamb forever and ever."
And the four living beings said, "Amen!" And the twenty four elders fell down and wirshiped God and the Lamb.

Now I will try to relay the same inspirational, emotional message that our pastor relayed to us this past Sunday. This account of the worship that will occur in heaven is such a powerful thing!!! The reasons that are given for world evangelism are usually that we are commanded to in the Great Commission and that we are supposed to out of compassion for others. While these are true I had never heard this third, most important reason ever given. We are to go and evangelize the world primarily because - God is WORTHY of our praise! He is worthy of the praise of every person on this earth, and we should long to see Him praised by the multitudes because that is what He deserves! I know I do not possibly have the words or the time to explain this in full but I pray that the chapters cited here and the mere thought of His worthiness will bring you to the full understanding of this concept.

Boycott...

YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE THIS ABOUT PROCTER & GAMBLE, SO WE INCLUDED THE PROOF!
Dear Monica,

Suppose I told you Procter & Gamble created and ran an ad that showed two men (in fuzzy focus at top center of the ad) in bed after an apparent sexual encounter.
Suppose I told you the ad showed clothing scattered across the floor like the two men were in a hurry to get undressed and get into the bed.
Suppose I told you the P&G ad was captioned with these words: "You were more concerned with taking them off than folding them up." (In other words, the two men just could not wait to get into bed to have homosexual sex.)
Suppose the ad goes on to say that you can use Downy Wrinkle Release, a P&G product, to unwrinkle your clothes left on the floor in your haste to get into bed.
Suppose I told you this ad, which leaves the impression that homosexual sex is normal, thrilling and exciting, was created by P&G and run in a homosexual publication called Xtra.I know you would have a hard time believing me. So see it for yourself. Click here.
There should be no doubt P&G is aggressively promoting the homosexual agenda. A company doesn't create and run an ad that leaves the impression that homosexual sex is thrilling and exciting unless they support the homosexual agenda.It should come as no surprise when P&G supports homosexual marriage. This is the company that has aggressively come out in favor of repealing the law in Cincinnati which forbids giving homosexuals special rights, but at the same time has refused to support the Ohio Marriage Protection Amendment which defines marriage as being only between one man and one woman.Remember, this is the company that said they "will not tolerate discrimination [against homosexuals] in any form, against anyone, for any reason." To keep homosexuals from being legally married is discrimination [for good reason] that P&G says they will not tolerate.
American Family Association is asking individuals to:
(1) Boycott three products of P&G — Crest toothpaste, Tide detergent, and Pampers diapers. (Make sure your replacement is not a P&G product. Look on the back of the product.)
(2) Call Chairman A.G. Lafley at 513-983-1100 and politely let him know that you are participating in the boycott and will ask others to do the same.
(3) Click here to register your support for the boycott.
(4) Please forward this to your friends and family. They will have to see it to believe it, also.
(5) Click here to print out and distribute the boycott Crest, Tide and Pampers petition.

Sincerely,
Don
Donald E. Wildmon,
Founder and ChairmanAmerican Family Association

Does God Need Us to Sin...?

That might sound like a dumb question, but hear me out. Many times someone has said to me, "yeah, but...don't you think it was all in God's plan?" I have also heard such assertions as "Everything happens for a reason." Now, to put these into context they are almost always in response to something that someone did wrong but somehow it all turned out okay, and at times even good. For a long time, I thought nothing of these statements and even tended to agree with them. However, through the light of Scripture, I now want to scream at these people when they say such things! They are implying that God needed them to sin in order to bring them to where they are. This is merely an attempt to justify what was done and say that in essence you were helping God out in His plan by sinning! How horrible it is to think that way! Yes, God can bring good out of evil. He can turn your situation around and given your sin and your unfaithfulness He can bring you back to Him and even bless you when you have turned from that sin. However, God most definitely did not need you to sin to bring you there! Just something to think about the next time someone says those things to you in that context.

Faithfulness Revealed Daily

It is the faithfulness of God that ultimately brings me through each and every day. As I contemplate that character of God today I am in complete awe. My child naps just across the room and he is such a reminder that in all things God has remained faithful, although I do not deserve it in any way. That fact makes it that much greater and leaves me in even more reverance of Him.

For years I prayed God would bring us to the right church. One that would allow us to grow and be involved and be correct in its teaching. In July, all of those prayers were answered and it was all in His perfect timing. This church is exactly what we were looking for. We came at a time where the pastor has started laying out his vision for the church and in essence has told the congregation "I don't care how you feel, I care how God feels!". What a breath of fresh air, especially in today's world, to hear that sentiment! We have finally found our church home and every time it crosses my mind I am excited and encouraged about it!

I have had my eyes opened a great deal in the past few months. It all started when we were watching TBN (we watch at times just to see what false teachers are doing so that we can be informed) and this show came on called "The Way of the Master" with Kirk Cameron (yes, the guy from Growing Pains) and Ray Comfort. They were talking about the Ten Commandments (something we don't hear a lot about anymore) and they were going up to people on the street asking them if they had broken any of the commandments and informing them that they would be guilty as sinners on Judgment Day. They emphasized the importance of penetrating the heart of a sinner to bring them to genuine repentance and true saving faith rather than telling someone, 'It would be so much easier if you would just find Christ.' I am ashamed to say that I had never even thought of this method. But seeing it first hand and hearing them speak...I knew they were right and Scripture backs them up 100%! Once again...the faithfulness of God is revealed daily. You can check out their website if you are interested in finding out more about them: http://www.wayofthemaster.com

1 John 1:8-1:10
If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.

Psalm 18:25-18:29
To the faithful you show yourself faithful;
to those with integrity you show integrity.
To the pure you show yourself pure,
but to the wicked you show yourself hostile.
You rescue those who are humble,
but you humiliate the proud.
Lord, you have brought light to my life;
my God, you light up my darkness.
In your strength I can crush an army;
with my God I can scale any wall.

Psalm 31:3-31:5
You are my rock and my fortress.
For the honor of your name, lead me out of this peril.
Pull me from the trap my enemies set for me,
for I find protection in you alone.
I entrust my spirit into your hand.
Rescue me, Lord, for you are a faithful God.

1 Thessalonians 5:23-5:24
Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until that day when our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. God, who calls you, is faithful; he will do this.