God's discipline

as a child my mother would beat us with a straight razor strap or have us cut down willow branches and whip us with them. now as i am praying & reading a devotional talking about God's correction i think of the difference between God's discipline and my mother's. with enough force a willow whip cuts into the skin and can be pretty painful. however it is nothing compared to the pain i feel when i have sinned and feel separated from God. i thank God for His correction. there are times when i feel the separation. i don't know why, i can't think of what i've done or how i've sinned but i know that i have that i would feel that pain of separation. i am thankful for the Holy Spirit who convicts my heart and tells me what i've done that was against God, as it is only through repentance that i am restored to a right relationship with Him. without Him you may as well rip out my heart.

pumpkins

Being a Christian is like being a pumpkin. God lifts you up, takes you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. He opens you up, touches you deep inside and scoops out all the yucky stuff-- including the seeds of doubt, hate, greed, etc. Then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside you to shine for the entire world to see.

This was passed on to me from another pumpkin. Now, it is your turn to pass it to a pumpkin. I liked this enough to send it to all the pumpkins in my patch.

Happy Fall!

prayer

it took a very long time before i was ever able to pray in our small group bible study. these are women i have met with weekly for years and i am comfortable in their presence. it is quite another matter to pray in other small groups that i am now involved in. i am very self-conscience of sounding stupid or tripping over my words.

a couple of months ago God put it on my heart to pray for Unreached People Groups of the world - http://www.joshuaproject.net/ethne.php?es=1

i never knew how to pray or what to pray for but as they have specific prayer requests each day i could just read the prayers. since i started doing this it has grown in me and become alive, not just something i read off the page anymore.

2 weeks ago at the perspectives class the speaker said that he is in bed every nght at 10:00. he is african and is in the habit of praying every morning for a couple of hours.

i used to pray at night. watch a movie til 11:00 then pray for awhile. i slept crappy and woke up tired. the past couple of nights i have gone to bed at 10 and woken up just after 5. i have better sleep so i don't wake up tired and i start the day with an hour & 1/2 of prayer. what a way to start the day. i had been reading my bible first thing in the am and only saying a few short prayers.

years ago in costa rica susan gave me a note saying that God had called me to costa rica to be a prayer warrior. knowing my inability (fear of) to speak a prayer out loud i thought she must be kidding.

reading the prayer requests every day for the nations of the world it is becoming easier, more natural. speaking prayers from the heart rather than just reading them off the page.

if you feel inadequate as a pray-er check out that website. start reading the specific prayer requests for the upg's of the world. not only will it will increase the number of people praying for the nations, prayer will become easier and more natural.

witness

a witness is what you ARE far more than it is something that you DO. God arranges for His servants to display what they declare. by public testimony in the face of hostility, ordinary people accomplish far more than merely affirming the truth of Christ. witnesses establish the value of following Christ. their persuasive power is not only because their words match their life - their words and their life match those of Christ Himself. it is as if Christ Himself stands to testify before the world.

mandate

to live under mandate is to be entrusted with a task of lasting significance. mandates are not commands. by direct commands we assign small errands or daily chores. a mandate, on the other hand, releases authority and responsibility to pursue endeavors of historic importance. God has entrusted to Christ, and with Him to the church, a mandate to fulfill His purpose for all of history.

missions

i really like the course i'm taking on wednesday nights. it's about God's purpose. i didn't realize until i started this course how important missions are. people wonder when Jesus will return. God tells us in so many places in the bible that Jesus won't come again until there are people from every nation, tongue, tribe, and language in His family. God wants ALL people to come to Him and until there are people from every culture in His family Jesus won't return.

Mark 16:15 Jesus said "go into all the world and preach the goods news to ALL CREATION"

Acts 1:8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses in jerusalem, and in all judea and samaria and to the ENDS OF THE EARTH.

Matt 28:19 there go and make disciples of ALL NATIONS, baptizing them them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Rev 5:9 You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals because you were slain and with Your blood You purchased men for God from EVERY TRIBE AND LANGUAGE AND PEOPLE AND NATION.

Daniel 7:14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; ALL PEOPLES, NATIONS AND MEN OF EVERY LANGUAGE worshiped Him.

it is written throughout the bible, from genesis to revelation, that God's wants a multicultural family.

this month is the month of ramadan which is a month of prayer for muslims. christians needs to be praying for muslims, buddhists, atheists, sikhs, hindus, etc. all people of every nation that they would be coming to know Jesus as Lord and Saviour.

Jesus loves everyone and if we christians are to win people to Christ we have to be like Christ and love everyone too.

God's put it on my heart to pray for all the unreached people of the world. this is the great commission, to reach the lost for Christ. what are you doing about it? we can't all go but we can all pray.

missions are great, whether they are local or international, if we are doing good works for the less fortunate people of the world, but they mean nothing if we are not telling them about Jesus.

visiting my past

today i returned to the orphanage i lived in when i was a kid. it was turned into a church 25 years ago and is now in the process of being restored as a heritage building.

it was an emotional time as memories flooded back. they were not happy memories and the tears flowed freely. when my brother and sister and i arrived we were all taken to different rooms. i went to the nursery and they went to the girls and boys dorms. it was maybe a year or more before i graduated to the dorm and was in the same room as my sister.

today the nursery is a bright, sunny room. i only remember it as a very dark, fearful and lonely place.

the dorms are now the sanctuary. what was once a place of torment for me is now a place of worship.

it was here that my nightly terrors began. every night for years i was chased by a spider that was as big as a house and i was the size of the head of a pin. the nightmares continued years later even when i had left the orphanage. i was ridiculed, shamed and humiliated on a daily basis.

i'm not sure why i decided to go today. my sister has returned a couple times over the years. until today i had never returned nor wanted to.

in the past year i have become more aware of my timidity. today as two of the church ladies prayed for me one said she could feel my gentle spirit. as a witness for Christ i want to be bold but i haven't been.

if i have a prayer request i will not speak it as it usually means i will have to pray for someone else. i will take a prayer request home with me and pray there but not in a group. i can talk to God for hours but to pray in public - forget it. it took me a very long time to feel comfortable in praying in my bible study group. now i am involved in other groups and i am silent there.

when i finally went home to live with my mother she told me many times that i wasn't good enough. and they definitely told me that in the orphanage.

i toured the whole building, upstairs and the basement. i didn't even remember there was an upstairs or a basement. although i may have blocked out some of the memories as the worst of them were at the forefront.

today my memory is of a beautiful, warm, homey room. it's where the pastor counsels people. it's what i want to remember.

Hope

God has called us to live our lives as a bold act of hope. to hope is not merely to wish for small improvements of personal circumstances. hope expects all things, large or little, to be overwhelmed and filled with the immense glory of Christ. thus, true hope pursues global glory and total triumph over evil. lives of hope can face great evil with relentless courage , since there is no telling how soon God will break through with ultimate victory.

when do you feel God's pleasure?

just finished reading the cure for the common life, living in your sweet spot. by max lucado. good read.

i had been making notes on it and one of the things i wrote was 'when do you feel God's pleasure?' i thought at some point i would figure that out and answer the question. i did - yesterday after helping to make and serve lunch at a luncheon for seniors. i was reminded of feeling God's pleasure when i was picking up garbage after serving lunch at union gospel mission. i was reminded of feeling God's pleasure when i was serving food to a house full of drug addicted, alcoholic street people. so much so that tears were streaming down my face. this was a big thing that 3 years before i couldn't have imagined doing.

when do you feel God's pleasure?

recently in one of my devotionals i read something about a young woman that had been an athlete in school, she had excelled at playing a variety of sports and just naturally assumed that was her calling in life and expected that would be the key to her future. she was quite surprised to find that although sports was something she enjoyed and was very good at, it wasn't her sweet spot. it wasn't when she felt God's pleasure.

for as much as i love my job, it's not when i feel God's pleasure. we have been given spiritual gifts and i expect that when we are using our gifts that that is when we feel God's pleasure. are you using your spiritual gifts?

where is your sweet spot?

i don't know if this is so much about using my spiritual gift of service or just the fact that Jesus came to serve others and to be an example that we can show God's love by serving others.

whatever they are, if you are using your spiritual gifts, you will feel God's pleasure.

if you aren't you don't know what you're missing. you have been blessed with certain gifts and when you use them you are a blessing to others.

clergy appreciation month

October is 'Clergy Appreciation Month'
Several years ago, Focus on the Family began leading an effort for each October to be “Clergy Appreciation Month.”

Material currently on the FOTF website indicates that Clergy Appreciation Month is a special time that congregations set aside each year to honor their pastors and pastoral families for the hard work, sacrificial dedication and multiple blessings provided by these special people.

It is typically scheduled in October, but can be held at any time that is convenient for the church and the community. It is also important to remember that appreciation, affirmation and prayer support of our spiritual leaders is appropriate throughout the entire year.

Why is CAM necessary?

The nature of the service provided by pastors and their families is unique. God has entrusted to them one of the most precious of assignments--the spiritual well-being of His flock. When a pastor becomes ineffective, the very souls of his or her parishioners are endangered. When eternity is in the balance, we should all be concerned.

Pastors and their families live under incredible pressures. Their lives are played out in a fishbowl, with the entire congregation and community watching their every move. They are expected to have ideal families, to be perfect people, to always be available, to never be down and to have all the answers we need to keep our own lives stable and moving forward.

Those are unrealistic expectations to place on anyone, yet most of us are disappointed when a pastor becomes overwhelmed, seems depressed, lets us down or completely burns out.

That's why God has instructed us to recognize His servants.

"The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching" (1 Timothy 5:17).

The good news is that we can make a difference! Clergy Appreciation Month is one way we can counter the negative erosion in the lives of our spiritual leaders with the positive affirmation they need.

What can we do? Here are two ways to help your pastors and their families feel appreciated:

· Figure out what you can do personally to recognize and honor these leaders. A simple card, an invitation to lunch, a promise to pray for them or an offer to babysit, wash a car or mow a lawn make wonderful statements.

· Share the concept of CAM with others in your congregation and challenge them to join you in some kind of formal planning. You might consider a special service of affirmation, a potluck event or planting a tree in their honor. The sky is the limit!

To help you in this process, Focus on the Family has developed a number of resources which are available at http://parsonage.org/cam/index.cfm.

copied from a blog by Terry White
http://fgbc-world.blogspot.com/2006/09/october-is-clergy-appreciation-month.html

A Divided House

"But Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, 'Every kingdom divided against
itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will
not stand.'" Matthew 12:25

"If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand." Mark 3:25

"Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: 'Any kingdom divided against itself
will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall.'" Luke 11:17

A house can be a family, a church body, or a country. Did you know that in the
Civil war, more than 364,000 persons died in battle? That is way more than the
total casualties from all other wars combined, that our country has been in
(except WWII)! WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND COINED THE PHRASE 'CIVIL' WAR. THERE IS NOTHING CIVIL ABOUT WAR.

If there is strife, contention, discord, etc., then the house is divided. It is
not of one accord. If arguments, stony silences, yelling, screaming, hitting,
grudges, resentments, unforgiveness, or misunderstandings are present, there is
division.

The house may hold its own and function enough to get by. But there is no
healthy living, no peace, and no joy. And there is no outreach; it remains
self-serving and self-sustaining.

Sometimes things have to be like this for awhile, until they can get better. But
as they say, "If nothing changes nothing changes." If things don't eventually
improve, and unity manifest, there is no fruit (like peace, or joy).

This subject is important enough that the Holy Spirit impressed the gospel
writers to include it in three of the four Gospels. We not only want to stand,
we want to grow, and spread out. We want to bear fruit- lots of good fruit. We
want to share the Good News with a dark and hurting world dying to hear that
Good News.

We need the love of God in our hearts. We need to look at Jesus, through
absorbing the Word. We need the regenerative power of the Holy Spirit.
Fortunately for us, all of these are available, anytime we turn around to the
Lord and ask for His help.

Unity, not division. It's God's plan. That's good news.

Prayer: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit we praise you today, and we ask for Your
divine help to achieve true unity in all of our houses. In the name, and through
the blood, of Jesus. Amen.

doing good things vs doing God things

this was what i did in costa rica. after God said 'but only for 1 year' and i stayed 15 months. i was doing what i thought were good things but if God considered it an abomination because i had stayed 3 months longer than He said i could that might explain why things felt different. i was doing the same things but in my time which was more than the time God had given me to do them in. i didn't feel like i had a purpose to be there anymore.

There are good things we can do, but only God-things we should do. Those activities not born out of the Spirit will result in wood, hay, and stubble. What seems good in our eyes may be an abomination in God's eyes. For instance, if you decide to build an orphanage but God has never directed you to do so, then God will not see that work as good; it was born out of your own strength, even though it was a "good work."

The most difficult challenge a Christian workplace believer will ever have is to know what things to be involved in and what things not to be involved in. Many workplace believers have a great ability to see opportunity. What appears to be a "slam dunk" may come back to haunt us if God never ordains us to enter that arena.

There are many good things we can be involved with. However, there are God-things we are supposed to be involved with. Uzzah was a good man in David's sight. It was a time of celebration, and David and the people were transporting the ark of God. However, the ark hit a bump, and Uzzah reached for the ark to hold it steady. He touched the ark, and he immediately died. David became very upset with God about this situation; he questioned whether he could serve God.

God's ways are not our ways. The most important quality God desires to develop in us is our dependence on Him and Him alone. When we begin to make decisions based on reason and analysis instead of the leading and prompting of the Holy Spirit, we get into trouble with God. David later learned the importance of this principle in his own life. This encounter was one of the stepping-stones in his pilgrimage. David was an extraordinary entrepreneur. He ran the nation very successfully, but he, like each of us, had to learn the difference between "good things" and "God-things."

Are you involved in anything in which God has not directed you to be involved? Do you seek God about every decision, every action before you take it? This is where God wants you and me to be. Ask Him to show you how to walk with Him in this way.

ok i just sent some emails to get involved in something new. i didn't talk to God specifically about this exact thing right before i sent the emails but this morning i talked to Him at length about wanting to 'do' more. asking Him what i could do. then i got an email about getting involved in something & i signed up right away. i don't think i actually thought of Him before i sent the emails but after reading the above devotional i thought it must be God inspired because it sort of involves public speaking which i am absolutely terrified of.

Passion

passion is the heart set free to pursue that which is truly worthy. those who set their hearts on that which is most worthy - the glory of God - live with joy-filled abandon. their hearts are both seized and satisfied with the ambition for Jesus to be ardently worshiped. that love comes to dominate and integrate all other desires so as to live in the freedom of single-minded purpose.

Purpose

we were made to live for purpose. God Himself lives for purpose. the way to live with significance is to devote your life to a purpose that is larger than your life.

pride

i started my new job this week. it's great, i love it - the work, the people. God had given me amazing peace after my initial panic attack at being called for an interview. the peace continued with me before, during and after the interview. i've never experienced that before. i didn't even ask how much i'd make. i definitely hadn't experienced anything like that before. i didn't worry whether or not i would get the job. it was all in God's hands, He had led me to it so i knew that whatever the wage was it would be enough, and although i didn't know that i'd get the job, i knew that God was in control for whatever the outcome would be.

what i didn't like was last weekend when i was telling people about it. i was excited and happy to be telling people about it but found that pride crept in as i told people about where i would be working.

i had to take this test and a couple of questions asked about how you would feel if you met someone important, would you be nervous or excited. i believe we are all created equal so i don't think i would care about anyone's status. saying that i wonder how i let pride creep in about the job. in each job we are to work at it as if we are working for God, not man, not status.

i offended myself, forgive me if i offended you.

if i knew...

my paternal grandma always used to say - never go to bed angry.

always tell someone you love that you love them. don't let hurt or angry feelings hold you back. you never know if you'll get another chance to say i'm sorry or i love you.

If I knew it would be the last time
That I'd see you fall asleep,
I would tuck you in more tightly
and pray the Lord, your soul to keep.

If I knew it would be the last time
that I see you walk out the door,
I would give you a hug and kiss
and call you back for one more

If I knew it would be the last time
I'd hear your voice lifted up in praise,
I would video tape each action and word,
so I could play them back day after day.

If I knew it would be the last time,!
I could spare an extra minute
to stop and say "I love you,"
instead of assuming you would KNOW I do.

If I knew it would be the last time
I would be there to share your day,
Well I'm sure you'll have so many more,
so I can let just this one slip away.

For surely there's always tomorrow
to make up for an oversight,
and we always get a second chance
to make everything just right.

There will l always be another day
to say "I love you,"
And certainly there's another chance
to say our "Anything I can do?"

But just in case I might be wrong,
and today is all I get,
I'd like to say how much I love you
and I hope we never forget.

Tomorrow is not promised to anyone,
young or old alike,
And today may be the last chance
you get to hold your loved one tight.

So if you're waiting for tomorrow,
why not do it today?
For if tomorrow never comes,
you'll surely regret the day,

That you didn! 't take that extra time
for a smile, a hug, or a kiss
and you were too busy to grant someone,
what turned out t o be their one last wish.

So hold your loved ones close today,
and whisper in their ear,
Tell them how much you love them
and that you'll always hold them dear

Take time to say "I'm sorry,"
"Please forgive me," "Thank you," or "It's okay."
And if tomorrow never comes,
you'll have no regrets about today.

restoration

Restoring relationships is an important part of having them. As imperfect people, you can count on the fact that we will let each other down. That’s why truthfulness and forgiveness are an essential part of our life together.

It’s a commentary on our fast-paced mobile lifestyles that it often takes a death to bring family and friends together. At a memorial service I attended once for the wife of a worship leader who had served three churches in three different parts of the country, friends from all three areas came, at no small personal expense, to show their love and support. The huge turnout was, as much as anything, a testimony to this couple’s deep commitment to the people they had served, and it was an opportunity for many to remember a courageous woman and give something back to her husband and children.

It was also a time for me to be reunited with old friends who had been much more in my life when I lived closer to them. One in particular had some hard words for me. Some time ago he sent me an e-mail that had gone into considerable detail about changes in his life – personal things he was going through – and I had never answered it or even acknowledged receiving it. This had hurt him deeply and I could tell as he confessed to me his hurt and anger that he had built up a lot of resentment toward me. But at the same time, I could sense a big weight come off his shoulders as he conveyed his true feelings to me. By facing me honestly, he was rescuing what was valuable about our relationship and setting both of us free.

He could have been superficially nice to me at the memorial service and continued on in his resentment and anger, and I would have never known. I couldn’t have even asked his forgiveness if I hadn’t known I had hurt him. But by being honest and confrontational, he gave the Lord the opportunity to heal and restore. God can do wonders in our relationships as long as we face each other and tell the truth.

Jesus once said that if you bring an offering to the Lord and you are aware of something wrong in one of your relationships, you should set your offering aside and go get things straightened out with your brother or sister, then come back and worship. (Matthew 5:23-24) How we live in relationship with each other in the Body of Christ needs our attention, even before our worship. God is basically saying that we can’t be in fellowship with him and knowingly out of fellowship with each other. My friend did the right thing and we are both the better for it. (pdl)

tonights baptism

wow! so many people making a public declaration that they love God. of course not all of these people were getting baptized, maybe 20, the rest were family and friends wanting to share in their joy.

I AM THANKFUL...

FOR THE WIFE
WHO SAYS IT'S HOT DOGS TONIGHT,
BECAUSE SHE IS HOME WITH ME,
AND NOT OUT WITH SOMEONE ELSE.

FOR THE HUSBAND
WHO IS ON THE SOFA
BEING A COUCH POTATO,
BECAUSE HE IS HOME WITH ME
AND NOT OUT AT THE BARS.

FOR THE TEENAGER
WHO IS COMPLAINING ABOUT DOING DISHES
BECAUSE IT MEANS SHE IS AT HOME,
NOT ON THE STREETS.

FOR THE TAXES I PAY
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I AM EMPLOYED.

FOR THE MESS TO CLEAN AFTER A PARTY
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE
BEEN SURROUNDED BY FRIENDS.

FOR THE CLOTHES THAT FIT A LITTLE TOO SNUG
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I HAVE ENOUGH TO EAT.

FOR MY SHADOW THAT WATCHES ME WORK
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I AM OUT IN THE SUNSHINE

FOR A LAWN THAT NEEDS MOWING,
WINDOWS THAT NEED CLEANING,
AND GUTTERS THAT NEED FIXING
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE A HOME.

FOR ALL THE COMPLAINING
I HEAR ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT
BECAUSE IT MEANS
WE HAVE FREEDOM OF SPEECH.

FOR THE PARKING SPOT
I FIND AT THE FAR END OF THE PARKING LOT
BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM CAPABLE OF WALKING
AND I HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH TRANSPORTATION.

FOR MY HUGE HEATING BILL
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I AM WARM.

FOR THE LADY BEHIND ME IN CHURCH
WHO SINGS OFF KEY BECAUSE IT MEANS
I CAN HEAR.

FOR THE PILE OF LAUNDRY AND IRONING
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I HAVE CLOTHES TO WEAR.

FOR WEARINESS AND ACHING MUSCLES
AT THE END OF THE DAY
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE BEEN
CAPABLE OF WORKING HARD.

FOR THE ALARM THAT GOES OFF
IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS
BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM ALIVE.

AND FINALLY, FOR TOO MUCH E-MAIL
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE
FRIENDS WHO ARE THINKING OF ME.

SEND THIS TO SOMEONE YOU CARE ABOUT. I JUST DID. (thanks angel)

Live well, Laugh often, & Love with all of your heart!

meeting Jesus

as i thought about having surgery i thought of being under anaesthesia and of meeting Jesus. what a flood of tears at the thought of the joy of meeting Him. reaching out my hand to Him. omg. the joy was indescribable. why would a person want to come back.

as i walked in the omi graveyard with my grandchildren last sunday they were asking about death. we talked about death and heaven and hell. i told them death was not something to fear if you knew you were going to heaven. when it was impersonal it was ok to talk about it. when i said that i wasn't afraid of dying because i knew i would see Jesus it became personal for them and they didn't want to talk about it anymore.

i'm glad the choice is not in my hands. my hearts breaks at the evil in this world but it also breaks at the thought of my grandchildren's heartache at losing someone else they love.