Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Holy Wednesday
Holy Wednesday
Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, "What will you give me if I betray him to you?" They paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he began to look for an opportunity to betray him. Matthew 26:14-16
• There were two treacheries. Judas went out to grab his money, betrayed Jesus, and then killed himself in despair. Peter, despite his protests, would deny his Lord; he faced his own appalling guilt, then wept bitterly. His failure was not the end of the mission, but the beginning.
• Success is what I do with my failures. Teach me to trust in your love Lord, no matter what I have done, and to learn from my mistakes and even from treachery.
Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, "What will you give me if I betray him to you?" They paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he began to look for an opportunity to betray him. Matthew 26:14-16
• There were two treacheries. Judas went out to grab his money, betrayed Jesus, and then killed himself in despair. Peter, despite his protests, would deny his Lord; he faced his own appalling guilt, then wept bitterly. His failure was not the end of the mission, but the beginning.
• Success is what I do with my failures. Teach me to trust in your love Lord, no matter what I have done, and to learn from my mistakes and even from treachery.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Tuesday
Listen to me, O coastlands, pay attention, you peoples from far away! The Lord called me before I was born, while I was in my mother’s womb he named me. He made my mouth like a sharp sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me away. And he said to me, "You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified." But I said, "I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my cause is with the Lord, and my reward with my God."
Isaiah 42:1-4
• God knows me intimately, even from my first moments. He has a plan for me; whatever talents I have, he can put to use.
• Do I stand in the Lord’s way, with my own plan? I worked hard, I tried my best but now I have nothing left to give. Is this now the lord’s time when my way seems blocked?
Listen to me, O coastlands, pay attention, you peoples from far away! The Lord called me before I was born, while I was in my mother’s womb he named me. He made my mouth like a sharp sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me away. And he said to me, "You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified." But I said, "I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my cause is with the Lord, and my reward with my God."
Isaiah 42:1-4
• God knows me intimately, even from my first moments. He has a plan for me; whatever talents I have, he can put to use.
• Do I stand in the Lord’s way, with my own plan? I worked hard, I tried my best but now I have nothing left to give. Is this now the lord’s time when my way seems blocked?
Monday, March 29, 2010
Holy Week
Monday
Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be crushed until he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his teaching.
Isaiah 42:1-4
• "My servant will not cry or lift up his voice or make is heard in the street… he will faithfully bring forth justice."
• That is our mission too, Lord: not by force or violence, but by gentle, faithful persistence to bring forth justice on the earth.
Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be crushed until he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his teaching.
Isaiah 42:1-4
• "My servant will not cry or lift up his voice or make is heard in the street… he will faithfully bring forth justice."
• That is our mission too, Lord: not by force or violence, but by gentle, faithful persistence to bring forth justice on the earth.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Here I am....
"Here I am, Lord send me. All of my life, I make an offering".
I just heard that song by Downhere on the radio. I wasn't going to blog on it since my buddy Susan did but I think since it keeps popping up I will.
Have you ever prayed that prayer that said "Lord, I'll do what you want & go where you send"? Then as soon as you prayed it you say "as long as it's not to Africa"! Not me cause if you know me you know that's my dream but I digress....
You know what I mean when you put yourself out there to be used by God or well you do it in theory only. Thinking he wouldn't ask the important stuff of you, after all who am I, right?!?!
If you remember right he used the lowly & meek to do His work.
I urge you to honestly look at your life & pray that prayer with a sincere heart & sit back & enjoy the ride!!!
I just heard that song by Downhere on the radio. I wasn't going to blog on it since my buddy Susan did but I think since it keeps popping up I will.
Have you ever prayed that prayer that said "Lord, I'll do what you want & go where you send"? Then as soon as you prayed it you say "as long as it's not to Africa"! Not me cause if you know me you know that's my dream but I digress....
You know what I mean when you put yourself out there to be used by God or well you do it in theory only. Thinking he wouldn't ask the important stuff of you, after all who am I, right?!?!
If you remember right he used the lowly & meek to do His work.
I urge you to honestly look at your life & pray that prayer with a sincere heart & sit back & enjoy the ride!!!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Tuesday Tunes!!!
This video is awesome!! Plus it is my favorite song!!!
David Crowder Band's "O Praise Him"
Turn your ear
To Heaven and hear
The noise inside
The sound of angels
The sound of angel¡¯s songs
And all this for a King
We could join and sing
"All to Christ the King!"
How constant
How divine
This song of ours will rise
Oh, how constant
How divine
This love of ours will rise
Will rise...
CHORUS:
O praise Him!
O praise Him!
He is Holy!
He is Holy, yeah!
Turn your gaze
To Heaven and raise
A joyous noise
Oh, the sound of salvation come
The sound of rescued ones
And all this for a king
Angles join to sing
"All for Christ the King!"
CHORUS [2x]
Oh la la la la la...
O pra-ise Him!
O pra-ise Him!
He is Ho-ly!
He is Ho-ly!
How infininte and sweet
This love so rescuing
Oh how infinitely sweet
This great love that has redeemed
As one, we sing...
"Hallelujah!
Hallelujah!
He is Ho-ly!
He is Ho-ly!" [2x]
O pra-ise Him!
O pra-ise Him!
He is Ho-ly!
He is Ho-ly!
Oh, La la la la la la...
"Hallelujah!
Hallelujah!
He is Ho-ly!
He is Ho-ly!"
O pra-ise Him!
O pra-ise Him!
He is Ho-ly!
He is Ho-ly!
Oh la la la la la la...
Monday, March 22, 2010
It's a jungle out there
We are doing the Bible study "Traveling Light" by Max Lucado in our Sunday school class.
Now, in case others from class are reading this I will admit, I have been... well.... a little, let's say stubborn in this area BUT today I made a vow to do better. I tried to use the excuse that I am already doing the "Battlefield of the mind" study in our small group and that I was reading my Bible daily (most of the time, I got stubborn there for a week recently as well) and that I just didn't have time for yet another lesson.
Well, that ole friend "conviction" made a visit today so here I am! I read the chapter for this week and was filled with hope to say the least. It has been a rough time around here with Ed's work being very slow and not knowing how we were going to pay our bills at times, so I got a little hopeless. However, this made me feel a lot better. . . .
"For many people, life is-well, life is a jungle. Not a jungle of trees and beasts. Would that it were so simple. Would that our jungles could be cut with a machete or our adversaries trapped in a cage. But our jungles are comprised of the thicker thickets of failing health, broken hearts, and empty wallets. Our forests are framed with hospital walls and divorce courts. We don't hear the screeching of birds or the roaring of lions, but we do hear the complaints of neighbors and the demands of bosses. Our predators are our creditors, and the brush that surrounds us is the rush that exhausts us. And for some, even many, hope is in short supply. Hopelessness is an odd bag. Unlike the others, it isn't full. It is empty, and its emptiness creates burden. Unzip the top and examine the pockets. Turn it upside down and shake it hard. The bag of hopelessness is painfully empty."
He went on to say that we need 3 things that would help.
1. A person - not just any person. You don't need someone equally confused. you need someone who knows the way out.
2. Vision - you need someone to lift your spirits, someone to look you in the face and say "This isn't the end. Don't give up. There is a better place and I'll lead you there."
3. Direction - if you only have a person with renewed vision, all you have is company. If he has a vision but no direction, you have a dreamer for company. But if you have a person with direction-who can take you from this place to the right place-ah, you have the one who can restore hope. OR to use David's words, "He restores my soul."
"Our shepherd majors in restoring hope to the soul. Whether you are a lamb lost on a craggy ledge or a city slicker alone in a deep jungle, everything changes when your rescuer appears. Your loneliness diminishes because you have fellowship. Your despair decreases, because you have vision. Your confusion begins to lift, because you have direction. Note you haven't left the jungle, it is still a jungle, it hasn't changed but you have"
Hope comes when you have someone who can lead you out of the jungle. Hope comes when you turn to the one who made the jungle you are in. Hope comes with you put all your trust in the one who can to rescue you.
Who are YOU putting your trust in?!?!
Now, in case others from class are reading this I will admit, I have been... well.... a little, let's say stubborn in this area BUT today I made a vow to do better. I tried to use the excuse that I am already doing the "Battlefield of the mind" study in our small group and that I was reading my Bible daily (most of the time, I got stubborn there for a week recently as well) and that I just didn't have time for yet another lesson.
Well, that ole friend "conviction" made a visit today so here I am! I read the chapter for this week and was filled with hope to say the least. It has been a rough time around here with Ed's work being very slow and not knowing how we were going to pay our bills at times, so I got a little hopeless. However, this made me feel a lot better. . . .
"For many people, life is-well, life is a jungle. Not a jungle of trees and beasts. Would that it were so simple. Would that our jungles could be cut with a machete or our adversaries trapped in a cage. But our jungles are comprised of the thicker thickets of failing health, broken hearts, and empty wallets. Our forests are framed with hospital walls and divorce courts. We don't hear the screeching of birds or the roaring of lions, but we do hear the complaints of neighbors and the demands of bosses. Our predators are our creditors, and the brush that surrounds us is the rush that exhausts us. And for some, even many, hope is in short supply. Hopelessness is an odd bag. Unlike the others, it isn't full. It is empty, and its emptiness creates burden. Unzip the top and examine the pockets. Turn it upside down and shake it hard. The bag of hopelessness is painfully empty."
He went on to say that we need 3 things that would help.
1. A person - not just any person. You don't need someone equally confused. you need someone who knows the way out.
2. Vision - you need someone to lift your spirits, someone to look you in the face and say "This isn't the end. Don't give up. There is a better place and I'll lead you there."
3. Direction - if you only have a person with renewed vision, all you have is company. If he has a vision but no direction, you have a dreamer for company. But if you have a person with direction-who can take you from this place to the right place-ah, you have the one who can restore hope. OR to use David's words, "He restores my soul."
"Our shepherd majors in restoring hope to the soul. Whether you are a lamb lost on a craggy ledge or a city slicker alone in a deep jungle, everything changes when your rescuer appears. Your loneliness diminishes because you have fellowship. Your despair decreases, because you have vision. Your confusion begins to lift, because you have direction. Note you haven't left the jungle, it is still a jungle, it hasn't changed but you have"
Hope comes when you have someone who can lead you out of the jungle. Hope comes when you turn to the one who made the jungle you are in. Hope comes with you put all your trust in the one who can to rescue you.
Who are YOU putting your trust in?!?!
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Timeout
In the game of basketball you have a coach, players, referees, fans etc... The coach's job is to lead the team, instruct them on the plays. Offense, is to score the points to get the lead, defense if to make sure the other team doesn't score. They get 5 timeouts a game. 3 full timeouts, or a minute, & 2 30 second ones. The purpose of the timeouts is to regroup the team & make a plan to execute in order to succeed.
Basketball is a lot like life. It's fast paced, stressful at times, rewarding at times & a lot of work to get right. As in the game of basketball, life also has those same characteristics. Although I don't think we value the "timeouts" near like we should.
How often do you stop & have a "timeout" with God? How often do you let God be your "coach" & guide your lives daily??
Basketball is a lot like life. It's fast paced, stressful at times, rewarding at times & a lot of work to get right. As in the game of basketball, life also has those same characteristics. Although I don't think we value the "timeouts" near like we should.
How often do you stop & have a "timeout" with God? How often do you let God be your "coach" & guide your lives daily??
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
This started it all....
Psalm 27:1 (New International Version)
Of David
1 The LORD is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?
God lead me to this verse yesterday. As soon as I read it I was burdened, I am sure you are asking why this verse would cause anyone to be burdened. God laid on my heart some situations that have been happening lately. He also told me it was time to do something about it. I was SO scared to act on what he was telling me to do. I took some time and prayed about it, I asked for confirmation. (I have been known to asked for a flashing billboard) however, I haven't gotten my confirmation in that form as of yet!!!
My confirmation came in the form of the person I wanted to talk to. So I called the Ya Ya's and we pounced!! We are a bunch of strong willed women and when we get a plan look out!!!
God led yesterday in a HUGH way through so many people. When we get out of His word, get too busy, or put it off we begin to let doubts fill our minds. We let the ole scum dog get a hold of us and control us in ways we do not see. I have been guilty of this lately. It is so easy to let it happen.
We have to DAILY strive to lead our lives to please God. It isn't an easy task but it is essential to our living fully in Christ!
Of David
1 The LORD is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?
God lead me to this verse yesterday. As soon as I read it I was burdened, I am sure you are asking why this verse would cause anyone to be burdened. God laid on my heart some situations that have been happening lately. He also told me it was time to do something about it. I was SO scared to act on what he was telling me to do. I took some time and prayed about it, I asked for confirmation. (I have been known to asked for a flashing billboard) however, I haven't gotten my confirmation in that form as of yet!!!
My confirmation came in the form of the person I wanted to talk to. So I called the Ya Ya's and we pounced!! We are a bunch of strong willed women and when we get a plan look out!!!
God led yesterday in a HUGH way through so many people. When we get out of His word, get too busy, or put it off we begin to let doubts fill our minds. We let the ole scum dog get a hold of us and control us in ways we do not see. I have been guilty of this lately. It is so easy to let it happen.
We have to DAILY strive to lead our lives to please God. It isn't an easy task but it is essential to our living fully in Christ!
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