God's Gift of Discipline: For My Spiritual Edification In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by Him. For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and chastises every son whom He receives." ~ Hebrews 12:4-6 Spiritual discipline seems to be a long forgotten practice in the evangelical churches of today. Many churches no longer practice church discipline, and in doing so, have invited goats among the sheep [Matthew 25:32-33, 41] to worship the Lord of Hosts, the LORD God Almighty. Naturally, inviting those who are not truly converted disciples of Christ; those who are have not been born again, through repentance and full trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, causes us to be guilty of the sin of desecrating our offering of praise to our God if we knowingly bring those we
God's Gift of Fellowship: Our Church Family Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth...and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do what pleases Him. And this is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another , just as He has commanded us. Whoever keeps His commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us. ~ 1 John 3:18, 22-24 How can we ever thank God enough for Jesus? How can we ever thank God enough for the fellowship in His Holy Spirit? How can we ever thank God enough for godly husbands, children who walk in truth, brothers and sisters in the Lord who demonstrate every aspect of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)? I mean, is it even possible? I don't believe so. God is worthy to be praised, to have His name exalted above all names and He is so exceedingly good to us, I don'
God's Gift of Grace: To Commune with Jesus "let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water." ~ Hebrews 10:22 The Lord has been so gracious to me in showing me, that where I am does not define who I am. Since the day of my salvation, I am forever and will only be defined by my relationship with Jesus Christ. The fact that I'm in the hospital and was told last night, "you won't be going home anytime soon" changes nothing about Who resides in my heart and commands my every thought and instills in my heart His every desire. Therefore, I have dedicated this time that I'm in the hospital to write notes to all of you as our merciful Heavenly Father provides me strength and wisdom to share all that He is teaching me during this time. "Communion with God was a great thing; to evangelicals today it is a comparatively small th
I've just been admitted to the hospital. Needless to say I will be "offline" for a bit. Thank you all so much for your prayers. May our awesome God who has loved us faithfully be praised forever and ever! I love you all!
...but I love it, and am grateful to God for such a thing! I love the rich, vibrant colors of fruits and vegetables. I love the taste of juicy watermelons, cucumbers, oranges, strawberries...you name it, I love it! I love the incredible aroma of a roast cooking for hours in the slow cooker. I even love to go grocery shopping where I'm completely surrounded by food and am eager to create both nutritious and mouth-watering meals for my precious family and friends God has graciously blessed me with. I think you get the picture... I LOVE FOOD! ______________________________ So why I am so grateful to God for such a thing? Because my body seems to hate it, yet my love for food is something I believe is a gift from God that has helped me to survive. It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night. ~ Psalm 92:1-2 You see, if God had not given me such a fondness