November is always the Thanksgiving month, the gratitude, the thankful month. A whole month of gratitude? We should certainly be grateful every single day for our blessings. But (always that "but") - how often do I find myself ungrateful, or grumbling, or complaining? Any is too often. Whatever is in the Believer's life is there because the Lord has allowed it. All the Lord does is good. He is sovereign, He is all-knowing. For me, sinful and with extremely limited knowledge to complain or grumble about what he has given me is..well, it is ludicrous!
I just looked in my concordance for verses on thanks, thanksgiving, and all forms of blessings. Way too many to list - that can be your project for today - look up a few of those verses and meditate on them! It is going to be mine.
If we are to give thanks always, maybe focusing on it every day -through this little blog- could be a way to start. To get in practice, as it were.
And I am already three days behind!
I can start off with gratitude to my Lord, Jesus Christ, for my salvation. Here is a section of Psalm I read a few weeks ago that has plastered itself to my heart:
Some were fools through their sinful ways,
and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;
they loathed any kind of food,
and they drew near to the gates of death.
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
He sent out his word and healed them,
and delivered them from their destruction.
Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man.
And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!
Psalm 107:17-22
That was me, dying and miserable in my sin, and the Lord reached down and softened this hard heart of stone, gave me a heart of flesh that I could have faith in Him. He saved me, plain and simple. Through no works of mine (so I can't boast!) but strictly by His mercy.
Day 2, for my wonderful family - Nevin and the guys. I never dreamed of the life I would have, and some days I just wake up amazed at what the Lord has done. This life is not perfect in the sense that the world uses - often the work is hard, the money is tight, and sometimes people just plain get on my nerves. But, this is where God has put me, and even on days where I am struggling, I stop and realize that this blessing, this family, is so much more than I ever thought possible.
Monday was our 18th anniversary. Some years have been harder than others, but it has always been an adventure. When I married Nevin I was one who never thought "outside the box". I would have bought a newer house, with the income from my 8-5 job (where you got a regular paycheck with benefits), had 1.6 children, and done all the things you are just supposed to do. Nevin not only thinks outside the box, I don't know if he'd recognize a box if he met it. He was self-employed when I met him, and except for a brief foray into regular employment (because he knew I really wanted him to get a regular job, I think) he has always been. He has gutted a very old house and made it our home, then he built this house in the middle of a forest. He built a business, and then convinced me to leave my regular job and work with him. Live in the forest, own a business, homeschool the kids, raise chickens, process your own deer meat....crazy, I know. But here we are. Anything is possible, and there are opportunities everywhere.
He is deer hunting this weekend, so maybe absence makes the heart fonder! But truly, I am so grateful for the husband God gave me, how he follows the Lord and leads us.
And for today.....grateful that I am almost done grading lab reports for my science co-op! And so very grateful to see that they seem to be getting it, in spite of the somewhat haphazard instruction they are getting.
So, today, start practicing daily gratitude - let's do it together! After a month, hopefully it will be instant and automatic!
Showing posts with label salvation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label salvation. Show all posts
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Thankful Thursday
I love the idea of having a "theme" some days - life on the homestead on Saturday, thankfulness on Thursday. And on this particular Thursday, I have a lot to be thankful for!
First and foremost, thankful for salvation through Christ my Savior. On Sunday mornings our preaching elder is teaching through Ephesians. Probably be a few years! Lord Jesus, thank you that my salvation did not depend on my weak will, for before you saved me, I was dead in my sins and trespasses. How could I choose you? I was dead. A dead man (woman) does not do anything. Thank you that you are sovereign in all things Lord, that even while I was dead in my sins and trespasses and deserving of Hell, you showed mercy.
Here's a little Ephesians, in case you haven't had time to do your Bible reading yet today. Blue notes are my own "amplifications".
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us (he is sovereign!) in him (not in ourselves but in Christ) before the foundation of the world (when?), that we should be holy and blameless (what am I now?) before him. In love he predestined us for adoption (in what?) as sons through Jesus Christ (through who?), according to the purpose of his will (his will!),to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him (in who?) we have redemption through his blood (how are we redeemed?), the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished (lavished, I tell you!) upon us, in all wisdom and insight, making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose (whose purpose?), which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in heaven and on earth.
In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will (his own counsel, he needs no other!), so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory (all is for his glory!). In him you also, when you heard the word of truth,the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit (when you heard the gospel and believed, you were saved, and received the Holy Spirit - right then, right there, not later, not through your own effort) who is the guarantee (promise) of our inheritance (Heaven, eternal life with God!) until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory (all for his glory, ALL for his glory!!)."
Ephesians 1:2-14
Stand up and shout for joy!!!
First and foremost, thankful for salvation through Christ my Savior. On Sunday mornings our preaching elder is teaching through Ephesians. Probably be a few years! Lord Jesus, thank you that my salvation did not depend on my weak will, for before you saved me, I was dead in my sins and trespasses. How could I choose you? I was dead. A dead man (woman) does not do anything. Thank you that you are sovereign in all things Lord, that even while I was dead in my sins and trespasses and deserving of Hell, you showed mercy.
Here's a little Ephesians, in case you haven't had time to do your Bible reading yet today. Blue notes are my own "amplifications".
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us (he is sovereign!) in him (not in ourselves but in Christ) before the foundation of the world (when?), that we should be holy and blameless (what am I now?) before him. In love he predestined us for adoption (in what?) as sons through Jesus Christ (through who?), according to the purpose of his will (his will!),to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him (in who?) we have redemption through his blood (how are we redeemed?), the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished (lavished, I tell you!) upon us, in all wisdom and insight, making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose (whose purpose?), which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in heaven and on earth.
In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will (his own counsel, he needs no other!), so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory (all is for his glory!). In him you also, when you heard the word of truth,the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit (when you heard the gospel and believed, you were saved, and received the Holy Spirit - right then, right there, not later, not through your own effort) who is the guarantee (promise) of our inheritance (Heaven, eternal life with God!) until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory (all for his glory, ALL for his glory!!)."
Ephesians 1:2-14
Stand up and shout for joy!!!
Friday, September 30, 2011
What's In a Name?
Like everything else with me, there is a story behind the name of my blog. You ready?
I had what I called "trust issues" with God. I know now a big part of that was that I thought I was saved for years, lived an unregenerate life, and wondered how come I had so many problems. Even after the Lord saved me in 1993, it took years for me to understand His grace, and what He had done. It took years for my pride to finally be demolished enough for me to understand that it was nothing I did - not that walk down the aisle, not the baptism, not even the re-dedications. None of that mattered, those were all my own work, trying by the force of my will to be good. And not good to be pleasing to God, but good so that my life would be easier, and maybe for the admiration of man as well. But, I could not live like a Christian because I was not one. I was not saved. A little aisle walking after an emotional experience does not equate salvation. Salvation is a work of the Lord, who brings a person dead in their sins to life. How can a dead man decide to come to life?
It actually wasn't until a little over a year ago (5/30/11, actually), sitting in the pew at Rockport Baptist Church (as a visitor, even), holding the cup during the Lord's Supper that it finally hit me, the things that had been starting to come together over the last few years, and had begun to explode in my mind and heart that spring. The Lord opened my eyes to the work He had done, and when he did it. And that all my years of trying to make myself good enough, and worthy enough, of praying during Lord's Supper and gripping that little cup so tightly, "getting right with God" was of no avail. I am not good enough on my own. My righteousness comes from Christ alone.
But I digress.
About 2005 or so I got involved in a homeschool forum, Sonlight. On that forum, you had to have a username, of course. People had very descriptive names, and I wanted one that described me and my walk. So, I became Learning To Trust. LTT, to my friends in Lifelong Learners and Bibliovores. That is where I was - I was learning to trust God. I was starting to explore WHY I believed what I believed, and study scripture to see what it actually said in context, and not what some cherry-picked verses in a Sunday School quarterly said. I learned from all kinds of apologists - Roman Catholic, especially. Can I say something here about those Roman Catholic women? I know that sometimes RCs get a bad rap about not knowing their Bibles, but I have to tell you, these ladies who had converted to RC as adults knew their Bibles and their church doctrine frontwards and backwards. I don't agree with them, but I would never disparage their scholarship, they are head and shoulders above me. But I am gaining...! Anyway, it was at this time that I was also introduced to the Doctrines of Grace, and begun studying as much as I could.
So, long story (I said it would be, didn't I?) that brings us to now, today. I am no longer Learning to Trust. I have learned to trust. I am learning more about God and His plans each day, about the incredible work He has done, and this amazing Bible He gave us. I see more and more each day His hand in my life, and the life of those around me. And I see so clearly what I was saved out of.
So, now I trust. Perhaps this should be called "Learning About God" or "Trying to Understand God" because my understanding falls so short. But right now, I am so filled with gratitude. I have a life that was redeemed by the sacrifice of Christ. He has saved me. He has forgiven me. Not of my own works, but through his kind mercy. And I want anything I do, even this little blog, to always reflect that gratitude.
Redeemed how I love to proclaim it, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb!
I had what I called "trust issues" with God. I know now a big part of that was that I thought I was saved for years, lived an unregenerate life, and wondered how come I had so many problems. Even after the Lord saved me in 1993, it took years for me to understand His grace, and what He had done. It took years for my pride to finally be demolished enough for me to understand that it was nothing I did - not that walk down the aisle, not the baptism, not even the re-dedications. None of that mattered, those were all my own work, trying by the force of my will to be good. And not good to be pleasing to God, but good so that my life would be easier, and maybe for the admiration of man as well. But, I could not live like a Christian because I was not one. I was not saved. A little aisle walking after an emotional experience does not equate salvation. Salvation is a work of the Lord, who brings a person dead in their sins to life. How can a dead man decide to come to life?
It actually wasn't until a little over a year ago (5/30/11, actually), sitting in the pew at Rockport Baptist Church (as a visitor, even), holding the cup during the Lord's Supper that it finally hit me, the things that had been starting to come together over the last few years, and had begun to explode in my mind and heart that spring. The Lord opened my eyes to the work He had done, and when he did it. And that all my years of trying to make myself good enough, and worthy enough, of praying during Lord's Supper and gripping that little cup so tightly, "getting right with God" was of no avail. I am not good enough on my own. My righteousness comes from Christ alone.
But I digress.
About 2005 or so I got involved in a homeschool forum, Sonlight. On that forum, you had to have a username, of course. People had very descriptive names, and I wanted one that described me and my walk. So, I became Learning To Trust. LTT, to my friends in Lifelong Learners and Bibliovores. That is where I was - I was learning to trust God. I was starting to explore WHY I believed what I believed, and study scripture to see what it actually said in context, and not what some cherry-picked verses in a Sunday School quarterly said. I learned from all kinds of apologists - Roman Catholic, especially. Can I say something here about those Roman Catholic women? I know that sometimes RCs get a bad rap about not knowing their Bibles, but I have to tell you, these ladies who had converted to RC as adults knew their Bibles and their church doctrine frontwards and backwards. I don't agree with them, but I would never disparage their scholarship, they are head and shoulders above me. But I am gaining...! Anyway, it was at this time that I was also introduced to the Doctrines of Grace, and begun studying as much as I could.
So, long story (I said it would be, didn't I?) that brings us to now, today. I am no longer Learning to Trust. I have learned to trust. I am learning more about God and His plans each day, about the incredible work He has done, and this amazing Bible He gave us. I see more and more each day His hand in my life, and the life of those around me. And I see so clearly what I was saved out of.
So, now I trust. Perhaps this should be called "Learning About God" or "Trying to Understand God" because my understanding falls so short. But right now, I am so filled with gratitude. I have a life that was redeemed by the sacrifice of Christ. He has saved me. He has forgiven me. Not of my own works, but through his kind mercy. And I want anything I do, even this little blog, to always reflect that gratitude.
Redeemed how I love to proclaim it, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb!
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