Breath of Heaven

Pucker Up, and Kiss It!

2010-07-08T20:47:00.000-07:00

As I got ready to go to dinner with my mom and sisters the other day...(Loves of my life) I was reminded of a certain guy friend I used to have..

I remembered how this certain guy friend would get insanely jealous if I even dressed up in the slightest....anything more than: extra large sweat pants, no make-up, hair up, and a black large mens t-shirt, and I was considered a floozy?

What is sad is that I believed him... I believed that a woman, looking good, was sinful..and I sacrificed my BCBG stilettos and Hollister Shorts to the Lord, because clearly He desired those things of me and wouldn't love me regardless.

In Proverbs 7 it describes a woman, dressed as a harlot, who is loud, obnoxious, and never home...It describes how she stands on the street corner and calls out to lure men...

This is the passage my "good friend" would use when telling me not to look pretty.... I realize this is a valid scripture and I do not denote it's truth at all... I merely ask this...

Am I really dressing like a whore?

Am I constantly flirting/hitting on men to lure them to some dark place where I'll steal kisses? or maybe..."Hey Mom, tell me the last time I didn't spend the night here at home?"

It's true, I shouldn't be like the woman in Proverbs 7....but I also read in Psalm 51:16-17, how sacrifices and burnt offerings God does not desire...but a broken spirit, and a contrite heart...Hmmmm..... So, Humility and dependence on God....What an idea...You mean God doesn't care if I sacrifice my Yves Saint Laurent collarless blouse? He just wants me fully devoted and dependent on Him...what an idea...

I can honestly say as I puckered my lips with "Slice of Heaven" lip gloss, I thought to myself how I never thought it possible to be happier for losing a friendship...and gaining such a rich freedom and understanding of God's grace and love.

Dear women...dressing MODESTLY is important, but that doesn't mean wearing a sack...(Disclaimer: unless it's suggested by editors of Vogue or Elle)

I have been set free from feeling guilty every time I get dressed because of these following reasons....

1. I am secure in my relationship with God to the point where I know I'm not dressing immodestly.

2. I am in no way trying to lure men...I trust God to bring him to me.

3. I don't dress to attract men's attentions...

4. I dress the way I do because I have a significant passion for art (Yes that includes fashion!)

(This may not be a formula for everyone....but I promise step 1 is the right start to any question you have about God)

Trust me, if I were trying to dress to attract men/boys....I would have given up years ago. As I am reminded daily all around me that I'm not good enough..(For men, or in the fashion world)..but since I keep my eyes focused on the LORD I realize that I am more than good enough. God created woman...and He said it was good ;)

Don't let false doctrines, or judgemental friends bog you down about trivial things like the music you listen to, the clothes you wear, or the color lip-stick you pout....these are small things, that if not treated correctly can become idols, but with a broken spirit and a contrite heart God couldn't look upon you any different :)

Help! I've Chained Myself to Misery!

2010-01-10T21:24:00.000-08:00

A New Year!

What now? A clean slate? A time to start fresh? Set goals? Mourn the past? Dread the future? What is the future?

I have to admit these are the questions I have been facing, especially at new years, but even every day. I often feel imprisoned by these questions, or even imprisoned by expectations, or even lack of expectation. I have been dreading and longing for the answer to my questions.

For the past year I have been so cautious to know exactly God's will. Every question that arose (should I go back to school? should I quit my job? should I get involved in this ministry?) I dreaded! I wanted to jump in with both feet, but I also didn't want to jump the gun. I wanted do it right and be patient and hear from God, but was He wanting me to take a step of faith? It was a game of back and forth, and with every change of thought time was and is ticking; adding a new fear.

I knew what I wanted, I knew what others around me wanted, I knew what was most logical, but how could I know for certain what God wanted?

I hadn't realized it until tonight, but with each tick of the clock I was more attached to the pendulum moving back and forth, and at first I didn't mind this, because it was good, I was waiting on the Lord. As time went on however, I wanted off! But I was bound! imprisoned to the ticking of time and the questions of my mind, the fear! I wanted to be free!

I still haven't found a direct answer, and I may not have found anything of importance to my/your life at all, but tonight as I was trying to find a verse Francis Chan often recites, I stumbled upon 2 Timothy 2:9:

"And because I preach this Good News, I am suffering and have been chained like a criminal. But the word of God cannot be chained." (NLT; My own emphasis of course)

I often read this verse, or verses like this. I always love to read how I am to suffer, it's inevitable....That dirty rotten satan! I love being able to blame lots of problems on "The Enemy" but tonight this verse has struck me very different. I may be taking it out of context, actually I truly believe I am because of all that I know about Paul the author of these words. But for tonight the only author of this verse was God! and I was to be His only audience. Literally like I was sitting at a table with God, and these are the words He would say.

Because tonight as I read this, I was more convicted than encouraged. I so often focus soooo much on the "preaching of the good news" or enduring the suffering, but when I examined myself I found that I had made my passion into my purpose. Kind of like someone who truly loves baseball, but if that was there job, they might start to dislike it, or get tired of it, their passion slowly fades but the purpose still remains.

I have been so wrapped up in God's call for my life, that I've made it my purpose, and my passion has fizzled away. That's where my fear came from, it came from esteeming myself so highly. Thinking my calling was soooo important to God that I COULD NOT make a wrong decision. definition of misery right? This hit me like a ton of bricks! You mean it's not "that dirty rotten satan" who has been making me suffer, I'm making me suffer? OUCH! I have to imagine God looking down at me, hearing my prayers, and SHOUTING His word at me, but did I hear? NO!

I may have let my purpose cause me to suffer, and imprison me to the ticking pendulum, But MY GOD HAS EVEN MADE A WAY OUT OF THIS BONEHEADED MISTAKE!

Because: "THE WORD OF GOD CAN NOT BE CHAINED!"

(Even as I typed those words I am shouting amen!)

It's that easy, His Word! His Word! His Word!

Oh I was in the word, I've been hitting The Book daily for guidance for my life. People often say that the Bible is our instruction manual....Don't you dare believe that! Because it is our very life blood, our oxygen! When we (and I mean when I) treat the Bible as an instruction manual that means we are EXPECTING detailed instruction. I'm sorry, but should we ever expect or demand anything of God? Who are we?

I was reminded what I heard at Passion2010, and I jumped straight to a passage I heard Chan mention about how we are to regard the Word! What I didn't know was how powerful the verse before Chan's verse was to my situation tonight. In regard to how we are to approach the word, before we can regard it!

Isaiah 66:1
"This is what the Lord says: Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Could you ever build me a temple as good as that? Could you build a dwelling place for me? My hands have made both heaven and earth, and they are mine. I, the Lord, have spoken!"

I can really see God trying to portray to us a glimpse of His Power, Majesty, and Glory! By reminding us of how BIG He is, it shows how truly small we are; and this makes me think: who are we to demand anything from a God so infinite!....but this passage gets even better!

Isaiah 66:2

"I will bless those who have HUMBLE and CONTRITE hearts, WHO TREMBLE AT MY WORD!"

Oh Lord! Forgive me! I have been proud! I have demanded and demanded instruction from Your word! I was almost literally wringing dry the pages of your word to find something that fit with what I wanted! You are God! Your dwelling place is the undefinable cosmos! Who am I to demand such instruction from You! God I have feared myself above You! and I pray You would forgive me! God help me to tremble at Your word! To be humble God! Like a drink offering poured out, I can not expect anything from You! And yet God Your promise is to bless those who are humble and You will provide Lord to those who are contrite in spirit. Help us, Oh Lord, to tremble at Your word. And to realize that first and foremost we are to be passionately in love with You, and then God the rest will follow. Thank You for the Blood of Jesus, that covers us and enables us access to Your Holy Throne. It's in the Name of the Father, The son, and The Holy Spirit that I pray. Amen!

So are you feeling bound? Constrained? Chained down? To: Bad relationships, others expectations, your own expectations, your doubts, your desires, your past regrets?.....The Word of God can NOT be BOUND! Soak yourself in the word! In God's word, not in an instruction manual, do not come demanding, but being grateful and trembling at the very words that were Breathed to life for you! Do not worry about the future or planning or being anxious or angry, just come to God in word, Through the Bible, and Prayer, and I know He will bless you for being humble and contrite, and you will no longer be bound because you are filled with the word that can not be bound!

Happy Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for death....

2009-11-26T13:04:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving,

Thanksgiving was a time for the pilgrims to come together with the Indians and celebrate the many blessings they had in light of the dying season of Fall. They realized that they were so blessed with provision from God and friends that they knew they would be able to make it throught the winter months when no other crops would be harvested, and what had always been the harshest environment to survive.

This Thanksgiving God has shed new light on a dark situation in my life and also in lives around our nation. We all can feel the droning effect of death all around us. We are in the season of Fall where plants and trees are dying off. We also feel a dying economy, dying job numbers, and what may seem like dying hopes for our futures with our IRA's and 401K's dying off. I also know we have felt the pangs of physical death with numerous celebrities, politicians, friends, family, and recently tragic deaths in our military. Such hard, dark times, it definitely helps us to be even more thankful for what we DO have, but I feel the Spirit of God calling us to be thankful for the dying off itself.

I have experienced numerous personal deaths within this year, I have lost family members, and dear friends, I've seen those around me deal with the pain of death also, and I always feel the burden of sadness upon my shoulders as well. Recently a dear friend of mine passed away suddenly. The pain and shock came instantaneously. I could almost literally feel the pain of hurt and anguish that all who knew him must've been feeling. I had to question, like most would, " why Lord?". I looked to find comfort in my Bible; I looked for anything that might bring much needed peace to the family and friends of the dearly departed.

Not knowing where to start, I went where I usually do. To Bluletterbible.org. I am no Bible expert and I will never claim to be, but I do utilize this very helpful tool. I wanted to know how God felt about death, so I simply searched the word "Death" in the entire Bible, the word death is used 451 times in the Bible. As I scanned the list of verses, one struck me profoundly.

"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints." Psalm 116:15

this verse literally means, that God is pleased at the death of one of His children (I personally believe that we are all God's children, since He created us all). I had to look for further insight from this verse, were there stipulations to God's pleasure in death? Could He be pleased at the death of a non-believer? I looked for commentaries that pastors had written on this verse, I found a sermon by Charles Spurgeon, a pastor from the 1800s. He had written this sermon after the passing of an elder deacon in his church. It is a truly touching sermon and I'm not going to even try to take credit from any of it. If you would like to read this commentary, which I would strongly recommend to anyone doing, you can use this link:

http://www.blueletterbible.org/commentaries/comm_view.cfm?AuthorID=10&contentID=3680&commInfo=16&topic=Sermons&ar=Psa_116_15

One story within this commentary truly gave peace to me in the face of death:

"A child once found a bird's nest, in which were eggs, which he looked upon as a great treasure. He left them, and by-and-by, when a week or so had passed, he went back again. He returned to his mother grieving: "Mother," said the child, "I had some beautiful eggs in this nest, and now they are destroyed; nothing is left but a few pieces of broken shell. Pity me, mother, for my treasure is gone." But the mother said, "Child, here is no destruction; there were little birds within those eggs, and they have flown away, and are singing now among the branches of the trees; the eggs are not wasted, child, but have answered their purpose. It is better far as it is."

Wow! how profound, that our bodies are mjuch like those eggs. We are treasures here on Earth to those around us, but our true purpose is what comes after we leave those eggs. our true purpose just like those eggs is to be within the heavenlies singing. Spergeon in this commentary went on to describe our arrical into heaven like a bridal feast, like a wedding party. Jesus Christ is much like a bride groom, who anxiously awaits our arrival, then we can be united together with Him in Spirit. Upon our arrical to heaven Jesus and all the angels rejoice and celebrate this union, much like we now celebrate the union of husband and wife. Weddings were and are considered to be the largest and grandest of feasts or parties. Both because of the greatness of physical, spiritual, and emotional proportions, at weddings we celebrate every aspect of life that there is to celebrate. and this is just a glimpse of what the celebration is like upon our arrical to heaven. After reading this I could just imagine my friend who passed away being rejoiced over by God the Father, The Son, The Spirit, and all the angels. It is only through our union with Christ that we obtain access to heaven that comes from death, and I imagined a celeration like that with every death that had happend in my life.

Since God ultimately gives and takes away, I know that God is the one ordaining the deaths in my life, and in your life too. I have to imagine that with every hardship I have endured God is rejoicing because I am getting closer and closer to my ultimate purpose, which is to be united with Christ, and to be closer to the image of Christ.

So I ask you this Thanksgiving to find beauty in your pains, and to trust God in the deaths surrounding your life. Whether the physical death of a loved one, or a death to plans that we had made. Let us find peace in knowing that God is with us, and desires nothing but good for us, and that he will replaces our sorrows with gladness.

I am so thankful for death, and the dying off of what is old, or ill-equipped. I am also so thankful for the promise that comes after death. I am thankful for every fragile breath I do have in this life that is but a vapor. I am so thankful for the peace I have found in this promise from God, that I want everyone else to know this ultimate peace that comes from knowing the promise of what comes after death. And I know that the only way to be sure everyone can know this peace is if they know Jesus and trust Him as there only way into the promise of what comes after death. I pray you would join me, in sharing the greatest blessing ever given. This gift is completely free, and yet completely priceless.

If you do not know the promises of God and yet you geel you want this great peace and hope in what is considered the worst of life experiences; if ou want your sorrows to be replaced with rejoicing it is as simple as saying: "Lord, I realize that I am trapped in the death that comes from my sin, I want the promise for hope after death that comes only from you! I believe that You died on the cross to give me that promise of life after death, and I trust You to rule in my life. Amen." I hope at this point you have prayed this prayer, at one time or another, I know how heaven rejoices over YOU when they see that you will now be at your own bridal feast, it's like you have rsvp'd for your own wedding, and God will do all the work, just trust Him!

Happy Thanksgiving in Him,

Stacie Vigneaux

No mind can fathom the ways of God, but I'm looking for a meaning, can you help me?

2009-07-29T07:30:00.000-07:00

Discussing the meaning of the parable of the ten mina's in Luke 19

"Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him [more] will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him."

Luke 8:18

Jesus said those words just after speaking the parable of the sower.

it is debatable, but are we to believe that the seed is salvation itself?

The seed is the gospel of Christ, the word of the kingdom of heaven, and the word of God.

(Reference Luke 8:11, Matthew 13:19, Mark 4:14 )

so if the seed is the gospel, then when Jesus says " He who has" is Jesus referring to him who has the gospel of Christ, or salvation. and to him who has not, even the things he thinks he has will be taken away, could that mean to those who are not saved, and believe in things of THIS world, that even that will be taken away?

just thought to ponder, as I am trying to understand the parable of the ten mina's in Luke 19,

where a noble man entrusts his servants to some of his money until he returns from receiving a kingdom, while he is away the people curse him and say they do not wish to be ruled by this man. And two of the servants invested and worked, and they produced the a small treasure, but the third servant hid his money in a napkin, producing NO treasure, not furthering the wealth or kingdom of the noble man, giving back exactly what the noble man had left. And the bad servant was killed, either slain before the noble man or thrown in to the eternal darkness (differences by the gospel book you read the parable in).

after the man was killed, Jesus said '

"For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him."

Luke 19:26

which, I thought significant, since this particular sound bite was spoken after the parable of the sower.

Questions??

1. Is the noble man indeed Jesus, who is going away until the time of his return to receive his kingdom. Added to that, are the people who decided they did not want Jesus to be their Lord or ruler, are they the people of this world, born children of wrath?

2. Could we say from our readings, that the money just like the seed, is the gospel of Christ, our very way in to salvation?

3. Would the man who did not further the kingdom at all, not be saved? If Jesus gave him the gospel, and he did not return any growth to the kingdom, wouldn't that mean that there wasn't even growth of even that man, that he didn't believe in the power or the need to use the money?

4. With the reference to the parable of the sower, could we open this parable to believe that maybe the servants here are like the sower, what honestly good sower would throw seed into thorns or on rocks, someone who didn't believe in the power of the seed?

5. If the Mina's seriously do not represent monetary value, we do not have to fear being slain or thrown into eternal darkness if we are bad with actual money, but if we do not accept salvation.

Final thought,

The Lukewarm Francis Chan in me has to ask, will we be punished if we do not produce fruit from what we are given? Is a lukewarm christian really a christian?

Rose DeLong - My Grandma

2009-07-11T19:35:00.000-07:00

I remember my grandma saying “Stacie, you’re a Bible person, you like the Bible?” She asked me that as she couldn’t understand while she read through the old testament, why it was so violent and God so blood-thirsty, I was always so happy to remind her that that was the old testament, and aren’t we so glad we live in the new covenant. She did enjoy reading her Bible, and it was a privilege for me to be considered a “Bible Person” in her eyes.

So today I am going to read from Proverbs 31.

10 Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies.
11 The heart of her husband safely trusts her;
So he will have no lack of gain.
12 She does him good and not evil All the days of her life.
13 She seeks wool and flax, And willingly works with her hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships, She brings her food from afar.
15 She also rises while it is yet night, And provides food for her household,

And a portion for her maidservants.
16 She considers a field and buys it; From her profits she plants a vineyard.
17 She girds herself with strength, And strengthens her arms.
18 She perceives that her merchandise is good, And her lamp does not go out by night.
19 She stretches out her hands to the distaff, And her hand holds the spindle.
20 She extends her hand to the poor, Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy.
21 She is not afraid of snow for her household, For all her household is clothed with scarlet.
22 She makes tapestry for herself; Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is known in the gates, When he sits among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them, And supplies sashes for the merchants.
25 Strength and honor are her clothing; She shall rejoice in time to come.
26 She opens her mouth with wisdom, And on her tongue is the law of kindness.
27 She watches over the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children rise up and call her blessed;Her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “ Many daughters have done well, But you excel them all.”
30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,

But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands, And let her own works praise her in the gates.

I really feel that this passage was written by observations of my grandma At first glance you can see that it is an outdated passage and idea, that no one could ever meet every criteria listed, but I stand in testament that to a tee, my grandmother did, and she did it with great joy.

She was a virtuous woman, and more precious than I can even begin to describe the worth and value we all have in our heart today is extremely priceless. My grandma never boasted on how to do things right or how to be right, she instead made an example of how to be right by the way she lived her life.

Some examples I will never forget of my Grandma, are how she was
So strong, yet so caring and meek,
she was a fierce fighter, yet gentle beyond a doubt
she was frugal, yet SO SO SO giving.

She would give anything for those that she loved. There are too many memories to mention of our grandma, our gg, and mom. But there is one memory that I feel I must share.

My mother was diagnosed with cancer when I was close to eight years old, and I still remember the effect it had on all of my family, it was a very hard time. I was not used to seeing my mom scared, or to see my mom cry, it was very frightening to me along with all the thoughts and ideas that followed her diagnosis.

but When the time came for surgeries, or even a trip out of state for my mom to seek a naturalist’s opinion. I remember without hesitation my grandma was there to help with Everything! She was my own ray of hope in a very dark saddened time. She always made me feel that everything would be fine. She was Grandma.

She left such an impression that I remember once when my friends were trying to tease me of how strict and stearn my grandmother was, I was very surprised at my own reaction...I broke into tears. I told them that they wouldn’t be able to tease if they knew about my grandma’s great labor of love to my family, and what hope she had brought to me in a sad time. And with that they knew never to tease me about MY grandma again. What an impression at only eight years old.

But then as I got older, and I understood that my grandma was also fighting cancer through everything, that she was taking care of my grandpa who had Parkinson’s, and along with so many other tasks, errands and visits to grandchildren, I held an even higher regard for her. She was a fighter and survivor even to the end.

For me to witness my grandma putting to action every statute of the Bible, has been greater for me than any sermon I have ever heard and I am sure better than any sermon I will ever hear.

So in short what I wanted to share is, I know that my grandma will forever in my heart be THE virtuous woman I strive to be like. And my desire is to someday soon see her again.

Becoming a Man/Woman After God's Own Heart: Goliath Pt. 2

2009-06-07T23:51:00.000-07:00

Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the LORD and against His Anointed,

"I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, 'You [are] My Son, Today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give [You] The nations [for] Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth [for] Your possession. Now therefore, be wise, O kings; Be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, And rejoice with trembling. Blessed [are] all those who put their trust in Him.

Psalm 2:1-2; 7-8; 10-12

This is really cool! I had thought I would continue on going from Psalm to Psalm regardless if it flowed with what the rest of the blog would be about, but this Psalm is AWESOME for the prayer on my heart today.

Being Weighed Down With Someone Else's Armor

(The Verses Below are taken from 1st Samuel 17, the story of David and Goliath.)

VS. 28 Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab's anger was aroused against David, and he said, "Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle."

VS. 33 And Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you [are] a youth, and he a man of war from his youth."

Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same" That's a line from a song by the Fray, I thought I would add it because when we choose to stand for what is right, it is usually harder than going with the flow, isn't it? When David decided to stand up against the blaspheming Goliath you would think all would rally around him, and be so proud he made a brave choice, Instead he faces more "giants". So even when we are on the right track and making right choices conquering giants left and right, we face more "giants" in our own tents.

When Satan sees us moving for the glory of God, he does all he can to pull the rug out from under our feet. For me the greatest sucker punch comes from when he uses our closest of kin, maybe a brother or sister like David's oldest brother Eliab, or a highly respected peer like King Saul.

That hurts doesn't it? When even our family says "You can't", "You're wrong/ignorant", or even "You're too much of a Jesus freak". I know I have failed many battles because I couldn't/wouldn't even leave the camp. There is no easy way to get around this obstacle, this is the most defining moment as a Christian, can we show God's love to someone persecuting us, while still following God's will?

YES!!! But only if our every strength comes from God. We need to accept opinions or even criticism without lashing back in vengeance, but we need to still press on to what God is telling us to do. This is where I fail, I am not good at getting served up some good ol' criticism...I lash right back with self-righteousness, and "I'm more holy than you, nah nah nah!". It's hard, being a Christian isn't cookie cutter perfect, or easy, but showing love where it is not deserved is what defines a Christian from any other religion, that is what God did for us!

What we need to remember is that God's is the only opinion we need to worry about, and that our worth in God is just as great as we treat others. And when God stirs in us to do something, I think we all have learned, you had better do it! Jump the hurdle and continue running towards the goal God has given, don't let others around you steal your passion or your purpose.

It is healthy to get a God-fearing opinion from a spiritual leader, but be weary as our greatest spiritual leader should always, and will always be God Himself!

My Prayer: Jehovah-nissi, The Lord my Banner! God I pray we would only boast in You! That when we're in battle we would lift You high, and When we're in the camp, we would raise You up, so that others would know and see Your glory! God I pray we would always look to You, and not dwell on the harmful words of man, that we would see others as You see them, and show them compassion when needed. God I pray we would never turn to the right or to the left, but always march on to the purpose you have given us! Nothing is too big for You God! Whatever You call us to, You will see us through if we abide. God help us to stand firm in our calling! To love as You do! God we pray that in every day, in anything we do, that it would bring glory to Your name! That no matter what the circumstance might be, that You would receive praise from my response to that circumstance. God Our heart is toward the lost, who do not know Your love, help us to share it in the greatest way possible, by practicing it! You are soooooooooo patient with me Lord, and I thank You for helping pin point the areas where I have not given myself fully to You! Thank You for Your servant David and all that we are able to learn from him. You alone are God who sets up kings and nations and also who tears them down, who gives life and who takes it away, help us to follow Your command, we place our hearts in Your hands! It is only because of Jesus that I am able to make known my request to You and it is in Jesus' name we pray. Amen!

Becoming a Man/Woman After God's Own Heart: Goliath Pt. 1

2009-06-06T20:58:00.000-07:00

Blessed [is] the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners,

Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight [is] in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. The ungodly [are] not so, But [are] like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.

The 1st Psalm of David

I've been reading on the life story of David, who was a man after God's own heart and king of Israel, is someone we should strive to be like. Not perfect in any way, but always trying to love, serve, and know, a perfect God. I hope to be faithful to write on some of the realizations I have made while reading up on King David, For today, and with any David story, I must start with

David and Goliath

(The Verse Below in taken from 1st Samuel 17, and the story of David and Goliath. if you would like to read all of chapter 17 that would be kosher, but if not this is one verses I wanted to share today, that had never jumped out at me before, but did this time!)

VS. 26 " For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?"

David was able to see Goliath for who and what he was, and also who and what he was not. While other Israelites trembled at his size and strength, they missed the very key thing to see about Goliath, that he was no match for The Living God! That by law he had no inheritance to the kingdom and power of God. While others trembled in fear at the death threats from the "giant" David was outraged, who is this man to threaten what belongs to the Living God??

Sometimes I know I cower at problems, I fear outcomes, instead of seeing how big God truly is in my situation. I often go with the flow of being ridiculed in movies or in the media as a christian,I will laugh at the funny "you might be a christian if" jokes, but I'm starting to feel that I should be outraged, that someone would dare even take my Lords name in vain, or ridiculing the morals and laws of my God such as abortion being old fashioned, and same-sex marriage as normal, or that I could get a referral in school for talking about God or even saying Merry Christmas. David was willing to risk his life to stand for his God. I wish we all could have the same view of God as David did. David knew that God was bigger than any foe he would ever face, He knew that he was in the palm of his Almighty God's hands, and that God would provide.

Why can't I see that when I face superficial giants? Has Satan so deceived us all to believe that he is actually bigger, or stronger than our God, we would be able to refute that lie easily if we only read God's word. Satan is cast forever and a victory is already determined, so there is no way (in hell) that Satan could ever amount to anything in comparison to our God!

My prayer:

Beloved Almighty God,

You alone created the stars in the sky and the ability for muscle's to move in such rhythm so to give life to what would be dead dry bones. I am astonished and amazed and the grandeur of You God! Thank You for leading me through a study on David, Thank you for showing me how to be a child after your own heart, and how being a man/woman after your heart does not mean I will ever be flawless on my own. God I pray tonight that you would give me all boldness along with all reading tonight, or even being stirred by your spirit to stand, Give us boldness and strength, to call our Goliaths for what they are, wretched uncircumcised gentiles, not righteous or deserving of our fear or reverence or even an accepted defeat. Help us to stand against anyone who would defy You The Living God, not in anger, but in love for you. That we would love so much that we would yearn for those persons to come to know your great love and the truth of You! That they would know, Jesus Christ is not a crutch, that abortion and marriage laws are being apposed not because of pride, but because of love and care that You desire the deceived to have. God I am no perfect, I will never be, and God I know I have missed opportunities to be bold, please forgive me! God it is my heart's desire to be a child after You, that all would see and know God! Please don't give up on me, as I know you wont. I want to please you daddy! I pray that I do, until that day when I see you face to face, dear Lord, please give me strength and boldness, encouragement, and perseverance to do as you desire! Help me to see all Goliath for who they are, what they are, and for who they ARE NOT, and What they ARE NOT!

Thank you for Jesus in whom I have the ability to make known my request to you. I pray all this in His name, and desiring your name to always be glorified in any thing I do.

Amen!

Boast in the Cross

2009-04-11T09:44:00.000-07:00

Read: Isaiah 53:1-10 (below)

Who has believed our message? To whom will the LORD reveal his saving power? For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him.He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted.But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither [was any] deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.

Wow! Reading how He took it all, reading about how my Jesus was marred and bruised, and for what? Why did Jesus allow this torture? He did it for you, like we read last week how His desire was for us to know God, to be one with God. Jesus took on your every sin, so that the wall built between you and God, would be broken down, so that you could commune with God! That’s truly awesome. Think about it you wouldn’t even have the ability to pray to God, you wouldn’t have the ability to ask God’s forgiveness if not for Jesus breaking down the wall of sin and death. He was lowly and rejected, did He give up? Did He say after the first time people tried to stone Him “Hey Father? Yeah, well, you know the reason you sent me? Yeah, well, their too far gone, can you beam me back up now….” Is that what He did? NO! He said Lord forgive them, they know not what they do! Even when we don’t want forgiveness, Jesus prayed that the Father would show us forgiveness.

Pray: Thank Jesus for His ultimate gift! Thank Him for loving us when we didn’t even think or want to love Him.

Read: Isaiah 11:1-5, 10 (below)

And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

"And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious."

As we read in Isaiah 53, Jesus was lowly in all manner, He was not beautiful or glorious in his appearance, but what was Glorious about Jesus was, His Father; His resting place, the fear of the Lord He had, the way He judged righteously. Jesus Had nothing to boast in but His Father and the rest that He promised. He didn't boast in His own authority, He only boasted in the authority of His father, but not that His father would smite them all, He proclaimed God's Love. I know we live in a world where aknowledgment and pride are upheld in the highest places, but do we honestly have anything to boast in?

But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Galations 6:14

You and I may be complete no ones. We may be the lowest of low of all people. We have no glory no fame no money no unspeakable beauty, but what we do have, is the Glory of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, on whom all the sin of the world was laid, and paid. And in that we can boast and sing into eternity.

Pray: That you would boast only in the cross of the Lord, that you would make it you mission in life as Jesus did, to only glory and only speak of the Kingdom of heaven and the Glory of the Father!

Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.

Isaiah 53:12

So God is giving to Jesus a portion of the greatness, to Jesus whom "people" esteemed lowly and unworthy of even a just trial. God is giving Greatness. Are we not now crucified in Jesus Christ, are we not now heirs to His riches? Beloved, never feel that you are not good, that you are unworthy, You have the glory of the Father in you. The same glory that Jesus had inside of Him. Jesus poured out His soul unto death, and now He is seated at the right hand of Almighty GOD. Can we fight a little longer, can we stand firm in this vapor of time, so we can be seated in Him, can we endure the slight suffering so to recieve our riches in heaven? Pour out your life to Him! He bore or sins, He eliminated our iniquity, He made intercession for the transgressors. We are capable of the same, eliminate sin in your life, pray for eliminated iniquity daily, and make intercession for all who you know need to know your Lord, who need to know the Gorious hope of Christ in them.

Pray: That you would be like Jesus and pour yourself even unto death if that is what God wills, though we are lowly and poor, we can share in the riches of Christ by giving our lives to God, and making intercession, praying for those who are transgressors and do not know our Lord. Pray about inviting someone to Easter service at your church. Pray that many would come and see that Jesus is Lord!

The Time is at Hand

And he said to me, "Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand.

Revelation 22:10

Wake Up!

2009-04-01T22:14:00.000-07:00

Read: Luke 22:39-46

I love the way Mark wrote his account of this story, he says that Jesus said to them:

“Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." Mark 14:38, and if we look into Johns account of the mount of olives, he records what Jesus prayed in the garden. This was after He decided to take the cup of suffering.

Read: John 17

Isn’t amazing to see how Jesus prayed and is praying for us? Here Christ is about to be brutally murdered and He is praying that we might know God as He knows God. His earnest desire was for us to know God like He knew God. Yet sometimes we can’t even stay awake for our encouragement from the Lord, The Spirit is willing, God will send His angels to us to strengthen us when we cry out to Him, can we stay awake?

The hour is at hand Christ has given us the righteousness and power to pray the same prayer Jesus did that night for everyone we know. We are given the priveledge of praying that our friends would know God like we know God. Are we sleeping when we should be praying for Christ’s inheritance? Jesus Died for EVERYONE! God loves EVERYONE! If you are too timid to share with your friends and classmates isn’t that essentially cursing them to hell? It spits in their face to say that you do not love them enough to share the greatest gift EVER given! If you don’t have that love for others, than you might not have God, 1st John 4:8 says that if we do not love then we do not know God. Do you know God? Are you showing love?

Long before we made messes of our lives God made a mess of His son’s life for EVERYONE! Wow! WAKE UP SLEEPERS! The spirit is willing to answer your prayer of salvation to all you ask, but your flesh is too weak to pray??? I don’t think so! WAKE UP!!!

Pray now:

Like Jesus did, in your own words, pray for your friends for your classmates, for anyone you know who is not walking with the Lord, that they might know God like you know God. Pray for The Holy Spirit to strengthen you to share the greatest gift ever given! Write out a prayer, make it real! If a certain person falls on your heart that you know needs Jesus, specifically pray for them list their name.

"It shall come to pass That before they call, I will answer; And while they are still speaking, I will hear.”
Isaiah 65:24

Is God not good??? Before we even ask God for a friends salvation He will answer us, and while we speak He hears! Maybe right now this very moment at your request God is sending angels to surround the person you listed above, are you called to be an angel for someone in this moment?

If you prayed earnestly for a friends salvation and you desire them to know Him like you know Him, you can count that prayer as good as answered. The Lord gives us the desire of our heart when we humble ourselves and delight in Him. He is sovereign and He will be Lord of every heart, salvation is coming to those hearts!

Final prayer:

Thank God for His awesome promise to answer our prayers, Thank Jesus for giving us the ability to come before God, Thank God for grace through Jesus and for salvation that is free to all. Pray about the commission you have been given to be a harvester, God laid that name on your heart for a reason. Go to coffee with them and let them get a taste of the insatiable passion you have for the Lord, you don’t need church to reach out to your friends, first, YOU need to reach out to your friends! Ask God how you are to harvest the field He has given to you! Make this prayer real write it down, keep a journal to see how God will blow your mind with answers!

Will you fall asleep, and grieve Jesus again?? Or will you give God the sweet smelling aroma of a heart humbled before Him? His Spirit is willing!

I love you so much dear faithful one, but there is one much greater than I and He has a will and purpose for your life that is greater than you can imagine! Don’t believe the lie that you are not good enough for any reason!

You have The Holy Spirit inside you, and that is the same Spirit that raised our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead, Amen!

Read: Jeremiah 1:4-12, 17-19