Do You Know Him?

Today, there is a man who is facing death because he has confessed Jesus as Lord.  He is being judged by the world in which he lives but because he believes we know he will have eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.  This man believe so much in the Lord that he will not rebuke his faith and is sentenced to death.  Do you have that type of faith?

I have been writing about the judgment of God.  He is not only the author of the law He is the judge over it.  He is a righteous and fair judge.  He is the creator of this Universe and was here before any other.  Without Him we would not have an existence.  Yet so many times we think we know best.  We think that if He was a loving God why would He allow things to happen to us?  Why is this man facing death?  I have heard people say that if He was a loving God there would be no hell.  Well, they are right and they are wrong.  He is a loving God who has given us the choice; we are either for Him or against Him.  He is such a loving God, that even though we are sinners He has made a path to Him through Jesus Christ our Lord.  This blog today is going to focus on that love through some scriptures that have been tagged as the “

Roman Road

”.     

Romans 3:23

(23) For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”

The ten commandments, given by God to Moses on the mountain.  If you went to Sunday school you probably had to memorize them but did you realize they can be summed up in just two sentences. 

Matthew 22:36-40

(36) “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?  (37 Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. (38) This is the first and greatest commandment. (39) And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. (40) All the Law and Propehts hang on these two commandments.

In Romans Paul makes a comment very similar regarding sins against our neighbors when he says:

Romans 13:9

“The commandments, ‘Do not commit adultery,” ‘Do not murder,’ Do not steal,” “Do not covet and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  

There have been times that I have thought that I love my neighbors more than myself but that really isn’t true.  When it comes down to it, there are more times that I have thought of myself over my neighbors.  Look at I John 3:17 “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?”  And in James 2:10 “for whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” 

Looking once again at the words of Jesus we hear more of what it means to break the law, Matthew 5:21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment. (22) But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin.  But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

Matthew 5:27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ (28) But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” 

We have all sinned and what is the punishment for our sins?

Romans 6:23a

“For the wages of sin is death.”  Death = separation from God.  Life = Being with God

There is hope though if you keep reading Romans 6:23.

Romans 6:23b

“But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Even though we have all sinned, through Jesus Christ we can have eternal life which is a gift given to us by God Himself!!!! 

Let’s look at Romans 10:9 - 10 

“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  “For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”

Many of you who read this blog are most likely believers in Jesus Christ.  Most of you have confessed your sins to Him and confessed with your mouth that Jesus is Lord.  But if you are reading this today and have not done so, I urge you to take this step of faith.  Notice that we are to confess that Jesus is Lord.  We need to tell others of our faith.  When you accept Christ as your Lord, you must tell others.  I would love for you to use this blog to tell others of your faith in Jesus Christ.  Join the blog and write a comment, confessing that Jesus is Lord.  Let others know that you believe in Him.  If you write nothing more than “Jesus is Lord” you have confessed that to many people. 

In John 10:10 Jesus says:

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it in full.”

If you do not have that life today, if the thief, satan has come to kill and destroy, I urge you to accept the free gift through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Jesus tells us why He came in John 3:16-18 “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. (17) For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. (18) Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God.”

If you are unsure of your salvation pray a prayer of salvation today.  I have written a prayer below as a guide for you but pray a prayer from your heart, you don’t have to use the exact words that I use.  If you don’t know how to pray, it is like talking to your best friend, the only difference is that He can hear our very thoughts and of course, He is the only one who can save us.  Speak to Him today.

Dear Heavenly Father, I recognize that I am a sinner.  I confess to you that I have fallen short of your glory and ask Father that you forgive me of my sins.  I thank you for sending your one and only Son to this earth, in the form of man, in order to be sacrificed for my sins.  I thank you that He was raised on the third day giving victory over death.  I confess Jesus as Lord and want a relationship with You. I give You all the glory and honor and praise.  In Jesus Name, AMEN,

If you have prayed that prayer today, you need to confess with your mouth to others.  I would love for you to post on the blog but would also encourage you to share with those around you.  If you do not have a church home I urge you to pray that God will lead you to the right church home and that you will know when you find that home.  Go to church and find a small group of believers that will share with you more of the wonderful word of God.  Be sure to tell others of the love of Christ.  Do not be ashamed of the Gospel of Christ.

In closing:

I John 3:1

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!  And that is what we are!  The reason the world does not know us in that it did not know Him.”

Seek Him with all your heart so that you may know Him!

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila 

Pursuit of Joy

“Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” is a popular phrase in the Declaration of Independence written by our forefathers who founded the United States of America.  This is one of the universal rights of mankind but the question is; what does it mean?  When most of us think of happiness we think of success.  What does the successful rich person think of when he/she hears the word “happiness”.  The truth is, most of us are still pursing happiness.  We may be happy during specific moments but an everlasting happiness can not be found in the United States of America or any other county in this world.  Why? 

These thoughts were spurred on by our small group Bible study last night.  We were talking about joy in our lives and what robs us of that joy.  As I woke up this morning I began to think about the Declaration of Independence.  Hum, why would I think about that this morning?  Funny thing is, we are all trying to declare independence when we should actually be declaring dependence on our Lord and Savior.  We can pursue happiness in the material since but we will never be satisfied if we do not have a relationship with Him. 

As I looked up scriptures for the word “happy” I only found four. 

Psalm 68:3 “But may they righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful.”

Proverbs 15:13 “A happy heart makes a face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.

Ecclesiastes 3:12 “I know that there is nothing better than for men to be happy and to do good while they live.”

James 5:13 “Is any one of you in trouble?  He should pray.  Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.”

When I looked up the word joy, I found 34 verses and another three verses with the word joyful.  I then looked up both words in the English dictionary and found very similar definitions.  I am not a scholar of Hebrew and I am not even going to go there today but I have to wonder if they have two different words for “joy” and “happy”.   If there are any Hebrew scholars out there or anyone that knows anything about the Hebrew language, I would appreciate it if you could comment back on this).   I tend to think the English language has made those words synonymous when maybe they shouldn’t be.  I believe sometimes I can be joyful without necessarily being happy and I can have joy without happiness.   When I think of someone who is happy, it is a feeling, they are giggly, cheery, and do not really want or need anything to change in their lives.  But, joy does not come from the circumstances of life, joy comes from the Lord.  Psalm 4: 6 – 7 “Many are asking, ‘Who can show us any good?’ (7)You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound.”  The abundance of grain and new wine is a circumstance and we feel happy when we have access to it but the Lord IS our source of joy and we have access to Him at all times.  It does not take money or material things to produce the Lord, HE IS.  He is always there, it is up to us to seek Him.

Another example of joy in not so good of circumstances can be found in James 1:2-3 “Consider it pure joy, whenever you face trials of many kinds, (3) because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.”  I really don’t think James is saying that we need to be jumping up and down and be giggly about our trials but he is telling us to be joyful because God is doing a work in us and that He will see us through.  I hope today that as you seek Him that you will find something much greater than happiness but that you will pursue the Lord and will find the joy of Him.  Nehemiah instructs the people in Nehemiah 8:10 “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared.  This day is sacred to our Lord.  Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is our strength.”  Circumstances come and go, thus happiness will come and go but the joy of the Lord will provide strength in all of those times.  Without Him you can only have happiness for a time but with Him you can have joy forever.  Seek that joy today through Him who saved you.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila

Responding to Sin

Today we are going to look at two different men in the Bible in which God worked through.  One, God rejected and the other one God loved.  We begin our study today in I Samuel 13 where Samuel, a prophet of God, rebuked Saul, king of Israel.  It says in I Samuel 13:13 & 14 “You have acted foolishly, Samuel said, “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, He would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. (14) But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after His own heart and appointed him leader of His people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.” 

As we read further we find out whom that appointed one is in I Samuel 16.  The Lord sent Samuel to the house of Jesse where one of his sons would be anointed king of Israel.  Seven of the sons of Jesse passed before Samuel but none of them were to be anointed.  I really like verses 6 and 7, “When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord. (7) But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider the appearance or his height, for I have rejected him.  The Lord does not look at the things man looks at.  Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’”  How many times do we look at the outward appearance of ourselves or others and think that God has not appointed us or others to do His work.  God doesn’t look at us in that way; He gets down deep in our soul and looks at our heart.  His knows our intentions and He knows who we really are.  I believe He knows us better than we know ourselves; this is evident through what He asks of people.  Look at Moses, he didn’t think he could lead the people of Israel out of captivity in Egypt but God knew He could do it.  There are many other examples in the Bible where God used those that we would have never thought of, maybe we will have to take a look at more of them but now let’s get back to the anointed one.  In verses 12 and 13 of I Samuel 16 we find out who the anointed one is.  (12) “So he went and had him brought in.  He was ruddy, with a fine appearance and handsome features.  Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; he is the one.” (13) So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power, Samuel then went to Ramah.” 

The question of the day is, why did God reject Saul and anoint David?  Saul made a mistake but David did too just as we do.  Let’s look at little more into the attitude of Saul, let’s take a look at his heart.  If you look back in I Samuel 15: 1-3 “Samuel said to Saul, “I am the one the Lord sent to anoint you king over His people Israel; so listen now to the message from the Lord. (2)This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. (3)Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them.  Do not spare them, put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”  That sounds very harsh doesn’t it?  We talked about the love of God but here we see that everything is to be destroyed.  Why do you think God commanded this?  Remember the vengeance that we want to take, God has now taken it upon the people who hurt His people. Any remnant of their existence could cause them to attack again.  Saul doesn’t do exactly what God has asked him to do.  He and his men took it upon themselves to keep back the best animals to sacrifice to the Lord and they captured the king of the Amalekites. He did not do as he was told to do and because of that Samuel had to tell Saul that God was going to take the power from him.  Saul doesn’t confess though, as seen in  I Samuel 15:20-21  “‘But I did obey the Lord,’ Saul said, ‘I went on the mission the Lord assigned me, brought back Agag their king.(21) The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the Lord your God at Gigal.’”  Now, those verses take me back to the Garden when Adam was confronted for eating the forbidden fruit.  Blame went to someone else with no confession of wrongdoing.    

Now look at verse 22 “But Samuel replied: ‘Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord?  To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.”  Now if you look at verse 30 Saul finally admits that he has sinned but let’s look at what he says, (30)”Saul replied, ‘ I have sinned. But please honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel; come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord your God.’”   Samuel confessed but still it was about him not God.  He wanted to be honored and take a special note of who he wanted to worship, your God.  Saul didn’t say, so I can worship my God but rather said “your God”.  Where is a personal relationship with God in that?

In contrast if you look at David when Nathan confronted him about his sin of adultery with Bathsheba, in Psalm 51, David speaks to God and this is what he says.  Psalm 51:1-2 “‘Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. (2)Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.’”  David recognized sin for what it was, he did not blame others for the sin but all the blame was upon him.  He goes on, (3)”For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.  (4)Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak.’” He recognizes that God is always right and that His words are perfect.  He knows what God has said and he recognizes that he strayed from that law and that God’s judgment is fair and deserved.  Now look in verse 10, as David makes a request to the Lord, “’Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  (11) Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.  (12) Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. (13) Then I will teach transgressors your ways and sinners will turn back to you.’”  David recognized where his power came from.  It was not from his looks or his title, it was from God.  He recognized life was not about power but about teaching others about God.  He also recognized that God does not care about the many sacrifices that we may give, like Saul had sacrifices for God,  He says in verse 12 “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”   All the sacrifices we make in this life are nothing if we do not humble ourselves to Him, know to whom we have sinned against, recognize the power is from Him and truly repent of our sin.  He doesn’t want excuses or for us to play the blame game, He wants us to draw near to Him.  I have to wonder what it would have been like if Adam and Eve would have had that attitude in the Garden.  Where is your heart today?  Is it a heart after God’s own heart or is it a heart that is looking after itself?  If it is the latter, go to Him with a broken spirit and confess and then you can say as the Psalmist said in Psalm 66:18-20  (16) “’Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what He has done for me. (17) I cried out to Him with my mouth; His praise was on my tongue.  (18) If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would have not listened; but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer. (20)Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld His love from me!’”

As you seek Him, find Him with a pure heart, purified through Him who loved us enough to send His son as a sacrifice for our sins.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila

Amazing Love

As I prepared to come and write today I asked the Lord what He wanted me to write about and a song immediately came to my mind.  It is a song by Chris Tomlin, “How Can I Keep from Singing”, listen to it and then we will talk about how our Lord loves each of us. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQI5wxtH6OYIf you noticed in the video there were scriptures on several of those pages and I wrote those scriptures down but the one I want to use today is Psalm 23.  Many times we hear this Psalm at funerals and have probably recited it before.  If you were raised in the church you were probably challenged to memorize it but let’s look at it close today and begin to not look at the words but look at the meaning behind those words.  Let’s meditate on how amazing our God’s love truly is.

Psalm 23

(1)”The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want, (2)He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, (3)He restores my soul.  He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. (4)Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.  (5)You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.  You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. (6)Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

When I think about how amazing God’s love is towards us I can’t help but think of how that is demonstrated in Psalm 23.  The Lord is our shepherd what more could I ask for?  What more should I want?

I don’t know much about sheep herders but I do know that they care for their sheep and they make sure that no go missing.  In Luke 15:4 Jesus uses this illustration of a shepherd, “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them.  Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? (5)And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders (6) and goes home.”  The Lord is that Shepherd to us, in fact He goes on to say, (7)”I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”  The Lord is my Shepherd, after reading the words of Jesus; it is so much clearer to me what my Shepherd would do for me if I were lost. 

The Psalmist goes on to say that He restores souls and guides even when I am on slippery ground.  A dear friend of ours preached on this Psalm one Sunday and he brought an entirely new perspective on it for me.  He had mentioned that often times pictures associated with this Psalm are pictures of luscious green pastures and valleys but rarely do we see pictures of the valley of shadow of death.  Generally what came to my mind was someone on their death bed but that is not what the scripture is talking about at all.  You see, this scripture is written for the living, not the dead.  Going back to the sheep, according to the message I heard on this, our friend described this as a journey between those luscious green pastures where the sheep had to travel.  Pictured below is a valley of the shadow of death.  This picture is in the Judean wilderness on a road between Jerusalem and Jericho.  I found it and others at http://lluker.faculty.ltss.edu/wadi-kelt.htm 

As we walk sometimes we have to go through those valleys that are rigged and dry but that doesn’t mean that we are dying, although sometimes if feels like it.  If we allow Him to guide us, we will safely reach those green pastures.  Now that makes my heart want to sing, what about you? 

As you seek Him today be sure to thank Him for being your shepherd, for going after you when you stray, and for guiding you to the green pastures. 

If you have time listen to the song once again, this link has the words in case you want to sing along.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEzEbtA9ba8 

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila

Humility through Humantiy

One of the words used to describe God in one of the blogger comments was “humble”.  That was interesting to me because when I think of humble, I think of what I should be towards God but this word was used to describe God.  As I thought about that I was began to think about Jesus, because He humbled Himself by coming in the form of man in order to relate to man and to sacrifice Himself for us.  There is no better example of the word humble than that.  So today I would like for us to focus on the humility of God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Hebrews 2:10 “In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering  (11)Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family.  So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.  (12) He says, ‘I will declare your name to my brothers; in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises.’ (13)And again, ‘I will put my trust in Him.’ And again He says, ‘Here am I, and the children God has given me.’ (14) Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in the humanity so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—(15)and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.  (16)For this reason He had to be made like His brothers in every way, in order that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that He might make atonement for the sins of the people.  (18)Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.”

Have you ever heard someone who has been appointed to a high office say, “It was so humbling to get called to serve”?  I have never really quite figured that out.  They have been asked by the president of the United States to serve, they have been put on a high pedestal and they call that humbling.  I don’t think the call to service is what humbled them but the path they may have taken to get there could have been what was humbling.  Perfection does not come naturally and none of us are perfect but Christ demonstrated perfection through His suffering and we too can become perfect through our suffering if we keep the faith.  Hebrews 3:14 “We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.”

Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior who was appointed to come to this earth and take that path of humanity and through humility He is able to help us when we are tempted because He was tempted (verse  8).  He knows how we feel because He humbled Himself to the low point of flesh and blood and was tempted just as you are tempted.  Even though He had all the power at His hand He gave that up to understand us.   

In chapter 3 we are told because of what Jesus has done for us, because of His humility, we should fix our thoughts on Him (vs. 1).  Hebrews 3:1-6 “Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess.  He was faithful to the one who appointed Him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house.  (3) Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself.  (4)For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.  (5) Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house, testifying to what would be said in the future. (6)But Christ is faithful as a Son over God’s house.  And we are His house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast.”

Just as Christ humbled Himself, we too must humble ourselves before our Lord and Savior.  We must remember that He is the one in control and we are His servants. 

As I was writing this blog today a fly was buzzing around me.  I was having a hard time concentrating and I just cried out in frustration and asked the Lord to get rid of it because it was bothering me.  As I raised my hands, I touched the fly with the tip of my finger and it disappeared for awhile.  I was thanking the Lord for getting rid of it and about the time I was finished writing it came back and I said, “in the name of JESUS get out of here” and it disappeared again.  As I was writing this paragraph it came back again and I tried to slap it but slapped myself instead.  Why do I tell you this story about the fly while writing about being humble? The fly demonstrated to me that God is in control.  That I need to always become meek in order to give Him all the glory and power that is due Him.  We can not do anything with our own strength, we may only slap ourselves,  but it is through the strength and power of our Lord that we can overcome. 

Dear Heavenly Father, I humble myself before your throne today and thank you for your guidance in this life that I know live.  In my suffering in this world, may I always be faithful to follow you as you were faithful to complete your mission upon this earth, the one that came to this earth to show me the way, to give me a way to the Heavenly Father.  I thank you for coming here and humbling yourself to the point of death on the cross in order to give me a passage way to the Father.  I thank you for being my high priest.  I thank you too for the little things in life, like taking the distraction of a fly away from me in order that I could concentrate on Your Word.  I ask you Lord to use these words to help others see how wonderful you are, to help others realize they need to humble themselves at Your feet that all glory and honor that is due you be given.

In Jesus precious and holy name I pray, Amen.

Humble yourselves today, step into the shoes of someone else, try to view the world they way they see it and seek Him with all your heart in order to be blessed by Him.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila

Victory

As I scanned through more of Revelation today I read of more destruction upon this earth.  Revelation to me is like watching Hawaii 5-0.  I know the ending is going to be good and that the good guy will win but it makes me very uncomfortable seeing what is going on.  I read of the seven bowls of God’s wrath that is poured upon the earth in Revelation 16.  I read how satan will be bound for 1,000 years; while Jesus and those who were beheaded for not having the mark of the beast on them reign on this earth.  I love that those who were obedient to God will come back to life and reign with Jesus but I cringe thinking about them having to go through that suffering.  I read about ten evil kings in Revelation 17 but rejoiced when I read all of verse 14, speaking of these ten kings, “They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because He is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with Him will be His called, chosen and faithful followers.”  Then in chapter 20 I read what happens to satan, verse 7-10 “When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison (8) and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—to gather them for battle.  In number they are like the sand of the seashore. (9)They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city He loves.  But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. (10) And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown.  They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”

As I read those verses I thought of the Israelites in battle.  The battle of Jericho, found in Joshua 6, where the walls came down after they marched around the city six times and gave a loud shout.  Jericho was defeated but they didn’t do it, God did, Joshua 6:2 “Then the Lord said to Joshua, “See I have delivered Jericho into your hand.”  Before the battle, before the walls were down, the Lord told Joshua that He had delivered Jericho into his hands.   

There have been battles since the fall of man in the Garden and will continue until that final judgment day.  The battles are not against each other but are battles being fought because of the power of the evil one. Ephesians 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  Battles may take place with others or it they may take place within us.  What is the answer to these trials/battles?  What can be words of encouragement to continue you on when life is bleak and hope is almost faded away?  You can find the answer to that question in Revelation 22: 12-16 “Behold, I am coming soon!  My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.  (13) I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.  (14)Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. (15) Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. (16) I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches.  I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”

We may not understand the battles that we face today but we do know the ending and it is more wonderful than words can describe.  His reward is with Him, and He will give according to what we have done.  What are we doing?  Are we living for us or are we living for Him?  As you answer those questions for yourself today, remember to seek Him, the one who was and is and is to come.  Remember you are called according to His purpose and bring Him glory and honor and praise.

This all reminds me of my favorite song of all time, Victory in Jesus, “Oh, victory in Jesus, my Savior, forever.   He sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood; He loved me ere I knew Him, and all my love is due Him, He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood.”

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila

Children

My passion for many years has been children.   As a high school student I didn’t really like to attend Sunday school with the teens but I loved helping a teacher who taught the little ones.  It was a joy for me to go and help teach Sunday school and I learned so much in that process.  When my husband and I were first married we were recruited to teach the two and three year olds in Sunday school; hat was an experience and about caused me to never want to have children.  They were a lot of fun so long as one of them didn’t start to cry.  If one started to cry the others thought that was their cue to start crying and we would have a mess on our hands.  I remember one day a little girl came in dressed really funny and her mother told us that she had decided to dress herself that morning and it was easier to let her do it than to fight it.  Hey, at least she made it to Sunday school.  I don’t know where a lot of those children are today but I do know of one who is grown and has a small child of her own.  She has gone through a lot in her life but because she had faithful parents who taught her at home and brought her to Sunday school every Sunday, she developed a foundation in Christ which she built upon in later years.  Without Christ, her life would have turned out very differently. 

I taught Sunday school and mid-week classes for years and then became a part of the Christian Education board as the mid-week director.  Later on I was promoted to the Christian Education Director and later became a member of the church conference Christian Education commission.  I became the Director of that commission as well.  The sad thing is that in those positions I fought as hard as I could to maintain a strong board and commission in order to promote the education of our children in the area of Christian growth.  Over the years I have sensed an apathy regarding the children in some churches.  I fought hard against that apathy because  of verses found in Mark 9 and 10.  I would like to look at those verses today.  Mark 9:36 – 37 “He took a little child and had him stand among them.  Taking him in His arms, He said, to them, (37)Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”   In verse 42 He goes on to say, And if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better fro him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck. 

Mark 10:13-16  “People were bringing little children to Jesus to have Him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them.  (14) When Jesus saw this, He was indignant.  He said to them, Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.  (15) I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” (16) And He took the children in His arms, put His hands on them and blessed them.”

I have also been involved in the secular education system and have heard all the excuses for why our children do not learn.  One that comes up a lot is the one about their parents.  The parents don’t, won’t, or can’t . . . are very common in that setting.  The same is true for the church, parents are the ones that get all the blame.  Yes, parents should but when they don’t what is our response.  We can’t change a parent so what can we do?  The parents in the scripture brought their children to Jesus and the disciples tried to send them away but what do we do we when the parents don’t bring their children?  Do we shrug our shoulders and say that it is their choice?  Do we reach out to the parents?  Do we reach out to the children? 

Children, they are a precious gift from God and we need to welcome them into our Sunday school rooms, our church settings, into our homes, and into our lives.  Children display a faith that goes beyond that of an adult.  They believe in what we tell them.  They believe in the seen and the unseen.   What are we telling them today?  Is our life demonstrating the faith of a little child?  Are we worrying about the things of this life rather than trusting on God to carry us through?  Do we doubt?  All of these things our children are watching.  They keep watch at how we handle conflict, pain, and suffering. 

If we do not teach our children and value their presence, they will become the children of the end times who are left to go through the pain that we just looked at in Revelation.  We need to remember our children both little ones and big ones, those who have come to the faith in Jesus Christ.  We need to grow them up in the Lord so that they may feast on solid food and have a firm foundation in Jesus Christ our Lord.

This reminds me of a song:

“Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world.  Red, brown, yellow, black, and white they are precious in His sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world.”

May you find ways to teach the children to seek Him with all their hearts as you seek Him today.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila

When He Comes

Before beginning our study today I want to share with you a little of how I have been feeling lately.  I had to call unemployment yesterday which is always a frustration and makes me feel terrible.  I feel as though I am worthless in the money sense of things, and my purpose, my love and my passion have been taken away.  That is why I blog, it brings the purpose of sharing the Gospel out in me and gives me a reason to keep on going.  Anyway, I have had the jitters and just some unease and when that happens I just don’t like it.  I know God is in control so I don’t understand why I have to feel this way.  I just want to be at peace and have contentment in whatever situation I am in.  Hebrews 13:5 says, “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’”  It isn’t the money I miss but the feeling that people value me and my opinions that I miss.  I miss being needed and I get so frustrated by that.  So today the Lord gave me this scripture found in Philemon 4 – 7, it wasn’t written to me but I think today, it was written for me and it reads, (4)I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, (5)because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints.  (6) I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. (7) Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.  Father, today, will you speak through me to share your Word to those around me.  May you find me faithful in my walk with you.  I ask that you help me to be content because I do know you are here with me.  Help me Father to have the purpose and drive to serve you and you alone.  I love you and I praise you for Who you are and I thank you for whose I am.  In Jesus Precious and Holy name I pray, AMEN.

When He Comes

Revelation 10:6b “There will be no more delay!”  So many times we ask for the Lord to not delay.  We asked that the Lord bring His judgment towards our enemies.  Although we want revenge we know that vengeance is the Lord’s and He will repay as He says in, Deuteronomy 32:35-36, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay.  In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them.”  Now, in Revelation 10 we see that there is no more delay.  As I began to read Chapter 10 a peace came upon me in the first part of the chapter,  Revelation 10:1 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven.  He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars.  Verse 7, “But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as He announced to His servants the prophets.”  I am jumping around a little today but I want us to look back at verse 2, “He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand.”  John was told to go and take the scroll in verse 8 and then in verse 9 So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll.  He said to me, “Take it and eat it.  It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.”  John did as he was told and it happened that it is so sweet but soured his stomach.  I wasn’t sure what that meant and I didn’t go to any commentary to find out but it hit me today, could that be the revenge that we have all wanted?   We have heard the term, “Sweet revenge” and I have used it in my blog.  But, as I read on and the last trumpet is sounded that revenge turns my stomach sour.  I don’t want people to have to suffer, yet that will be what happens.  Those who do not believe will go through so much pain and suffering, the third woe, Revelation 12:12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them!  But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you!

What is our lesson in all of this today?  Hebrews 2:1-3  We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.  (2)For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, (3)how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?  This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him.  (4) God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Sprit distributed according to His will.

Are you paying close attention today?  Have you heard what He is saying?  Focus today on seeking Him with all your heart and knowing that He was, and is, and is to come.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila

Encourager

I am amazed each day how the Lord gives me something to write.  I have been a little concerned with Revelation and have wondered, “What can I write about that?”, “What will speak to me today?” and each day something pops out, today was no exception.

We will look at the woe of the sixth trumpet that will sound.

Revelation 9:13-20

“The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the horns of the golden altar that is before God.  (14) It said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, ‘Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.’  (15) And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind.  (16) The number of the mounted troops was two hundred million.  I heard their number.

(17) “The horses and riders I saw in my vision looked like this:  Their breastplates were fiery red, dark blue, and yellow as sulfur.  The heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came, fire, smoke and sulfur.  (18) A third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of their mouths.  (19) The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails were like snakes, having heads with which they inflict injury.”

(20) “The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk. (21) Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.”

Those of you who know me, know that I am a huge University of Kansas fan.  I am an alumnus, getting my Master of Education degree in 1994.  It is a great school with a unique mascot and the colors, crimson and blue with a touch of yellow.  So, when I read the description of the breastplates I wasn’t very happy but quickly decided the colors must represent fire and power!  Let’s move on to more serious things now because as much as I enjoy KU there is nothing better than studying the word of God.

It doesn’t sound like it would be good to be alive during the sounding of the sixth trumpet.  This scripture reminds me of another time when God was calling His people and they did not listen.  This morning before I turned to Revelation 9 I was drawn to some scriptures in Hebrews.  This scripture spoke about the Israelites in the desert and I thought to myself, “How will this relate to the sixth trumpet?”  God is amazing and moves in amazing ways because I soon found out how the two scriptures tie together. 

First of all, why do you think this woe was brought upon the earth and one-third of the inhabitants were killed?  Our first clue to that is at the end of the chapter, the verses that I have in bold.  Before reading more, stop and read those verses again and think about why God would have brought this upon the earth.

It is my belief, from the verses that I read, that He wanted mankind to repent and He gave them another chance to do so but their hearts were already hardened.  They were practicing things that were not wholesome and they continued to do so.  Does that remind you of anyone in the past?

Hebrews 3: 7-10 “So, as the Holy Spirit says: ‘Today, if you hear His voice, (8) do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of the testing in the desert, (9) where your fathers tested and tried me and for forty years saw what I did.  (10) That is why I was angry with that generation, and I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.’  (11) So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’

God is our provider, just as He provided for the Israelites in the desert.  He wants nothing more than for us to seek Him and to recognize Him so He can give us rest.  Hebrews 3:12 - 14 tells us how we should respond to our calling. 

(12)”See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. (13) But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.  (14) We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.”

Have you encouraged someone today?  Back then they didn’t have blogs, Facebook, computers, or even telephones so that meant daily face to face contact with one another.  Today we have so many means in which we can encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ.  What are you doing? 

Dear Heavenly Father,

I want to lift up to you each reader of this blog.  Whether they read this today, tomorrow or far into the future, I ask that you allow your Holy Spirit to come upon them so that if there is any wicked way in them, they will repent before your throne.  I ask that you give them peace and that they may someday enter into your presence as a true believer in You, that they would hold fast to the faith that they have and with confidence they will proclaim Your Word to others.  I pray also Lord that you will forgive me where I have failed you and that you would give me the confidence as well to endure until the end of this life which I now know.  I ask that you allow me to be an encourager to others as they walk the straight and narrow path that leads to you.  In Jesus precious and Holy name I pray, AMEN.

I trust that you will be an encouragement to someone TODAY as you seek Him and find Him when you seek Him with all your heart.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila

The One in Control

I have not written for several days and hope that it has given you a chance to read and process what the book of Revelation which was written by John after being given this vision from God.  I left you with three more trumpets to be sounded so let’s get back in the Word and see what God has to tell us today.

The next three trumpets to sound will be three woes which will be even more dreadful than the ones we have already looked at. 

Revelation 9:1-11 “The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth.  The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss.  (2) When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace.  The sun and the sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss. (3) And out of the smoke locusts came down upon the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth. (4) They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. (5) They were not given power to kill them, but only to torture them for five months.  And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes a man. (6) During those days men will seek death, but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.

(7)The locust looked like horses prepared for battle.  On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces.  (8) Their hair was like women’s hair their teeth were like lions’ teeth. (9) They had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the thundering of many horses and chariots rushing into battle.  (10) They had tails and stings like scorpions, and in their tails they had power to torment people for five months. (11) They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek Apollyon.

Wow, I don’t know about you but that all sounds pretty scary doesn’t it?  Why do you think God revealed this to John?  Why do you think we are reading it today?  Does it make sense to you what is to come?  What spoke to you the most?

I have some observations that I want to make concerning this passage.  First of all it speaks of a star falling from the earth.  How many of you have heard that there is some instability in space even today.  There is talk that things are getting out of alignment and a threat that something catastrophic could happen.  I heard the other day that a space station was coming down and they didn’t know where it would land.  With so much junk in space today who knows what might come down.  One day I was watching TV and a science fiction show was on and a huge meteorite was headed for the earth.  Some astronauts were given the mission to go up in space and try to break it up before it hit the earth.  I was scared the entire time because I know from the word of God that it is not fiction, someday this is going to happen and it will be only the beginning of catastrophes on this earth.

Secondly I noticed that God is in control.  I want to jump back a few books, well several books, to the book of Job.  Do you remember the story?  Satan had been wandering the earth and God asked him if he had considered Job who served God faithfully.  Satan responded that Job only served God because of all the good he had so God gave satan permission to bring strife upon him but with restrictions, Job 1:12 “The Lord said to Satan, ‘Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.’” 

How does that tie to Revelation 9?  I found it interesting that God allowed satan to bring strife upon Job with conditions and the same thing is going on in Revelation 9:4 “They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads”.  God controls the angels, including satan.  He is in control and He knows what is and is to come because He is what is and He is what is to come.  Do you trust Him?  I hope so. 

What did you envision in verses 7-11?  I always think of helicopters when I read those verses, when it talks about looking like scorpions and sounding like horses and chariots rushing in a battle.  Now, I haven’t ever heard horses and chariots rush in a battle and John had never heard helicopters fly over so I am only imagining what that might sound like.  I think helicopters kind of look like scorpions too.  Have you ever seen a helicopter spay the fields or drop water on a fire?  They have the power to pour down on this earth protective matter and they could also be used to harm.  I am not saying that this is what these scorpions are but it is always the first thing that comes to my mind when I read those verses.

The chaos of this world today does not even pal to the chaos that is to come.  So many times we get caught up in the everyday occurrences of this life we live and we forget that there is a life that is more abundant.  When we remember that promised abundant life, we seem to skip over all that is to come and go directly to the bliss of Heaven.  My hope for you is that this blog message  is that you won’t be scared by the things that are to come but that you will be more motivated to make sure that your life reflects the One who can protect, provide, and save those who will call upon His name.  That someday we can stand before the Lord and hear the words, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”  Serve Him today as you seek Him and find Him when you seek Him with all your heart.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila