so did you know that in a season of drought that is when the best grapes are produced? you say hummmm - yea well me too. - apparently when you water a little bit every now and than the roots tend to go down then come up go down then comes back up - you see the roots are trying to get to the water - so in a season of drought the roots keep going deeper and deeper to get to the source of water deep within. - WOW - do you see it - the spiritual application is amazing.
if we just go to church because it's sunday and that's what we do we are nourished but we leave and do nothing with it - we might pick up our Bible one or two times during the week say a little prayer here and there but all of it is never enough to allow our roots in Jesus to go deep - the roots just stay near the top because we've never had a saturation of water -but when our Lord allows the difficult trials you know the really hard ones to come our way (drought) -he has done this to us so we will dig deep for the source of the water - in our desperation prayers in our urgent reading of the Word - our calls to friends for prayer - everything we do during those really hard times (our drought) it is then that our roots are going deeper and deeper and always the fruit that comes forth is sweeter than before.
so if you feel like you are in a drought - praise Jesus through it because it is there to bring forth the really really yummie grapes.
remember behind every thorn in our lives is love - because everything has been in our lives by our Lords permission. and His heart for us is always love ALWAYS!!!
goodnight - keep chasing righteousness
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Friday, September 14, 2007
just a little something i read
i can not take the credit for this but it was to good not to post -
The Devil's Seeds of Doubt Satan will seek to attack when we are on the verge of a major breakthrough. I believe there are three distinct areas of attack in this battle. I want to cover the first with you. It is found in Matthew 4:3-4,Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You arethe Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” ButHe answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by breadalone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”The devil’s first area of attack will be to try to get you to doubt your calling.Notice that just prior to this encounter the voice of God the Father said to Jesus, “This is My beloved Son!” And that is the first thing the devil challenges, “Well, if you are the Son of God….” He will do the same thing to you.What is it that God has spoken to you about that He wants you to do with your life? Has He told you that He wants to use you to funnel vast resources into the gospel? Or maybe God said you are to be a teacher, or that you are going to impact the entertainment industry, or that you are going to be a prayer warrior and tip the spiritual scales in critical times.Whatever it is, the devil will saddle up next to you and say, “Who do you think you are? What God has told you is just a pipe dream. It’s just your own head speaking to you.” He will try and get you to doubt what God has said to you and to doubt what God has called you to do.When that happens, you need to go back to that word that God has spoken to you in order to keep your focus and direction right.
me 2cents - don't let the "pig monster" win - we know his future for that matter he knows his own future so kick him to the curb and jump back into what our Lord told you to do.
The Devil's Seeds of Doubt Satan will seek to attack when we are on the verge of a major breakthrough. I believe there are three distinct areas of attack in this battle. I want to cover the first with you. It is found in Matthew 4:3-4,Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You arethe Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” ButHe answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by breadalone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”The devil’s first area of attack will be to try to get you to doubt your calling.Notice that just prior to this encounter the voice of God the Father said to Jesus, “This is My beloved Son!” And that is the first thing the devil challenges, “Well, if you are the Son of God….” He will do the same thing to you.What is it that God has spoken to you about that He wants you to do with your life? Has He told you that He wants to use you to funnel vast resources into the gospel? Or maybe God said you are to be a teacher, or that you are going to impact the entertainment industry, or that you are going to be a prayer warrior and tip the spiritual scales in critical times.Whatever it is, the devil will saddle up next to you and say, “Who do you think you are? What God has told you is just a pipe dream. It’s just your own head speaking to you.” He will try and get you to doubt what God has said to you and to doubt what God has called you to do.When that happens, you need to go back to that word that God has spoken to you in order to keep your focus and direction right.
me 2cents - don't let the "pig monster" win - we know his future for that matter he knows his own future so kick him to the curb and jump back into what our Lord told you to do.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Which one are you?
okay so i've been in the thralls of homeschooling so blogging has taken a back seat - it's been everything in me just to get my daily bread in - so one thing i have learned over the past couple weeks is if one day goes by with me not being in the Word - studying - i am poopy - really poopy - it's that dependence thing....i know it's the best place to be with Jesus so dependant that even just one day without studying the Word leads to a crummy heart - anyway all that to say this morning when i was working on my Nehemiah study - finishing up chapter 13 - gosh i'm gonna miss Nehemiah - if you didn't know he is my total Bible guy crunch ( crush) - don't worry Bobby knows :0) anyway as i was working on this chapter i was thinking about all the yuck these people started doing - the compromise anyway it rabbit trailed me back to Chapter 11 so i really wanted to blog about chapter 11 and to give a little bite to chew on this morning here is my take on what's going on in Nehemiah Chapter 11
to move back to jeruselun was the right thing for them to do, yet very few chose this - in fact the leadership had to cast lots to decide who had to move since so few did so on their own initiative-now the ones who volunteered the priest blessed them - but the ones who were chosen in the lot casting were not blessed by the priest - .... moving back to jeruselum living within the confines of those walls meant packing up from what hey deemed a good secure life - they had jobs, homes, relationships, life was good - living inside the walls meant the unknown, living a stricter obedience life to God because they would be living closer the the temple (God's dwelling place) - how often this is our delima to pack up from our lives of compromise and disobedience and move closer to to where God dwells - for us this is with in us, as christians, God lives with in us, our bodies are now called His temple - so there is only one way to move closer to God and that is to die to self, ( the song empty me by jeremy camp comes to mind) and chose more of Him: all of our emptying of self looks different - for me it's pray/studying His Word/ being still before Him/ asking for clean hands-pure heart/ always being mindful of how my Jesus would respond ( you know that WWJD thing)/ praising Him even in the storms of life / and alot of fellowship - you know the real kind where your time with your friends are focused on Him.
anyway, however just like the jews way back then we to would often rather stay in our place of idolatry and what seems to be a place of comfort. the story here in nehemiah we see 3 classes of people: the ones that chose to move back when permission was first given (they were the ones that got that extra blessing fromt he priest) - than the ones that were chosen in the lot - then those who never moved. Here is what i see true of us today. we can look at it either in our walk with Jesus or even simply apply it to ministry.
1. some of us chose to it fully the moment we are given the green flag
2. some have to be dragged in (lot) it is a complete act of obedience you know it's the right thing but your heart is not yet secure in it.
3. then there are those who are happy and content to witness the things of God from afar. not really gettin all the hoopla about it yet they show up make the appearance then go home to the life of compromise.
so the ? comes which one are you?
another little thing i loved about this that we didn't talk much about from up top is that the ones who willing went they were blessed by the priest - this is so true - i know that there are times in the ministry that i think why doesn't every one chose to completely embrace all that the ministry offers and i realized that there is this blessing of the heart that comes to those that go after all that we are offered - it's really hard to explain - it just happens and until you have experienced it for oneself you really do not know what you are missing. of course this applies to our walk with Jesus as well - if you think about it they are one in the same.
so there that was my rabbit trail this morning - yes i did get into chapter 13 as well but i'm sure you don't want me to ramble on about that ;0)
live a great day chasing righteousness!
i'm off to the land
to move back to jeruselun was the right thing for them to do, yet very few chose this - in fact the leadership had to cast lots to decide who had to move since so few did so on their own initiative-now the ones who volunteered the priest blessed them - but the ones who were chosen in the lot casting were not blessed by the priest - .... moving back to jeruselum living within the confines of those walls meant packing up from what hey deemed a good secure life - they had jobs, homes, relationships, life was good - living inside the walls meant the unknown, living a stricter obedience life to God because they would be living closer the the temple (God's dwelling place) - how often this is our delima to pack up from our lives of compromise and disobedience and move closer to to where God dwells - for us this is with in us, as christians, God lives with in us, our bodies are now called His temple - so there is only one way to move closer to God and that is to die to self, ( the song empty me by jeremy camp comes to mind) and chose more of Him: all of our emptying of self looks different - for me it's pray/studying His Word/ being still before Him/ asking for clean hands-pure heart/ always being mindful of how my Jesus would respond ( you know that WWJD thing)/ praising Him even in the storms of life / and alot of fellowship - you know the real kind where your time with your friends are focused on Him.
anyway, however just like the jews way back then we to would often rather stay in our place of idolatry and what seems to be a place of comfort. the story here in nehemiah we see 3 classes of people: the ones that chose to move back when permission was first given (they were the ones that got that extra blessing fromt he priest) - than the ones that were chosen in the lot - then those who never moved. Here is what i see true of us today. we can look at it either in our walk with Jesus or even simply apply it to ministry.
1. some of us chose to it fully the moment we are given the green flag
2. some have to be dragged in (lot) it is a complete act of obedience you know it's the right thing but your heart is not yet secure in it.
3. then there are those who are happy and content to witness the things of God from afar. not really gettin all the hoopla about it yet they show up make the appearance then go home to the life of compromise.
so the ? comes which one are you?
another little thing i loved about this that we didn't talk much about from up top is that the ones who willing went they were blessed by the priest - this is so true - i know that there are times in the ministry that i think why doesn't every one chose to completely embrace all that the ministry offers and i realized that there is this blessing of the heart that comes to those that go after all that we are offered - it's really hard to explain - it just happens and until you have experienced it for oneself you really do not know what you are missing. of course this applies to our walk with Jesus as well - if you think about it they are one in the same.
so there that was my rabbit trail this morning - yes i did get into chapter 13 as well but i'm sure you don't want me to ramble on about that ;0)
live a great day chasing righteousness!
i'm off to the land
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