Change We “Need”?

President Obama spent much time campaigning about how much change we “need” in this country. This short video demonstrates what he thought NEEDED to be changed. I don’t get it. How does he think these changes will make us better off? Why does he not study failed governmental ideas and try not to make those same mistakes here?
And why oh why are we even considering government controlled healthcare when we are worse than BROKE? We simply do NOT have the money to be considering something like this right now. When you are borrowing money just to make budget; you STOP SPENDING as much as possible!  Everyone in America is having to do this but Washington.

Quotes that caused me to think

The following are some of the things that I have been thinking about lately. Things I have heard through the teaching at FBC, Norco.  Things that have caused me to “set my mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”

“You cannot say that you take the gospel seriously if you do not share it. Christians love the gospel, live the gospel and share the gospel.” paraphrase of Matt Cobb’s teaching

“I cannot understand the gospel on my own, therefore there is no room for boasting….” Matt Cobb

“The church is the community of all true believers of all time bound together through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ.” Jeff Mooney

“Your identity is in Christ; you cannot look to the world to define you.” Jeff Mooney

“Grace trains you to say NO to ungodliness.” Titus 2:11-14

“Repentance is knowing, responding, renouncing, and trusting that sin is not better than Christ.” Jeff Mooney

“The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life.” Prov. 31:11-12 (memory verse from Bible study)

“The value of God’s word in our lives is directly linked to righteousness.” Darren Meisel

“Sin deadens your senses. The common denominator of all sin is lack of trust in God.” Jeff Mooney

“The vitality of the Christian life is found in the reality of Christ’s work.”

“The biggest hindrances to gospel-living in America are indulgence and diversion.”

“How would Jesus think?” (Noting that I cannot always do the things that Jesus did….like heal a leper, but I can learn to think in terms of glorifying my Father in all situations.) Nik Brownell

“The heart is an idol factory.” Luther

“We must speak, sing, and discuss the gospel with each other daily! Why? to strengthen us, focus us, motivate us, and give us joy!” paraphrased from sermon

“The elemental spirits of this world have no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh”  Only by faith in Jesus Christ. He alone is the answer to my sin problem.  from study in Colossians in Sunday School

“Do not resist the struggles of ministering to people.”  comment made in Sunday school as we discussed Paul’s willingness to struggle so that the gospel might go forward.

I will stop here.  Typing all this up has made me grateful for the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, the teachers at Norco, the family of believers at Norco and worldwide, and the nursery workers that make it possible for me to hear the word.

I hope you are blessed by these thoughts too.

http://www.bondedtogether.wordpress.com

Accountability

On September 3, my friends to whom I am accountable for spiritual disciplines, (and who were the inspiration for this blog) met again. As always the meeting was filled with laughter, a few tears, joy, serious conversations, contemplation about God’s work in our lives, goal-setting, and most of all encouragement.  I am amazed at how much these women press me to live what I profess to believe.  It’s not a “checklist” mentality but a “putting yourself in the path of His commands” mentality in order to live for Him.  And it’s not easy. 

It’s not easy for a couple of reasons.  I don’t like to set a goal and not meet it.  And if I don’t meet my goals, I don’t like to admit it, but if I don’t, then I excuse myself quietly and I don’t repent of unwise choices/attitudes/etc. AND THEN, it’s not easy because the “mechanics” of the goal could be met but not the spirit of the goal…..learning from God’s Word and being changed by Him. 

So accountability is difficult because it requires vulnerability, repentance, and true growth, but the benefits outweigh the difficulty.  I have been reminded of my frailty.  I have been checked on attitudes like self-pity, self-indulgence, discontentment, and “light-headed living.”  (“Light-headed living” is my term for not taking life seriously! 🙂  These things weigh me down and keep me from enjoying what God has richly blessed me with….HIMSELF!! 

So when these precious ladies gather with their smiles, their lives, their pain, their goals, they bless me and they bless each other.  Accountability is beautiful.  Conviction and repentance are the things of life!!!

Sisters in Christ Pacing Together

This past Thursday was time again for my friends and I to gather and encourage each other in our pursuits of Christ. It is always a sweet time. I was so encouraged by my sisters as they shared their new goals and how their previous goals had placed them in position to hear from God. All of us are working on being diligent in daily Bible reading, in Bible study, memorization and meditation. We are also all trying to be intentional about how we hear the word and how we share the word. We all come with some shortcoming, things that we have been convicted of and things we need to repent from, but even when we have to speak of those things, it is not without hope, without desire to keep running, to find refreshment in the strength afforded to us by the grace given by what was accomplished at the cross.

We only get so many times around the sun, and then we are headed to eternity. God help us to accomplish things that are eternally valuable.

http://www.bondedtogether.wordpress.com

The Testimony of Nature

I spent the past week in Colorado visiting family. It was really nice to get to visit with them again, to laugh, goof off, and enjoy their “neck of the woods” for a little while.

We had planned to do some hiking in the Rocky Mountains, but had a slight change of plans after an unexpected injury to Jeff’s leg. (He tore the bursa sack in his knee and had to stay off of it for a day and even after that day had to be very careful about how much time he spent on it.)

However, we did get to take two trips to the mountains and in one of those trips we hiked around a small mountain lake. It was astoundingly beautiful. Everywhere you looked there was beauty. As you looked across the lake you could see mountains tops looming powerfully over you. If you looked very closely at the water, you could see the reflection of the trees on the other side. As we walked along the trail there were little chipmunks scampering at our feet begging for food that they would willingly take from your hand if you offered. The kids climbed over boulders that were everywhere, unhindered by fear of falling! (I can’t say that I was unhindered by that fear but really tried to not be a killjoy!)

As I stood and gazed at so much beauty, I wondered who people attribute the artwork to if they do not attribute it to God Almighty, Enthroned in the Heavens. I felt so small looking at the Rocky Mountains and realizing that God is much bigger than they, but I also felt so loved because the Creator of all this beauty has made Himself known to me. He has stooped way down from His throne and rescued me from sin and given me life. It is overwhelming. I could have sat down and looked at the scenery for a long time, contemplating His beauty, but of course our time-driven world does not allow such.

So today, I think back to that beauty and I worship its Creator.

“Sing to the LORD, all the earth!  Tell of his salvation from day to day.  Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!  For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and he is to be held in awe above all gods.  For all the gods of the people are idols, but the LORD made the heavens.  Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his place.  Ascribe to the LORD, O clans of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength!  Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him!  Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth.”  I Chron. 16:23ff

A Scientific Thought Leader?

Here I have linked an article about the John Holdren, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology. The article is basically about a book that he co-authored 30 years ago that today he is trying to distance himself from. Why? Well, the book suggests that forced abortion and forced sterilization are viable ways to control the population of this sacred planet.  I wonder if Mr. Holdren would be the first to sacrifice his own children to the planet god.  I’m sorry I am not usually so sarcastic but there are times that I get so frustrated with the idea that humans are the problem instead of the solution.  People are amazing resources, especially when they are trained and educated to work together to solve problems.   Why should we try to ditch our most valuable resource?  IT”S CRAZY!!!  AND THIS GUY IS TALKING TO AND INFLUENCING THE PRESDIENT.

Wasting Life By Not Risking For the Sake of the Gospel

Last night the ladies to whom I am accountable for spiritual disciplines and who are seeking accountability for discipline met again to encourage each other, “check in,” and discuss Piper’s book, Don’t Waste Your Life. As usual it was an uplifting time for me and I hope for them.  I really like having to answer to them because it reminds me constantly of how important it is for me to walk in the things that I believe to be important and worthy of time.  It amazes me how easy it can be to get distracted from eternal things….even doing mundane things like cleaning house, which while is important, is not more important than time in the Word.

My favorite thought for reflection last night was the idea that sometimes I can blend in to the values of the world if I am not taking risks that set me apart for Christ.  The risk we were talking about is the risk to invest in people, to give to the poor, to spend time caring and noticing that there are people around me that I can serve and that serving them with the love that Christ has rather than out of selfish ambition stands out because that’s not exactly “natural.”  There are kind people in the world that do not love Christ, but the motivation for their kindness is what sets them apart.  How much will I give to make someone else happy, happy in such a way that they look to CHRIST, not me as the source of the blessings?  And at the same time, how much am I willing to serve others by speaking the truth even if it means rejection of me…something I am not fond of at all.  It’s challenging and it’s so good for me to be urged to seek Christ in cleansing my heart and helping me to think Biblically, eternally.

Strong words

While my husband has been traveling, I have had some extra girl time with my daughters. The talks with the older two are becoming more involved as they look around at ideas and mannerisms outside of our home.

This week we had a challenging conversation for me. It was concerning language, particularly strong language, like “cussing”. They wanted to know if and why is it wrong to use that language….after all those are just words too.

Well I was brought up to believe that “cussing” was wrong…i.e. sin. While I still rarely use “cuss” words, it was worth my time to think about why and if I were to decide to begin using them, would it be sinful.

I am willing to be corrected on my conclusion because I have not really talked this out with other adults…just my girls  and then very briefly with a couple of friends.

My conclusion is that using strong, possibly offensive, language could be sin in some contexts and other contexts it might not be. If using the language offends someone unnecessarily and it is not necessary to offend to call attention to something grievous, then it violates the scripture’s call to love and be considerate of each other.

However, there are times that a point must be emphasized and to use a strong word to make a point is sometimes very helpful.

To my girls though I pointed out that using strong language in your common every day talk makes no sense. It  simply shows a lack of sufficient ability to communicate in a productive way with better vocabulary.  When the person who cusses so frequently needs to say something with emphasis, he is bankrupt of ability.   The very few times that my kids have heard me say a strong word, they knew they were in very serious circumstances.

So I concluded with them that the verse “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”  is best adhered to by using such words seldom.

Welfare…is it really for fairing well?

I disagree with President Obama’s ideas concerning “spreading wealth.” I disagree because he seems to have the idea that wealthy people do not deserve to be wealthy (even if they are busting their buns to get there) and poor people deserve to have some of the wealthy peoples’ money.

As a Christian, I have to reject this idea.  Let me say first that, I do think that the American government should be helping people who are in desperate circumstances. However, really helping someone means helping them change their circumstances in such a way that they no longer need the government to help them.  (To clarify, I understand that some people’s circumstances can never be changed and therefore, I am NOT referring to those who participate in government programs that help them with permanent problems.)  What I am referring to is the number of people who stay on public assistance for years and never reach their potential.  They do not get an education, they do not get better jobs, and they do not move out of public (dangerous) housing.  Why?  Because it is easier to get a check than to take the risk of getting out that door and moving on up. In essence the government is robbing them of their potential by killing the incentive to grow.

Instead, what happens is the person begins to feel entitled to that check even though they are NOT earning it.  They begin to think, as our President has espoused, that they deserve that check.  AND, the most sinister of it all is that they can be controlled to do or think certain things in order to get that check.

So I conclude with American welfare, in general, is NOT for fairing well.  It’s a way to waste your life.  We must consider that we deserve nothing and therefore, we must take advantage of God-given opportunities, gifts, and talents to make something of this one life.  He is all we need, we do no NEED the American government.

Pray for our government to have vision of INDEPENDANT Americans that are FREE to give to those in need because they are taking care of themselves, by the grace of God!

I thought this was a joke….is it?

Here is an article about PETA getting upset because the president killed a fly that was pestering him while he was trying to do an interview.

UPSET OVER A FLY? We are killing babies, abusing women and children, and dealing with severe pornography in this country and someone has the audacity to be UPSET over a fly? WOW.  Talk about your wasted time…

People need the gospel so they can LIVE and have someone and something worth living for and investing in.  This article proves it.