Faith

Hi,
Another cold snowy day, but at least the sun shined for awhile. It's been a good day and the Lord has blessed, as usual. Nothing much to report, so on with the blog.
I'm going back to where I left off in 1 Timothy 6:11-12. I've already blogged on righteousness and godliness, but now it's time for faith. The dictionary describes faith as: trust, confidence; complete acceptance of a truth which cannot be demonstrated or proved by the process of logical thought (i.e. religious faith).
I know from experience that when I put my faith in God, He never fails to help, show me something, uphold me in His right hand, etc. I trust God, for many things. I trust Him to help me, my family, show me more of who He is; the list goes on. When I put my faith in God, He works His righteousness in me.
Without faith, I cannot be saved. I trusted the work Christ did on the cross for me, dying to take away my sins. This gives me eternal life with Him, instead of separated from Him. Many people haven't and won't trust Him and put their faith in Him for their salvation. They argue that what they can't see doesn't exist. Hebrews 11:6 tells us: "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him."That verse alone deserves a blog!
Now comes the cruncher of all verses on faith: Hebrews 11:1: "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Going back to 1 Tim. 6:11, it tells us to pursue faith. We have to WORK for faith! It doesn't happen by osmosis. So, that begs the question, how do we get faith?
I personally think it means basically telling God that you have decided in your heart and mind that He exists, that He is God, that He will do as He says He will, etc. Faith isn't a feeling folks, we have to do something to make it happen. The best part, is that God meets us in our need and gives us stronger faith as we trust Him each time.
There are days when things are hard/difficult that I'll tell Him: "I choose to trust You." I choose to abide in Him and not trust in my feelings or what I see happening. That surrender of self (trusting in me to accomplish, whatever) and choosing to trust in Him builds my faith stronger.
So, are you pursuing faith? Are you choosing to trust Him and as your faith builds, to manifest your growing faith? I manifest mine when I share how He has helped me through something, or when I choose to do something that's spiritually mature instead of something straight from my flesh (sin). I choose Him over me and He blesses me with stronger faith and maturity.
How mature is your faith? Do you trust when things are difficult? How do you respond when trials/tribulations/persecutions come your way? Remember Romans 12 and the guidelines to maturity.

Faith in a God who is faithful,
Sandy

Catch and Release

Hi,
What a beautiful winter day. The sun shining on the snow made it sparkle greater than diamonds. I don't like cold and ice, but when the Lord "pretties up" His creation, it's worth enjoying.
The other day I was thinking about the phrase "catch and release". When we go fishing, we practice catch and release. We catch the fish, admire it and then release it. Some people have great pride in their catches and even capture the moment with a photo.
It made me think about when we go to church. Do we "catch" the message from God's word, enjoying it thoroughly, then the moment we leave church, we "release" it in the sanctuary and not take it home to enjoy and live it?
At church we're studying Romans chapter 12. The book of Nehemiah is my favorite, but Romans 12 is my favorite chapter. It tells us how to live a life pleasing to Him. I convicts me when some of the things that it talks about are happening in my life. I need to act not react. I need to purposely love, when what I want to do is lash out in pain.
The Lord is teaching me about perseverance during trials, testing and persecution. I have to say that I'm not enjoying this teaching at all. When I hear scripture taught on Sunday's, I have to obey because that's what pleases God, and let my feelings follow.
God knows our hurts, frustrations, pain and He works in us and through us, to His glory. Romans 12:12 tells us: "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." I have to admit that it's hard to be joyful in hope when there's affliction. The prayer part I have, but I need to be careful of my attitude, that it honors God.
Another part is to make sure that in my pain or suffering, to keep my eyes on Him and not self. That's hard in the best of times, but it becomes idolatry if we focus on self and not Him. It's okay to tell Him our troubles, but when we think more about that and self, our focus is off Him, that makes it idolatry. That's a hard thing to do, always put Him first, especially when we're in pain, no matter the source.
It's all about choice isn't it? Do we choose to catch the knowledge and apply it to our heart and life, or release it before it has a chance to become part of our life? It is a decision.

Deciding for Christ not self,
Sandy

Doris Day!

Hi,
It seems ages since I've written and it is. The babies are born and doing well and I'm finally home. I've been resting. When I don't even want to look at emails/answer them, I know I'm too tired to do anything but the basic stay alive and the house/laundry stuff.
I got my haircut on Tuesday. I'd like to say that I feel like a new woman, but I don't. Sandy cuts my hair really well, but when she fixed it this time it was over the top. She made me look like Doris Day with hair way out and curled. I came home and brushed it to calm down the "new" look. Now I look like me again.
My hair is still in the growing out period, but it looks just like I used to wear it years ago before we became missionaries; Sandy calls it a layered bob. I really don't want that look again. I do like longer hair for the winter, so I'm going to keep what I have, for now. Come summer it's short again. I don't think I'd mind the Doris Day look if I could sing like her and make
millions! :))))
I really don't have a spiritual blog today but I will soon, probably next week. My life is slowly getting back on track, but it's not there yet.
I miss you all and are glad that you're my friends.

Blessings,
Sandy

godliness again?

Hey,
Another wonderful sunny day full of blessings from the Lord. The sun is setting as I write this and the sun's glory is brilliant. How much more is the Son's brilliance and glory? I can't wait to see it.
Yesterday I shared about godliness and today when I was doing my daily reading I met this word again and thought I'd share 2 Peter 1:3-11. So, please read this portion and join me.....
We first find our word in verse 3. Peter tells us that God gives us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him. I mentioned that yesterday and here it tells us again how to be godly. Plus, He gives us what we need to be godly, so what are you doing with what He's given you?
In verses 6 and 7 he mentions godliness again. It starts in verse 5 by telling us to make every effort...In the future I'll share more about this passage, so I don't want to cover everything here, but notice that godliness comes after lots of work. God helps us to become godly, but we also have to work at it.
In order for me to teach Biblical precepts, I first have to study. I can't just open the Bible and expect to be able to share in depth teaching without first spending time and effort learning, then I can share what I've learned. So, what are you doing to to become more godly?
As I think of the time I spend on the computer each day (not much, because I have more important things to do) I have to ask myself, have I spent as much time with God, studying His Word?
Our son-in-law works on a computer every day because it's his job, writing programs. He can't spend as much time in the Word as he does at his eight hour job because he has a family and needs to sleep.
But what about the rest of us? How much time do you spend on "things" compared to time spent with Him? As the new year comes, assess what you want to change to help become more godly. I know that He will be more than pleased with your effort and you will receive many blessings.
Please pray for me as I decide what book of the Bible to study next. I want the Lord to direct me to what He wants me to learn, then share. Thanks for your prayers.

On the journey to godliness,
Sandy

Godliness

Hello,
What wonderful sunny weather we're having. The Lord is blessing us after many days of yucky weather! Lynn and babies are still hanging in there. I'm beginning to think they don't want to leave their warm nest. She's only a couple of weeks away from her original due date. Maybe we'll have New Year's babies!
I want to look at the word from 1 Tim. 6:11, godliness. Refresh your memories by re reading the passage and join me.....The dictionary defines godliness as: the state of being godly. It defines godly as: pious, devout. Devout means: worshiping, attending to religious duties, sincere, earnest, devout hopes. Pious means: devout or showing religious devotion.
As I understand these terms that define godliness, it tells me that people who become monks and live in seclusion probably fit into this category quite well. But what about us, every day people living life?
I see the definition as part spiritual: the heart attitude, and physical; doing something with what you believe. That reminds me of James telling us to show our faith by our works. The heart is at the center I think of any godliness that we have.
Do you think of yourself as godly? I know that I don't, even though what I might do sometimes could be classified as godly. I guess because I'm a sinner thinking I'm godly is hard to grasp.
But, evidently it's possible to be godly because it's included in the list. So how do we do this? What comes to mind is having a right heart attitude. Loving God, putting Him and His desires ahead of mine. Serving Him with a whole heart, not a rebellious one.
I also think that studying His Word and applying it are important. We need to know error from truth and stand by this truth when we share with someone. We need to live the truth of God's Word because that's obedience and it pleases God greatly.
When I choose to obey Him, He declares me godly. When my heart is dedicated to Him and serving Him, I gain godliness. What are you doing to gain godliness? You know the way, He's the truth and life for us to follow in obedience.

Pursuing Him,
Sandy

Righteousness

Good Morning,
Winter is definitely letting us know that it's here. When I took Tucker out for her run, the ice greeted us both; her "four wheel drive" fared better than my two!
Yesterday we looked at 1 Timothy 6:11-12. As I said, we'll look at the "list", a little each blog. Today it's about righteousness. Remember, we are to pursue it. So I'll start with the word: pursue. It means: to follow in order to capture or overtake; persistent.
We are to go after these attributes in the list in such a way that nothing holds us back or stops our taking hold of the attribute. How do we do this? Focus on God, learning daily about how He wants us to live. I think then that all the attributes listed just fall into place. That's the nutshell, but we still need to look at the individual.
Righteous is: conforming to the moral law. Contrary to many people's thinking today, God did set up the moral law and we are to obey it. We are to be "right with God" according to His definition of right.
If I understand the Bible's teaching on righteous, I come to the conclusion that it means to be pure, without sin before God. Now, we can't do that, but Christ can. By His blood we are made "right" with God, ergo: righteous. It isn't something we do, but who we are in Christ.
That doesn't mean that we don't have a responsibility to live in such a way as to remain pure and right before God. If we're constantly living for ourselves, we are taking the gift of grace that Christ has given us and are throwing it back in His face.
Daily, look at your life and see where you're constantly sinning and need to repent (turn away) from. We will and do sin, but we don't have to be controlled by it. We have the option of obeying God and His teachings (free will).
So, as you've been made "righteous" by Christ, are you going to live in such a way as to be right before God consistently? It's your choice, but remember, there are either blessings by obedience or consequences for disobedience. God gives both.

Grateful for His mercy,
Sandy

1 Timothy 6:11-12

Hello All,
I trust you had a good weekend. We spent our Saturday with our family, celebrating Christmas. Because the twins are due momentarily, we went to Lynn and Jason's. We had a blessed day with good food and fellowship.
Today I've chosen 1 Tim. 6:11-12, but in order to understand these two verses, you need to first read 3-10, or the first part of the chapter. Come join me....
"But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses."
At this time of year when spending on "stuff" is rampant, the verses in the first part of the chapter speak resoundingly to us. But, that's not what I want to concentrate on here, at least not in the whole.
In verse 11 Paul tells Timothy to "flee from all this," to pursue (see list). That takes a conscious effort on our part when the holiday busyness invades our waking moments. Paul is telling us to concentrate on Him, not us or stuff or busyness. He wants the focus to be on the right person, not on the world.
I know that's hard when there are things that need to be done, presents to buy, etc. Perhaps in preparation for the holidays, getting organized and cutting out the extra's that draw us away in a flurry of activity from what this season is really about is what's necessary.
In the next few blogs I want to concentrate on each of the things Paul tells Timothy to pursue. We'll start with righteousness. So as you join me, we'll see what the Lord tells us about righteousness and what we're to do with it.

Working on the right "stuff",
Sandy