Trials

I have been sick, especially this past weekend. One moment I was feeling fine, the next my throat began to hurt and within thirty minutes I was full blown sick, even starting a fever. Weird.
Thankfully I am doing better now, not quite over it, but much better. Meanwhile, I missed the big day at my Grandma's house. Which turned into two BIG days of moving her things out, while a renter was moving her things in. Wow. My poor family, they came home completely exhausted and spent and very glad to have that over with.

My Grandma is doing better, healing and recovering from the operation. It is hard to have her here, I won't mince words about that. She is not saved and finds it difficult to hear us always singing, praying and talking about the Lord. There are many wonderful opportunities to minister to her and she hears the gospel every day now, in one form or another. We are praying that the Lord will draw her to Himself and save her.

We have been going through an extended trial and just the other day I was praying, asking the Lord why it seemed that He was not answering my prayers. Quietly He spoke to me, showing that indeed He is answering. I had asked for patience - He is teaching that to me. I had told Him that I wanted to be closer to Him, no matter how hard a trial would have to be to get closer - He is answering that prayer as well. These trials drive us to our knees, He becomes our only refuge and we learn to fly to Him. Oh, how sweet is His love, when we look on His face in the midst of trials. He wants us to take our eyes off the waves and place them on Him. Faith IS the victory, praise God for giving us faith.

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. (Proverbs 3:5-7)

Faith is the Victory

Words by John H. Yates
Music by Ira D. Sankey
1891

Encamped along the hills of light,
Ye Christian soldiers, rise.
And press the battle ere the night
Shall veil the glowing skies.
Against the foe in vales below
Let all our strength be hurled.
Faith is the victory, we know,
That overcomes the world.
Refrain
Faith is the victory! Faith is the victory!
O glorious victory, that overcomes the world.
His banner over us is love,
Our sword the Word of God.
We tread the road the saints above
With shouts of triumph trod.
By faith, they like a whirlwind’s breath,
Swept on o’er every field.
The faith by which they conquered death
Is still our shining shield.
Refrain
On every hand the foe we find
Drawn up in dread array.
Let tents of ease be left behind,
And onward to the fray.
Salvation’s helmet on each head,
With truth all girt about,
The earth shall tremble ’neath our tread,
And echo with our shout.
Refrain
To him that overcomes the foe,
White raiment shall be giv’n.
Before the angels he shall know
His name confessed in heaven.
Then onward from the hills of light,
Our hearts with love aflame,
We’ll vanquish all the hosts of night,
In Jesus’ conquering Name.
Refrain

God is so very Good!

By the way, how do you all like this blogs new look?

Spring!

Sometimes when life gets extra busy, I lose sight of the cross. I rush around doing the things that need doing, praying as I go and asking for help which God gives so graciously, but I forget to thank Him for the cross. I forget to remember the cross, what it means, what He did for me, what the salvation of my soul cost my Lord. I need to remember, I need to thank Him. When I remember, it puts life into perspective and pushes everything back into it's place. The Lord Jesus Christ is what this life is about and He has the preeminence in all things.

Yes, my dear Grandmother is here and we are pleased to have her. Yet I will not paint a rosy picture of life here because it is not easy, but we did not take her in because it would be easy. There are things far more important than our own comforts, taking care of our own is one of them. By ministering to her we can glorify God and that is what I long to do.

Here are some pictures from the past couple weeks. Our house is very small, so my Dad and Mom had to move into the living room when they gave their room to my Grandma.

Here my Dad and Michael move our "sideboard" out of the living room to make room for the bed.

I painted two of these cabinets for the bathroom. Later we painted the wall you see behind me, white.

Here is the finished living room/bedroom.

Remember Brittany's purse that she was crocheting? Here is the finished product!

Matthew 13 (who is now taller than I am!) and Ashely 8. Matt broke his finger while playing basketball and it refuses to heal. He has been through multiple casts and now splints, I am not sure what the doctors will decide to do for him.

Out side, I see signs of spring! A couple of robins, some grass peaking up and some flowers in our flower garden showing their little stems. Spring is so exciting!

Has it really been...

....Yes, it has been, eleven, days since I last posted and I apologize, but (thankfully) this absence is not without good reason. Two reasons, to be exact. The first is that God has been speaking to me about spending too much time on the computer, not so much on the writing posts part, but the checking this persons blog and oh look I should check out that one and there's another one that looks good, you know, that kind of thing. So I have tried to spend less time on the computer, more or less.

Secondly, my Grandma is coming to live with us next Saturday. This bit of news did not take us completely by surprise, since we have been discussing the possibility, but the sudden setting of a date in the very near future was a surprise. My Dad and Mom are giving their bedroom to her and are moving into the living room. This means a great many changes must be made and quickly! Several pieces of furniture have to move out of the house and other things moved in, shelves and a closet need to be quickly constructed. We are busy, busy, busy and my Mom and I are quite enjoying the chance to deep clean the house. There is still SO much to do and very little time to do it!

This is going to be a stretching time in our lives, giving up of comforts, conveniences and so called rights, but it will be a good time. Think of all the lessons God can teach us through a time like this! I am looking forward to it and yet shrink back from it. My flesh does not like change, but I long to grow in closer fellowship with my Lord. I know that this situation is in His plan and will and that it is very right to care for our own, so I thank God for this opportunity.



Tonight I am meditating on these verses:

And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are your works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are your ways, you King of saints. Who shall not fear you, O Lord, and glorify your name? for you only are holy: for all nations shall come and worship before you; for your judgments are made manifest.
(Revelation 15:3-4)

Miscellaneous Musings

Today turned out to be a beautiful sunny day, just perfect for...cleaning our the garage! Not the most fun thing to do, but very necessary when your garage looks like ours, I will kindly spare you the details. :-)

Our back yard.

This is "Joyce" my cat and I.

These pictures were actually not taken today, but the day was a lot like this!

I am looking forward to the fast approaching time when I will be able to start my vegetables indoors. Up here we cannot plant outdoors until June. I like to start my seedlings, eleven to fourteen weeks early, in order to give them a good start and hope for produce more quickly.

I am finally sewing the jumper I had cut out long ago and am really enjoying it! The fabric is a type of blue denim and the pattern has four pleats, which I absolutely love. I will have to look for more patterns with pleats or make some up myself, I don't think it would be too hard to add pleats to a regular dress or skirt pattern. Anyone with experience have suggestions?

We were at the abortion clinic again on Monday where seven mothers went into the building to destroy the lives of their babies. One girl was probably just fourteen or fifteen and seemed very scared, but her mother was with her and so she did not stop to talk with us. How can a mother do that to her daughter? Perhaps it was for rape or incest, but killing the innocent child does not take away the pain and trauma, it only makes it much, much worse. The adults in that girls life will have to give an account of their actions before The Judge of all the earth some day, that thought alone should cause them to tremble.

We went to the UMD again for a couple of hours. My Mom had a good conversation with a young atheist who, after hearing the gospel, accepted a Gospel of John saying that he will read it and consider what he had been told!

One guy walking by, began to curse and swear at Josh and Michael and then at our Lord Jesus. Josh answered with, "God bless you." and Michael with, "Thank you for the blessing!"

Another guy walking by spit at Josh and Michael. These things really are blessings!

"Blessed are you, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets who were before you." Matthew 5:11-12

And:

"But I say unto you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to them who hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them who despitefully use you." Luke 6:27-28

My Grandma is now in physical therapy and is slowly recovering. This is a hard time for her as she cannot remember things very well because of the trauma from the operation. It is frustrating to her, as I am sure it would be to anyone. Thank you so much for praying and please do continue to pray for her salvation.

Colossians chapter One has been a great blessing to me lately, what a packed chapter! One thing I keep thinking about is verse eleven: "Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness."

It is one thing to learn patience, another to learn longsuffering, but "patience and longsuffering with joyfulness"?! Wow! I need to be abiding in Christ Jesus so that He can produce this fruit in me. In Him all fullness dwells, He is the one I want to be around. Since we become like who we hang around, I want to 'hang around' Jesus, to be in fellowship with Him all throughout the day. I must confess that my thoughts often wander to less important things, then I realize with a start that it has been several hours since I consciously spoke with my dearest friend. Oh why, do I do this? I love to be near Him and I love talking to Him and yet I find my mind wandering. Oh, may He draw me closer to Himself! How patient He is with me, what a kind and compassionate Savior. "Like as a father pities his children, so the Lord pities them that fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust." Psalm 103:13-14

Thank you Lord Jesus.

I have been training my dog Abby, here are some pictures and a video! I am using a "tug" which is a piece of burlap type material used to build drive and focus. As you can see, Abby thinks that this is all a game and to a point, it is at this time. Eventually we will get into more advanced training.

About My Grandma and More Witnessing Opportunities

This past Wednesday we received news that my Grandmother needed to have triple bypass surgery, the next day. Her heart was so bad that the artery on one side is completely blocked and the other is eighty-five percent blocked. So, on Thursday morning she had the operation. We praise God that she made it through and is beginning to do a little better, though she is still in the ICU. She is in Illinois so we are not able to be with her, which is hard, especially for my Dad. Thankfully, my two Aunts are with her. Please pray with us for her salvation, God is able to bring her to Himself.

On Friday we were at the abortion clinic early to plead for the babies lives who were appointed to die. When one young mother and her mother parked their car across the street, my Mom went over to offer them information. The young woman rolled down her car window and said she would call the police if my Mom did not leave. My Mom told her that her baby is a person, then showed her a picture of an aborted baby. This made the babies Grandmother jump out of the car and tell my Mom that she would call the police, my Mom told her "Go ahead, I'm not doing anything wrong. This baby is your Grandchild!" Then my Mom showed the young mother, through the closed window, some pictures of developing babies. She looked at them, then began to cry. Her mother jumped out again, yelling at my Mom who continued to calmly answer, "This baby is Your Grandchild." They then drove away and they never came back, as far as we know! We hope and pray that the child was spared. God knows.

When we were done at the abortion clinic, we went to the University of Minnesota Duluth with Josh for a witnessing outreach. We held two gospel signs, while Josh and Michael preached.

One student made his own sign to protest us, which said: "Don't Worry God Loves You No Matter What". Josh had a good conversation with him and found out that he believes the teachings of a certain professor who takes all the "good out of different religions" and believes that, not the "bad". Josh was able to ask some very pointed questions showing the faultiness of that faith and expounded on the resurrection of Jesus as difference between other religions and the Bible. We pray for this young mans salvation.

Remember the lady I talked to on Tuesday the Twentieth? That short conversation had made me think more about our obedience to the gospel versus trying to make the gospel more appealing to the carnal mind. She came back to talk with me this Friday, I'll change her name to Sue.

She told my Mom and I that she is a pantheist, believing that everything is god and that god is everything. My Mom gave her the gospel, which Sue clearly could not understand. She does not believe in life after death and thinks that life is an end in it's self, because it is so "full and beautiful". My Mom explained to her that she is in the darkness and does not know it, using the example of a room that is slowly growing darker and you do not know it is so dark until you turn on the light. We told her that what she believes does not change the way things are, that in the end she will stand before Jesus who is the judge and she will confess that He is Lord. We said that people have so many ideas about the way things are, but what really matters in the end is what God says about things and whether or not we obeyed Him.

At one point I asked her, "Why are you alive? Where do you come from?"

She answered, "From my parents."
"In the beginning where did it all start?"

"With the Big Bang."

"Nobody knows who started that?"

"No, there are some theories, but no one really knows."

"God tells us what happened. He was there, He tells us what He did. You see, the Bible is a history book, written by God who made every thing."

She wondered how anyone could not believe in the big bang and said "Evolution is so beautiful."

"Millions and Billions of years of death, bloodshed and cancer, is beautiful?" I asked.

"Yes, it is."

"By what you are saying, you are showing me that you are in darkness. It does not matter what we tell you or if we are able to answer all your questions and explain everything to you, you would still not believe unless God opens your eyes. It has to be God who shows Himself to you."

She left then but short while after leaving she came back saying that she had thought of some more questions.

She asked, "Does God ever change?"
"No, in His Word He tells us that He never changes."

"Do people change?"
"Yes, all the time."

"Will people who are redeemed still change in Heaven?" She had earlier told us that she thought Heaven was pointless and boring.

I answered, "When we die, our bodies are changed. We will not have flesh and blood like we have now, we will be different. We do not really know what Heaven is like, it is not something we can understand or grasp with our human minds. If God told us what it is like we would not understand, it is too wonderful. We know that we will be praising God and that we will have work to do, but what it is I do not know."

She asked, "If God is all powerful, then why did He make man, since He does not need us?"

We told her that it is true that God does not need us, yet He made us for His glory. Life is not about us but about Him. We ended by saying, that we would pray that God would show Himself to her. Please pray with us for the salvation of Sue.

The thing I love about this conversation was the peace God gave me to just stay true to the Word. It did not matter to me that she said and thought it was "silly" and that it made no sense at all to her. I did not have to think up witty things to say or remember tons of facts to throw at her about the validity of the Bible. I just spoke as God led me, staying true to His Word, knowing that she would not understand unless He opened her eyes. I even told her that her reasoning proved to me even more that God's word is true because He told us that the carnal mind would not understand these things unless He opened their eyes! There is such peace knowing that it is God's work to cause her to understand, not mine! Praise God!!! I love it!

Here is a short clip of me talking with Sue:

Here is the link to our teams YouTube sight where you will find more videos of us: The Way Ministries

Learning to Wait on God for Marriage

As a young lady seeking to serve my Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord has shown me the joy and blessing of Biblical Woman-hood. Ever since I was very young, I have prayed for the man God would some day bring into my life for marriage and I prayed and still do, that we will have as many children as God will give us - twelve or more has been the number I put before Him. Growing up into a young lady I have struggled, as I am sure we all do, with the concept of waiting. What if he never comes, what will I do then? What if he comes when I am older, will my life have been wasted? Should I go to college and get a job while I wait? All these questions and more have swarmed through my head.

From what I have read from other godly young ladies, these are common to our kind. But what is the answer? What should we do as we wait? I know that this topic has been covered many times before, but I would like to share some of the things God has taught me.

First of all let me make mention that there are many godly woman out there who have gone to collage and others who feel they are led to go, or their fathers want them to go. Please know that I am not saying that is wrong. God leads each person differently to best get glory for Himself through their life. Each of us stands before God for what we do and do not do, we are the Lord's. With that said, I do believe that the model of woman in the Bible is that woman stay at home, as helpers for their parents and later helpmeets to their husbands. (Titus 2:5) (Gen. 3:16) etc.

"Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you." Matt. 6:33

These years of our lives are so precious! We have time right now to seek the Lord, to get to know our Savior and to seek to please Him. (1 Cor. 7:34)

We can learn to abide in Him, living with Christ daily. (John 15: )

We can learn to be a servant of Jesus. (Matt. 10:43-44)

At this time in our lives, our hearts are solely the Lord's. There is no competition for our love and devotion. We are His and He is ours. Here we learn to delight in His presence and to listen to His voice. We are fulfilled in Jesus and He is our life. No one is taking our attention away from our Redeemer, we are at His service to do as He pleases. This is a joyful place to be!

As young ladies at home under our Father's roof, we can be corner pillars polished like a palace! (Psa. 144:12) We are helpers to our Father and Mother, servants for the Lord. What a blessing it is to be quietly working for our family, our worth and work unseen by the world. Working only for the eyes of the One in whom we delight. No wonder the world scoffs at us! No wonder they ridicule and try to make us look stupid, lazy and weak. They cannot see what God sees! They cannot see the jewel He is creating in us, the rose that is forming beneath the surface! Sisters, we are God's and our work is for His eyes! Give no head to the world. They scoffed at Jesus, they called his life and death a waste and we are not greater than our Lord. (John 15:20)

As daughters keeping at home, we are giving glory to God. We are proclaiming by our actions that His way is best, that He is worthy to have our lives and that we can entrust Him with our very breath, it is not a waste when spent in His service. We can be confident that no matter how menial the task, if it is "as unto the Lord", it is no waste! (Col. 3:23-24)

"And he (Jesus) said unto them, 'Go you into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.'" Mark 16:15

Sisters, we can obey this command! Ask God to prepare you to give His glorious Gospel of peace. (Eph. 6: ) He is the One who can make you ready. Draw near to Him, seek His face, read His word and learn to love His gospel! Pray for the people that He will bring your way and ask for opportunities to share the gospel with them and pray for boldness. If I may add here, perhaps an often overlooked opportunity is your brothers and sisters? They are your first mission field and even the very smallest can be taught the Bible and through play many good things can be instilled in their small minds. We need to ask God to open our eyes to the opportunities we are missing. Finally trust that God is the one who will do the changing of hearts and minds, we are only to obey.

There are so many practical things we can do as daughters at home, one thing that has worked out for me to do, to help my family, is to grow much of the food we eat. For others it may be something different, seek God for the answer and ask your parents what you can do that would be the most helpful to them.

"What? know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have of God, and you are not your own? For you are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in you spirit, which are God's." 1 Cor. 6:19-20

"So likewise you, when you shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do." Luke 17:10

Perhaps all this sounds simple, to my ears it does, but I think it ought to be simple. Pray, pray and pray for wisdom, we are bombarded on every side by the world. To them, life is complicated, they are trying to make sense of their lives outside of Christ. For us, our lives make sense and we have a very simple goal, to glorify God.


Here is a poem which has helped me greatly with the concept of waiting.

Desperately, helplessly, longingly I cried.

Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.

I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate.

And the Master so gently said, "Child, you must wait."

"WAIT? You say, 'wait,'" my indignant reply.
"Lord I need answers, I need to know why!
By faith I have asked and I'm claiming your word.
My future and all to which I relate
Hangs in a balance and YOU tell me to 'WAIT?'
I'm needing a 'yes', a go-ahead sign,
Or even a 'no', to which I resign.
And Lord, you promised that if we believe,
We need to ask and we shall receive.
And Lord, I've been asking! I need a reply!"

Then quietly, softly I learned of my fate,
As the Master replied once again, "You must wait."

So I slumped in my chair defeated and taunt
And grumbled to God, "So I'm waiting...for what?"

He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes wept with mine,
And He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign,
I could shake the heavens and darken the sun,
I could raise the dead, cause mountains to run.
All you seek I could give, and pleased you would be.
You would have what you want, but you wouldn't Know Me.

You'd not know the depth of My love for each saint;
You'd not know the power I give to the faint;
You'd not learn to trust Me, just knowing I'm there.
You'd not know the joy of resting in Me
When darkness and silence were all you could see.
You'd never experience the fullness of love,
As the peace of My Spirit descends like a dove.

You'd know that I give and save (for a start)
But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart.
The glow of My comfort late in the night,
The faith that I give when you walk without sight.
The depth that's beyond getting just what you ask,
Of an infinite God, who makes what you have LAST.
You'd never know, should your pain quickly flee,
What it means that, 'My grace is sufficient for thee.'
Yes, you dreams for that loved one overnight would come true,
But oh, the loss! If I lost what I'm doing in You!

So, be silent, My child, and in time you will see
That the greatest of gifts is to get to know ME.
And though oft, My answer seems terribly late,
My most precious answer of all is still, 'WAIT'."

--Author Unknown


Let us abide in and delight in Christ!

Trevor's Story

Friday we went back to the Duluth Skywalk system with our witnessing team. We handed out close to a hundred tracts and had some really good conversations.

Several months ago a rough looking man walked past Steve and Josh as they stood outside at the Holiday Center in Duluth, he cursed and swore at them and continued to do this every time he walked by. So on Friday when Steve saw this same man walking towards us in the skywalk, he thought "oh boy, here we go again." But as Trevor (name changed) passed by us, he quietly said, "Thank you for what you are doing." Steve was surprised but managed to ask, "Are you born again?"

"Yes"

"When did this happen?"

"About a month ago."

He seemed to be in a hurry but later sought us out and took a tract. He stood near us reading it, then Steve began talking with him and Trevor's story unfolded:

A month ago he had come to the very end of his rope. He was going through a painful divorce, was doing drugs and drinking and had hit rock bottom. He took a gun, put it in his mouth and pulled the trigger-- it did not fire. He put the gun down, looked up at the sky and said "I've never talked to you before" and there, weeping, he found grace before the throne of God through Jesus Christ. He told Steve "Jesus is all I have, no one else can help me."

Please pray for Trevor, I wish I could paint for you the picture of that serious, sober look, that was in his face and eyes. I have not seen much like it.

Do you see the power of God in this man's life? Oh, how our God loves to use the foolish things of this world to confound the wise and the weak things to confound the mighty! Where is the disputer of this world? has God not made foolish the wisdom of this world? Praise God that He will have mercy on whom He will have mercy and whom He will He hardens!

To God be the Glory!

Please watch this Street Preacher's video: This is Kevin from Cry to God, --- this video is the best street preaching I have heard yet!

Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon in Duluth MN

Praise God for more witnessing opportunities!

On Sunday, my brother and I went out with Steve and Josh to go witnessing at the Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon in Duluth MN. Josh had fixed up his car with a sign holder on top which carries four gospel signs. As we drove around for a while looking for a good place to set up, it was fun to watch peoples heads turn to read the signs. After a while we began to wonder if we would find a good place to park since the area was packed, then we came to a barricaded section of the road where the police were allowing people to park. At the very end, in front of some more barricades and in sight of the race track we found an open parking place all by it's self and in a location which could hardly have been better. It was definitely God picked!

Steve began by preaching out of the car window with a manual bull horn. Soon, two reserve police officers showed up saying that they had received complaints from people who did not want their children to hear the word "hell". (I'm thinking: With all the things people allow their kids to hear on tv, you have got to be kidding me!) The officer said that Steve should be a "good person" and stop doing what he was doing. She said to the effect, that as far as she knew we were not breaking the law but since people were offended we should stop. Of course we could not agree to that! They left and called an in service officer who came and told us that using the bull horn was "disorderly conduct" ! Though this was a bogus claim, we did not want to lose more time and agreed not to use it. The officer then left and Steve got out to preach in the open air while I handed out tracts. The temps were bellow zero, so when we got cold, we switched with Michael and Josh.

It went very well and the gospel was given. This is the first time I have heard Michael preach and it was a great joy to him reasoning with the lost.

Please visit Michael's new blog for a video of the proceedings: Operation Save Duluth : Preaching at Bear Grease Marathon 2009

Seed Sowing

On Thursday last week we had the blessing of getting back on the street with our friends who are street preachers! Because of the cold, our "street" this time was a heated pedestrian over pass. Very nice indeed! We handed out quite a few tracts and had several good conversations. One man who had already been given a tract walked by again and Steve asked if he was going to read it, he said "Yea". Steve said "that didn't sound very convincing", the man turned around and said "oh, then you better give me another one". Steve handed him another one and said "you threw it away didn't you?" The guy laughed a little and said "How did you know?" Steve said "The Bible says that all liars will be cast into the lake of fire." That started a conversation that lasted fifteen minutes with this Jewish man named Kenny. Please pray for him, he said that he was going to think about what Steve had told him.

Yesterday, (Tuesday) we went out again, this time to the University of Minnesota Duluth. We had one gospel sign and two graphic abortion signs. Steve and Michael preached to the crowds of students getting on and off the buses and I handed out tracts. One campus police officer came because of some complaints and told us that we were fine where we were and it was our legal right to be there.

An atheist tried to reason with us and was given the gospel along with some things to think about. A young man came by taking our pictures and talked to us for some time. He was upset by the abortion pictures saying that we were showing them to "play on peoples emotions and to make people angry". Steve told him that we were showing them to let people know the truth of what abortion is and what it does to people. I told him that it is the same as the holocaust and there he interrupted along with two other young men who had joined him. "You are saying that abortion is equal to the holocaust?" He asked incredulously. "Yes, even worse" I answered. "almost fifty million babies have been killed"

"There were millions of Jews"

"Yes, six million Jews, fifty million babies." I compared.

"But they were a specific group of people that were targeted" one of them added.

"Exactly!" I said, "A specific group of people, babies."

They had to concede the point and quickly changed the subject. Steve repeatedly turned the conversation back to the gospel and they kept trying to turn it back towards their anger at the signs. The first guy told us that he did not agree with that type of abortion but there were other types. We told him that either way a person is killed. He said that he did not believe that there was life until birth! I told him that such a statement was only his personal opinion because the scientific research of many doctors, including pro-abortion doctors, showed that life begins at conception. He said that he did not know that! Praise God! Even though he went on to say that it would not change his mind on abortion, at least there was something planted that God can use. He and the others heard the gospel of Jesus Christ and we can pray that God will use it.

At one point God prompted me to go talk with a lady who stood near us. When I offered her a tract she refused and I asked if she had ever read the Bible. Our conversation was short but I pray that God will use that seed planted as well. She even gave me a quick hug before leaving.

It was that conversation that set me to thinking, because I felt like I stumbled around at some points and probably sounded silly to her. But, it is not up to me to save people, my job is to obey. God has told us to preach the gospel and we need to stay true to that command, it is easy to try and embellish it making it look more attractive to the carnal mind. We often want to build up strong arguments to show that we are really not as foolish as we sound, but what if someone believes those arguments? Their faith is then grounded in mans reasoning and not on God Himself. Apologetics is good and we need to know what we believe and why, but God told us to preach the gospel and He said that it would seem foolish to the world. Were you saved because of historical proof for the Bible and it's accuracy? I wasn't, it was the simple message of the gospel through which God led me to repentance and faith on Him.

So, I need to rest knowing that it is God who brings the increase. We obey, sowing the seed and watering the seed and God brings the increase. It is up to Him who will be saved, we need only to obey.

Yeah!

What a blessed rest we can have knowing that!

We stood out there for about three and a half hours and towards the end another young man brought out a home made sign and stood near us. Here is a picture:

His sign says "Love and rejoice for paganism. To be heathen is heavenly"

It was more like a cry for help than anything else. Michael felt prompted to go talk to him and they talked for a long time, then Steve joined in and without having heard what Michael had already said, began to say the exact same things! We pray that God will use the seed planted there as well.

Praise God for a great seed sowing day and we pray for many more to come! May God bring some fruit though our labors, for His glory!

Winter Days

These last few days have been gloriously beautiful, with the sun shinning brightly over the sparkling snow covered ground, fluffy white clouds floating lazily by in a deep blue sky, while temperatures hover around zero. There is not much that can compare to such wintry days, unless you count these wintry nights. A brilliant full moon casting diamonds over the snow, millions of stars glittering in the dark sky, silence, oh the silence of such nights, with hundreds of trees raising their bare branches to the sky, while beneath them lay the soft light moon shadows on the snow. Moon shadows, I love shadows cast by the moon. I love the soft glow of moon light over field and forest. It makes me grow quite, it makes me think of the Creator of all these things and it makes me wonder in awe of Him, who though immense beyond comprehension, He cares for me. Tiny little me and yet He cares, He sees, He knows. Thank you Lord.

I'm Back!

I stayed for a week at our friends house, helping them with their two little girls and the new baby. To be very truthful, I had a wonderful time. Their two little girls who are three (almost) and 16 months are a delight to be around (most of the time :-) and baby Jesaias is such a treasure. This time has made me look forward even more (if that is possible) to the day when God brings the right man for me to marry and we have our own little ones.

I was able to be with my family on New Year's Day, which was very nice. My sister Bonnie and her four children picked me up and then took me back that night. We all enjoyed visiting with each other.

Monday night my Dad received a call from one of his sisters, saying that my Grandma is not doing well. She lives in Michigan and needs to go to her doctor in Chicago. So yesterday morning (Tuesday) my Dad took off to go stay with her until his two sisters arrive from Illinois, to take her back down with them. We look forward to my Dad coming home this evening.

My Mom, brother and I, went to the abortion clinic, yesterday morning, to plead for the lives of unborn babies. There were ten mothers who went in and we were able to be the voice of their baby to them, crying out for mercy. We don't know if anyone changed their mind. God knows and God sees.

I was reading in Psalms yesterday and chapters 70 and 71 really stuck out to me. They are beautiful psalms that we can make our cry and our prayer. One thing that I remember my Mom saying throughout my life is, "Keep praising the Lord, offer the sacrifice of praise to Him." Now as I look at these Psalms and other verses, this one thing blares out at me, Keep praising the Lord continually.

Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified. (Psalms 70:4)

By thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art he that took me out of my mother's bowels: my praise shall be continually of thee. (Psalms 71:6)

Let my mouth be filled with thy praise and with thy honour all the day. (Psalms 71:8)

But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more. My mouth shall shew forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day; for I know not the numbers thereof. I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only. O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works. Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come. (Psalms 71:14-18)

My tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness all the day long: for they are confounded, for they are brought unto shame, that seek my hurt. (Psalms 71:24)

By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. (Hebrews 13:15)

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long. (Psalms 35:28)

Throughout the Bible I see a general theme of praise. We ought to be praising Him! There are many reasons given for praising Him: for His holiness, for the wonderful works He does, etc. But the reason to praise Him which is given 43 times in the Bible is: "O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever." (Psalms 118:1) His mercy endureth forever! Wow! Among so many other things, this one is something that so clearly sets apart God from man. We cannot even come close to this record! He who's anger is furious (Isaiah 13:13), who's power is complete, yet He shows mercy forever? Hosea 11:9 has a statement that is wonderful, "I am God and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee."

Let us therefore praise Him continually and give Him thanks in and for all things. Not just for things we like but for things we do not like as well. He says, "In everything give thanks". When we praise Him, without condition, this is honoring to Him. When we give thanks for things that we see as bad, we are stating that He knows what is best. So, let us "offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually"!

On a side note, here is a recent picture of my kitten, Hope, who is growing and is very sweet. I hope she becomes a good mouser.

Newsy Things

We had a wonderful day on Thursday spending time with my Grandma and some friends. We really do not celebrate Christmas because of it's pagan origins, but we do enjoy spending time with family.
It turned out to be a beautiful day with the sun shining and the snow sparkling like diamonds. My Dad took this picture in the morning, I love it!

Yesterday, my Mom, brother and I went cross-country skiing down our gravel, now snow covered road. We had a blast. The temperature had risen to hover around the freezing point, making lighter jackets the garments of choice. Since the temps have been around zero and below for some time, this warmer spell feels pretty nice.

Tomorrow Lord willing I will be heading out to stay with a family who just had a baby (remember Jesaias?) and need help with their two other children. I will be gone for a week or more, depending on how things go. So, I will probably not be posting at all next week, (unless I can get to a computer, which is unlikely).

I am so thankful for this opportunity to serve the Lord and to obtain some more experience with small children. What a blessing! Children are so precious and are gifts from God, it is very sobering to think of how easily they can be influenced. Oh, that I might point them to Christ! Their minds are like sponges and they learn so quickly, things that will stay with them the rest of their lives. What a responsibility is given to anyone who is around small children. Yes, the Father and Mother have the most responsibility, but those who are around them are also responsible before God how they act and talk.

I remember when my brother and I were very young, my Mother would march with us around and around the house reading a chapter of the Bible over and over again. Soon we began to repeat after her and within a couple of weeks we knew the whole chapter. In this way we memorized (chapters) Proverbs 1-8 and Psalms 1-9 . My dear Mother was instilling within us the word of God at that tender age where memorization comes easily. Small children love to repeat things over and over and memorize things so quickly, why not have them memorize the Bible? I still remember how fun those times were and the scripture has helped me so much and though I cannot now recite verbatim because I did not keep it up, yet it is "in there" and the principles are there. I am so thankful for that!
My mother would all throughout the day point us to the Creator, she would show us flowers and exclaim how beautifully God had made them and lead us to thank Him for what He has done. At home and every where we went, we heard the praises of God. Everything was in the context of 'Look what God made and how it works, isn't He wonderful? Let us thank Him!' I praise God that my formative years were spent learning about my Lord Jesus. There is nothing better to teach a child! My family claimed the verse: "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:33)
And do you know what? God IS Faithful! When we put Him first and learned about Him first, He added all the other academic and social skills needed.
Remember:

"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones." (Proverbs 3:5-8)

Let us keep on seeking the Lord. Difficulties come and things get in the way, but who and what is most important?

"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light." (Matthew 6:19-22)

"If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth..." (Colossians 3:1-5)

Have a blessed week and New Year!

On Loving God

As I was praying this morning, I thought that it would be good to be more specific than just saying, "I love you" to God. So I began to list the things I love about Him.

I love that He created everything, the time He took and the wisdom and complexity He used. I love His hatred of sin and that He is angry at the wicked every day. I love His justice and mercy when He overthrew the earth with water, yet saved Noah and family alive. I love His promises and His Law. I love His righteousness. I love that He abhors all that is evil and loves all that is good and that all that is good comes from Him. I love His beauty and I love that He loves to get glory for Himself.
I love His way of salvation and that He planned it before the world began. I love that He humbled Himself to become a man and I love that He did no sin, though He was tempted like us. I love the way He healed people and I love the parables He told. I love how He taught His disciples and I love how He prayed in the garden, "not my will, but Thine be done." I love His obedience to the Father in His death on the cross, bearing my sins. I love the Father's justice in crushing His own Son when He became sin in my place. I love that Jesus arose from the dead and showed Himself to five hundred. I love that He said, "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." I love that He ascended into heaven and that He sits at the right hand of the Father, interceding for us.
I love His Holy Spirit which He sent to teach us. I love His Word. I love His people, His church. I love the way He saves His people and that it is His work and that He uses us. I love that He convicts the heart of sin and grants repentance unto life. I love the way He changes lives and turns hearts to Himself and I love that he protects and keeps His own. I love that He calls His people to holiness when He said, "be ye Holy as I am Holy." I love the preaching of His word and the singing of His praise and I love that everything is by Him, to Him and for Him. I love His glory. I love His wrath and the fear of the Lord. I love His wisdom and His mercy and grace and His power and justice, judgment, longsuffering, His jealousy and His love. I love that He is coming again to claim His bride and to destroy the earth and to judge both small and great. I absolutely love that He is Holy, Holy, Holy!

Yes, I love God.

Then I have to stop and think, where does that love come from? Some of the things listed are not natural to love. Did I really say that I love His wrath? Yes, because I do, but why? Why would I love that He is angry with the wicked every day? I know the answer. It is because He has caused me to fall so in love with Himself that I love everything about Him. He has kindled a love in my heart that will not be quenched but will only grow brighter with the passing of time. I love His character and attributes, He is so beautiful, so good, faithful, just and right. Oh, what a great God He is, there is no one like Him! It is no wonder that one great theme of the scriptures is for us to praise Him!

Let us Praise Him!

"Praise ye the LORD. Praise, O ye servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD. Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and for evermore. From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD'S name is to be praised. The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens. Who is like unto the LORD our God, who dwelleth on high, Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth! ... Praise ye the LORD." ! (Psalms 113:1-6)

Please write what you especially love about God. I know that there are many things that I did not mention that we can love about God. Does anything come to mind? please leave a comment with it!

Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life.

(Psalms 54:4)

When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan. (Proverbs 29:2)

Last night I watched and photographed a large electrical thunderstorm. It reminded me of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, whose power far surpasses any power that any other ruler has. In fact, the power which they seem to have is only by God allowing them to have it. The very life that they and we have, is given and maintained only by the mercy of God.

The Mighty One, God the LORD, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.

Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth. Our God comes; he does not keep silence; before him is a devouring fire, around him a mighty tempest.

He calls to the heavens above and to the earth, that he may judge his people: "Gather to me my faithful ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!"

The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge! Selah (Psalms 50:1-6)

Let us still Praise Him!

The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!" (Psalms 50:23)

Another baby save, on Election day!

We were out at the abortion clinic this morning and there was more of a hostile atmosphere this time. First thing, a group of drunks gathered near us and began to make loud noises, laughing and talking, which is pretty distracting when you are trying to pray. One of them who called himself a "Gnostic" tried to argue with us about the gospel, calling the book of John "hogwash". We praise the Lord that Michael and Josh were able to give him good answers and questions which we pray will cause him to think.

One of the men taking his girlfriend into the building to kill their child, became very angry when told to fear God. He said "my god has horns" and many other wicked things.

Still, we were able to sing, pray and read aloud the scriptures and speak to each of the eleven mothers who carried their children in there.

I was able to walk with and talk to one young mother for the length of over a block. She listened and I pray that God used those words.

After we left, one of the Side walk Councilors, Matt, stayed for a time. A couple came out of the building and Matt asked them if they had changed their minds, they said, "Yes"!

Praise God!

We don't have any details on it yet, as to which couple they were, but we are praising the Lord. There were also a couple of other woman who came out early, but we do not know why. God does, and we leave that before Him.

Today was a beautiful day with temps rising almost to 70 degrees!
I am trying to soak up all the warmth before the cold hits.

Now, I know the elections are on all of our minds and I just want to encourage all of us to praise the Lord no matter what the outcome. He said to praise Him in all things!
Our country deserves grave judgment from the Lord and it is amazing that he has given us so much mercy. We cannot expect His mercy to continue though, just look at all the innocent blood that is being shed in our nation daily and remember what He did to Israel for doing those things. His mercy may be long, but His justice will not wait forever.
I am praying that we, His redeem, will be ready for what is coming.

Sober Thoughts

Surprisingly, I have not dropped off the face of the earth but rather have been very busy! : )

This was my first year to can salsa, jelly and catsup! They turned out well, so I hope to do more of the same next year.

Lately the Lord has been helping me to examine myself, to see if I am truly saved. (2 Corinthians 13:5)

I have been raised in a Christian home and by that I do not mean a typical "Christian" home. I know the Bible, I have been taught how to live and how to seek the Lord. I know these things, but are they just in my mind, do I just know them by knowledge? Or, do I know Him? For Real?

Oh, it is easy to fool other people into thinking that you are saved, many people do that, but I have never thought that I was deceiving people. This then brings the question, can a person deceive themselves? The answer is sobering. Look at what Jesus said: "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 7:21) This is a serious thing! Read the same chapter through verse 23, Many will say Lord, Lord we did this and that in your name but Jesus will say to them, "I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." So, is this saying that many who think they are saved and think that God is working through them, are still under the wrath of an angry God? I think it is and the question that makes me tremble is; am I like that?

A person who is deceived does not know they are deceived. Think about Paul when he was persecuting Jesus' disciples. If you could have asked him what he thought about his standing with God, would he not have told you something like this: "God is very pleased with me, look at all the good he is doing through me. See how zealous I am for his Holy name." Paul was not looking for salvation on the road to Damascus! He thought that he was just fine. It was only the incredible mercy of God that revealed to him his need for the Saviour.

How many are in such a state? How many are going along in life, calling Him Lord, yet they do not know Him?

It is only the mercy of God... and that of an angry God, that will bring us to salvation. Can we say this is unfair? Read Romans 9, especially verses 14-29.

1 John gives some wonderful tests for the professing believer to examine themselves with, and it says, These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. (1 John 5:13)

So, I have been looking at these things and asking, do I have the fruit of the Spirit? Galatians 5:22-25, John 15:2 and vs. 16

*Have I repented of sin and continue to repent? Do I hate my sin and turn away from it, crying out to God to help me? Luke 5:32, Acts 11:18, Romans 2:4, 2 Corinthians 7:10, 2 Timothy 2:25, 2 Peter 3:9

*Do I love God and His people? Do I keep God's commandments? 1 John 5:1-3, ch. 2:3-6 1 John 3:18

*Where and what are my thoughts? 2 Corinthians 10:5

*Do I love the world? 1 John 2:15

*Who or what do I talk about most? James 1:26

*Do I walk in darkness? 1 John 1:5-7

*Do I have fellowship with God through His Spirit? 1 John 1:2

.......and more.

As all this has been going on, I have come to realize that I am not what I thought I was. I was deceiving myself in thinking higher of myself than I ought to think. (Romans 12:3) Now when I look at my life, it is with grief and sorrow for all the ways I have disobeyed my Lord. But...when seeing my depravity, I see that the fruit which does show forth cannot possibly come from myself, it must be Him.

"But, oh Lord, look how great my sin is."

"No, look at Me, see how much greater I am."

For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. (Romans 5:6)

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. (Romans 5:8-9)

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. (John 15:4)

Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. (John 15:16)

As a side note of proclamation: It is snowing right now!

On being a good witness

In these days that we live in, we hear so much about God's love, mercy, forgiveness and compassion. Phrases are used, such as: "accept Jesus into your heart", "just believe", "Jesus is knocking on your heart's door, won't you let Him in?" and many other sayings.

While it is very true that God is love (1 John 4:8), that He is full of mercy, forgiveness and compassion, (Psalms 145:8-9) (Isaiah 63:7), He is also a Holy God (1 Peter 1:15-16) (Revelation 4:8), a just judge (Jeremiah 23:5) (Deuteronomy 32:4) (1 Peter 4:5) (Romans 2:16), an angry God (Psalms 7:11), full of fury (Nahum 1:2) (Isaiah 59:18) (Isaiah 63:3-4) (Isaiah 66:15-16) (Ezekiel 8:18), and wrath (John 3:36) (Romans 2:5-6) (Revelation 6:16-17) (Revelation 19:15) (Colossians 3:6) (Ephesians 2:3).

We are vile, sinful, evil and wicked. (Isaiah 59:2) (Romans 3:23) (Philippians 3:21) (Psalms 38:4) (Psalms 90:7-8). We cannot make ourselves clean; "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." (Isaiah 64:6)

How many times did Adam and Eve sin before they were cast out of the garden? God's standard is absolute perfection, Himself. Can we be like God? If even our righteousness is as filthy rags before Him, where does that leave us? We cannot even pay off our debt of sin by doing good, even our best works are abominable in His sight. Imagine a thief who repents and stops stealing. Is his debt now paid off, just because he is not stealing anymore? We are commanded to do good, so doing good won't pay for our past debt. We must conclude that we are utterly doomed and deserve to be crushed under the wrath of the One and Only Omnipotent God, Creator of heaven and earth, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and that we are completely cast upon His mercy.

Oh but "He's a pretty forgiving guy isn't He?" (I have actually been asked that). Well...no, have you ever read the Old Testament? He is the same God now as He was then. God is not obligated to save us, it is of His own choosing to redeem us. There is nothing in you or I that would cause God to want to save us. "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)

What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? (Romans 9:14-24)

God does not need us, He is complete in Himself; "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last." (Revelation 22:13) His aim is to get glory for His own name; "For my name's sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off. Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another." (Isaiah 48:9-11)

Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD. (Jeremiah 9:23-24)

Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; (Psalms 33:18)We are commanded to fear the Lord; "Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name. He is thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen." (Deuteronomy 10:20-21)

This is why God's mercy is so very incredible! He, the Holy just judge, is willing to pardon wicked vile sinners? And at what price?

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)

Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. (Isaiah 53:10-11)

Jesus Christ, God's Son, took the fierce wrath of God on Himself, in our place. He drank of the cup of wrath from God's hand and when He was finished there was nothing left against us. "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." (Hebrews 8:12) Jesus Christ rose again from the dead and has ascended into Heaven. He has promised to come again: "And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city." (Revelation 22:12-14)

It is the work of God to save a soul but He has commanded us to preach the gospel. We must be careful to give the gospel that is in the whole Bible and not just one that has been fitted to make everyone feel good.

For more (really good) discussion on this topic please visit: http://fruit-of-her-hands.blogspot.com/2008/10/handmaiden-of-lord-post-2.html

Salvation!

There is something I have been wanting to share with you all, but I had to first make sure that all our friends who read this blog knew about it first.

On Tuesday September 30, 2008, my brother Michael was saved!

We are rejoicing!

At the age of seven he had such a fear of going to hell that he prayed and asked God to save him. He made a confession of faith through baptism and as life went on he became very passionate for righteousness. He could pray wonderful prayers and talk knowledgably about the Bible, those who knew him outside our immediate family did not question his salvation.

But...on that particular Tuesday we were packing chickens and we all wanted something to listen to, so I put on a sermon by Paul Washer entitled: "Examine Yourself" based on 2 Corinthians 13:5,

"Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?"

In 1 John, there are tests that we can give ourselves to see if we really are in the faith.

Michael began to examine himself and realized that he was not saved. 1 John 1:5-7 struck him hard:

"This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."

Michael fell on his knees and cried out to God to have mercy on his soul and save him. God answered mightily! All of a sudden Michael was quiet and then said in amazement, "I'm saved. Praise God, I'm saved! He did it, He saved me!" Can you imagine the joy, excitement and rejoicing that we all had?

Now I have a new brother, he is completely changed, old things have passed away behold all things have become new! He is different! What used to be controlled by emotion and passion is now led by the Spirit of the living God and there is a big difference! Praise God!

This last Sunday, the 5th, as some friends looked on, Michael made a true confession of faith through baptism, in cold Lake Superior!