This Week...

John Everett Millais, The Nest, 1887

John 6:1-15

Jesus gives us tests and trials to increase our faith and trust in Him. He knows already what He is going to do because He is all knowing God. When tests come to us we must trust Him and seek His help in making wise decisions. "He said this to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do." (6:6)

This Week...

  John 3:22-36

Jesus is above all things and people. He is the ruler of Heaven and earth. Nothing can happen on earth without His knowledge, for all things come from Heaven. "A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from Heaven." (3:27). We must remember that He has complete control. Our decrease is His increase. All we have was given by Him. God is true and only in this belief can we live. "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on Him." (3:36). We are nothing and He is all.

Photo: Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose by John Singer Sargent, 1885-1886

This Week

"Petites Maraudeuses" William Adolphe Borguereau, 1872

Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou?

John 1:38

Jesus' first words to the disciples were what are you seeking? Lately I found this to be a question I need to ask myself. What am I seeking? Am I seeking Jesus or my own personal happiness and pleasure? At the close of the day when I reflect on it's happenings I find that if I have sought the latter I have gained only personal suffering for my pains but if I have truly sought to follow Christ I have a joy and satisfaction within myself that is worth anything I might have had to give in order to receive it.

This Week... Contentment

First of all, I apologize for the lack of updates. The truth is I have only lately returned from an absence of three weeks. All of the posts you have read for the last month were scheduled in April and early May. I kept a private travel blog while I was gone and hope to be able to share it with you very soon.

Secondly, in place of a scripture verse today I would like to share a quote from a book I have just finished. Though the Bible should be our ultimate source of comfort, joy and inspiration I think that the words of the men and women of faith who, though not directly inspired and infused with the Holy Ghost, were inspired by God's Word are nearly as valuable to us as the Word itself. Without further ado a portion of the next to the last paragraph of Til We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis.

I ended my first book with the words no answer. I know now, Lord, why you utter no answer. You are yourself the answer. Before your face questions die away. What other answer would suffice?

This Week... Humility

"Why do the nations rage
   and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
   and the rulers take counsel together,
   against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying,
"Let us burst their bonds apart
   and cast away their cords from us."

 He who sits in the heavens laughs;
   the Lord holds them in derision.
Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
   and terrify them in his fury, saying,
"As for me, I have set my King
   on Zion, my holy hill."

 I will tell of the decree:The LORD said to me, "You are my Son;
   today I have begotten you.
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
   and the ends of the earth your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron
   and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel."

Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
   be warned, O rulers of the earth.
  Serve the LORD with fear,
   and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son,
   lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
   for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him."

-Psalm 2

Mankind will always pride itself on glory and greatness. It will do so even to the point of believing itself greater than God. This is a very foolish thing for compared to the greatness of the Lord the greatness of man is but a fleeting shadow that will soon pass away. 

This Week... Sin

Leviticus 4-6

... ... ...

 "If anyone of the common people sins unintentionally in doing any one of the things that by the LORD’s commandments ought not to be done, and realizes his guilt, or the sin which he has committed is made known to him, he shall bring for his offering a goat, a female without blemish, for his sin which he has committed."

 -Leviticus 4:27-28

Our God is a most holy God. Even when we sin unconsciously we must still bear the guilt of it and ask forgiveness. Sin is sin in any form. The shape does not alter the nature.

This Week... Righteousness

"Blessed is the man
   who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
   nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
   and on his law he meditates day and night.

 He is like a tree
   planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
   and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so,
   but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
   nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
for the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
   but the way of the wicked will perish."

-Psalm 1 (ESV) 

In this psalm the "way of the righteous" is clearly defined. We are not to associate unnecessarily with sinners or sinful things (the old creature)  but instead we are to dwell on God and His law (the new creature). We are to be an example to others around us and stand along side those who follow the Lord.

This Week...

 "Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out. But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the LORD was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys."

-Exodus 40:34-38

As the Lord was present in the tabernacle so is He present in the temple of our bodies. As He led the Israelites on their journey through the wilderness to Canaan so He leads us on our journey through the wilderness of sin to Heaven. As He leads so we should follow.

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

Just a little note: next week I will not be posting either "I *Heart* Wednesday" or "This week..." as I am planning to participate in Amanda Beth Online's Secondhand Fashion Week. Also, because my secondhand wardrobe isn't exactly very large I will be posting either a DIY tutorial or a re-purposing tip everyday along with my outfit. See you tomorrow!

This Week... Provision

William Borguereau, A Moment's Rest, 1900

'The LORD said to Moses, "See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship,'

- Exodus 31: 1-3

God gives us as His people very clear instructions. He gives us tasks and commandments to follow. And no matter how huge or impossible the tasks may seem He always provides a way for us to accomplish them. The task of building the tabernacle (see Exodus chapters 25-30) must have seemed huge to Moses and the children of Israel but God provided two men who were not only skilled in all craftsmanship but were also filled with the Spirit of God. God will always make provision for us when we trust in Him.

This Week... Faithfulness

The little sulk, William Adolphe Borguereau, 1888

'...if they violate my statutes
   and do not keep my commandments,
then I will punish their transgression with the rod
   and their iniquity with stripes,
but I will not remove from him my steadfast love
   or be false to my faithfulness.'

Psalm 89:31-33 (ESV)

I find these to be comforting verses. As followers of Christ, no matter what we do God will always be faithful to us. He is steady and unchanging, a rarity in our present, forever shifting world.

This Week... Contentment

  Franz Xavier Winterhalter (1805-1873) Young Italian Girl by the Well

'So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, "At evening you shall know that it was the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and in the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your grumbling against the LORD. For what are we, that you grumble against us?" And Moses said, "When the LORD gives you in the evening meat to eat and in the morning bread to the full, because the LORD has heard your grumbling that you grumble against him— what are we? Your grumbling is not against us but against the LORD." '

-Exodus 16:6-8 (ESV)

When we complain about or against a person or thing we are really complaining against God. We are saying that He is not capable of caring for us and of meeting our needs. God, in His patience and mercy, must prove Himself and His power to us over and over again. He must lead us through trials and tests in order to bring us back and make us lean on Him again.

This Week...

Just a short one this week.

'God spoke to Moses and said to him, "I am the LORD." '
-Exodus 6:2

He is THE LORD. What more do we need to know?

This Week...

Now this is this weeks!

' "When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live." But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live. So the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, "Why have you done this, and let the male children live?" The midwives said to Pharaoh, "Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them."  So God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families.'

-Exodus 1:16-21 (ESV)

This passage is so inspiring to me. The two Hebrew midwives knew three things: they knew what they were commanded to do by Pharaoh was wrong, they knew he could punish them if they disobeyed and they knew that God was to be feared rather than man. They could have done what Pharaoh wanted  with punishment as an excuse but they chose to obey God instead!

This Week...

Actually this is last week. Sorry about that!

'As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.'

-Genesis 50:20 (ESV)

As Christians we are promised trials and tribulations (Jas. 1:2-3). Though this may sound like a dim prospect we can take comfort in the fact that God has a plan and everything that happens to us is part of that plan. When something bad does take place we can know that it is for the good of ourselves and others (Rom. 8:28).

This Week...

Genesis 19:17, 23, 26
"And as they brought them out, one said, 'Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away'...The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar...But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt." (ESV)

I think I am often guilty of the sin of Lot's wife. There are things I know I have been told not to look back upon or stop to see. Though there is no evidence of salt there are consequences. It causes me to waste time, to dwell on sinful thoughts and it often creates worry and worry nourishes doubt in the Lord's ability to care for me in the face of such evident sin as there is in this world. But after reading of Lot's wife we read of the birth of Issac.

" 'Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.' "  -Genesis 18:14 (ESV)

"The LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did to Sarah as he had promised. And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him. Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac."  -Genesis 21:1-3 (ESV)

Why should I be afraid? God, for whom nothing is too difficult, has a plan for me.

This Week...

I have decided to post every Saturday something I have learned in my daily devotions. When I read my Bible in the mornings I write down one or two paragraphs about what God has shown me through that day's reading. Each week I will choose one of these notes to share with you. I think this will help me to be more diligent in my study and I think it will better establish this blog as being owned by a follower of Christ!

Defeating Sin

' "But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that it was desirable to make one wise, she took of it's fruit and ate, and she gave also to her husband who was with her, and he ate.' -Genesis 3:4-6 (ESV)

'The Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? if you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. It's desire is for you, but you must rule over it." ' -Genesis 4:6-7

Because of Adam and Eve's fall from perfection into sin (Gen. 2-3) sin is an ever present factor in our lives. It is forever "crouching", waiting to trip us up and bring us down (1 John 1:8). However, Jesus because He loved us, came and died and conquered sin (John 3:16, John 16:33). Now we have a choice (Josh. 24:15). We can choose to follow the world and be brought down by sin or we can choose to say "no" to the world and follow Christ. This choice is a daily one and it can be as simple as saying a kind word instead of an irritated one when we are busy and a sibling asks a question. Nor will we be able to choose well every time but through the grace of God we can overcome sin and follow Christ instead of the world!

Please forgive me if this is not very good. I am not a writer and I am not used to writing things in a way that other people will understand (though I know exactly what I'm talking about!). I hope, with time and practice to improve my skills!

P.S.
This is also my 200th post!