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Grace, yokes and "helpers"

Hey pals :) how are you? How are things and life?  

God please speak to each person reading this and let your voice stir them up God, let your words land on their hearts with your loving power.

2nd Corinthians 6

The two main points here are:

1.don't receive God's Grace in vain

2.don't be yoked with unbelievers

 

Basicly meaning,  (or so my study bible says) "how can God's grace be in vain? If we continue to live for ourselves rather than to fulfill God's purpose, then we have "received" God's grace in vain and our Faith commitment was evidently not genuine."

Do we fail sometimes? Yes, but if we keep going back to a situation and never grow out of it then we sort of waste the grace God gives us. I think. I'm still learning so I'm not an expert, if any of this sounds untrue, ask God and he'll clear it up. 😁

 

The second part tells us not to be yoked together with unbelievers. What does yoked even mean? Well Google says it means: hitched connected joined. Now this isn't telling us to ignore unbelievers, it just means don't spend more time with them than believers. you want to be filled with the holy spirit and influence them not them influence you. That's why it's good to hang out with strong believers if you're hanging out with unsaved friends. It's like the belief that the 5 people you hang out with the most you become like. if we never hang out with strong believers or God then how can we say we're anything like them? If all we hangout with are unbelievers we'll be like them. So if you have a lot of unsaved friends hang out with them with another believer, so you can hold each other accountable. There's strength in numbers :)

Ezra 4

In this chapter we have the tribe of Judah and the Israelites just minding their own business trying to rebuild the temple to God, when out of nowhere(!!??!!) their sneaky enemies came over and try to ask if they want any... "help" ...haha. Israel's mama didn't raise no fool though and sassily told them "UHMM--you'll have no part with us in building a temple to OUR God (i bet their enemies worshiped idols so that was like a burn ooooooooo) We alone will build it for our LORD , the God of Israel, as King CyrusCyrus, the king of Persia commanded us". Oh snap, soup awk for Israel enemies. But that didn't deter them, afterwards they sent a highly manipulative letter to the next king, basicly bashing Israel and implying if Israel rebuilds then Israel won't Pay taxes anymore and will undermine the king xerxes and maybe rise up against him later on. Well the king was easily duped into going along with the enemies plans of stopping the rebuilding of the temple and it took like 10 more years until they could start up again. I guess the moral of this story is if God says you're going to do something u better believe he will make it happen!!!!! 😁 it may take a few years but God's word never returns unfullfiled, never ever ever. Isn't that the best?

Well I hope you kiddos have a special time with God this week and walk close to him, he just wants to be with you and help you. Remember you are loved MUCH <3

 

 

Don't sacrifice tomorrow for convenience today.

Good Morning ya'll!  Eric here.  Let's dig in.

Genesis 25

Two stories here catch my eye... and both have to deal with settling for immediate satisfaction instead of waiting for God's better solution.  

Check out v.12-18 - Ishmael's Sons.  If you recall from previous chapters, Ishmael is the son of Abraham that was born to the handmaiden of Sarah, and Isaac is the heir born of his WIFE.  Abraham and Sarah came up with their own solution to the "childless" thing and Ishmael was one of the results. Here's the kicker, Ishmael's descendants where a problem: v18b"And they lived in hostility toward all the tribes related to them."  Why is this significant?  Isaac is the linage that the modern Nation of Israel is descended from, Ishmael is where we find all of he Arabic countries coming from... Jews vs. Muslims.  See the conflict now?

Take a step down to the next generation: Jacob and Esau, Isaac's Sons. v.19-34  Esau was the favored child, but Jacob was a schemer... troublemaker.  Esau, being a hunter and a man of the woods, came in from a long excursion hungry... nay, he was famished.  Since Jacob preferred to hang around the camp, Jacob had some dinner cooking.  Esau wanted it. Esau "needed" the food or he would die! (Like any of us have been dramatic about food before, right?)  I can guess that Esau was probably hungry...  but I can't imagine he was "THAT" hungry.  Jacob took advantage... "sell me your birthright"... for a bowl of stew???  Is my entire inheritance and all the blessings that come with it worth a meal?  Esau make a poor call at that point. He sold his better future for an immediate solution.  This choice causes him much grief later on.

Matthew 25

Jesus is teaching in parables here... stories.  Here are a couple that deal with this same topic in one form or another.  God is good in that His word lines up.

v.1-13 - Parable of the ten virgins - a story about being prepared. I'll let you dig into the details here.  Long story short... think ahead and be prepared.  Extra supplies, provisions laid aside, savings... these are good things.

v.14-30 - Parable of the bags of gold - use what you are given. Here is another story about today vs. tomorrow.  Each person in the story is given some gold to work with.  Each is given an amount according to their ability.  They are expected to do something with it.  You are a unique creation of GOD with a unique set of talents, a unique personality and a particular role to fill.  Use what you got!

We all are given 24 hours each day, that's 1,440 minutes.  Let's see how we can use those for a awesome tomorrow!  At the same time, let's have fun today without sacrificing tomorrow. ;)

I'm pulling for you, Eric.

being free

Hey guys jasmine here :)

Tonight we're going through psalms 105 & Romans 16; I'm praying whatever God wants you to hear will stand out to you and that he speaks through me in my commentary portion.

 

Psalm 105

42 For he remembered his sacred promise
    to his servant Abraham.
43 So he brought his people out of Egypt with joy,
    his chosen ones with rejoicing.
44 He gave his people the lands of pagan nations,
    and they harvested crops that others had planted.
45 All this happened so they would follow his decrees
    and obey his instructions.

Romans 16

17 And now I make one more appeal, my dear brothers and sisters. Watch out for people who cause divisions and upset people’s faith by teaching things contrary to what you have been taught. Stay away from them. 18 Such people are not serving Christ our Lord; they are serving their own personal interests. By smooth talk and glowing words they deceive innocent people. 19 But everyone knows that you are obedient to the Lord. This makes me very happy. I want you to be wise in doing right and to stay innocent of any wrong. 20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

 

Psalms 105 talks about how the Lord sent his servant Moses and Aaron to Egypt to free his people but when they got there the king wouldn't let them go so God had to: cover them in darkness, send locusts, frogs and make the waters blood red to get them out. but he did it all because of his promise to Abraham ( 9 This is the covenant he made with Abraham and the oath he swore to Isaac. 10 He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, and to the people of Israel as a never-ending covenant: 11 “I will give you the land of Canaan as your special possession.”), and cuz he loves his people and is filled with joy when he gets to help them ^-^

Romans 10 covers a hella lot of greetings from Paul to his friends then an instruction to be careful who we spend our time with and to not be deceived. Google defintion of the word deceived says- to cause (someone) to believe something that is not true, typically in order to gain some personal advantage. If we are deceived it is because someone wants to gain something from our confusing of the truth. We do not want that because the truth sets us free. Often times most people who are being deceived don't even realize it's happeneing to them. That why it's important to pray for wisdom and holy discernment, praying on the armor of God every day can help too. Often times being deceivd can keep us from growing the way God wants/desires us to. we want to live a full life so it's important to listen to God, we can never go wrong by beleiving his promises and trusting in him. I hope you guys got what you needed from this and I pray you seek a more intimate relationship with God this week. You are all loved MUCH. <3 

God is going to deliver you

Hey guys :) it's Jasmine

Tonight we're going over Acts 16 and psalm 56

Acts 16

Psalm 56

 

In Acts 16:16 we have paul and silas in prison for casting out a prophesying demon in a fortune telling slave girl who's masters were using her to bring in the big bills. After they were accused of teaching illegeal custom to the romans they were severly beaten and landed in prison. There they began singing and praising God around midnight when all of a sudden there was a massive earthquake! It had the whole cell shaking. Next thing ya know the doors were flying open and the chains fell off ALL the prisoners  :O !! ! (if I were one of those guards I'd be PRETTY terrified right about now) When the jailer woke up(idk how he slept through that earthquake tbh ha) he found all the cells open and assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself but just before he did paul shouted "don't don't do it! We're all still here!" The jailer ran to Paul and asked him how to be saved so paul told him "Beleive in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved along with everyone else in your houshold" so he did it then told his family and they rejoiced because they were all believed in God. Then Paul and Silas were set free.

In Psalms we get to hear Davids song regaurding the time when the philistines seized him in gath.

8 You keep track of all my sorrows.
    You have collected all my tears in your bottle.
    You have recorded each one in your book.

9 My enemies will retreat when I call to you for help.
    This I know: God is on my side!
10 I praise God for what he has promised;
    yes, I praise the Lord for what he has promised.
11 I trust in God, so why should I be afraid?
    What can mere mortals do to me?

12 I will fulfill my vows to you, O God,
    and will offer a sacrifice of thanks for your help.
13 For you have rescued me from death;
    you have kept my feet from slipping.
So now I can walk in your presence, O God,
    in your life-giving light.

Both accounts end with God rescuing/delivering them and not only them but others, prisoners, families!

God wants to help us, he is our protector and he keeps all his promises forever psalm146:6 These accounts in the bible should be long forgotten they should encourage us! and Instill in us a stronger faith in God. If you feel like you can't go on or you're in a situation that seems hopeless bring it to God, praise him for what you do have focus on the positive let God deal with it, our job is to trust that he is going to take care of it. Worry won't add a single day to our life. I pray that you guys keep that in mind as you go to school this week (or work) and lean on God when you need to or confide in him, he's a great listener :)

Don't forget! You are all loved MUCH. <3

p.s since I couldn't find a picture relating to this here a majestic sea creature instea

from victim to victory

Hey everybody Jasmine here ^-^

Today we're going through Matthew 24 and psalms 35

in psalm we have david speaking of being surrounded and being opposed on all sides with family and friends rejoicing in his suffering and attacking him on all sides. Psalms 1-3 david says

"O Lord, oppose those who oppose me.
    Fight those who fight against me.
2 Put on your armor, and take up your shield.
    Prepare for battle, and come to my aid.
3 Lift up your spear and javelin
    against those who pursue me.
Let me hear you say,
    “I will give you victory!”

I believe it was a cry from his heart because over and over in this passage he describes wanting God to step in a save him to make his enemies stop attacking him and to punish them.

Google's definition of Vitory is-an act of defeating an enemy or opponent in a battle, game, or other competition. 

Romans 8:37 says 

36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep. 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I want you to know when you feel you are being attacked on all sides by people circumstances or fear that God wants to give you victory, he wants to turn you from victim to victory. Seriously. So if you feel how david did then I encourage you to go to God right now with your worries and cares and give them to him. Ask him to remove the weeds of lies from your mind and plant the truth of His word in your heart. God is the creator of everything if he can create: planets, animals, mountains then he MOST DEF can accomplish what he says. If you want to see real change in your life concerning these things ask God to help you. :) He is a great listener and you might feel a lot better after taking your concerns to him. You can conquor/overcome the devil/your enemies through Jesus Christ, just seek him first.

Peace out

remember you are all loved MUCH. :)

 

What if Adam were ashamed of me?

Hey guys. Chelsey here with ya today. Who's ready to get their Bible on!? :) Dear Lord, please speak to us through your word today. We want to learn more about you. How you think...how you operate. Help us learn about your character. We love you Jesus. Amen!

Romans 1 - let's look at verse 16 "for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. It is the power of God at work, Saving everyone who believes." What does it mean to not be ashamed of something? I'd be pretty hurt if Adam was ashamed of me or embarrassed by me in front of his friends. But let's flip it to a spiritual perspective real fast...are we ever embarrassed to stick up for what's right? Like maybe do we ever go ahead and laugh at a dirty joke when we know it's wrong, just because it's easier to laugh than to stand up for what we believe? Try to think of it with that perspective. Don't be ashamed of the gospel and what you believe in. Be firm in your beliefs! Be bold! :)

Daniel 7 - here we see Daniel have a dream and God explains the meaning to him. It's an intense dream too! At the end of the chapter it says Daniel woke up terrified and pale. Have you ever had a dream like that? I love dreams. They're way cool. God gets to speak to a captive audience...you can't go anywhere and are silent so he can speak. It's great. I encourage you to check out the book "understanding the dreams you dream" by Ira Milligan. It teaches about different symbols in dreams. Write your dreams down!!! And then pray about them and ask God what he's trying to say to you.

Well, that's all for today. I hope you've gotten your nuggets for the day! Thanks for reading with me. Xoxo -Chelsey

Face That Fear and Teach the Fear of the Lord

It's Jen, your favorite, back to bring you some encouragement that I hope will help you remember who you are and just who God is and how BOSS that is!  

Let's do this.

Eph. 4:  One of the super boo-yah opening statements of all time:  "as a prisoner of the Lord."  Nobody treats prisoners like Jesus.  He doesn't even have to take them by force; they surrender to His goodness.  Do you love it?  You should!  The statement completes by saying , "I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received."  Best part:  the rest of the chapter tells you how to do just that.  No fuss, no muss.  Act like you know who Jesus is ...and here's how!  Some of these directions take practice, but nothing worth anything comes easy.  Jesus is way worthy (she said believing it to be the understatement of the year).

2 Chron. 20:  Wow, did I need this.  I so needed what this verse is serving up.  

First things first.  Jehoshaphat is seriously one of the coolest Bible names ever.  Just saying.  

So Jehoshaphat, 4th king of Judah, finds out that a vast army is about wage war on his people.  What's the first thing he does?  Calls for a fast and inquires of the Lord and tells his people to do the same.  Not call his advisors, generals or diplimats; his first response in a really bad situation is to call God for help.  He cried out in front of all of Judah to the Lord, "‘If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.’  For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”

Have you been there?  Facing something terrifying that you know you can't do anything about?  Your parents splitting up, your best friend moving or just moving on without you, someone dying, really hard classes that you just don't understand, a bully that just won't go away, a health issue of your own...I could go on all day.  Everyday we face giants, and I hate to tell you this, but they only get bigger as you get older.  But there is really, and I mean REALLY good news!

There is God.  And this is how He answers us when we go to Him with our battles. "‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s...You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lor will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’” Eph.4 15-17

That's right.  You don't have to fight alone or even fight.  Just face your battles.  The Lord fights for you.

Jehoshaphat hears this and starts a worship party.  This is some seriously good news.  And while they are worshiping God, God gets to gettin'.  He sets up ambushes within the enemy so that they end up killing each other.  The next day, Judah's army goes out and sees nothing but dead guys.  So, as not to be wasteful, they go and take up the valuables.  It took 3 days to plunder the dead.

Not only does God fight for you, you take plunder from your enemies.  The giants fall and you take away from them not the other way around.  

 "Eph 4:29 The fear of God came on all the surrounding kingdoms when they heard how the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. 30 And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side"

Take your battle to the Lord.  Let Him fight for you because He wants to show you how much you depend on Him.  He will not only win the battle for you but give you plunder.  And when seeing what God has done for you, people will come to Him and fear Him knowing what He does for His people and what He does to those who attack them.  

Face your giants and fears with praise and thanksgiving, with a heart of worship toward the One and Only God Almighty who is already fighting this battle for you.  Don't be afraid, young warriors. Take heart!  Take plunder!  Give God the Glory!  Expand the Kingdom!  The battle is won!

  

Well...okay...time to improvise...

Jen here.  Well, techically I'm here.  Not sure if the brain is really working yet.  I can't seem to type to save my life.  It's really bad.  I hope I didn't just break Eric's keyboard.  Sigh.  Anyway...

I can't locate the list of verses I'm supposed to be blogging about.  So, I'm going to write about something I've been thinking about lately.  The list of the Seven Deadly Sins.  They aren't written down as a check list but these are the things that we are warned against over and over in the Bible. (Proverbs 6:16-19 and Gal. 5:19-21 are examples.)  God does NOT need to repeat Himself, so when He does, our ears shall perk up.

On this list you find:  gluttony, lust, pride, wrath(extreme anger), envy, vainity, and sloth (laziness).  I would like to not that these things are all states of mind really.  Minds on themselves and not on Jesus, that is.

Why are these things "deadly"?  Well, quite frankly, that's the roads they lead you down.  Death Way.  Sin Street.  Broken Boulevard.  Wow-My-Life-Is-In-The-Flusher Drive.

Gluttony:  a mind set on food that eats whatever it wants can lead to all kinds of health problems as well as make your body so round that you can't do the things God has for you to do.  Does anyone want to hear God say, "Well, I wanted you to build houses for the refugees in Rowanda, but you liked cake too much."?  Not me.  I'm working on this one because it's one of the two that plague my mind. 

Lust:  that one is kinda self explaining.  Not only could you get a disease that will follow or lead you to the grave, but you can ruin hearts and lives of others as well.  Lust isn't just sex.  You can lust for many things that take you away from God.  It's a bad one.

Wrath, Envy and Vanity:  These are the ones that really feed off each other.  We think so much of ourselves that we are offended when something good happens to someone else and it makes us angry.  These three, from the beginning of time, are what makes people think it's acceptable to take the lives of others.  It's what revenge is made of.  They isolate people and makes them cold and bitter and bullies.  I'm sure you've seen it yourself.

Pride:  How many happy reunions are lost on the beaches of pride?  How many hearts and relationships could be healed if not for pride?  How many mistakes owned up to and fixed and learned from?  I could go on.  Pride may not literally cost you your life, but it can certainly make your life lonely and miserable.

Sloth:  Jen's struggle #2!  I could sit and eat all day.  There is no Jesus in that.  It is NOT the life God has called me to.  I will fight against it, and I call on Him to help me win the battle because if I don't, I won't.  A life where you just sit and zone and do nothing is a life wasted. Just wasted.  It's both sad and disgusting.  Nowadays, that isn't all there is to sloth.  Entitlement, that toxic cocktail of gluttony, vanity and sloth rears up:  give me what I think I should have without my trying to earn it.  Gimme.  Gimme.  Gimme.  

Understand that all these sins could lead to actual death, but they more swiftly kill you spiritual life.  Can you praise God through your envy of others?  Are you too proud to even go to God in the first place?  Are you too lazy to even start praying?  Would you rather just go for tacos and to check out the honeys at Taco Bell?  Think about it.

Beware my lovelies, so that you can look for the danger before it snatches you up.  Call on God for backup.  Call on your family and those you trust in the Lord for back up too.  We love you, and we want to see His glorious destiny for your lives completed.  We want you to LIVE.

So Much..So Much To Pick From...

Jen again.   Today's dilema is the buffet of God stuff set before me in Genesis 18 and Mattew 18.  Literally, tons of stuff to pick  and choose from that I find it's hard to pick anything.  I am praying as you read these verses, you pick up lots of juicy tidbits.  There is a lot of meat here.  Read carefully.

This is the one where I feel Sarah.  In Genesis 18:9-15, Sarah after praying for children for decades, is finally promised a child.  She laughs.  I know that laugh.  It's the one you give because it's either that or cry.  The cold laugh of unbelief because the prayer (you know the one...THE prayer of your heart) still feels unanswered.  I'm sure I've laughed that laugh, but I've not denied it.  I've flat out yelled at God about and cried about being afraid to believe it's real.  It's a hard laugh.  The one that believes God will do it for others, but maybe not for you.  I feel Sarah.  Maybe you do as well.  If so, know that God knows.  He knows.  He cares.  He loves you.  He has not forgotten.  Just keep going.  Keep tilling your heart with prayer so it doesn't get hard and bitter.  I totally get Sarah.

Matt. 18.  Again, so much good stuff.  I can only sum up with this:  Forgive and mean it.  Don't worry about your status; just worry about pleasing God.  Just be a carefree kid hanging out with Dad.  That's all you have to be.

Love you my lovelies!  Cyber hugs!  Praying for you!  Read with care.

The Father's provision for the expected fall.

Good Morning Yall,

Honoray with you this morning. What a wild week we had between the drastic change in temp and snow to Ice on the roads stopping us from meeting for Youth. It was crazy. Good to see things getting back to normal.  Today we are going through Matthew 3 & Genesis 3. Take some time to pray and we will Jump on in........ Lets Do this!!!!

Matthew 3
Here we see John the Baptist preparing the way for the coming of the Lord in verse. Check out what he says in verse 11 “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”  He speaks of the coming of Jesus and as we read further down he sees his God given revelation come to be when he baptizes Jesus and then hears a voice from heaven in verse 17: "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” How amazing to watch Moses reveal what is to come and then see it come to pass.  

Genesis 3
Here we see one of the most famous deceptions in the bible. The thing to remember about this is God was not surprised by the fall of Adam and Eve. God knew he would send Jesus as a provision. We were on his mind from the get go. If you feel alone or left out know that the truth is that you are his and he cares about every single aspect of your life. RIght down to the number of hairs on our heads

So awesome getting to go through with you this morning. Watching Jesus being talked about and then actually step on the scene as the very answer to the fall in Genesis.. WOW... Simple provision for us. When we mess up Jesus, our provision,  covers it when we trust him as savior and allow God to walk us through and past our mistakes.  

Until next week, Be Blessed and Not Stressed and know that God has got you covered. His Provision is perfect.  

In His and Your Service,
BIG h.