It's my birthday :) How exciting lol. I'm 29 today. I thought I would write out all the things I am thankful for. :)
1. I am most thankful for hugs from my husband. He gives the BEST hugs ever and nothing in the world has ever made me feel more loved. :)
2. I am thankful for how sweet and kind my husband is and that he likes hanging out with me. :)
3. I am thankful for his job and that it provides for us and that for the most part he likes it. :)
4. I am thankful that we always have plenty of food and I have never been without food really. God has always provided.
5. I got some gift cards for my birthday and I am very thankful for those. :)
6. I am thankful for being able to write. I always wanted to write as my job. Not that I get paid for this, but it's what I most prefer to do with my time. :) And who knows, maybe some things I write here will be in a book someday. :) And I am thankful for Facebook and being able to keep in touch with old friends on there. :)
7. I am very thankful for my mom and best friend Ashley. They are both a great support for me and are always a joy to talk to. :)
8. I am thankful for pumpkin pie. I probably like pumpkin more than any food besides ice cream :)
9. I am SO thankful for all the great churches near me. I've never lived somewhere with so many great churches! Stonegate is like 5 minutes from me and I really like their main service. Mid Cities has tons of great classes and Bible studies. Crossroads is where I go to Celebrate Recovery and the women there are just great! I am so thankful for the women's Bible study I got to do there recently. It was so nice to have a ladies night once a week and eat dinner with them etc! Every time walking in the Bible study room it felt like walking into Bilbo's house in the Hobbit. It was just so warm and inviting and comfortable. It felt like home and like they were my family. 60 new aunts and sisters and cousins. :) Awe......lol
10. I am thankful for good new friends here, Tabitha and Lindsey, and how wise and friendly they are. :)
11. I am thankful for my grand parents and that they pray for me every day and the great Christian model they have always been for me!
12. I am very grateful for my car! I still love it, 10 years later lol and wouldn't want anything different! I paid 20k over 6 years for that car so I definitely appreciate it a lot. :) It still runs great and I still think it's the cutest car ever made! (I have a white Toyota Echo)
13. I am thankful for the freedom we have in America, as opposed to how things are in China. I am so glad I was born in the U.S.A. :)
14. I am thankful for when I get to sleep in and I feel rested and not tired. :)
15. I am thankful, as silly as this sounds, for my stuffed animals. I have a few and I especially like the kind with the big eyes. They just make my heart smile every time I look at them. :)
16. I am thankful for our shower and that we have warm water. Most other parts of the world don't always have warm water. I have taken a cold shower before many times and it is not fun at all :(
17. I am thankful that our heater always works so I can stay warm. :)
18. I am thankful that I have this week off work, even though I will miss the little girl I've been watching. But maybe Ben and I will drive to Cali to visit my family who knows. God's will be done. :)
19. I am SO thankful for all the baby things I got from my friend Jessica, and Lori who I babysit for. :) I got a crib and swing from Jessica and tons of clothes, a car seat, and a stroller from Lori. They are so nice! Praise God! :)
20. I am thankful for how spacious our apartment is.
21. I am thankful that our daughter will be here in a month and I can't wait to experience being a mom and I can't wait to see what she will look like. My whole life I have wanted a daughter and my whole life I have wondered what she would look like. I will soon get to find out. Very exciting! :)
22. I am thankful that being a mom will keep me busy and I may never be bored again yay.....I hate being bored and having nothing to do. :)
23. I am thankful for Target having the cutest baby outfits and I can't wait to see them on Serenity. :)
24. I am thankful for all the blankets I got from Lori. We have like 10 baby blankets now lol I think we'll be good. :)
25. I'm thankful for our furniture and that we didn't have to buy any of it. A bed was given to us by Jessica woot!
26. I am thankful that the weather is warming up. It was waaaay too cold here for a few days and we had the craziest ice storm lol. I slipped and hit my back on our icy stairs about a week ago but praise God my back is totally better now! It was very painful. :(
27. I am thankful for comfortable clothes. :)
28. I am thankful for Target and that we live right next to one. I love how clean and happy it usually is. It's the happiest place on earth lol. :)
29. I am very thankful for MILK. The one craving I have had being pregnant has just been milk. I can't seem to get enough. :)
30. I am thankful for pictures of my husband and I around our apt. I printed a bunch off and I'm glad I got them printed. :)
31. I'm thankful that our world is not yet in the tribulation and I pray it won't happen too soon. :)
32. I am thankful that my mom is coming in three weeks to drive me to the hospital when the time comes and help me with the baby at first. :) Thanks mom :)
33. I am thankful for the nice restaurants all around us and that we are in a great location for our apt.
34. I am thankful for being 2 minutes away from a nice grocery store, Target and Wal-mart. :)
35. But overall I am most thankful for my husband and what a wonderful man of God he is. He is so nice and so funny and so kind. I am so thankful to have him for my husband. :)
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Friday, November 29, 2013
Thoughts
That second one is especially true, the most kind people are the first to be mistreated. Why is it that people are always nice to jerks, but then to people that are kind to them they treat badly? It is a hard fact of life for sure.
Paul says in a letter to a church, "If I love you more, will you love me less?" For some reason, the more someone loves us, the less we love them. The reason for this may be that we think we don't deserve that much love and so we don't respect them for loving us that much. We then push them away because being loved more than we think we deserve can be scary. :(
Also the first one is very true, those who seem the strongest are often the most sensitive. My own mom even had no idea that I had insecurities because I seem so strong. But I have insecurities just like everyone else. I worry if other girls are prettier than me or smarter etc. I try to not focus on my insecurities though. :)
Also those who smile the most often do have the most pain. They smile a lot because they want to brighten someone else's day so that their day won't feel like the person smiling's day does, as ironic as that is.
Saying "help me" is for sure the hardest thing in the world for me to say. It is very humbling to accept help from anyone. "I'm sorry" also is often times hard for me. "I love you" is pretty easy usually though. :)
Interesting things to think about.
Boundaries
Yes we treat people how to treat us. We can't control others, but we can control how we react to them. This is very good advice.
On Death
When someone close to you dies, the worst thing you can do is try to sweep in under a rug. Anytime someone does this in regards to any trauma in their lives, they run the risk of having a mental breakdown at some point in the future.
The biggest advice I can give in regards to grieving someone else's death is, LET YOURSELF CRY, as much as you need to. :)
Crying actually releases toxic chemicals from your body. To not let yourself cry is to hold toxic chemicals inside, which may be why grief can affect someone's body and health after awhile if they do not let themselves grieve by crying. Grief will come out in some way and will affect you somehow. It is inevitable.
I went to a class at church recently on grief and here is what they talked about:
Don't try to tell yourself "Don't feel bad" when you're grieving. The fact is you do feel bad and you WILL feel bad. There is nothing you can do about that except let yourself feel bad and give yourself time to heal.
Don't try to grieve alone. You need to grieve with the support of others. The temptation is to dig a hole and burry yourself in it somewhere, but that is the worst thing you can do. You need to still get out and do things. This is a time more than any other when you need community and to be around good friends.
Don't try and tell yourself to "just be strong." There is nothing strong about grief. Allow yourself to feel weak for a time. Have grace with yourself in this time. You won't be able to do as much as you used to and that is ok.
Don't just try and keep busy and ignore the fact that someone died. You need to think about it without wallowing in it. There is a balance. You need time alone in silence to reflect on the loss, but you also need to stay in community with others.
Remember that this too shall pass. With time it will get easier. Just hang in there, and lean on God. :)
Grief can cause a kind of numbness for a time. This is the depression stage of grief.
I read once that grief is almost like having a full time job. This is why working at the same time that you are grieving may seem almost impossible.
Grief leaves you feeling incredibly worn out, like you have no strength to do anything. The extreme is feeling like you can't go on living. Every day just becomes harder. Everything becomes harder.
It may take you on an emotional roller coaster. You may feel bipolar for a time. There are times of higher energy when the anger of grief comes in. Then there are times of depression when your anger just wipes you out and you feel you have no energy for anything.
Grief will most likely affect any other relationship you have for a time. It will probably make you a more difficult person to be around.
When there is a death your world is jolted, completely thrown off its axis, it seems, especially when the death is sudden and completely unexpected. It does a lot of damage to your psyche and mental health for a time. Perhaps this is because death just does not feel natural. And it is not. We were meant to live forever. But because of sin, there is death. So it's like part of us knows that isn't supposed to happen, people aren't supposed to die. We were created to live forever. But the fact is, we live in a fallen world and people do die, sadly. :(
A great song regarding this, "Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace."
I read in a book once that when we cry at a funeral, or after someone dies, we are actually crying for ourselves, if they are in heaven. We have nothing to grieve for them about if they are in God's presence and in eternal bliss. But we cry because we miss them and their death leaves a big whole in our lives.
In grief, if we can focus more on how happy they are, that helps to make the pain less. Think about how much better off they are now. They are in heaven and Scripture says that God "will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." Amen! :) Praise God. :)
The biggest advice I can give in regards to grieving someone else's death is, LET YOURSELF CRY, as much as you need to. :)
Crying actually releases toxic chemicals from your body. To not let yourself cry is to hold toxic chemicals inside, which may be why grief can affect someone's body and health after awhile if they do not let themselves grieve by crying. Grief will come out in some way and will affect you somehow. It is inevitable.
I went to a class at church recently on grief and here is what they talked about:
Don't try to tell yourself "Don't feel bad" when you're grieving. The fact is you do feel bad and you WILL feel bad. There is nothing you can do about that except let yourself feel bad and give yourself time to heal.
Don't try to grieve alone. You need to grieve with the support of others. The temptation is to dig a hole and burry yourself in it somewhere, but that is the worst thing you can do. You need to still get out and do things. This is a time more than any other when you need community and to be around good friends.
Don't try and tell yourself to "just be strong." There is nothing strong about grief. Allow yourself to feel weak for a time. Have grace with yourself in this time. You won't be able to do as much as you used to and that is ok.
Don't just try and keep busy and ignore the fact that someone died. You need to think about it without wallowing in it. There is a balance. You need time alone in silence to reflect on the loss, but you also need to stay in community with others.
Remember that this too shall pass. With time it will get easier. Just hang in there, and lean on God. :)
Grief can cause a kind of numbness for a time. This is the depression stage of grief.
I read once that grief is almost like having a full time job. This is why working at the same time that you are grieving may seem almost impossible.
Grief leaves you feeling incredibly worn out, like you have no strength to do anything. The extreme is feeling like you can't go on living. Every day just becomes harder. Everything becomes harder.
It may take you on an emotional roller coaster. You may feel bipolar for a time. There are times of higher energy when the anger of grief comes in. Then there are times of depression when your anger just wipes you out and you feel you have no energy for anything.
Grief will most likely affect any other relationship you have for a time. It will probably make you a more difficult person to be around.
When there is a death your world is jolted, completely thrown off its axis, it seems, especially when the death is sudden and completely unexpected. It does a lot of damage to your psyche and mental health for a time. Perhaps this is because death just does not feel natural. And it is not. We were meant to live forever. But because of sin, there is death. So it's like part of us knows that isn't supposed to happen, people aren't supposed to die. We were created to live forever. But the fact is, we live in a fallen world and people do die, sadly. :(
A great song regarding this, "Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace."
I read in a book once that when we cry at a funeral, or after someone dies, we are actually crying for ourselves, if they are in heaven. We have nothing to grieve for them about if they are in God's presence and in eternal bliss. But we cry because we miss them and their death leaves a big whole in our lives.
In grief, if we can focus more on how happy they are, that helps to make the pain less. Think about how much better off they are now. They are in heaven and Scripture says that God "will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." Amen! :) Praise God. :)
On Grieving
Everyone knows there are five stages to grieving a loss, any kind of loss: denial, bargaining, anger, depression and acceptance.
Grieving is different for every person. Since no two situation of dealing with death or loss are the same, the process of grief will vary each time.
I have grieved a lot of things in my life.
When I was in only 2nd grade my best friend, Megan, was literally murdered by her mom's ex-boyfriend. He broke into their apartment and shot her, her mom and her grandma. Pretty crazy.
So I have known what extreme grief is from about the time I was 7.
That was also about the time my dad was put in jail for what he did.
Later when I was 10, my parents divorced, so I had a lot of grief about that for a long time and didn't know how to process it. It was a good thing overall, but I couldn't see that at the time and it was still very hard to cope with being split between two homes.
Around that time my mom, brother and I had to stay in a homeless shelter for about two weeks because my dad wouldn't move out. All my pets ran away because my dad didn't feed them. :( In those two weeks I lost two dogs, a puppy, two cats, one cat I had had my whole life, and three kittens. It was a very sad time for me. I think I missed all my pets even more than my dad. lol :(
Then when I was 14 my mom and I moved to California from Nebraska, so I lost all my closest friends from the last 4 years. That was another time of grieving for me and adjustment.
Then graduating from college was a time of grief and loosing all the people I had gotten so close to. I remember thinking that graduation felt like a funeral and a wedding at the same time; a funeral to my past and a wedding to my future, even though I didn't know what my future was yet. I felt very lost after I graduated and didn't know what to do next really.
More times of grieving for me; I have moved about 12 times in my life, so I have grieved being in new places and saying goodbye to old places and people many, many times.
I have had many jobs so I have had a lot of people come in and out of my life for a short period of time.
I have never lived in one place per se. I don't really have a place that feels like "home" really. I lived in Santa Ana, CA from 0 to 6, Upland from 6 to 9, Nebraska from 9 to 14, California from 14 to 26 and then Nebraska again, Kansas City and now here in Texas. So when I think of home there isn't one place that really is home for me.
I have grieved in a sense not living in Nebraska many times. I miss the seasons and the snow and the nature and the wildlife everywhere. It was completely beautiful there. There is no where else in the world quite as beautiful as Nebraska. Some people call it "God's country" and that is probably why. :)
I have grieved not being in California many times also; for the ocean, the great weather and my home church Mariners in Irvine of 10 years.
My heart seems to be half in Nebraska and half in California most of the time no matter where I am. That's also because my mom is in California and my brother is in Nebraska.
But God has taken me many places for reasons only he knows. I have gotten to visit many churches throughout my travels and met tons of new people. So that has been fun. :)
They say happiness is in seeing new things. I have seen many new things for sure.
But part of me has always wondered what it would have been like to grow up in the same house my entire life. How would my life have been different? How would I have been different? Who knows. :)
Grieving is different for every person. Since no two situation of dealing with death or loss are the same, the process of grief will vary each time.
I have grieved a lot of things in my life.
When I was in only 2nd grade my best friend, Megan, was literally murdered by her mom's ex-boyfriend. He broke into their apartment and shot her, her mom and her grandma. Pretty crazy.
So I have known what extreme grief is from about the time I was 7.
That was also about the time my dad was put in jail for what he did.
Later when I was 10, my parents divorced, so I had a lot of grief about that for a long time and didn't know how to process it. It was a good thing overall, but I couldn't see that at the time and it was still very hard to cope with being split between two homes.
Around that time my mom, brother and I had to stay in a homeless shelter for about two weeks because my dad wouldn't move out. All my pets ran away because my dad didn't feed them. :( In those two weeks I lost two dogs, a puppy, two cats, one cat I had had my whole life, and three kittens. It was a very sad time for me. I think I missed all my pets even more than my dad. lol :(
Then when I was 14 my mom and I moved to California from Nebraska, so I lost all my closest friends from the last 4 years. That was another time of grieving for me and adjustment.
Then graduating from college was a time of grief and loosing all the people I had gotten so close to. I remember thinking that graduation felt like a funeral and a wedding at the same time; a funeral to my past and a wedding to my future, even though I didn't know what my future was yet. I felt very lost after I graduated and didn't know what to do next really.
More times of grieving for me; I have moved about 12 times in my life, so I have grieved being in new places and saying goodbye to old places and people many, many times.
I have had many jobs so I have had a lot of people come in and out of my life for a short period of time.
I have never lived in one place per se. I don't really have a place that feels like "home" really. I lived in Santa Ana, CA from 0 to 6, Upland from 6 to 9, Nebraska from 9 to 14, California from 14 to 26 and then Nebraska again, Kansas City and now here in Texas. So when I think of home there isn't one place that really is home for me.
I have grieved in a sense not living in Nebraska many times. I miss the seasons and the snow and the nature and the wildlife everywhere. It was completely beautiful there. There is no where else in the world quite as beautiful as Nebraska. Some people call it "God's country" and that is probably why. :)
I have grieved not being in California many times also; for the ocean, the great weather and my home church Mariners in Irvine of 10 years.
My heart seems to be half in Nebraska and half in California most of the time no matter where I am. That's also because my mom is in California and my brother is in Nebraska.
But God has taken me many places for reasons only he knows. I have gotten to visit many churches throughout my travels and met tons of new people. So that has been fun. :)
They say happiness is in seeing new things. I have seen many new things for sure.
But part of me has always wondered what it would have been like to grow up in the same house my entire life. How would my life have been different? How would I have been different? Who knows. :)
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Monday, November 25, 2013
Phases of Life
From Pastor Kenton at Mariners Church in Irvine, CA. My old church. :)
From their podcast on ITunes. Sometimes I still listen to their sermons. :)
"There are four phases of life....Our church has people from every season of life....we've got all four groups of people which makes us a great church because we get to learn form each other." Amen :)
"For those who are age 25-35....you've got time. What is one year? You have energy, passion, you're about making changes, you have the ability to take risks, you have freedom.....
Negatives: you don't have a lot of experience, don't have money, don't have any networks." lol yep :)
"You can now build a positive foundation where you can say the number one most important thing in my life is God." Amen!
From their podcast on ITunes. Sometimes I still listen to their sermons. :)
"There are four phases of life....Our church has people from every season of life....we've got all four groups of people which makes us a great church because we get to learn form each other." Amen :)
"For those who are age 25-35....you've got time. What is one year? You have energy, passion, you're about making changes, you have the ability to take risks, you have freedom.....
Negatives: you don't have a lot of experience, don't have money, don't have any networks." lol yep :)
"You can now build a positive foundation where you can say the number one most important thing in my life is God." Amen!
The Fool
I have been meaning to do a study on the fool talked about many times by Solomon to his son in Proverbs.
What is a fool? How can I make sure I am not a fool? etc.
Let's take some advice from the wisest man who ever lived: :)
I have certainly known many people like this. :) I suppose sometimes I too have lacked the ability to understand others at times.
I have run across many who like to lecture instead of have a conversation. I suppose in my writing it is like lecturing, but in person I prefer to dialogue.
My dad is one of these people. He loves to just talk and talk but never allows the other person to talk. It's very frustrating. I'm sure many of these verses will make me think of my dad lol.
Yes this is very annoying when people do this. I heard in a sermon once that when people "joke" around and tease and say hurtful things that that is NOT love. They may do it in a friendly manner, but it is still mean and them being a fool. It is a foolish thing to do, because you never know when a "joke" that is said may offend your friend.
My step dad used to do this when he first married my mom. He would tease me about various things. He soon learned that this teasing was not ok with me lol. Especially any teasing regarding money. :)
Some say if you weren't so sensitive you wouldn't get offended, but no, you're just having the proper reaction to someone acting foolishly and in a rude manner. Teasing another is always foolish and rude. :(
Another translation says "gives full vent to his anger."
Anger is very foolish usually. It makes someone look foolish and causes them to loose the respect of those around them. It happens though and we can't ignore anger or try to sweep it under a rug. But the wise thing to do is to take a deep breath and figure out why we are angry, rather than acting impulsively out of anger.
Anger is a signal that you need to fix something or change something. Anger gives you the energy to take action about something. So anger can have positive results, if it is handled correctly. But how many times do we only do more damage when angry? That is very sad. :( Instead of fixing the problem that our anger gave us the energy to do, we only make more problems.
It is hard to know the perfect way to handle anger of course, but overall "man's anger does not bring about the righteousness of God." But "don't let the sun go down on your anger." It's a balance. Don't stuff your anger or it will lead to bitterness, but don't give "full vent" to your anger either. Both are foolish. Express what needs to be expressed but in a rational manner if possible. lol :) Easier said than done, but that is the best way to handle anger. :) Say what needs to be said, but speak the truth in love.
What does it mean to fear the Lord? In my research into the once saved, always saved theory this mentality pretty much takes away the fear of the Lord. Another reason why it may not be good.
Who is supposed to fear the Lord? Everyone. Why? Because he is God; he is all powerful, and we are like mere tiny ants compared to him.
Paul says, "Take heed lest you fall." And "Work out your salvation with fear and trembling."
Then it says, "fools despise wisdom and instruction." If we thought we had no risk of not being saved once we are "saved" why would we ever feel the need take advice from anyone? We are then untouchable right? Even to God?
haha, no never. There can be much pride in this mentality.
So why do we constantly need to take advice and listen to wisdom and instruction?
Because we need to always be careful of where we stand with God. We will all have to give an account to God on the last day for how we lived our lives. We will all be judged, even if we are "saved." So regardless of the theological position on security of salvation, we ALL still need to fear God. Amen? Amen. :)
lol this one is pretty funny.
I knew a few people who literally got out of their cars when tail gated by someone as if they wanted to start a fight with the person behind them. This has to be the most foolish thing a person could ever do. How did they know if the person in the car behind them had a gun or not? Someone could easily open themselves to get shot in such a situation.
Never pick fights. Fools pick fights. Wise men walk away.
Why does the fool's "mouth invite a beating?" Fools usually have a lot of pride. Overwhelming pride is probably the main character trait that everyone can't stand. So when seen in others, people may feel the need to beat this pride out of a person, either with words of physical force.
Men understand this. If one man challenges or insults another, he gets beaten up and the lesson is learned. "Don't be so arrogant and think that you're better than me or you will get pounded." That is what is being communicated in a physical fight with guys. But often people don't listen to reason and that is why, to some, violence seems necessary.
"Wisdom is found in those who take advice." "Bend the knee or have it broken." Being humble will not result in fighting. Fighting comes from pride.
What the fool wants is to get you angry. If you allow yourself to get angry, then they have won. I know this from my many years of working with children lol. In many ways children are fools. We are all born fools really and with age we become more and more wise.
For some reason it is the ultimate thrill for a kid when they can make you angry. I don't know why. There is no other explanation than that they are a fool. :)
The fool, or the child, wants to know they can have an affect on you. Fighting is entertainment to a fool.
He laughs because he has been able to have power over you by making you angry. Fools love attention. They love to be noticed. They love to have power over another. By having power over your emotions, they then have power over you. Don't show the fool that they have won by having power over your emotions.
How can you win with a fool? Don't show any reaction to them. Show them that they DON'T have power over you, and that they can't affect you, no matter what they do. Have self-control. Don't allow yourself to get angry at them, for then they have won.
That was the number one lesson I learned in working with kids, don't show them that they can have any affect over you. Don't show them that they have the power to make you angry. They may make you angry, but if you show it, the child has just won. Then then know that they are in control, not you.
By maintaining your composure and having self-control over your emotions, you show that you are the one in control.
.....
May God increase your wisdom in all things. Amen!
God bless :)
What is a fool? How can I make sure I am not a fool? etc.
Let's take some advice from the wisest man who ever lived: :)
Proverbs 18:2
"A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion."I have certainly known many people like this. :) I suppose sometimes I too have lacked the ability to understand others at times.
I have run across many who like to lecture instead of have a conversation. I suppose in my writing it is like lecturing, but in person I prefer to dialogue.
My dad is one of these people. He loves to just talk and talk but never allows the other person to talk. It's very frustrating. I'm sure many of these verses will make me think of my dad lol.
Proverbs 26:18-19
"Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death, Is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, “I am only joking!' "Yes this is very annoying when people do this. I heard in a sermon once that when people "joke" around and tease and say hurtful things that that is NOT love. They may do it in a friendly manner, but it is still mean and them being a fool. It is a foolish thing to do, because you never know when a "joke" that is said may offend your friend.
My step dad used to do this when he first married my mom. He would tease me about various things. He soon learned that this teasing was not ok with me lol. Especially any teasing regarding money. :)
Some say if you weren't so sensitive you wouldn't get offended, but no, you're just having the proper reaction to someone acting foolishly and in a rude manner. Teasing another is always foolish and rude. :(
Proverbs 29:11
"A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back."Another translation says "gives full vent to his anger."
Anger is very foolish usually. It makes someone look foolish and causes them to loose the respect of those around them. It happens though and we can't ignore anger or try to sweep it under a rug. But the wise thing to do is to take a deep breath and figure out why we are angry, rather than acting impulsively out of anger.
Anger is a signal that you need to fix something or change something. Anger gives you the energy to take action about something. So anger can have positive results, if it is handled correctly. But how many times do we only do more damage when angry? That is very sad. :( Instead of fixing the problem that our anger gave us the energy to do, we only make more problems.
It is hard to know the perfect way to handle anger of course, but overall "man's anger does not bring about the righteousness of God." But "don't let the sun go down on your anger." It's a balance. Don't stuff your anger or it will lead to bitterness, but don't give "full vent" to your anger either. Both are foolish. Express what needs to be expressed but in a rational manner if possible. lol :) Easier said than done, but that is the best way to handle anger. :) Say what needs to be said, but speak the truth in love.
Proverbs 1:7
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction."What does it mean to fear the Lord? In my research into the once saved, always saved theory this mentality pretty much takes away the fear of the Lord. Another reason why it may not be good.
Who is supposed to fear the Lord? Everyone. Why? Because he is God; he is all powerful, and we are like mere tiny ants compared to him.
Paul says, "Take heed lest you fall." And "Work out your salvation with fear and trembling."
Then it says, "fools despise wisdom and instruction." If we thought we had no risk of not being saved once we are "saved" why would we ever feel the need take advice from anyone? We are then untouchable right? Even to God?
haha, no never. There can be much pride in this mentality.
So why do we constantly need to take advice and listen to wisdom and instruction?
Because we need to always be careful of where we stand with God. We will all have to give an account to God on the last day for how we lived our lives. We will all be judged, even if we are "saved." So regardless of the theological position on security of salvation, we ALL still need to fear God. Amen? Amen. :)
Proverbs 18:6
"A fool's lips walk into a fight, and his mouth invites a beating."lol this one is pretty funny.
I knew a few people who literally got out of their cars when tail gated by someone as if they wanted to start a fight with the person behind them. This has to be the most foolish thing a person could ever do. How did they know if the person in the car behind them had a gun or not? Someone could easily open themselves to get shot in such a situation.
Never pick fights. Fools pick fights. Wise men walk away.
Why does the fool's "mouth invite a beating?" Fools usually have a lot of pride. Overwhelming pride is probably the main character trait that everyone can't stand. So when seen in others, people may feel the need to beat this pride out of a person, either with words of physical force.
Men understand this. If one man challenges or insults another, he gets beaten up and the lesson is learned. "Don't be so arrogant and think that you're better than me or you will get pounded." That is what is being communicated in a physical fight with guys. But often people don't listen to reason and that is why, to some, violence seems necessary.
"Wisdom is found in those who take advice." "Bend the knee or have it broken." Being humble will not result in fighting. Fighting comes from pride.
Proverbs 29:9
"If a wise man has an argument with a fool, the fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet."What the fool wants is to get you angry. If you allow yourself to get angry, then they have won. I know this from my many years of working with children lol. In many ways children are fools. We are all born fools really and with age we become more and more wise.
For some reason it is the ultimate thrill for a kid when they can make you angry. I don't know why. There is no other explanation than that they are a fool. :)
The fool, or the child, wants to know they can have an affect on you. Fighting is entertainment to a fool.
He laughs because he has been able to have power over you by making you angry. Fools love attention. They love to be noticed. They love to have power over another. By having power over your emotions, they then have power over you. Don't show the fool that they have won by having power over your emotions.
How can you win with a fool? Don't show any reaction to them. Show them that they DON'T have power over you, and that they can't affect you, no matter what they do. Have self-control. Don't allow yourself to get angry at them, for then they have won.
That was the number one lesson I learned in working with kids, don't show them that they can have any affect over you. Don't show them that they have the power to make you angry. They may make you angry, but if you show it, the child has just won. Then then know that they are in control, not you.
By maintaining your composure and having self-control over your emotions, you show that you are the one in control.
.....
May God increase your wisdom in all things. Amen!
God bless :)
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Bahama Cruise
Dinning in an exquisite restaurant
Eating the best chocolate dessert ever
Sitting in the hot tub watching the sunset
Watching a lighting storm off the deck of the ship
Snorkeling and seeing beautiful fish
Getting stung by jelly fish :)
Riding in a horse drawn carriage through a city
Being overwhelmed by the heat and intensity of the sun
Finding a cool beach
Drinking iced coffee
Walking through the city
Getting a ride from a crazy cab driver
Looking out our bedroom window at the sunset
Waking early to catch the sun rise
Seeing hundreds of youth put on a random dance show on deck
Drinking hot chocolate
Eating the best pasta ever :)
Ben playing basketball with a group of guys
Meeting lots of great couples at dinners
Trying to kayak through a forest :)
Almost touching spiders on the branches of the trees
Getting pictures taken
Seeing dolphins swim all around our boat
Having an awesome time in the Bahamas :)
Eating the best chocolate dessert ever
Sitting in the hot tub watching the sunset
Watching a lighting storm off the deck of the ship
Snorkeling and seeing beautiful fish
Getting stung by jelly fish :)
Riding in a horse drawn carriage through a city
Being overwhelmed by the heat and intensity of the sun
Finding a cool beach
Drinking iced coffee
Walking through the city
Getting a ride from a crazy cab driver
Looking out our bedroom window at the sunset
Waking early to catch the sun rise
Seeing hundreds of youth put on a random dance show on deck
Drinking hot chocolate
Eating the best pasta ever :)
Ben playing basketball with a group of guys
Meeting lots of great couples at dinners
Trying to kayak through a forest :)
Almost touching spiders on the branches of the trees
Getting pictures taken
Seeing dolphins swim all around our boat
Having an awesome time in the Bahamas :)
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Holy Spirit Baptism Cont.
Listen to this....http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/sermons/how-to-receive-the-gift-of-the-holy-spirit
The facts are, not every time someone was converted or was baptized in the Holy Spirit in Acts did they immediately speak or pray in tongues.
There are three major instances. One on the day of Pentecost. Two when some Gentiles were saved. And three when Paul ran across some men who had just received John's baptism but had not gotten the Holy Spirit yet.
But, John Piper points out, "Acts records at least nine other conversion stories, but never again mentions a two-step sequence with tongues (8:36; 9:17–19; 13:12, 48; 14:1; 16:14; 17:4, 34). This shows how difficult it is to establish a norm from the way things happened back then."
The facts are, not every time someone was converted or was baptized in the Holy Spirit in Acts did they immediately speak or pray in tongues.
There are three major instances. One on the day of Pentecost. Two when some Gentiles were saved. And three when Paul ran across some men who had just received John's baptism but had not gotten the Holy Spirit yet.
But, John Piper points out, "Acts records at least nine other conversion stories, but never again mentions a two-step sequence with tongues (8:36; 9:17–19; 13:12, 48; 14:1; 16:14; 17:4, 34). This shows how difficult it is to establish a norm from the way things happened back then."
Friday, November 22, 2013
Holy Spirit Baptism
This article is very good and I mostly agree with it :)
Though many non-Pentecostals teach a baptism in the Holy Spirit without speaking in tongues, the position of the Assemblies of God is clearly declared in Section 8 of its Statement of Fundamental Truths: "The baptism of believers in the Holy Spirit is witnessed by the initial sign of speaking with other tongues as the Spirit of God gives them utterance (Acts 2:4)." The evidence always occurred (and still does today) at the time believers were baptized in the Spirit, not at some indeterminate future time.
Speaking in tongues is the only phenomenon mentioned every time Scripture supplies details concerning the Baptism experience. Of the five instances in Acts which recount the experience of believers being baptized in the Spirit, three supply details. Speaking in tongues is the only one that occurs each time (Acts 2, 10, 19). In the Acts 10 account, tongues is specifically mentioned as proof that "the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues" (Acts 10:45, 46). The relationship between the phenomenon and the experience cannot be ignored.
In the two cases where details are not supplied, circumstances strongly imply that speaking with other tongues accompanied the experience. In Acts 8 Simon saw something (most likely tongues) that prompted him to offer money for the power to impart such a gift. In Acts 9 Saul (who became Paul) is filled with the Spirit without the mention of any details. However, Paul later testified, "I speak in tongues more than all of you" (1 Corinthians 14:18). It is logical to conclude that he began speaking in tongues when he was baptized in the Holy Spirit.
We believe the baptism in the Holy Spirit with the initial physical evidence of speaking in other tongues is the promise of the Father to every Christian who desires the experience.
CONCERNS:
Pentecostals have a legitimate concern about those who oppose the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Opponents claim narrative portions of the Bible, like the Book of Acts, are not sufficient support for tongues as the initial evidence of the Baptism. But if critics can pick and choose the portions of Scripture to be given divine authenticity and authority, who then determines which portions are most meaningful? Certainly we must take to heart the words of Paul to Timothy, "All scripture is God breathed" (2 Timothy 3:16).
We also have a concern that some Pentecostals look on the Baptism and tongues as ends in themselves rather than as means to a much greater end. The Baptism is the entry experience introducing the believer to the beauty and power of the Spirit-filled life.
In the Assemblies of God we believe the Spirit is at work in all Christians, whether they have been baptized in the Spirit or not. God can also use and does use Christians who for one reason or another have not received the Baptism experience. We must never depreciate their ministry. Yet we recognize the baptism in the Holy Spirit will make one’s life and ministry even more effective.
So for every believer the command is sounded, "Be filled [Keep on being filled] with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18).
http://ag.org/top/Beliefs/gendoct_02_baptismhs.cfm
Why is the Assemblies of God so committed to the doctrine of the baptism in the Holy Spirit with the initial evidence of speaking in tongues?
The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is a vital experience of the Christian life. It is a special work of the Spirit beyond salvation. On the Day of Pentecost, disciples who had already made a decision to follow Jesus "were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues" (Acts 2:4). Paul asked the Ephesians disciples if they had received the Holy Spirit, after which "the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues" (Acts 19:2). New Testament believers were constantly challenged to be filled with the Spirit (Acts 1:4,5; Ephesians 5:18). The Assemblies of God is committed to the baptism in the Holy Spirit because the experience is such an important focus of New Testament Christianity.Though many non-Pentecostals teach a baptism in the Holy Spirit without speaking in tongues, the position of the Assemblies of God is clearly declared in Section 8 of its Statement of Fundamental Truths: "The baptism of believers in the Holy Spirit is witnessed by the initial sign of speaking with other tongues as the Spirit of God gives them utterance (Acts 2:4)." The evidence always occurred (and still does today) at the time believers were baptized in the Spirit, not at some indeterminate future time.
Speaking in tongues is the only phenomenon mentioned every time Scripture supplies details concerning the Baptism experience. Of the five instances in Acts which recount the experience of believers being baptized in the Spirit, three supply details. Speaking in tongues is the only one that occurs each time (Acts 2, 10, 19). In the Acts 10 account, tongues is specifically mentioned as proof that "the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues" (Acts 10:45, 46). The relationship between the phenomenon and the experience cannot be ignored.
In the two cases where details are not supplied, circumstances strongly imply that speaking with other tongues accompanied the experience. In Acts 8 Simon saw something (most likely tongues) that prompted him to offer money for the power to impart such a gift. In Acts 9 Saul (who became Paul) is filled with the Spirit without the mention of any details. However, Paul later testified, "I speak in tongues more than all of you" (1 Corinthians 14:18). It is logical to conclude that he began speaking in tongues when he was baptized in the Holy Spirit.
We believe the baptism in the Holy Spirit with the initial physical evidence of speaking in other tongues is the promise of the Father to every Christian who desires the experience.
CONCERNS:
Pentecostals have a legitimate concern about those who oppose the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Opponents claim narrative portions of the Bible, like the Book of Acts, are not sufficient support for tongues as the initial evidence of the Baptism. But if critics can pick and choose the portions of Scripture to be given divine authenticity and authority, who then determines which portions are most meaningful? Certainly we must take to heart the words of Paul to Timothy, "All scripture is God breathed" (2 Timothy 3:16).
We also have a concern that some Pentecostals look on the Baptism and tongues as ends in themselves rather than as means to a much greater end. The Baptism is the entry experience introducing the believer to the beauty and power of the Spirit-filled life.
In the Assemblies of God we believe the Spirit is at work in all Christians, whether they have been baptized in the Spirit or not. God can also use and does use Christians who for one reason or another have not received the Baptism experience. We must never depreciate their ministry. Yet we recognize the baptism in the Holy Spirit will make one’s life and ministry even more effective.
So for every believer the command is sounded, "Be filled [Keep on being filled] with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18).
http://ag.org/top/Beliefs/gendoct_02_baptismhs.cfm
Be Positive
From a friend about our Bible study last night: :)
"I just wanted to say that I really love and appreciate all of you ladies. Last night we talked a lot about being thankful and not always being so negative. I know that I am one of those people who has something negative to say probably more so than I do something positive. I wanted to say that I am sorry for that, and I have every intention changing that (with God's help, of course.) I am happy to have y'all in my life."
Awe I am so proud of her for saying that!
There was a book that came out awhile ago called "The Secret." Oprah raved about the book and everyone was talking about it. It said that you could attract positive things to you by sending out positive energy. There was actually some truth to that book. There had to be or people wouldn't have loved it so much.
From a Christian perspective, our words activate things in the spiritual realm, whether we realize it or not. If you say, "I am never going to be successful at anything." Then you probably won't be. Satan will ensure that that will happen, as sad as that is. :( He feeds off of our negative thoughts and words.
But if you think positively and always tell yourself "I can do this!" Then you can. "He who thinks he can and he who thinks he can't are both right." Meaning, whatever we believe will happen, will happen. We create our own self-fulfilling prophecies by how we think about various things in our lives. How we think about things is what we will become true of our situations in life. If we think our kids will misbehave, then they probably will. If we think we will always struggle with money, then we probably will. If we think we will never get along with our spouse, then we probably won't.
As much as people like to bash Joel Osteen he has some very good points. :) If you will say aloud every morning, "I'm believing that today God will give me a great day! I'm believing that my kids will be well behaved, that I will get a handle on my finances, and that I will have a great relationship with my spouse!" THAT will greatly change your situation. You just might begin to have all those things if you believe that God can give them to you. You have to have faith. :)
Negativity becomes like a snowball effect. One bad thing happens so you begin to think the rest of your day is going to be horrible. You anticipate that it will be horrible so you actually bring about the very thing that you are dreading. You actually cause it to be horrible. You end up making your own day horrible by what you think, do and say. Why? Because you believed that it would be that way so it was. It's like that kids book, "My no good, very bad, horrible day" or something like that. I believe our negative attitude actually does draw more negative things to happen to us.
You can change your situation by the way you think about your situation. You have to change your thinking in order to change your situation. If you begin to force yourself to think more positively, you will see positive results in your life. You really can think things into existence to an extent. There is much power in our minds and in our thinking and words. Satan attacks us in our mind and God inspires us and encourages us in our mind. God created the world just with words. We create our own world just with our words. And our words come from what we think about.
Watch what you think about. Be very careful of what you allow yourself to think and say. We are to take "every thought captive to the obedience of Christ." Meaning, when Satan tries to attack us in our minds we need to refute his lies with Scripture, sometimes aloud, as Jesus did in the wilderness with Satan. Don't let Satan talk to you for long. Tell him to get behind you! Tell that jerk to get lost! lol :) Counteract his lies with what the Word says is true of us and our lives. "We are more than conquerors in Christ." "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." "If my God is for me than who can be against me." "Be strong and courageous, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go!" Amen? Amen :)
I love the song that says, "Keep on pushin back the dark." How do we do that? By staying positive and speaking life instead of death into situations in our lives. :)
I also realized that most people I have known have been more on the negative side. Psychologists would say they then have the melancholic personality type, but are we stuck in a certain personality?
I took one class on personalities and spiritual gifts and the teacher said we can change what our temperament is. At various times in our lives we may have different temperaments or personalities.
But yes, just about everyone I have known was the melancholic personality: my mom, my best friend Ash, my brother, the guy I was with before my husband, my husband, my room mate in college, most of my friends in college and high school etc.
I did have one friend in high school, Lesley, who was always as chipper as a squirrel though. It was funny and I loved being around her because she was always so happy!
Last night I told my friend Jessica in my Bible study how much I appreciate how happy she always is. Just about every time I see her she has a huge smile on her face. She certainly is "bringin' the sunshine" as Angela our Bible study video lady advised us to do. :)
My grandma was pretty much always super duper positive and encouraging. She could get in her moods sometimes, but generally she was always very happy and upbeat.
My brother was grumpy pretty much from the time he was born. He generally has a mentality that everyone is against him and the world will end tomorrow. But having my dad for a dad didn't help I'm sure. My dad was very verbally abusive and majorly discouraging to my brother, so that explains his negativity. :(
My mom has struggled with clinical depression for as long as I can remember. Given what my dad did it makes sense. But it seems hard for her to get happy about anything. In fact I don't think I have ever seen her happy about anything. Except, ok, the first time was when I saw her lead a Bible study of women about a year ago. I had never seen her that perked up and excited about something in my life. :) And hopefully my baby Serenity will bring her joy finally. She needs something to be joyful about for sure. :(
My best friend, as much as I love her, has always been more on the negative side. But her life has been pretty hard, so it is totally understandable.
Another ultra positive person I knew was my youth pastor in high school. She was the most confident, positive, happy person I had ever known. Thus why I wanted to be just like her and follow Jesus closely as she did.
And THAT is how we can make Christianity seem appealing to the world. Not when we are depressed and down on ourselves and everything around us. The world already knows about depression and negative thinking. But Jesus came that we may have LIFE!
So we are called to be different as Christians. We are called to be more positive. We have a hope that the world doesn't have, that we will be in heaven one day where there will be no more suffering. We have a God who loves us more than words can say and sees Jesus when he sees us.
That is A LOT to be positive about! Amen? :)
So try to be more positive, because God would want you to be. :)
Satan wants you to be negative so you feel defeated and like you can't do anything. But God wants you to be positive. It's called having faith. Have faith that things will get better for you. Look ahead of you rather than behind you with hope, because you have God on your side. Amen? Amen! :)
May God bless you abundantly!
"I just wanted to say that I really love and appreciate all of you ladies. Last night we talked a lot about being thankful and not always being so negative. I know that I am one of those people who has something negative to say probably more so than I do something positive. I wanted to say that I am sorry for that, and I have every intention changing that (with God's help, of course.) I am happy to have y'all in my life."
Awe I am so proud of her for saying that!
There was a book that came out awhile ago called "The Secret." Oprah raved about the book and everyone was talking about it. It said that you could attract positive things to you by sending out positive energy. There was actually some truth to that book. There had to be or people wouldn't have loved it so much.
From a Christian perspective, our words activate things in the spiritual realm, whether we realize it or not. If you say, "I am never going to be successful at anything." Then you probably won't be. Satan will ensure that that will happen, as sad as that is. :( He feeds off of our negative thoughts and words.
But if you think positively and always tell yourself "I can do this!" Then you can. "He who thinks he can and he who thinks he can't are both right." Meaning, whatever we believe will happen, will happen. We create our own self-fulfilling prophecies by how we think about various things in our lives. How we think about things is what we will become true of our situations in life. If we think our kids will misbehave, then they probably will. If we think we will always struggle with money, then we probably will. If we think we will never get along with our spouse, then we probably won't.
As much as people like to bash Joel Osteen he has some very good points. :) If you will say aloud every morning, "I'm believing that today God will give me a great day! I'm believing that my kids will be well behaved, that I will get a handle on my finances, and that I will have a great relationship with my spouse!" THAT will greatly change your situation. You just might begin to have all those things if you believe that God can give them to you. You have to have faith. :)
Negativity becomes like a snowball effect. One bad thing happens so you begin to think the rest of your day is going to be horrible. You anticipate that it will be horrible so you actually bring about the very thing that you are dreading. You actually cause it to be horrible. You end up making your own day horrible by what you think, do and say. Why? Because you believed that it would be that way so it was. It's like that kids book, "My no good, very bad, horrible day" or something like that. I believe our negative attitude actually does draw more negative things to happen to us.
You can change your situation by the way you think about your situation. You have to change your thinking in order to change your situation. If you begin to force yourself to think more positively, you will see positive results in your life. You really can think things into existence to an extent. There is much power in our minds and in our thinking and words. Satan attacks us in our mind and God inspires us and encourages us in our mind. God created the world just with words. We create our own world just with our words. And our words come from what we think about.
Watch what you think about. Be very careful of what you allow yourself to think and say. We are to take "every thought captive to the obedience of Christ." Meaning, when Satan tries to attack us in our minds we need to refute his lies with Scripture, sometimes aloud, as Jesus did in the wilderness with Satan. Don't let Satan talk to you for long. Tell him to get behind you! Tell that jerk to get lost! lol :) Counteract his lies with what the Word says is true of us and our lives. "We are more than conquerors in Christ." "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." "If my God is for me than who can be against me." "Be strong and courageous, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go!" Amen? Amen :)
I love the song that says, "Keep on pushin back the dark." How do we do that? By staying positive and speaking life instead of death into situations in our lives. :)
I also realized that most people I have known have been more on the negative side. Psychologists would say they then have the melancholic personality type, but are we stuck in a certain personality?
I took one class on personalities and spiritual gifts and the teacher said we can change what our temperament is. At various times in our lives we may have different temperaments or personalities.
But yes, just about everyone I have known was the melancholic personality: my mom, my best friend Ash, my brother, the guy I was with before my husband, my husband, my room mate in college, most of my friends in college and high school etc.
I did have one friend in high school, Lesley, who was always as chipper as a squirrel though. It was funny and I loved being around her because she was always so happy!
Last night I told my friend Jessica in my Bible study how much I appreciate how happy she always is. Just about every time I see her she has a huge smile on her face. She certainly is "bringin' the sunshine" as Angela our Bible study video lady advised us to do. :)
My grandma was pretty much always super duper positive and encouraging. She could get in her moods sometimes, but generally she was always very happy and upbeat.
My brother was grumpy pretty much from the time he was born. He generally has a mentality that everyone is against him and the world will end tomorrow. But having my dad for a dad didn't help I'm sure. My dad was very verbally abusive and majorly discouraging to my brother, so that explains his negativity. :(
My mom has struggled with clinical depression for as long as I can remember. Given what my dad did it makes sense. But it seems hard for her to get happy about anything. In fact I don't think I have ever seen her happy about anything. Except, ok, the first time was when I saw her lead a Bible study of women about a year ago. I had never seen her that perked up and excited about something in my life. :) And hopefully my baby Serenity will bring her joy finally. She needs something to be joyful about for sure. :(
My best friend, as much as I love her, has always been more on the negative side. But her life has been pretty hard, so it is totally understandable.
Another ultra positive person I knew was my youth pastor in high school. She was the most confident, positive, happy person I had ever known. Thus why I wanted to be just like her and follow Jesus closely as she did.
And THAT is how we can make Christianity seem appealing to the world. Not when we are depressed and down on ourselves and everything around us. The world already knows about depression and negative thinking. But Jesus came that we may have LIFE!
So we are called to be different as Christians. We are called to be more positive. We have a hope that the world doesn't have, that we will be in heaven one day where there will be no more suffering. We have a God who loves us more than words can say and sees Jesus when he sees us.
That is A LOT to be positive about! Amen? :)
So try to be more positive, because God would want you to be. :)
Satan wants you to be negative so you feel defeated and like you can't do anything. But God wants you to be positive. It's called having faith. Have faith that things will get better for you. Look ahead of you rather than behind you with hope, because you have God on your side. Amen? Amen! :)
May God bless you abundantly!
Never Give Up
Written by my hubby :)
"Sometimes people may try to tell us things like, "Oh you'll never be able to have any success in life. Your dreams will never come true." It could be anything they are saying like, "You're never going to be a good husband or wife or a good father or mother. You'll never be able to get off of drugs or quit drinking or you'll never be able to be a happy person because you're depressed all the time." "You'll never receive all that God has for you" and so on and so on.
(That is Satan talking through others if you ever hear things like this. None of that is coming from me, just an fyi. :) I try to be encouraging as much as I can.
But Satan wants us to think we can't do anything. He wants us to give up. But God wants us to never give up. Amen :)
"I just want to point out here that there isn't anything prideful about replying that with God's help you can and will rise to the occasion. You can recognize that you can't do it without Gods help, so its actually really humble as long as you say it in a good spirit.
You shouldn't feel bad at all about reminding these critics about Philippians 4:13 which says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" or the verse that says "all things are possible for them that believe."
Do not, in any way, doubt that God's help is on the way, because one who doubts is a double minded man, tossed around like the waves of the sea. It says in the Bible, "Let not that person believe they will receive anything from The Lord." It also says, "As a man thinks, so will he be."
You need to think of yourself as someone who can win, and when you continue to believe your going to win no matter what you are hearing from others, you have just increased the odds of that happening.
"Sometimes people may try to tell us things like, "Oh you'll never be able to have any success in life. Your dreams will never come true." It could be anything they are saying like, "You're never going to be a good husband or wife or a good father or mother. You'll never be able to get off of drugs or quit drinking or you'll never be able to be a happy person because you're depressed all the time." "You'll never receive all that God has for you" and so on and so on.
(That is Satan talking through others if you ever hear things like this. None of that is coming from me, just an fyi. :) I try to be encouraging as much as I can.
But Satan wants us to think we can't do anything. He wants us to give up. But God wants us to never give up. Amen :)
"I just want to point out here that there isn't anything prideful about replying that with God's help you can and will rise to the occasion. You can recognize that you can't do it without Gods help, so its actually really humble as long as you say it in a good spirit.
You shouldn't feel bad at all about reminding these critics about Philippians 4:13 which says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" or the verse that says "all things are possible for them that believe."
Do not, in any way, doubt that God's help is on the way, because one who doubts is a double minded man, tossed around like the waves of the sea. It says in the Bible, "Let not that person believe they will receive anything from The Lord." It also says, "As a man thinks, so will he be."
You need to think of yourself as someone who can win, and when you continue to believe your going to win no matter what you are hearing from others, you have just increased the odds of that happening.
Let's give a worst case scenario here and say that you don't get the victory. Do you think when this life is over God is going to say that he was proud of you that you didn't give up, or is he going to say "I don't know why you just didn't quit a long time ago?"
"Without faith its impossible to please God" it says in the book of Hebrews.
Jacob in the Old Testament wouldn't give up, but Esau did. That's was the difference between the two of them.
The reason God hated Esau is because he only cared about himself and that's why he was a quitter.
You might recall the football movie Rudy, where the main character didn't have the size or quickness to be a college football player, but he had the right heart. Sure there were times he wanted to quit, but he kept going. God wants us to have a heart of perseverance like Rudy and to never give up."
Amen!
Spiritual Pride
What did Jesus hate about the Pharisees?
Their pride.
The Bible says that "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."
Do we have modern Pharisees in our church?
Yes. Several.
Just about every denomination has something that they get pretty prideful about.
In the same way the "once saved, always saved" theory can lead many to a life of license, so can the gift of speaking on tongues.
One of my past boyfriends and his family literally told me I wasn't saved because I didn't have the gift of tongues. I was appalled and quite angry about that needless to say.
My current husband does not have that belief though, praise God.
But I saw with the past boyfriend that he then seem to feel like he could live however he wanted. Most of his radio stations were programmed to hip hop/rap stations. He loved material things a bit too much. He had an excessive amount of shoes, ties, cologne etc and loved shopping.
The reason he broke up with me was literally because I did not like shopping as much as he did. lol I pointed out the verse to him many times, "Do not love the world or anything in the world." But he didn't think he had a problem in his walk with God. Why? Because he prayed in tongues.
People can tend to think, "I have the gift of tongues so I can live however I want now right? I know I'm saved now."
The same is true for those who believe in the once saved, always saved theory. "I'm already saved so now how I walk my Christian walk doesn't matter right? I'm saved no matter what I do right?"
And there are several others. Baptists have baptism as their source of pride. Once you are baptized you are for sure saved. So people get baptized and live however they want. They THINK they are saved but are they really.
No where in the Bible does it say baptism is necessary for salvation. The thief on the cross got to go to heaven and he was never baptized.
No where in the Bible does it say tongues are necessary for salvation or even for having a better walk with Christ.
And there are verses that seem to say once we are saved, we are always saved, but the majority of verses make it sound like one's salvation can be lost.
I heard in a sermon once that the most dangerous place to be in the church is thinking that you are saved when you really are not.
I know for sure that I am saved at this point in time. Why? Not because I have been baptized or have a spiritual gift or because I have the Holy Spirit now so I assume I always will. No, it is because I generally love people and show it and I know I love the Lord my God with my whole heart, mind, body, soul and strength. There is nothing that I love more than God.
I used to have some idols, but God stripped them away one by one. I had an idol of sports and my athletic ability. I had an idol of music and my singing voice. I had an idol of intellectualism and how smart I could be and my good grades. I used to have an idol of relationships and always thinking about guys and wanting a husband. My mom was even an idol for me for awhile I think. I had an idol of my appearance and pride over how I looked.
But all of those idols are gone now. I don't care about how well I play sports, or how well I sing, or how smart I am, or how I look; I know all those are gifts from God and I can't really take credit for any of them anyways. The only thing that matters to me now is making God known to others. That is all I care about. :)
"Go into all the world and make disciples." That is all I think about now. :)
Their pride.
The Bible says that "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."
Do we have modern Pharisees in our church?
Yes. Several.
Just about every denomination has something that they get pretty prideful about.
In the same way the "once saved, always saved" theory can lead many to a life of license, so can the gift of speaking on tongues.
One of my past boyfriends and his family literally told me I wasn't saved because I didn't have the gift of tongues. I was appalled and quite angry about that needless to say.
My current husband does not have that belief though, praise God.
But I saw with the past boyfriend that he then seem to feel like he could live however he wanted. Most of his radio stations were programmed to hip hop/rap stations. He loved material things a bit too much. He had an excessive amount of shoes, ties, cologne etc and loved shopping.
The reason he broke up with me was literally because I did not like shopping as much as he did. lol I pointed out the verse to him many times, "Do not love the world or anything in the world." But he didn't think he had a problem in his walk with God. Why? Because he prayed in tongues.
People can tend to think, "I have the gift of tongues so I can live however I want now right? I know I'm saved now."
The same is true for those who believe in the once saved, always saved theory. "I'm already saved so now how I walk my Christian walk doesn't matter right? I'm saved no matter what I do right?"
And there are several others. Baptists have baptism as their source of pride. Once you are baptized you are for sure saved. So people get baptized and live however they want. They THINK they are saved but are they really.
No where in the Bible does it say baptism is necessary for salvation. The thief on the cross got to go to heaven and he was never baptized.
No where in the Bible does it say tongues are necessary for salvation or even for having a better walk with Christ.
And there are verses that seem to say once we are saved, we are always saved, but the majority of verses make it sound like one's salvation can be lost.
I heard in a sermon once that the most dangerous place to be in the church is thinking that you are saved when you really are not.
I know for sure that I am saved at this point in time. Why? Not because I have been baptized or have a spiritual gift or because I have the Holy Spirit now so I assume I always will. No, it is because I generally love people and show it and I know I love the Lord my God with my whole heart, mind, body, soul and strength. There is nothing that I love more than God.
I used to have some idols, but God stripped them away one by one. I had an idol of sports and my athletic ability. I had an idol of music and my singing voice. I had an idol of intellectualism and how smart I could be and my good grades. I used to have an idol of relationships and always thinking about guys and wanting a husband. My mom was even an idol for me for awhile I think. I had an idol of my appearance and pride over how I looked.
But all of those idols are gone now. I don't care about how well I play sports, or how well I sing, or how smart I am, or how I look; I know all those are gifts from God and I can't really take credit for any of them anyways. The only thing that matters to me now is making God known to others. That is all I care about. :)
"Go into all the world and make disciples." That is all I think about now. :)
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Baptism of the Holy Spirit
What would you say is the baptism of the Holy Spirit? Does this happen when someone puts their faith in Jesus or at a later time?
I have always understood that when we put our faith in Christ we receive the Holy Spirit.
The Bible talks about being filled with the Holy Spirit to Christians, which means maybe we can already have the Holy Spirit but be filled more with the Holy Spirit.
Here are some people's stories regarding this:
"It's up to the person who is wanting the Holy Spirit. It is something I will never forget.. When I received the Holy Ghost 6 years ago I have not come down off this yet.
I thought back in time and tried to remember my best day ever, but still there was nothing that compared to this. Nothing it is so powerful. It's something you will never forget.
You will know you got it if there's any doubt."
This seems strange to me for some reason. It is described as a high almost that this person did not "come down off of." But does God make us high per se?
One person said they were baptized at 15 but then were baptized in the Holy Spirit at 19. My thing is I have been baptized for the last 14 years and have never had this ecstatic baptism in the Holy Spirit experience. Neither has any other Christian I have ever known for the most part.
So what is it really? And why don't all Christians get it?
Another person said:
"The Holy Ghost is available and accessible to ALL Christians when the are truly saved and repent. HOWEVER I BELIEVE you need to seek it by reading the Bible and praying for guidance and wisdom. When God is ready for you to be covered and engulfed by the Holy Ghost YOU WILL BE. Now this is only my view."
"Engulfed," that is an interesting term fore it.
But why is Paul's baptism of the Holy Spirit never described? Why don't we see it in any of the disciples? The only thing would possibly be at Pentecost when they all spoke in tongues. But when Paul received the Holy Spirit and was saved he did not speak in tongues nor did he seem to have an ecstatic experience of any sort, yet he wrote most of the New Testament and became greater really than any who had had the experience at Pentecost as far as winning people to Christ. He even rebuked Peter on one occasion for showing favoritism to the Jews.
This is a good comment on this:
"1 Corinthians 12:13 (NASB):
'For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.'
The phrase "The baptism of the Holy Spirit" appears nowhere in Scripture.
We are baptized by the Spirit when we are saved."
Yes I would agree with that.
Another person said:
"There are at least two lines of theological thought on this. Most believe we receive the Holy Spirit when we come to know Christ (Romans 8:1-11). Many stop there. Others (myself included) believe there is a "Spirit Baptism" or "Fullness of the Spirit" that can occur after Salvation similar to what happened on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 1:8, Acts 2:1-6)."
Interesting.
Another comment:
"I believe the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is when you get cleansed by God. You no longer have the desire to sin. This differs from a water baptism in that a water baptism is a proclamation that you have accepted Christ.
As far as timing I think it differs from person to person. Some get the Holy Spirit when they accept Christ, some much later. Different denominations will probably teach differently. That is what I understand of Romans 6."
How odd, but every Christian I know still sins.
The other question I would have about this is does this go away at some point or fade away so the person again has the desire to sin? According to Paul we will always wrestle with the flesh in our Christian walk. But 1 John does have many verses that seem to say if we in Christ we will no longer sin. Most say this means habitually sin, but it is definitely an interesting book of the Bible and very challenging.
Another thought:
"Paul writes to the Ephesians in Chapter 5:18: "Do not get drunk with wine, which will only ruin you; instead be filled with the Spirit" What does this mean? It is imperative that we understand that this means that we surrender ourselves completely to the Holy Spirit who is already in our hearts."
Yes I have always found that verse to be odd. Does it mean that being filled with the Spirit is like being drunk with wine? But what about the verses that say we are to be sober minded and alert? hm....
A comment I very much like:
"The traditional orthodox position is that Acts 2 conveys a historical event-- the Holy Spirit came to God's people, and now He is here to stay. When a person gets saved, they have the Holy Spirit."
Amen!
This is also very good:
"There are commands in Scripture to be filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18), walk by the Spirit (Gal 5:16), but NO command to be baptized by the Holy Spirit.
1 Cor 12:13 is in the context of spiritual gifts and it has already been done to every believer in the body of Christ. The Greek aorist tense shows that tongues in 1 Cor. 14:21,22 are a sign to unbelievers, not believers. It is not the evidence of being baptized in the Holy Spirit, as the book of Acts is transitional between the age of law and the age of grace.
Doctrine is built on the teachings of the epistles. For these reasons, and others, I firmly believe baptism in the Holy Spirit takes place at conversion and not subsequently. It is positional, not experiential. Being filled with the Spirit and walking by the Spirit are experiential and they are in the Greek imperative mood. Selah"
Very good. :)
So clearly people seem to be all over the place on this topic and no one can say for sure. The Bible does not make it totally clear. Paul does not make it totally clear how important tongues are.
The fact is Paul never addresses tongues anywhere except in 1 Corinthians. If it was important to all believers why did he not address it in every letter to every church? That is something to think about to.
May God help me in this amen. :) It is something that has confused me for the last 12 years now really lol.
God bless! :)
I have always understood that when we put our faith in Christ we receive the Holy Spirit.
The Bible talks about being filled with the Holy Spirit to Christians, which means maybe we can already have the Holy Spirit but be filled more with the Holy Spirit.
Here are some people's stories regarding this:
"It's up to the person who is wanting the Holy Spirit. It is something I will never forget.. When I received the Holy Ghost 6 years ago I have not come down off this yet.
I thought back in time and tried to remember my best day ever, but still there was nothing that compared to this. Nothing it is so powerful. It's something you will never forget.
You will know you got it if there's any doubt."
This seems strange to me for some reason. It is described as a high almost that this person did not "come down off of." But does God make us high per se?
One person said they were baptized at 15 but then were baptized in the Holy Spirit at 19. My thing is I have been baptized for the last 14 years and have never had this ecstatic baptism in the Holy Spirit experience. Neither has any other Christian I have ever known for the most part.
So what is it really? And why don't all Christians get it?
Another person said:
"The Holy Ghost is available and accessible to ALL Christians when the are truly saved and repent. HOWEVER I BELIEVE you need to seek it by reading the Bible and praying for guidance and wisdom. When God is ready for you to be covered and engulfed by the Holy Ghost YOU WILL BE. Now this is only my view."
"Engulfed," that is an interesting term fore it.
But why is Paul's baptism of the Holy Spirit never described? Why don't we see it in any of the disciples? The only thing would possibly be at Pentecost when they all spoke in tongues. But when Paul received the Holy Spirit and was saved he did not speak in tongues nor did he seem to have an ecstatic experience of any sort, yet he wrote most of the New Testament and became greater really than any who had had the experience at Pentecost as far as winning people to Christ. He even rebuked Peter on one occasion for showing favoritism to the Jews.
This is a good comment on this:
"1 Corinthians 12:13 (NASB):
'For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.'
The phrase "The baptism of the Holy Spirit" appears nowhere in Scripture.
We are baptized by the Spirit when we are saved."
Yes I would agree with that.
Another person said:
"There are at least two lines of theological thought on this. Most believe we receive the Holy Spirit when we come to know Christ (Romans 8:1-11). Many stop there. Others (myself included) believe there is a "Spirit Baptism" or "Fullness of the Spirit" that can occur after Salvation similar to what happened on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 1:8, Acts 2:1-6)."
Interesting.
Another comment:
"I believe the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is when you get cleansed by God. You no longer have the desire to sin. This differs from a water baptism in that a water baptism is a proclamation that you have accepted Christ.
As far as timing I think it differs from person to person. Some get the Holy Spirit when they accept Christ, some much later. Different denominations will probably teach differently. That is what I understand of Romans 6."
How odd, but every Christian I know still sins.
The other question I would have about this is does this go away at some point or fade away so the person again has the desire to sin? According to Paul we will always wrestle with the flesh in our Christian walk. But 1 John does have many verses that seem to say if we in Christ we will no longer sin. Most say this means habitually sin, but it is definitely an interesting book of the Bible and very challenging.
Another thought:
"Paul writes to the Ephesians in Chapter 5:18: "Do not get drunk with wine, which will only ruin you; instead be filled with the Spirit" What does this mean? It is imperative that we understand that this means that we surrender ourselves completely to the Holy Spirit who is already in our hearts."
Yes I have always found that verse to be odd. Does it mean that being filled with the Spirit is like being drunk with wine? But what about the verses that say we are to be sober minded and alert? hm....
A comment I very much like:
"The traditional orthodox position is that Acts 2 conveys a historical event-- the Holy Spirit came to God's people, and now He is here to stay. When a person gets saved, they have the Holy Spirit."
Amen!
This is also very good:
"There are commands in Scripture to be filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18), walk by the Spirit (Gal 5:16), but NO command to be baptized by the Holy Spirit.
1 Cor 12:13 is in the context of spiritual gifts and it has already been done to every believer in the body of Christ. The Greek aorist tense shows that tongues in 1 Cor. 14:21,22 are a sign to unbelievers, not believers. It is not the evidence of being baptized in the Holy Spirit, as the book of Acts is transitional between the age of law and the age of grace.
Doctrine is built on the teachings of the epistles. For these reasons, and others, I firmly believe baptism in the Holy Spirit takes place at conversion and not subsequently. It is positional, not experiential. Being filled with the Spirit and walking by the Spirit are experiential and they are in the Greek imperative mood. Selah"
Very good. :)
So clearly people seem to be all over the place on this topic and no one can say for sure. The Bible does not make it totally clear. Paul does not make it totally clear how important tongues are.
The fact is Paul never addresses tongues anywhere except in 1 Corinthians. If it was important to all believers why did he not address it in every letter to every church? That is something to think about to.
May God help me in this amen. :) It is something that has confused me for the last 12 years now really lol.
God bless! :)
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