The World Will Hate You

In response to a comment, I just want to say that as a follower of Jesus, we will not be liked by the world. As a matter of fact, Jesus said, "if the world hates me they will hate you. If the World persecutes me, they will persecute you." I actually pondered this question a couple of days ago when I began thinking about my quest for popularity among people. The Holy Spirit began bringing all the great men of faith into my mind. Paul, Peter, David, Moses, Noah, and the list could go on. As I thought about these men, I realized that they were not liked by many people. They were slandered, beaten, spoken against, imprisoned, etc. I thought of all they went through for the cause of Christ and that Jesus words proved true.

We spend so much of our lives trying to "make" people like us. Trying so hard to please others that we fail to please the only one who matters. I've heard it said, when we live, we should be living for ONE audience. I have learned to do that, I must continually ask God to renew my mind and keep me focused on Him. It's hard but with the power of the Holy Spirit, it is not impossible. When we stand before God on the day of judgement, our popularity among men won't matter. We won't be able to plead our case of being accepted by our piers. On the contrary, that might not be a good thing. I have this quote framed on my wall to serve as a reminder of what we should live for on this earth.

"May the final words you hear before entering into eternity be: Well done, thy good and faithful servant."

We should live in such a way that those are the final words we hear before walking into the eternal presence of our Holy God.

He Touched my Heart

I just wanted to tell all how the Lord really touched my heart yesterday through my children. We were listening to a song in the car and I looked back at Elizabeth and she had her eyes closed and her little hands raised in worship. It was the sweetest little thing. I could see and sense the sincerity in her as I looked at her. ( I would've loved to have stared at her, but the 4wildhares and their mom might have ended up praising the Lord in Heaven!!!) Anyways, when we got to where we were going she said she was crying as she sang that song because she could hear the devil telling her she didn't love Jesus. She said she was singing that song to the devil. The song says, "My Savior Loves, My savior lives, my saviors always there for me. My God He was, My God He is, My God He's always gonna be." And that my friend is what she was letting the devil know. WOW! And she's only 5.

Let me just say that Satan wants our children. I remember a few months ago praying with Katherine before bed just really asking God to bless her life and protect her from harm and evil. And then I sensed the devil just standing there waiting for the time he could get his hands on her. Let me tell you a sense of dread and urgency to pray for her came over me. It's like he couldn't touch her yet, but was waiting for the day he could. It brings knots to my stomach just thinking about it. We cannot take praying for our children lightly. Satan wants them. And he starts in the mind. Telling them they don't really love Jesus, etc. So one thing we must ask God to protect is their precious little mind and that they will realize when it's the devil putting thoughts in their head. And like Elizabeth, to tell Satan who God is and that He's always gonna be.

Now to how Davis blessed my heart. We were watching the video on my blog of the Revelation Song. About 1/3 of the way through, Davis let out a sigh. I thought he was getting restless b/c he was getting tired of it, but a second or two later, he dropped to his knees and put his head on the floor. When I asked him later what made him do that, he said, he was worshipping. Then it hit me that the sigh was an awe stricken sigh at the power of God. That is the place I hope he remains his whole life. Knees and face on the floor getting his breath knocked out of him as he considers the power of God.

Peter, do you love me?

I learned the coolest thing yesterday. It's the story about when Jesus predicts that Peter will deny Him three times before the rooster crows. We all know that Peter did deny Jesus. (no, that's not what I learned! :) I am going somewhere with this!!) And the guilt he felt after he realized what he had done. But the sweetness and loving kindness of Jesus was evident when He asked Peter if he loved Him. Not once!!! Three times!!!!! I love that. For each time Peter denied Him, Jesus made a way for Peter to say I love you Lord. A devotion I got in the mail from Desiring God Ministries says, "It wasn't until later that Peter realized what had happened in that painful conversation on the beach. (Jesus asking Peter if he loved Him.) It wasn't that Jesus doubted Peter's love. Instead, he had allowed Peter to affirm his love for Jesus for each denial he had made on that terrible night."

That makes me fall in love with Jesus even more. He is so tender-hearted even when we fail. He didn't get angry with Peter. Hurt maybe, but not angry. He knew Peter was going to deny Him and He allowed it. But what amazing love He showed when He let Peter say he loved Jesus for each time he denied Jesus. I can just see the love and tenderness in His eyes as He looks at Peter and asks him the question, "Peter, do you love me?"

Revelation Song

This is a custom video to the one before. This one, in my opinion shows the power of God better.

Revelation Song - Kari Jobe

This is such a powerful song. Our choir sang this in church yesterday and let me just say all one could do was lift their hands and tremble in the presence of God. Our God is so powerful. Holy Holy Holy is Our Lord God Almighty. I pray that He is your everthing and that you will Adore Him. This is what life is all about. Listen, worhip, enjoy and praise your God.

Another Proud Moment

Davis had to write about his hero for a school project he did about himself. Here is what he wrote: "God is my hero. He tells me good things to do like when I'm fixin to do something bad. He stops me. That's why he is my hero. He helps me a lot." It's short, but it sure makes me proud. God's faithfulness to bless my little effort is amazing. And if we all had that childlike faith. Lord, I pray that my children will have the kind of childlike faith you command us all to have. I pray that your words will hide deep within their heart so that when the enemy of temptation comes, they can fight with the Word. Give them faithful hearts. Give them the love you have for your son. And Jesus, help them to obey the Father they way you do. In Jesus name~Amen

The Suffering of Christ

If you have never visualized what Jesus actually did for us on the cross, here is a great picture of it. Let each word absorb into your heart as you think of the price He paid to redeem you. "Think of His lacerated back. Thirty nine lashes left little flesh intact. He heaves with His breath up and down against the rough vertical beam of the cross. Each breath puts splinters into the lacerations. The Lord gasps. From time to time He screams out with intolerable pain. He tries to pull away from the wood and the massive spokes through His wrists rip into the nerve endings and He screams again with agony and pushes up with his feet to give some relief to His wrists. But the bones and nerves in His pierced feet crush against each other with anguish and He screams again. There is no relief. His throat is raw from screaming and thirst. He loses His breath and thinks He is suffocating and suddenly His body involuntarily gasps for air and all the injuries unite in pain. In torment, He forgets about the crown of two inch thorns and throws His head back in desperation, only to hit one of the thorns perpendicular against the cross beam and drive it half an inch into His skull. His voice reaches a soprano pitch of pain and sobs break over His pain wracked body as every cry brings more and more pain." (excerpt from "Pierced by the Word" by John Piper.) And now think of the words He spoke. "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." This is real. This is what He went through for you and me. The Bible says He didn't even look human. But yet so few of us actually gives our life completely to Him. We use Him to get blessings. We use Him to help us get what we want. But that is not what the cross was all about. He suffered so you and I could have a relationship with Him. So we could know Him. So we could walk with Him. So we could talk with Him. We were created for this. To worship and glorify Him. Anything He does for us after the cross is pure grace. Gosh He is so good. Do you really realize how much He loves you? If you haven't thanked Him in a while, get on you knees and give Him all the glory and honor and thanks that He alone deserves. And don't forget to thank Him for what He did on the cross for you and me. Amazing Love, how can it be that you my King should die for me.

Scripture Memory

Please click on the Internet Cafe in the right margin of my blog. John Piper talks about Scripture memory and steps for memorizing. It is so important to memorize scripture. Psalm 119 says "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." How do you hide His word in your heart? By memorizing it. Jesus also tells us to abide in Him and for His words to abide in us. How do we have his words abide in us? By memorizing scripture. God's word is our sword. To fight satan and his attacks, we must know the Word. Let's get busy memorizing. Our SS class is in the process of memorizing Psalm 119. We are currently working on 65-72. We do a set of eight every week. So, grab your Bible and join in. You won't be sorry you did.

Sermon Jonathan Edwards

"The redeemed have all their objective good in God. God Himself is the great good which they are brought to the possession and enjoyment of by redemption. He is the highest good, and the sum of all that good which Christ purchased. God is the inheritance of the saint; He is the portion of their soul. God is their wealth and treasure, their food, their life, their dwelling place, their ornament and diadem, and their everlasting honor and glory. They have none in heaven but God; He is the great good which the redeemed are received to at death, and which they are to rise to at the end of the world. The Lord God, He is the light of the heavenly Jerusalem; and is the "river of the water of life" that runs, and the tree of life that grows, "in the midst of the paradise of God." The glorious excellencies and beauty of God will be what will forever entertain the minds of the saints, and the love of God will be their everlasting feast. The redeemed will indeed enjoy other things; they will enjoy the angels, and will enjoy one another: but that which they shall enjoy in the angels, or each other, or in anything else whatsoever, that will yield them delight and happiness, will be what will be seen of God in them. " This is the way we, as Christians, should feel about God. He should be our "highest good." When we die and enter into eternity, it is God Himself that we receive. That's what it means to say that HE is our inheritance. Not the crowns or the mansions or being able to see loved ones gone before us. No!!! It's God Himself that will be our portion, our treasure, our bread, our crown. Search your heart for the answer to this question. Why do you want to go to Heaven? To not go to hell? To see loved ones? To get your mansion? Jesus said in John 17:3 ~ "This is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." If your desire for eternal life is anything but God Himself, you need to examine the depth of your relationship with Him. He should be all we want in this life and in the life to come.

Proud Momma

Anna Blake had to write about herself in school and this is what she wrote. ANNA BLAKE Artistic, kind, horse lover, and funny Daughter of Natalie and Blake Lover of God, horses and chocolate Who feels artistic, shy, friendly, and special Who finds happiness in Jesus, horses and my family Who fears spiders, the dark, and making a bad grade Who would like to see Hanna Montana, a horse show, and Jesus Who enjoys horse back riding, going to church, playing with my friends Who likes horses, scarey movies and God Resident of Hoover, AL HARE This was so beautiful to me. And a testimony to Gods faithfulness. She has such a heart for God. She said if she could make one wish, it would be that she would never stop following Jesus. I just love my girl.

Satisfied in Him

I know I keep bringing this up, but God keeps bringing it up with me. He is really driving the point deep within my heart that nothing is more satisfying than Him. He is showing me that all of creation was created for Him and through Him not for us "to be made much of but for us to make much of Him." (from John Piper) It's all about Him. Everything is about Him. I feel like I can't say it enough. It is a shame to live our life with no purpose but to be happy within ourselves and living for our own pleasure. There is so much more to life than that. We should ponder the question, "why was I created? Why am I here at this time?" Do we really think it is just for us? If so, we are living a sad sad life. When we realize that all of creation is for the glory of God, our outlook on life will begin to change. You will have another goal to live for. An eternal goal. God is the true treasure we should seek after. We were created to worship Him. Look up in Exodus when Moses went to Pharaoh to give him the command to let the people of God go. Every time God speaks this He says, "let my people go, SO they can worship me." That's it. That is the true point of life. God wants us to worship Him. But why? Because He knows that worshipping and finding our enjoyment in Him is what truly satisfies us. Nothing else will. At least not permanently. When He commands our worship it's out of love because He knows the joy that comes from it. And in turn, we glorify God when we enjoy Him the way He created us to. "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him." (John Piper.)

Bear with me as I write these things. God is driving this point so strong in my heart. I truly believe that God wants His children to find their satisfaction and happiness in Him. And I fear that so many don't. God is huge. Nothing compares to Him. And ya'll, He is ours and we are His. SIMPLY AMAZING!!!!!