God is not really good.

Lie #1

GOD IS NOT REALLY GOOD. IF HE WERE, HE WOULD......

As Nancy points out, we see this played out so clearly with Eve. We see this happen to her even before she was ever faced with the sin of others. Satan convinced her to believe that God was not really good......that if he was, he would not deny her something she really wanted. (is this not the cry of our society???.......live for your desires)

Our job is even more difficult as Christians in a fallen world. We must stand and BELIEVE that God really is good even though Satan is still as diligent in deceiving AND our lives are tainted by the sins of others. Satan's ploy is, "How could a truly good God let ______ happen?"

Something that was so profound for me were the effects of this belief. Nancy says, " Once we doubt the goodness of God, we feel justified in rejecting His will and making our own decisions about right and wrong." I am afraid this is where I stand at times. When things are not going my way, I convince myself that I am being wronged. I justify wrong actions because I feel that I am being wronged and God would never really desire that for me. Sadly, I am mistaken and am falling into the trap Satan has set to keep me from living in God's will.

The truth is that God is good. His Word says, "You are good and do good." ~Psalm 119:68.

I will stand on the TRUTH.

Lies Women Believe

If you have been a Christian for any length of time, you are probably familiar with this book by Nancy Leigh Demoss. It has been sitting on my shelf for some time now. I am pretty sure I have attempted to read through it twice, if not more. I haven't been successful in getting very far. As I picked it up again a few days ago and starting reading through it once more, I realized the reason for the continued failures. It is not the author and it is not the content. All of that is excellent. It was the reader. This book requires MUCH on the part of the reader and I guess I have never been willing to give it the time it deserves. As a "reader" (as opposed to someone who doesn't read regularly), I tend to want to rush through books.......read them and be done. This one does NOT allow for such an approach.

And so I am here today to tell you that I am WORKING THROUGH the book this time. I will use this blog as an outlet for me to work through the lies and stand on the Truth. Maybe as I work through the book, you too will see lies that you are believing.

Working through the Parable of the Sower: Part 1

I have been reading Matthew. It is a back up plan of sorts. I fall back on it when I don't have any pressing scriptures I want to study or workbook scriptures to search through. It has been quite an adventure and I am only to chapter 17.



Since reading it last month, I feel that God has been bringing me back to a particular scripture over and over. Matthew 13. The parable of the sower. I must admit that I didn't understand this parable in previous readings so I kind of just shuffled over it. I was determined in this reading to understand the text, not just gain mileage.



Dissecting this particular scripture has brought up a handful of questions.....none of which seem to be on the light side of our spiritual walks. I do believe the implications of this passage are quite alarming for the majority of the Christians I know.



I will do my best to express the questions that have surfaced and share the "answers" I have found and update as I find others. I am just an ordinary girl, working through scripture......if some of these questions seem absurd to you, cut me some slack.......I am sure I will figure it out soon enough.



1) Aside from the seed that fell along the path, is the initial conversion of all of these "seeds" a true conversion

• If the answer is "yes, " do they still go to heaven even though they have fallen away?


• If that answer is "yes," how does that jive with the idea that those who know the Lord will produce fruit and desire an intimate relationship with Him?

3) If we fail, as Christ followers to disciple new believers, are we causing them to be like the seed with no roots?



4) What is it that keeps these seeds from understanding & growing roots.....does this hint around in the area of predestination or is it more about OUR actions?



5) The way the parable is told, it seems as though we have no part in where we(the seed) will land......is this true? If so, what does that mean for us? (along the same lines as the end of the last question......is this giving us insight into the predestination debate?)



That will get us started.....I am sure there are more but those are the initial questions that came to mind.

I will continue to post on this as I work through it.

Biblically Based Parenting

I have pretty much quit reading parenting books across the board. Many times they are filled with the same stuff and are rarely based solely on scripture. This one is different.

I'm on my 4th or 5th read of this book so I figured it was probably something someone else might be interested in as well..... I happened upon it while working at Mardel.

Sometimes I get so confused as to how to put all of the Bible into my parenting. This book has been a GREAT help. She uses Psalm 127:1 as a framework for her book.....starting it out with the building the foundation and ending with installing locks and an alarm system. She does this in 2-3 page chapters, each beginning with 3+ verses that she is walking you through. She usually gives a life example, What Parents Can Do section, and a prayer for you and your children. Each chapter is quick and informative......you could choose to read it through or hit by topic as you need it.

WARNING: This is not for the lukewarm Christian. The suggestions she makes many times make me think......WOW......I am going to have to work on that before I can teach my children to be that way! She is radical, straight from scripture!

As with any book, there are times when I don't completely agree with her but overall this book has been a FANTASTIC resource.

PEACE on EARTH

Lately I have been burdened by this need to get down to the Truth and get rid of this sugar-coated Christian life I have been leading. Somehow in the 8 years that I have known the Lord, I have allowed the Christian culture to seep into my life.....a culture that is more guided by the things of this world than by the Word......by what is popular and peace-keeping rather than what may bring persecution and conflict.

In my quiet time this morning I was struck, yet again by this same need. I have been going through the book of Matthew and this morning I came across Matthew 10:34-36.....

34 "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household.

If I were to ask you, before reading this, if Christ came to bring peace on earth, what would your answer have been? Mine would have been a resounding YES. And the thoughts it would have brought about are those of everyone getting along......world peace, if you will.

But this is one of those lies our culture has taught us. We live in a peace-keeping society. We want to make everyone happy all of the time. We believe that because Christ is loving that means we are to be loving (peace-keeping).

When you take a closer look, you see that peace-keeping does not = love in the scriptures. You see that Christ did NOT come to bring peace BETWEEN men but FOR men. Christ came to bring peace to our souls, not to our society. Of course, if all people had Christ residing in their hearts, their would be world peace but scripture tells us that will not happen this side of heaven.

And from this I must take away a resolve to live in the TRUTH, to not always try to make everyone happy, and to not rely on what the Christian culture teaches me but to bathe myself in the Word so that it will reside in my heart.

Are you meek?

This is one I have IGNORED!

Meek- ˈmēk

1 : enduring injury with patience and without resentment : mild
2 : deficient in spirit and courage : submissive
3 : not violent or strong : moderate

These are completely against my nature.....just not my personality......or so I have told myself. Even when I was ON FIRE for the Lord, this was one I justified away. But is this not for ALL Christians? YES!

AND, the question arises, is this a possible characteristic to take on even in the midst of a rebuke? I believe the answer to this is YES as well! In fact, I would venture to say that it very well could be even MORE important in these situations.

Interestingly enough I find that the only time the word meekness is used (in the NIV) is in the context of a rebuke. In 1 Corinthians 10:1-3 Paul writes:

1By the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you—I, Paul, who am "timid" when face to face with you, but "bold" when away! 2I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world. 3For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.

Is there still sternness? Does he try to "make peace"? I certainly don't think gentleness and meekness = peace maker.

I will have to work on this.

CHANGE

Life has become quite interesting.

Back in April I went into the hospital for pre-term labor and started a blog to keep everyone updated on what was going on. After getting out of the hospital and moving on with life I had people express interest in me continuing my blog. I was surprised to say the least but obliged, thankful for the opportunity to keep record of my kiddos childhood. That way, later in life when my kiddos ask about when they were little I certainly won't be able to remember, I can point them to the blog.

All of that said, I find it quite interesting that I completely forgot I had started THIS blog in February with lofty intentions. Clearly I fell through miserably. It seems that this has been the pattern of my life for far too long. BUT, God has His ways.....does He not? There is SOMETHING he wants me to get out there. He hasn't revealed His purpose in this yet, but I am certain He will and I so desire to be in the middle of His will.

I am ready for change.

I am tired of living as a diluted Christian. I want to live for Christ. I want my life to be a life that brings glory to the Kingdom and thus far it has been an ugly picture of that. I pray that I can use this blog as an outlet to my new life. As some sort of accountability. I pray that some might find a bit of comfort and encouragement in seeing my struggle against the evil one to make a REAL and lasting CHANGE!

The title of my blog still rings true to the desire of my heart......that I am no longer to conform to the patterns of this world. (Romans 12:2) This has become increasingly difficult in a culture of professed Christians who unashamedly live like the world.