Spurring One Another On.....

My husband and I recently started a journey together focused on bringing our marriage and our roles in our marriage into more obedience to God’s word.  As part of this process we have been engaged in counseling with a NANC counselor.  This form of counseling deals with the biblical perspective about our life challenges.  Worldly psychological theories are excluded as we try to understand our situation from God’s perspective.  One of our first assignments was to read a little booklet called “Christ in Your Problems by Jay Adams.”  I must say I was greatly challenged by the booklet to really embrace and surrender to the FULL truth of God’s word; not my own modification of His word and my attempts to make it more comfortable for me.  I want to share the opening paragraphs of the booklet with you.  If you find it helpful you may want to obtain your own copy to complete the reading.  You won’t regret it.  And, I would love to hear what impact it has on your life.  And, I will continue to share my journey with you as well.

Exerpt taken from “Christ and Your Problems by Jay Adams”

Excuse Me, Please

“But if you had to live with a wife like mine….””Listen, pastor – no one has ever had to face anything comparable to this at work before.” “But the other kids’ parents don’t make rules like mine do.” “Well, you’d have done it too, if he had said that to you?”

These and a hundred and one similar protests are heard daily by Christian counselors.  Boiled down, they all say one thing: “Please excuse me from my responsibility to live like a Christian on the grounds that my problem is unique”

But is it?  Does God ever allow a Christian to face a test that is unique?  Even if He does, would that be an adequate excuse?

In an unmistakably clear reply, Paul says, “No! You cannot evade your responsibility to think and act like a Christian by pleading that your case is unique.”  As a matter of fact, he shows that no case is unique.  Listen to his words in 1 Corinthians 10:13:  “There is no trial that has overtaken you but such as is common to man.”

To begin with, let’s nail down one thing:  1 Corinthians 10:13 allows for no exceptions of the sort that many of us are inclined to make for ourselves.  Our sin simply cannot be excused.

The reason why Paul declares that there are no exceptions is that at bottom all men in all times face the same basic problems.  There are no special cases.  This is why in this chapter Paul can appeal to the history of God’s dealings with the Jews in the days of Moses when  writing to a gentile church in Corinth that, outwardly at least, seemed to be facing quite different cultural problems.  Looking beneath the surface of time, geography, language, and culture, Paul said, “These things happened to the Jews, but they are “examples to you upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” Of course he says the same to you and me today.

God has not changed; His commandments have not been altered; and sinful man below his modern sophisticated exterior is still the same.  Men today stand in the same relationship to God and to one another as they did in biblical times.  Therefore, the message of the Bible is as fresh today as when Paul’s scroll was first unrolled and read in Corinth.  “There is no trial that has overtaken you but such as is common to man.”

Matters of the Heart

"If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." - John 15:7

"To abide in Jesus is never to quit Him for another love or another object, but to remain in living, loving, conscious, willing union with Him."- C.H. Spurgeon

As I read these words in my devotional time yesterday, I was convicted in my spirit. How many times have I been guilty of not abiding in Christ? How many times have I left a retreat or sermon with a heart full of devotion to Christ, only to let my heart be turned to other things? It is amazing how easily we replace Christ with "another love," whether it is our spouse, our children, our job, or just our own will.

The thing that amazes me the most is that we fail to abide, despite the great promise our Savior gives us: "If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." This doesn't mean that Jesus is our personal genie, ready to grant all of our worldly desires. Rather, it means that if we abide in Him, our desires will become aligned with God's will, and we will reap the blessings of that. As Pastor Hunt often tells us, there is great safety in being in the center of God's will.

These powerful words from Charles Spurgeon closed my devotional:

"The heart must remain in love, the mind must be rooted in faith, the hope must be cemented to the Word, the whole man must be joined unto the LORD, or else it would be dangerous to trust us with power in prayer. The carte blanche can only be given to one whose very life is, "Not I, but Christ liveth in me." O you who break your fellowship, what power you lose! If you would be mighty in your pleadings, the LORD Himself must abide in you, and you in Him."

Do you want to see God's power work in your life? The first step is abiding. Make Christ the true Love of your life.

Gratitude Challenge Day 5

WOW! I woke up to find more snow! Lord I do thank you for the snow and its beauty. I thank you that through the winter storm, you have kept us from harm. You are a God of provision and you continue to show yourself to me.  On this day that you have made, our gratitude challenge reminds us to be thankful for everything. Everything includes a lot. The good and the not so good. God I trust you and I know your Word is true. So I do thank you on this cold February day.

Friends, are you thankful today???  Here is the challenge for today.
Day 5:
Ephesians 5:15–21
I hope you’re becoming more alert to the many reasons you have to be grateful. I remember
hearing a friend tell how, while brushing his teeth and meditating on one of the verses in today’s
reading (Ephesians 5:20), he was struck by the word “everything.” He was reminded of the
importance of thanking God for even those “little things” that we often overlook. It made him
pause and be thankful for, well … his toothbrush. And his toothpaste. And, while he was at it, he
thanked God for his teeth, for probably the first time in his life.
This may require another separate list from the ones you made yesterday, but it’s definitely a
category worth considering. Since everything is a gift from God (James 1:17), “everything” is
something to be thankful for. My friend told me he also asked himself: “If tomorrow’s supply
depended on today’s thanksgiving, how much would I have tomorrow?”
What “little things” can you add to the gratitude lists you’ve started? Some of the items on your
“everything” list will make you realize you’ve taken certain people in your life for granted. Say
thank you today in some way.


Just begin to thank Him for ALL things great and small. I am so blessed and thankful to be able to have this time each day to share with you my thankfulness.

Be Blessed,

Sandy

Gratitude Challenge Day 4

This is a new day! Praise God for His mercies each day!

I pray that you are still praising Him for His many benefits. Many times we want the benefits, but don't want to experience all that comes along with receiving the benefits. Think about that for a moment. God will give us benefits, yet there are requirements to accepting His plan. As you pray today, ask yourself whether you are being obedient to His Word? Wait for a response and ask God for His Grace in this area.

Be Blessed!

Day 4:

Psalm 103:1–5

As we recognize and identify the specific blessings we have received from God and from others, we discover countless reasons for expressing gratitude. The psalmist took time to bless the Lord for specific benefits—he didn’t want to forget even one of them! As you open your heart to Him in prayer today, asks God to reveal to you just how great your “benefits package” really is.

Make two lists under these headings: “Gifts from God” and “Gifts from Others.” Then put down everything that comes to mind. Don’t try forcing this into a one-time, ten-minute exercise—stop and start as it seems natural. Keep adding to these lists as additional gifts come to mind over the next thirty days (and beyond). After you’ve written out a list of your blessings, take some time to walk through your list line by line, thanking God for each of these “benefits.” Then, read Psalm 103 aloud. Try memorizing and meditating on at least the first five verses over the next week or so.

Gratitude Challenge

The TWM is participating in a 30 day Challenge of Gratitude. Visit Transformed Women's Ministry's facebook page for more details. Here is the day 3 challenge.

Enjoy and remember to worship Him always!

Sandy

Day 3:

Psalm 107:1–32

The theme of Psalm 107 is Give thanks to the Lord.  Read the testimony of those who have been redeemed by the Lord and have reason to give Him thanks. Each testimony shows distress—the straits people found themselves in; a desperate cry to the Lord for help; and Divine deliverance. A  “thanksgiving chorus” is repeated at the end of each testimony.

Today, think about your testimony of God’s saving grace.

• What was your life like before He redeemed you?

• How did God bring you to the end of yourself, to the place where you cried out to Him for mercy?

• What has changed since He delivered you from your slavery to sin?

Now Praise His Name! Alleluia ,we praise your  name! 

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We look forward to growing in Christ with you!