Ab · Aeterno · a · Cruce · Salus

Originally written on April 15th, 2010


1 Corinthians 11:1-16 (ESV)
“Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you.
3 But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife* is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.
4 Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head,
5 but every wife* who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same as if her head were shaven.
6 For if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short. But since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head.
7 For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man.
8 For man was not made from woman, but woman from man.
9 Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man.
10 That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.*
11 Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman;
12 for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And all things are from God.
13 Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a wife to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14 Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him, 15 but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering. 16 If anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor do the churches of God. ”

Head coverings. What were they?
The English Standard Version (ESV) Bible study notes say that culturally, it was a symbol of marital status for a woman to wear a veil. Throwing off the veil would then be seen as identical to throwing off all submission to her husband and acknowledgement of her marriage. Paul says that the refusal of women, presumably wives, to wear any head covering is the same as her having her head shaved.
What?
According to the Inter Varsity Press New Bible Commentary (IVP-BC), “The shaving of the head of the woman who disgraces her husband by commi[t]ting adultery was prescribed by Roman law which applied in the Roman colony of Corinth.”

So the woman who refused to place herself, even symbolically, under her husband’s authority was no different than the woman who committed adultery against her husband. Ouch.
Proverbs 12:4
“An excellent wife is the crown of her husband,
But she who shames him is like rottenness in his bones.”

The imagery here is reminiscent of Jehovah God’s relationship with Israel. He describes Himself as her suitor, her caretaker, and her Bridegroom. Israel, however, instead of loving and submitting only to Him, showing gratitude and respect for her tender Husband, commits prostitution and adultery with foreign gods, disgracing her heavenly King and herself.

The marriage of one man and one woman is a picture of Christ and the Church. He is the Shepherd, the self-sacrificing, gentle leader and she is the submissive, supporting help-mate.

Unfortunately, we live in a broken, retrograde world. Husbands are not, by nature, tender or gentle when they lead. It is only by the power of Christ that a man can die to self and live for his wife the way Christ lived and died for the Church.
Likewise, no woman can hope to quench her default nature of insubordination and disrespect in her own strength. Anything good is all because of Christ!
2 Corinthians 5:17
“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things have passed away; behold new things have come.”

Philippians 4:13
“I can do all things through [Christ] who strengthens me.”

2 Corinthians 4:16   
“Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.”

Both men and women desire a life of total independence. Both desire the other person to “meet my needs.” This is the tragedy that has been playing the American circuit theatre of life for so many generations. How many of us know families where Mom and Dad just couldn’t work things out?

Christians, because we have been made new people in Jesus Christ and because we are in-dwelt by His Holy Spirit, can change our own behavior in these areas. We can be lights and guides in an empty, lost world.

Does this mean American christian women should be wearing head coverings?
Let’s come back to “what is a head covering?”
For the Corinthians, head coverings were symbolic of a working marriage: wife submitting to her husband’s leadership.
Is there a symbol like this in our culture? What about wedding rings, tattoos (beloved’s name, etc.), or, do I dare bring it up, our attitudes and body language?
How we use our facial and body expressions says a lot more about us than we might realize or like to admit. We could be legalistic and all walk around piously with our doilies or burkas, but if our heart’s attitude is disrespectful or disdainful toward our husbands we richly deserve to be called out for our hypocrisy.
No, because of its context, I don’t believe women in our culture need to wear head coverings, but we do need to daily check our hearts for evil, selfish thoughts and take every thought (and feeling!) captive in obedience to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).
It wouldn’t hurt to remember scripture’s admonitions to dress modestly, whatever we wear.

Ephesians 4:22-24
“...that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”

2 Corinthians 13:5  
“Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you — unless indeed you fail the test?”

Psalm 139:23-24
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.”

But what about “because of the angels”?
The IVP- Hard Sayings of the Bible authors record that “a more specific background for this text from Judaism is to be found in the Qumran writings, commonly known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. J. A. Fitzmyer has shown that these Jewish sectarians believed that angels were present when the community assembled for worship, and that they would be offended by any acts which transgr[e]ssed created order.”

This interpretation/belief definitely jives with Paul’s close attention to the woman (translated as “wife” due to context) being created for the man (“husband”), and the husband being the head of his wife, with Christ being the head of every man.

In conclusion, when all is said and done, I’m an unworthy sinner redeemed by Christ who must daily cry out:
Psalms 51:1-4  
Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness;
According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity
And cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions,
And my sin is ever before me.
Against You, You only, I have sinned
And done what is evil in Your sight,
So that You are justified when You speak
And blameless when You judge.”

Who am I to decide whether God is reasonable or not?

meno; a prim. vb.; to stay, abide, remain

Abide: (verb intrans.)
1. accept or act in accordance with
2. continue without fading or being lost.
• archaic live; dwell.

John 15:1-11   
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.”

How Ironic that the most terrible day of all time, the day when God, having come into a fallen world in the form, the physical person of Jesus Christ, was brutally, heartlessly tortured and murdered for the crimes of His enemies, is the day we call "good."

Thank you, God, for condescending to live in our sin polluted world, to suffer a life of poverty and persecution, and to die a gruesome, drawn out death for us who hated You and cursed Your name.
You are glorious not only in Your justice, majesty, and beauty, but also in Your grace and mercy.
In Jesus's name,
Amen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvejyvnEidY&feature=related

This question was posted to my friend's Formspring page and I couldn't resist writing up a reply myself despite the fact that she answered it well and beautifully.

Q: “What you are saying about sin seems to me to just make believing in GOD (not that I don't) something for the sick and dying? If you are always guaranteed forgiveness for your faith then why not party your brains out till the end?”

A: There are several points that could be focused on in that question:
1) True children of God don’t desire all the same things after conversion that they did before their conversion (Romans 6, John 12:25).

2) Christians do not only have faith that God is faithful to save repentant sinners (1 John 1:9), but also that He is faithful to damn unrepentant sinners for all of eternity (Matthew 18).
Repentance is not just saying you’re sorry, it’s feeling penitent, genuinely desiring to not repeat the transgression.

3) You don’t know when “the end” will be. Luke 12, Matthew 24

With such high stakes, who would risk their eternal destiny on a little fun right now? If you are asking “how far is too far?” you should question whether you’re truly saved (trusting in Christ’s work alone for your salvation) or whether you've been (self-)deceived.

It would be the basest ingratitude to willfully continue in sin without any remorse when the innocent Son of God sacrificed Himself to save us from that very slavery.

“Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.’”
John 8:34

“...knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;”
Romans 6:6
(The whole chapter speaks to this subject)

“For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’”
Romans 8:15

“Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.”
Galatians 4:7

Praise God!

Psalm 144:3-4 “O Lord, what is man, that You take knowledge of him? Or the son of man, that You think of him? Man is like a mere breath; His days are like a passing shadow.”

True Love?

"Now the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, so that they might put Him to death.
They did not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward.
But later on two came forward, and said, 'This man stated, "I am able to destroy the temple of God and to rebuild it in three days."'
The high priest stood up and said to Him, 'Do You not answer? What is it that these men are testifying against You?' 
But Jesus kept silent.
And the high priest said to Him, 'I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.'
Jesus said to him, 'You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.'
Then the high priest tore his robes and said, 'He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy; what do you think?'
They answered, 'He deserves death!'
Then they spat in His face and beat Him with their fists; and others slapped Him, and said, 'Prophecy to us, You Christ; who is the one who hit You?'"
Matthew 26:59-68

Just found this blog via John Piper's facebook (this amuses me to no end, possibly for no definable reason :P )
Anywho, Sarah-beara! Yes you! You should read the rest of her posts about El Salvador, they're great.
http://mollypiper.com/2009/11/reentry-sickness/

We had an amazing, emotionally charged weekend learning from Paul's letter to the Philippians. There is so much crammed into that short little book and we covered so many things. It's more or less a complete overview of what the life of every christian should look like.
I know I was wonderfully revitalized and challenged by every message and I encourage you all to just read through and pray about what you see there. Hopefully I'll be able to get some of my notes up here. It really helps me to go over them again.
A short, incomplete review:

Hebrews 13
verses 5-7
Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”
Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.

We were urged to integrate ourselves more completely with our church family, to examine those who are more mature than us spiritually and follow their example where they are following that of Christ, remembering that others are looking up to us in a similar manner.

verses 8-12
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them.
We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat.
For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp.
So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through His own blood.

We have been spared the ultimate experience of pain and suffering in the next life through Christ. We have so many blessings that we often take them for granted and forget that the Son of God Himself died horrifically to give that to us while we were still His enemies. Suffering for our faith is a privilege in this life. It is guaranteed to happen at some point or another the more we imitate our Savior and proclaim salvation to the people around us. It builds character and produces spiritual fruit. It is also one of God's favorite ways to show off His grace in the lives of His children to the watching world.

verses 13-14
Therefore let us go to Him outside the camp and bear the reproach He endured.
For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.

This world is not our home, we're not supposed to get comfortable here. If we're still living and breathing, we should be seeking to honor God with every aspect of our lives - serving the church with whatever talents God has blessed us with, spreading truth and making a stand for Christ publicly so that more people will come to Him and be saved. We shouldn't be blending in and avoiding confrontation, as tempting as it is. We should join Jesus "outside the camp," unafraid of being rejected and ostracized as He was. These are hard statements. It is only by God's grace that we can have joy and peace in such circumstances. And it is only by obeying Him that we experience the greater part of this grace.

verses 15-21
Through Him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge His name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.
Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things. I urge you the more earnestly to do this in order that I may be restored to you the sooner.
Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Hard to believe today is the first day of 2010! It's always a relief to read timeless, unchangeable truths when uncertainty and disaster are close at hand.
Psalms 86:12
"I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and will glorify Your name forever."

Our church family is having a very bitter sweet New Years Day this year. Last night our sister in Christ Rachel Hearn died suddenly. She had only given birth to her first child one week before and her husband of less than one year is grieving terribly, but trusting God.
Please keep Rob and his baby daughter Addy in your prayers! God shows His mercies even through tragedy. We can rejoice that Rachel is now in everlasting bliss, seeing God face to face in all His glory. She will never again feel pain or sorrow, praise God!
Our comfort is that we will see her again in paradise glorified with our Savior Jesus Christ!

1Thessalonians 4:13-18
"But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.
For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.
Therefore comfort one another with these words."

Acts 20:32
“And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified."

Cross posted to friendsinfaith

P.D. passed on two of Pastor John MacArthur's blogs in an email and I wanted to share them with you all. The first is an examination of the influence of Oral Roberts on christianity for better or for worse before his recent death and the second is a much needed denunciation of the heresies found on TBN. Please read them through thoroughly!

http://www.gty.org/Blog/B091218
http://www.gty.org/Blog/B091211

And some of my own rambling dialogue...
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Eph. 3:14-21
"For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.
Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen."

Do you not know? Have you not heard?
Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,
Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
He it is who reduces rulers to nothing, Who makes the judges of the earth meaningless.
Scarcely have they been planted, scarcely have they been sown, scarcely has their stock
taken root in the earth, but He merely blows on them, and they wither, and the storm
carries them away like stubble.
“To whom then will you liken Me that I would be his equal?” says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these stars, the One who leads forth
their host by number, He calls them all by name; because of the greatness of His might
and the strength of His power, not one of them is missing.
Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord, and the justice due me escapes the notice of my God”?
Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired.
His understanding is inscrutable.

~ ~ ~

Today is cleaning day! Woo.
It's pouring down buckets of rain & the boys are all stuck at the Christmas Tree lot. Thankfully they've been selling alot of trees today compared with the weekdays.
Sooo tired & sick!

Christian continues on the road, eventually losing Faithful when the citizens of Vanity Fair murder him and throw Christian in prison for preaching the gospel.
Miraculously released, Christian meets up with Hopeful and pursues the road to the Celestial City. The pair meet another person who professes to be a true follower of The Way. But he says...

"...It is true we somewhat differ in religion from
those of the stricter sort, yet but in two small points: first,
we never strive against wind and tide; secondly, we are always most
zealous when Religion goes in his silver slippers; we love much
to walk with him in the street, if the sun shines, and the people
applaud him."
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By-ends: "You must not impose, nor lord it over my faith; leave me
to my liberty, and let me go with you."

Christian: "Not a step further, unless you will do in what I propound as
we."

Then said By-ends, "I shall never desert my old principles, since
they are harmless and profitable. If I may not go with you, I must
do as I did before you overtook me, even go by myself, until some
overtake me that will be glad of my company."

~ ~ ~

We will always know true believers from the false because of persecutions. When the tide of popularity rises against Christianity the look-a-likes leave or take back previous assertions, molding themselves to fit the times. They start saying things like "Don't judge me!" or "God is love, therefore He cannot really have invented such a place as Hell (see Mark 9:43-49)," or, "Hell is not an eternal punishment (see Matthew 18:8-9)."and "He wouldn't really send anyone there, not if He's truly merciful and loving." (Matthew 25:22-46, Romans 6:23, 2 Thess. 1, Jude 1:5-7, Revelation 19, 20, 21 [specifically: Rev.19:1-6, 19:11-16, 19:19-20:3, 20:7-15, 21:5-8, 21:21-27])
That is how many cults spring up. One or a bunch of people who were living their lives complacently under the delusion of pop christianity suddenly get confronted with God's justice and/or hatred of sin, in particular theirs.
They decide they're going to reinterpret the Bible and make it say what they want it to so that they can have their sin and still go to heaven.
Truth is, they're fooling themselves.

2 Thessalonians 1:3-12 (emphasis added)
"We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethren, as is only fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged, and the love of each one of you toward one another grows ever greater; therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure. This is a plain indication of God’s righteous judgment so that you will be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which indeed you are suffering. For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed — for our testimony to you was believed.
To this end also we pray for you always, that our God will count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ."
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1 John 5:19-21
"We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.
Little children, guard yourselves from idols."

True believers know that Jesus is God and is our only hope of salvation.

Jude 1 ( Read more...Collapse )

Thank you, Trista, this made me laugh :)

"How do you learn to get on a bus if we're homeschooled?"

for all homeschoolers who have been asked if they have any friends. or any other stupid question.
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~ ~ ~

Yes we do get asked these questions.
Once when I was fifteen, my Dad and I were walking down a street in Santa Rosa on our way to Barnes and Noble and a policeman in dark sunglasses stopped us, wanting to know why I wasn't in school. My Dad started to answer, but did a double take and laughed. He started addressing the officer by his first name and I just stood there hoping the man wouldn't arrest us for bribery or something. Up to this point the his face had been stone blank. Finally he grinned, and the two of them went back and forth with stories for a minute or two.
Turns out the officer is the brother of a friend of ours and had known that I was homeschooled before he ever approached us.
I was very happy to finally get into B&N.

In other news, I'm shocked that I've never had a tag for homeschooling before :/ Weird.

I picked up Pilgrim's Progress the other day and was convicted by this conversation between Christian and Faithful about a man they meet on the road to the celestial city who looks very noble and handsome from a distance but appears to lose his attractiveness the closer they get to him.
This is also the perfect time of year to read Bunyan as his birthday is November 28th :)
Pardon the archaic style of language. Bunyan wrote this from his prison cell in Bedford jail sometime between 1661 and 1675.
~ ~ ~
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Despite the outdated, almost illegible language of the author, this story of a christian traveling through life to reach Zion is timelessly accurate.
Paul wrote to Timothy over a thousand years ago things which are true right now. His words describe our country and culture with painful detail:
2 Timothy 3
"But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.
For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.
For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, rejected in regard to the faith.
But they will not make further progress; for their folly will be obvious to all, just as Jannes’s and Jambres’s folly was also.
Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me!
Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work."

There are only two choices in this world: Belong 100% to God and His kingdom or be 100% His enemy. There is no in between, there is no middle ground or safe zone. You are one or the other right now; so which is it?

I'm not procrastinating! Really! (Ok, I am, so sue me... no! Please don't! Why, California, why?)

What candy? 9.9

My spifftastic friend Linda in Japan posted this on her facebook and I am now a Happy Slip addict :3
Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtTEGOxnq8M

I lost wherever I found this... if I rediscover it, I'll come back and give credit where credit is due.

"I will cut off them that worship and that swear by the Lord, and that swear by Malcham."—Zephaniah 1:5.

"Such persons thought themselves safe because they were with both parties: they went with the followers of Jehovah, and bowed at the same time to Malcham. But duplicity is abominable with God, and hypocrisy His soul hateth. The idolater who distinctly gives himself to his false god, has one sin less than he who brings his polluted and detestable sacrifice unto the temple of the Lord, while his heart is with the world and the sins thereof. To hold with the hare and run with the hounds, is a dastard's policy. In the common matters of daily life, a double-minded man is despised, but in religion he is loathsome to the last degree.
The penalty pronounced in the verse before us is terrible, but it is well deserved; for how should divine justice spare the sinner, who knows the right, approves it, and professes to follow it, and all the while loves the evil, and gives it dominion in his heart?
My soul, search thyself this morning, and see whether thou art guilty of double-dealing. Thou professest to be a follower of Jesus—dost thou truly love Him? Is thy heart right with God? Art thou of the family of old Father Honest, or art thou a relative of Mr. By-ends? A name to live is of little value if I be indeed dead in trespasses and sins. To have one foot on the land of truth, and another on the sea of falsehood, will involve a terrible fall and a total ruin. Christ will be all or nothing. God fills the whole universe, and hence there is no room for another god; if, then, He reigns in my heart, there will be no space for another reigning power. Do I rest alone on Jesus crucified, and live alone for Him? Is it my desire to do so? Is my heart set upon so doing? If so, blessed be the mighty grace which has led me to salvation; and if not so, O Lord, pardon my sad offence, and unite my heart to fear Thy name."

I want to get this framed or written up somewhere in my house. It's such a great reminder!
Purple Chris had a great visual version at the youth conference. He used one of the extra Bibles as his prop.
You can be firmly grounded, secure, and blessed standing (here literally) on God's word alone for support and being obedient to it.
Or... you could have one foot on the Word as true, but not the only truth and find yourself in uncertainty and confusion. Your other foot is kind of dangling on the other side of the fence, hanging out in the system of the world, trying to be cool and get the best of both worlds. (At this point his foot on the Bible started sliding and he ended up nearly doing the splits. This part of the illustration was helpful because it does actually happen that the double minded will find themselves eventually forced into choosing which master they will serve. You can't go backwards and forwards at the same time.)
Third, you could be standing within sight of God's law. You figure you're close enough to turn back if things get ugly; God is your emergency security blanket in case of disaster. What you may not notice is that you've been moving farther and farther away chasing after what you feel like doing, and what makes you happy so that when you actually decide you need Him, it will be too late and you will be too far away.
Lastly, you could be in total, outspoken rebellion, openly hating God and His restrictive rules. You don't want to be anywhere near His people or Himself. In fact if someone handed you a Bible, you'd throw it as hard as you could away from yourself (here Chris demonstrated- he's got a good arm).
In God's eyes there are only two positions; either you are 100% His or you don't belong to Him at all. God's true children are thrilled to belong to Him and to obey Him, they will love His people, not because they deserve it, but simply because they belong to Him, and they will love His word.
God's word either hardens your heart or softens it. If you continue hardening yourself against His truth, you can never be saved.

Psalms 1
"How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.
The wicked are not so,
But they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the wicked will perish."
( Read more...Collapse )
Isaiah 5:24
"Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes stubble
And dry grass collapses into the flame,
So their root will become like rot and their blossom blow away as dust;
For they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts
And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel."

2 Peter 3:3-18
"Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, 'Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.'
"For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water.
But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.
The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.
Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!
But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.
Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.
You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. "

God's mercy is what I am most thankful to Him for this year :)
Happy Thanksgiving! Remember who you're being thankful to!

"The trial of your faith."—1 Peter 1:7.
Faith untried may be true faith, but it is sure to be little faith, and it is likely to remain dwarfish so long as it is without trials. Faith never prospers so well as when all things are against her: tempests are her trainers, and lightnings are her illuminators. When a calm reigns on the sea, spread the sails as you will, the ship moves not to its harbour; for on a slumbering ocean the keel sleeps too. Let the winds rush howling forth, and let the waters lift up themselves, then, though the vessel may rock, and her deck may be washed with waves, and her mast may creak under the pressure of the full and swelling sail, it is then that she makes headway towards her desired haven. No flowers wear so lovely a blue as those which grow at the foot of the frozen glacier; no stars gleam so brightly as those which glisten in the polar sky; no water tastes so sweet as that which springs amid the desert sand; and no faith is so precious as that which lives and triumphs in adversity. Tried faith brings experience. You could not have believed your own weakness had you not been compelled to pass through the rivers; and you would never have known God's strength had you not been supported amid the water-floods. Faith increases in solidity, assurance, and intensity, the more it is exercised with tribulation. Faith is precious, and its trial is precious too.
Let not this, however, discourage those who are young in faith. You will have trials enough without seeking them: the full portion will be measured out to you in due season. Meanwhile, if you cannot yet claim the result of long experience, thank God for what grace you have; praise Him for that degree of holy confidence whereunto you have attained: walk according to that rule, and you shall yet have more and more of the blessing of God, till your faith shall remove mountains and conquer impossibilities."
Charles H. Spurgeon

Thankyou, Krista!

Check. It. Out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhZfboQAM0Y

( you will die laughing XD )

On a more serious note, I finally got around to starting Desiring God by John Piper. So far, so good. His poem was a little odd, but the thought behind it is excellent. God doesn't want duty bound, stiff and courtly servants, He desires that His people enjoy Him and only serve out of thankful, joyous motives remembering that Christ gave His all for our salvation and eternal pleasure in heaven even when we hated and mocked Him spitefully.

"The enjoyment of God is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied. To go to heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here. Fathers and mothers, husbands, wives, or children, or the company of earthly friends, are but shadows; but God is the substance. These are but scattered beams, but God is the sun. These are but streams, but God is the ocean."
Jonathan Edwards

Now if only I can squeeze a couple more chapters out for the project on the back burner...

The girls made brownies in home ecc. today, they look delicious (great work girls)!

CPR went pretty well, but our students were pretty antsy after being kept indoors all day due to rain.
Also, Hallelujah! Rain!
It isn't much, but we need every drop we can get after such a dry decade.

I can't believe the day is over, it went so fast!
Kim and I had some really awesome heart to heart on parenting, how the tiniest things affect kids when parents are careless, and I thought of all the problems in behavior that we complain of in various groups of kids which can be prevented simply by loving discipline early in life. I'm so thankful that God has allowed me the privilege of learning these things long before I have my own children. She also told me some blood curdling stories that she had been seeing on the news about teens, violence, etc. and they all brought my mind back to scripture:
Romans 3:9-24
"What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin;
as it is written,
“THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;
THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS,
THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;
ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS;
THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD,
THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.”
“THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE,
WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING,”
“THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS”;
“WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS”;
“THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD,
DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS,
AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN.”
“THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES.”
Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and call the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.
But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; "

Psalm 36
"Transgression speaks to the ungodly within his heart;
There is no fear of God before his eyes.
For it flatters him in his own eyes
Concerning the discovery of his iniquity and the hatred of it.
The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit;
He has ceased to be wise and to do good.
He plans wickedness upon his bed;
He sets himself on a path that is not good;
He does not despise evil. "

Romans 1:21-2:13
"For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.
For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.
And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.
Rom. 2:1 Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God?
Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?
But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS: to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation.
There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
For there is no partiality with God.
For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law; for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified. "

My conviction from the whole discussion was that christians in our country are not witnessing enough nor are they leading blameless, godly lives that show the evidence of God's grace, love, joy, and peace to a dark, broken, hurting world. This is an area I struggle with: how to be a loving, gentle, yet immovable witness.
My goal tomorrow is to step outside my comfort zone and actually make some new acquaintances and friends.
DV!

We learned this hymn in choir two weeks ago and I haven't been able to get it out of my head yet. It isn't impressively worded, but it cuts me to the heart. You can keep your K-love and contemporary artists, they've almost never gone as musically or spiritually deep as the great old writers of the Reformation era and after. Don't misunderstand, I enjoy my share of modern artists, but musical genius is hard to come by and most of the songs that everyone loves or those that get played the most are the sweet, sentimental "God is love" and "He makes me happy" kind.
God is beyond our feeble comprehension in greatness, power, and perfection... I think He deserves more than a wishy-washy I love you (without a life that backs it up) and a warm pew on Sunday so long as you have nothing better to do.

It is wondrous love that Jesus loved His Father and us enough to willingly leave the ultimate joy and bliss of heaven for a dirty, impoverished life of suffering and difficult work in a dying human body... not only that, but He endured the physically traumatic experience of crucifixion along with the supreme spiritual and emotional pain of having God withdraw from Him. No human has ever experienced total separation from God- Jesus did that for us while we were still sinning our brains out to offend Him and running away from His mercy.
No true christian can get tired of hearing about the means of their salvation. Not for long, in any case.
I'm talking as much to myself as anyone. For a long time whenever Christ's death came up it was, "Oh, that again. Why can't we learn something new?" My heart was focused on me & my "needs" (such as collecting enough knowledge that I could then be a show off and a teacher's pet).
I need to be humbled every day, every hour by the remembrance that I hated God and wanted only my pleasure right here, right now and He, the one who had the right, even the obligation to punish me, forgave me and adopted me into His family.
I don't think I will ever understand or fully know all there is to this story, but I don't want to forget the small taste, the tiny spark of understanding I have been given. I crave more of God's glory, because that is the only true beauty that cannot fade or wither and disappear. It's a source of happiness that never disappoints. I read about brothers and sisters in Christ whose lives testify that they saw God in His glory and truly had His way of loving others. I'm jealous of that, I want that kind of gentleness and concern for others, that same inner joy and strength that let them endure unspeakable tortures and privations.


What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this
That caused the Lord of bliss
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul!

When I was sinking down, sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down, O my soul!
When I was sinking down beneath God's righteous frown,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul, for my soul,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul!

What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this that caused the lord of life
to lay aside his crown for my soul, for my soul.
To lay aside his crown for my soul.

To God and to the Lamb I will sing, I will sing;
To God and to the Lamb I will sing;
To God and to the Lamb,
Who is the great I AM,
While millions join the theme, I will sing, I will sing,
While millions join the theme, I will sing.

I have yet to understand why my brother is obsessed with weaponry and methods of murder. It's depressing and a bit frightening.

I've been questioning: why do I love to write? Why do I think anything I have to say, or any of my thoughts are worth preserving? If this life is fading, decaying, passing away never to be returned to, what is the point? Souls are eternal, but is knowledge or memory? Truth has a habit of sticking to the soul like a burr. It is often quickly forgotten or pushed aside, but comes back when you next try to sit down or relax.
I hope all the good things, the true things we learn and read, yes maybe even write, in this life will live on in our souls.

1. Comment and I will give you 3 people for a fandom I have some idea you are interested in (if I know the characters).
2. Post this meme with your answers.
3. Provide pictures and the names of three people.
4. Label which you would marry, shag, or throw off a cliff.

Jez gave me Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, and Oliver Wood of The Harry Potter series.

I would marry Oliver Wood because he's adorable and an awesome Quidditch player (bonus points for being Gryffindor and therefore less likely to ever be unfaithful to his spouse).
I should qualify this with the fact that I love him so much more in the books than the movies. I'm not terribly attracted to Sean Biggerstaff...

Ick!


I would never ever shag anybody. So despite the enormous likelihood of being considered a wet blanket, I'd take Ron out for an ice cream and help him pick out a birthday present for Hermione.



I would love to throw Harry Potter off a cliff somewhere in book five while he's moaning about how terrible his life is. Grow. Up.


Your turn!

W: "No good. I've known too many Spaniards."

My life, if compared to the Princess Bride, would be at about the point where Vizzini cuts the rope on Wesley. Encouraging.
See?

To answer Jez's Question #2:

When you're done here, what do you want to happen to your body?
Buried, where?
Cremated, where/to whom to the ashes go?
Donating organs?
Donating to science?

I would love to be buried alongside my deceased family members either in Maryland or Alabama (or if I marry, then with my husband's family), but if the finances look bad, I would desire whatever would leave my living family with more provision. I don't like the lack of ethics I see in the medical community on the organ donor issue. They're like cats on a hot tin roof when it comes to declaring someone unfit to live/ ready to donate organs.
We hold to the revealed truth that every human regardless of "quality of life" is created in the image of God and that life's existence is therefore at His discretion not ours. Too many doctors get "god-syndrome" and think they are worthy to decide who lives or dies in this world.

That said, if I die of some rare, unheard of or not yet curable disease, I'm totally okay with research being done on my remains to hopefully procure a remedy for others.

Ultimately I won't have any use for my old body anyway so it really doesn't matter what happens to it.

"On January 22, a committee of the Rapid City School Board implied that homeschoolers were to blame for the school system losing thousands of dollars in funding. Just six days later, the Clear Lake Courier blamed homeschoolers for the loss of $41,000 in school funding.

When homeschoolers are wrongly accused of creating financial problems for public school systems, it’s time to respond. HSLDA attorney Scott A. Woodruff sent the following letter to the editor to the Clear Lake Courier:

Dear Editor:

By leaving the blame for the school system losing $41,981 at the door of area homeschoolers, your recent article, “Students and aid lost from open enrollment,” encourages your readership to think that homeschoolers are the problem.

But it’s perfectly logical to reduce a school’s funding when it serves fewer students. If there are fewer students, the school needs less money.

The question that then remains is: “Since the opportunity to serve someone is a privilege, not an entitlement, what does the school plan to change to reduce the erosion of confidence among area families?” That’s the $41,000 question that went unasked and therefore unanswered in your article.

Next time the Clear Lake Courier talks about schools “losing” money because of homeschoolers, please mention how much homeschoolers save the taxpayer by educating their children at their own expense—not the taxpayers’. Homeschoolers are some of the best friends the taxpayer has.

Sincerely,
Scott A. Woodruff, Esq."

Thankyou!
We get so much slander from the public school system. They hate private schoolers as well and persistently try to deny the kids their rightful access to sports activities with the excuse that it's only for enrolled public school students. All children of tax payers are perfectly entitled to join sports teams at the public schools regardless of their school affiliation.

A dear friend recently pointed me to the Red Envelope Day facebook cause. Many pro-life citizens are participating in this event. On March 31st we will be mailing empty red envelopes to the White House with this inscription on the back of each one:
"This envelope represents one child who died because of an abortion.
It is empty because the life that was taken is now unable to be a part of our world."

http://www.redenvelopeday.com/

Perhaps if God is willing, our President will be moved to make just laws protecting the unborn.
Proverbs 21:1
"The heart of the king is like channels of water in the hand of God; He moves it wherever He wishes."

1 Timothy 2:1-2
"First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in al godliness and dignity."

Psalm 9

"I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart;
I will tell of all Your wonders.
I will be glad and exult in You;
I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.
When my enemies turn back,
they stumble and perish before You.
For You have maintained my just cause;
You have sat on the throne judging righteously.
You have rebuked the nations,
You have destroyed the wicked;
You have blotted out their name forever and ever.
The enemy has come to an end in perpetual ruins,
And You have uprooted the cities;
The very memory of them has perished.
But the Lord abides forever;
He has established His throne for judgment,
And He will judge the world in righteousness;
He will execute judgment for the peoples with equity.
The Lord also will be a stronghold for the oppressed,
A stronghold in times of trouble;
And those who know Your name will put their trust in You,
For You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.
Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion;
Declare among the peoples His deeds.
For He who requires blood remembers them;
He does not forget the cry of the afflicted.
Be gracious to me, O Lord;
See my affliction from those who hate me,
You who lift me up from the gates of death,
That I may tell of all Your praises,
That in the gates of the daughter of Zion
I may rejoice in Your salvation.
The nations have sunk down in the pit which they have made;
In the net which they hid, their own foot has been caught.
The Lord has made Himself known;
He has executed judgment.
In the work of his own hands the wicked is snared.
Higgaion Selah.
The wicked will return to Sheol,
Even all the nations who forget God.
For the needy will not always be forgotten,
Nor the hope of the afflicted perish forever.
Arise, O Lord, do not let man prevail;
Let the nations be judged before You.
Put them in fear, O Lord;
Let the nations know that they are but men.
Selah."

"Surely God is good to Israel,
To those who are pure in heart!
Psa. 73:2 But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling,
My steps were caused to slip.
Psa. 73:3 For I was envious of the arrogant (or boasters)
As I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
Psa. 73:4 For there are no pains in their death,
And their body (or belly) is fat.
Psa. 73:5 They are not in the trouble of men as other mortals,
Nor are they plagued with (or like) mankind.
Psa. 73:6 Therefore pride is their necklace;
The garment of violence covers them.
Psa. 73:7 Their eye bulges (or goes forth) from fatness;
The imaginations of their heart run riot (overflow).
Psa. 73:8 They mock and wickedly speak of oppression;
They speak from on high.
(or "they speak in wickedness; from on high they speak of oppression")
Psa. 73:9 They have set their mouth against (or in) the heavens,
And their tongue parades (walks) through the earth.
Psa. 73:10 Therefore his (or His) people return to this place,
And waters of abundance are drunk (lit. drained out) by them.
Psa. 73:11 They say, “How does God know?
And is there knowledge in the Most High?”
Psa. 73:12 Behold, these are the wicked;
And always at ease, they have increased in wealth.
Psa. 73:13 Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure (cleansed my heart)
And washed my hands in innocence;
Psa. 73:14 For I have been stricken all day long
And my chastening every morning.
Psa. 73:15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
Behold, I would have betrayed the generation of Your children.
Psa. 73:16 When I pondered to understand this,
It was trouble in my sight
Psa. 73:17 Until I came into the sanctuaries of God;
Then I perceived their end.
Psa. 73:18 Surely You set them in slippery places;
You cast them down to ruins.
Psa. 73:19 How they become a desolation in a moment!
They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors!
Psa. 73:20 Like a dream when one awakes,
O Lord, when aroused, You will despise their form (or image).
Psa. 73:21 When my heart was embittered
And I was pierced within (lit. in my kidneys),
Psa. 73:22 Then I was senseless and ignorant;
I was like a beast (or an animal) with You.
Psa. 73:23 Nevertheless I am continually with You;
You have taken hold of my right hand.
Psa. 73:24 With Your counsel You will guide me,
And afterward receive me with honor.
Psa. 73:25 Whom have I in heaven but You?
And besides (or with) You, I desire nothing on earth.
Psa. 73:26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
But God is the rock of my heart and my portion forever.
Psa. 73:27 For, behold, those who are far from You will perish;
You have silenced all those who go whoring from You.
Psa. 73:28 But as for me, the nearness of God is my good;
I have made the Lord God my refuge,
That I may tell of all Your works. "

Joel 2:11-17
"The Lord utters His voice before His army;
Surely His camp is very great,
For strong is he who carries out His word
The day of the Lord is indeed great and very awesome,
And who can endure it?
"Yet even now," declares the Lord,
"Return to Me with all your heart,
And with fasting, weeping and mourning;
And rend your heart and not your garments "
Now return to the Lord your God,
For He is gracious and compassionate,
Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness
And relenting of evil.
Who knows whether He will not turn and relent
And leave a blessing behind Him,
Even a grain offering and a drink offering
For the Lord your God?
Blow a trumpet in Zion,
Consecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly,
Gather the people, sanctify the congregation,
Assemble the elders,
Gather the children and the nursing infants
Let the bridegroom come out of his room
And the bride out of her bridal chamber.
Let the priests, the Lord's ministers,
Weep between the porch and the altar,
And let them say, "Spare Your people, O Lord,
And do not make Your inheritance a reproach,
A byword among the nations
Why should they among the peoples say,
'Where is their God?'"

Psalm 36

"Transgression speaks to the ungodly within his heart;
There is no fear of God before his eyes.
Psa. 36:2 For it flatters him in his own eyes
Concerning the discovery of his iniquity and the hatred of it.
Psa. 36:3 The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit;
He has ceased to be wise and to do good.
Psa. 36:4 He plans wickedness upon his bed;
He sets himself on a path that is not good;
He does not despise evil.
Psa. 36:5 Your lovingkindness, O Lord, extends to the heavens,
Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
Psa. 36:6 Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;
Your judgments are like a great deep.
O Lord, You preserve man and beast.
Psa. 36:7 How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!
And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.
Psa. 36:8 They drink their fill of the abundance of Your house;
And You give them to drink of the river of Your delights.
Psa. 36:9 For with You is the fountain of life;
In Your light we see light.
Psa. 36:10 O continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You,
And Your righteousness to the upright in heart.
Psa. 36:11 Let not the foot of pride come upon me,
And let not the hand of the wicked drive me away.
Psa. 36:12 There the doers of iniquity have fallen;
They have been thrust down and cannot rise."

Psalm 90

"Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.
Psa. 90:2 Before the mountains were born
Or You gave birth to the earth and the world,
Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.
Psa. 90:3 You turn man back into dust
And say, “Return, O children of men.”
Psa. 90:4 For a thousand years in Your sight
Are like yesterday when it passes by,
Or as a watch in the night.
Psa. 90:5 You have swept them away like a flood, they fall asleep;
In the morning they are like grass which sprouts anew.
Psa. 90:6 In the morning it flourishes and sprouts anew;
Toward evening it fades and withers away.
Psa. 90:7 For we have been consumed by Your anger
And by Your wrath we have been dismayed.
Psa. 90:8 You have placed our iniquities before You,
Our secret sins in the light of Your presence.
Psa. 90:9 For all our days have declined in Your fury;
We have finished our years like a sigh.
Psa. 90:10 As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years,
Or if due to strength, eighty years,
Yet their pride is but labor and sorrow;
For soon it is gone and we fly away.
Psa. 90:11 Who understands the power of Your anger
And Your fury, according to the fear that is due You?
Psa. 90:12 So teach us to number our days,
That we may present to You a heart of wisdom.
Psa. 90:13 Do return, O Lord; how long will it be?
And be sorry for Your servants.
Psa. 90:14 O satisfy us in the morning with Your lovingkindness,
That we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
Psa. 90:15 Make us glad according to the days You have afflicted us,
And the years we have seen evil.
Psa. 90:16 Let Your work appear to Your servants
And Your majesty to their children.
Psa. 90:17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us;
And confirm for us the work of our hands;
Yes, confirm the work of our hands. "

Psalm 37

"Do not fret because of evildoers,
Be not envious toward wrongdoers.
Psa. 37:2 For they will wither quickly like the grass
And fade like the green herb.
Psa. 37:3 Trust in the Lord and do good;
Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness (or feed securely, feed on His faithfulness).
Psa. 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord;
And He will give you the desires of your heart.
Psa. 37:5 Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him, and He will do it.
Psa. 37:6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light
And your judgment as the noonday.
Psa. 37:7 Rest (or Be still) in the Lord and wait patiently (or Longingly) for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.
Psa. 37:8 Cease from anger and forsake wrath;
Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.
Psa. 37:9 For evildoers will be cut off,
But those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land.
Psa. 37:10 Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more;
And you will look carefully for his place and he will not be there.
Psa. 37:11 But the humble will inherit the land
And will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.
Psa. 37:12 The wicked plots against the righteous
And gnashes at him with his teeth.
Psa. 37:13 The Lord laughs at him,
For He sees his day is coming.
Psa. 37:14 The wicked have drawn the sword and bent their bow
To cast down the afflicted and the needy,
To slay those who are upright in conduct.
Psa. 37:15 Their sword will enter their own heart,
And their bows will be broken.
Psa. 37:16 Better is the little of the righteous
Than the abundance of many wicked.
Psa. 37:17 For the arms of the wicked will be broken,
But the Lord sustains the righteous.
Psa. 37:18 The Lord knows the days of the blameless (or Complete, Perfect),
And their inheritance will be forever.
Psa. 37:19 They will not be ashamed in the time of evil,
And in the days of famine they will have abundance.
Psa. 37:20 But the wicked will perish;
And the enemies of the Lord will be like the glory (or Flowers) of the pastures,
They vanish — like smoke they vanish away.
Psa. 37:21 The wicked borrows and does not pay back,
But the righteous is gracious and gives.
Psa. 37:22 For those blessed by Him will inherit the land,
But those cursed by Him will be cut off.
Psa. 37:23 The steps of a man are established by the Lord,
And He delights in his way.
Psa. 37:24 When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong,
Because the Lord is the One who holds his hand (or sustains him with His hand).
Psa. 37:25 I have been young and now I am old,
Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
Or his descendants (or Seed) begging bread.
Psa. 37:26 All day long he is gracious and lends,
And his descendants (or Seed) are a blessing.
Psa. 37:27 Depart from evil and do good,
So you will abide forever (or "And dwell forever").
Psa. 37:28 For the Lord loves justice (or Judgment)
And does not forsake His godly ones;
They are preserved forever,
But the descendants (or Seed) of the wicked will be cut off.
Psa. 37:29 The righteous will inherit the land
And dwell in it forever.
Psa. 37:30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,
And his tongue speaks justice.
Psa. 37:31 The law of his God is in his heart;
His steps do not slip.
Psa. 37:32 The wicked spies upon the righteous
And seeks to kill him.
Psa. 37:33 The Lord will not leave him in his hand
Or let him be condemned when he is judged.
Psa. 37:34 Wait for the Lord and keep His way,
And He will exalt you to inherit the land;
When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
Psa. 37:35 I have aseen a wicked, violent man
Spreading himself like a luxuriant tree (lit. native) in its native soil.
Psa. 37:36 Then he passed away (ancient versions read, "I passed by"), and lo, he was no more;
I sought for him, but he could not be found.
Psa. 37:37 Mark the blameless (or Complete, Perfect) man, and behold the upright;
For the man of peace will have a posterity (or An end).
Psa. 37:38 But transgressors will be altogether destroyed;
The posterity (or End) of the wicked will be cut off.
Psa. 37:39 But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
He is their strength in time of trouble.
Psa. 37:40 The Lord helps them and delivers them;
He delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
Because they take refuge in Him. "

Amen!

Hosea 14:9
"Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;
Whoever is discerning, let him know them
For the ways of the Lord are right,
And the righteous will walk in them,
But transgressors will stumble in them."

Psalm 39
I said, “I will guard my ways
That I may not sin with my tongue;
I will guard my mouth as with a muzzle
While the wicked are in my presence.”
Psa. 39:2 I was mute and silent,
I refrained even from good,
And my sorrow grew worse.
Psa. 39:3 My heart was hot within me,
While I was musing the fire burned;
Then I spoke with my tongue:
Psa. 39:4 “Lord, make me to know my end
And what is the extent of my days;
Let me know how transient I am.
Psa. 39:5 “Behold, You have made my days as handbreadths,
And my lifetime as nothing in Your sight;
Surely every man at his best is a mere cbreath. Selah.
Psa. 39:6 “Surely every man walks about as a phantom;
Surely they make an uproar for nothing;
He amasses riches and does not know who will gather them.
Psa. 39:7 “And now, Lord, for what do I wait?
My hope is in You.
Psa. 39:8 “Deliver me from all my transgressions;
Make me not the reproach of the foolish.
Psa. 39:9 “I have become mute, I do not open my mouth,
Because it is You who have done it.
Psa. 39:10 “Remove Your plague from me;
Because of the opposition of Your hand I am perishing.
Psa. 39:11 “With reproofs You chasten a man for iniquity;
You consume as a moth what is precious to him;
Surely every man is a mere breath. Selah.
Psa. 39:12 “Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry;
Do not be silent at my tears;
For I am a stranger with You,
A sojourner like all my fathers.
Psa. 39:13 “Turn Your gaze away from me, that I may smile again
Before I depart and am no more.”

Psalm 121
"I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;
From where shall my help come?
Psa. 121:2 My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.
Psa. 121:3 He will not allow your foot to slip;
He who keeps you will not slumber.
Psa. 121:4 Behold, He who keeps Israel
Will neither slumber nor sleep.
Psa. 121:5 The Lord is your keeper;
The Lord is your shade on your right hand.
Psa. 121:6 The sun will not smite you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
Psa. 121:7 The Lord will protect you from all evil;
He will keep your soul.
Psa. 121:8 The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in
From this time forth and forever. "
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Romans 10:1
"Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation. "

"But awhere can wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
Job 28:13 “Man does not know its value,
Nor is it found in the land of the living.
Job 28:14 “The deep says, ‘It is not in me’;
And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
Job 28:15 “Pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it,
Nor can silver be weighed as its price.
Job 28:16 “It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
In precious onyx, or sapphire.
Job 28:17 “Gold or glass cannot equal it,
Nor can it be exchanged for articles of fine gold.
Job 28:18 “Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned;
And the acquisition of wisdom is above that of pearls.
Job 28:19 “The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it,
Nor can it be valued in pure gold.
Job 28:20 “Where then does wisdom come from?
And where is the place of understanding?
Job 28:21 “Thus it is hidden from the eyes of all living
And concealed from the birds of the sky.
Job 28:22 “Abaddon and Death say,
‘With our ears we have heard a report of it.’
Job 28:23 “God understands its way,
And He knows its place.
Job 28:24 “For He looks to the ends of the earth
And sees everything under the heavens.
Job 28:25 “When He imparted weight to the wind
And meted out the waters by measure,
Job 28:26 When He set a limit for the rain
And a course for the thunderbolt,
Job 28:27 Then He saw it and declared it;
He established it and also searched it out.
Job 28:28 “And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
And to depart from evil is understanding.’”

Snagged from Nicole & Jez:

Go to the Wikipedia homepage and click Random Article.
This is your band's name.
Click Random article again for your album name.
Now click it 15 times more and you have the names of all your album tracks.

Band name: GM Y Platform

Album: Huemul Project

1. Kadyella
2. Curse
3. Cavares
4. Pass by Catastrophe
5. Arkhangelsk Oblast
6. Riviera, Varna Province
7. Northern Maine Medical Center
8. List of Causes of Diarrhea (a Sequel to the Medical Center?)
9. Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2002
10. Jason Martin (rugby league)
11. Aeronaut Glacier
12. Days of Twang (name of an album)
13. Aqua Aura
14. Divinyls (album)
15. Michael Gayfer

How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.
He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.
The wicked are not so, but they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgement, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
Why are the nations in an uproar and the peoples devising a vain thing?
The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His Annointed, saying,
"Let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us!"
He who sits in the heavens laughs, the Lord scoffs at them.
Then He will speak to them in His anger and terrify them in His fury, saying,
"But as for Me, I have installed My King upon Zion, My holy mountain."
"I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, 'You are My Son, today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.' "

Now therefore, O Kings, show discernment; take warning, O Judges of the earth.
Worship the Lord with reverence and rejoice with trembling.
Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath may soon be kindled.
How blessed are all who take refuge in Him.

I don't care, I won't be needing it anymore, and God's got a better one waiting for me.

Long time, no post :)
I'm back in one piece from camp and managed to get all if my notes typed up for once. It took me two days, but here they are, enjoy, and maybe I'll get an update done later ^^



Winter Camp 2009


Lay Down Your Gods




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abiding, blithe, campy, dignity (always dignity), epochal, fairytale, gamboling, hanky-panky, idealist, jolly, kimono, ladylike, marred, nuisance, obliging, pedantic, querulous, redeemed, sanctified, thankful, unicorn, veracious, wayfaring, Xn., yore, zephyr

Yay, new vocabulary!

The days are shorter
Lace, foggy mornings icy
Family warm, joy

Hurrah for haikus :)

I just found out that Sarah and Charlotte are going to winter Camp this year! So excited!

Crocheting during Sunday School when there's a really awesome discussion going on. I love learning new things and fellowshipping with my family in Christ over lunch afterwards. There's nothing better.

Merry Christmas!

Revelation 5:11-14
Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice,
"Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!"
And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,
"To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!" And the four living creatures said, "Amen!" and the elders fell down and worshiped.

Luke 2:8-20

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them,
"Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger."
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased!"

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another,
"Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us."
And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.
And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Luke 2:1-7

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

Luke 1:67-79

And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,
"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for He has visited and redeemed His people
and has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of His servant David,
as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old,
that we should be saved from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us;
to show the mercy promised to our fathers
and to remember His holy covenant,
the oath that He swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve Him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare His ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to His people
in the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace."

Luke 3:15-17

As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ, John answered them all, saying,
"I baptize you with water, but He who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand, to clear His threshing floor and to gather the wheat into His barn, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire."


John 1:1-18

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made.
In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, yet the world did not know Him.
He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him.
But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness about Him, and cried out,
"This was He of whom I said,
'He who comes after me ranks before me, because He was before me.'"
And from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, He has made him known.

Titus 2:11-15

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession who are zealous for good works.
Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.