Rejoicing in the Lord

 I took this picture when we visited my dad in Arizona

Yesterday I posted about John MacArthur  and listened to Jacob Prasch's teachings about all the things that we see wrong in the world, and how it is going to get much, much worse....and I know it is true and certainly we need to be in prayer about all these terrible things we see happening all around us, AND I can still be joyful in all that God does, has done, and has promised to do for all who are His.

Isaiah 61:10-11 

  

I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, 

my soul shall be joyful in my God;

 for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation,

 he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, 

as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, 

and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.  

For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, 

and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; 

so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise 

to spring forth before all the nations. 

Very soon it will be spring. I've planted a few seeds, some of my seedlings are doing well, and others not so well (I have more seeds so I'm gonna keep trying!) I can hardly wait to put them outside and see it all blooming adorning our little home with God's gifts in nature They are reminders from Jesus that one day all of creation will rejoice in the wonderful things He does for us.

Honest to God Prayer

I have had the idea for some time to gather up all of the prayers that are recorded in the Bible and make a post (or perhaps a few posts?) about them, and I MAY YET DO THAT....but not today. I found this sermon by C.H. Spurgeon on the topic of prayer. WOW oh WOW! What precious jewels the Lord caused to spill from the mouth of this wonderful saint! Some of it is hard to hear, but the necessary cure for our prayers to truly have the honesty, the passion, the true conviction within our spirit that pleads with and honestly lays our soul bare before the Lord, sharing with Him a true covenant blessing in our prayers to Him. God bless you as you hear the truth about how we must pray, and what love must inhabit our soul, what truth about our condition must be honestly realized, as we make our petitions before the Lord.

The Sound in the Mulberry Trees

This sermon by C.H. Spurgeon is lovely and refreshing. I hope if anyone hears it, they will take the full time to listen all the way through...to not make a judgment at the 5 or 10 minute mark and decide they don't need to hear more, because you will rob yourself of some of the richest blessings that come from hearing the full of it all the way through. What a sweet, sweet blessing.

The Spiritual "Experience"

Too much emphasis is placed on experience of a mystical kind in proving a walk with the Lord. Jesus said a wicked generation seeks after a sign. I too am often guilty of wanting to give too much attention to "signs and wonders" in my own life and experiences. Yes the Lord speaks to us, and the Holy Spirit often encourages me by reminding me of the perfect verse that applies to the very moment so sweetly. But for the most part life goes on and on without a word from Him, except for from His word, the Bible. Today I stumbled onto a wonderful blog that addresses this issue.

Excerpt:

A question.  Is it correct to reckon the Lord as a distant lighthouse, toward whom we sail tirelessly across a tumultuous, inky expanse?  This risks violating the spirit of some 1930s hymn, perhaps, but the simplest answer is "no."  If we are not lovers and followers of Christ, then our course across these hypothetical waters is as dark as our hearts.  If, however, we are Jesus' mothers and brothers and sisters, as He Himself described (Matt. 12:46-50), then He is - wonder of wonders - already with us, with us in this very instant.

The zenith of our religious experience, then, is not to be had in bending a quiet knee before a cold statue in some hushed place, nor yet in that prideful glow of deservedness that sometimes goads people into trying good works (they call it karma).  The wonder of our spiritual experience issues from the truth that God is with us and that we may know Him.  We may worship and serve Him directly; we may understand the humanly discernible parts of His character, and we may even be assured by His Spirit, who dwells within us, of His love for us.  Incredible! 

It is no wonder, then, that Christians are designed to desire nearness with God.  We know from Philippians 4:5 that God is near to His children, but we also know from James 4:8 that we may, with our choices, widen that nearness.  Even a very young believer knows the dull ache that comes from distance with the Lord, and a very mature believer recognizes that even one's best days do not usually foster the immense closeness with God that we grow to desire. 
 
How, then, do we strengthen our spiritual intimacy with our Creator and Savior?  Paul proclaims that God is near in Philippians 4:5, as we mentioned, and four verses later, he delivers these useful words:  "the things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things and the God of peace will be with you."  Imitate my teachings and my actions, says Paul, and you invite the intimacy and intervention of God. 

A word of encouragement to the two involved parties in this transaction described in Philippians 4:9:

To the everyday believer:
This is not a mystical stream which we are to tap; this is obedience from the heart, by the power of the Spirit, to the precepts of Scripture - that obedience which is classified as love toward our God (John 15:14), and which is not, to our hearts, a cumbersome affair (1 John 5:3).  Of course our God will be with us, providing aid and comfort, as we avow our love for Him through ready, willing compliance to His righteous standards! 

 A note about the specific obedience urged here in Philippians 4:  it is centered upon adherence to Paul's godly teaching, of course, but also upon his godly example.  When we regard the godly examples in our lives of those who teach us, like Paul, with the eye of biblical discernment, we are afforded a vista of biblical truth in action.  This is the idea of epignosis in the Greek - God's truth married with the godly experience that demonstrates that truth (we have looked at this in Phil. 1:9 before).  This is indeed a powerful blessing - to see God's Word for His people upheld and proven in the life of someone strong in the faith.  It brings encouragement and rejoicing in times of temptation, and it speaks to the wisdom and necessity of placing oneself in the care of godly teachers.

Read the rest here

Amazing Grace

Christ-caused Division

There are so many today that are crying for "unity" and "peace", but Jesus said He did not come to bring peace to the world but a sword. David Dykstra speaks on this topic so eloquently, his words melt my heart as his voice seems to tremble with yearning for people to hear the words of the Lord. And his words clearly bring flesh to the dry bones of those who long to hear those life-giving words of truth which do not compromise with the world and with the flesh.

  Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:  For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three.  The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. Luke 12: 51-53

Jesus was quoting Micah:

 Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grapegleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat: my soul desired the firstripe fruit.   The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net.   That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up.  The best of them is as a brier: the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge: the day of thy watchmen and thy visitation cometh; now shall be their perplexity.  Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.  For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a man's enemies are the men of his own house.   Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.  Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me.  I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness. Micah 7:1-9


Hear Pastor David Dykstra preach ever so beautifully and heart-wrenchingly:


http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=1111121445492

For Their Sakes...

John 17:19  And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

David Dykstra gives an amazing sermon on the profundity of this verse. I mentioned to my dear husband last Sunday how often I run over verses that are so packed with so much incredible meaning, such wealth, and I barely skim off of the surface (if that even) barely even touching what is there. This is one of those verses. I've heard this so often that I have grown callous to the richness of the text, the amazing things that Jesus has done, and does, for each one of His "called out ones". I pray that we stop being so haphazard and overly casual with His divine word, and learn to humble ourselves, and submit to the profound truth that is there, in all of it's powerful glory. David Dykstra helps me to "stop and smell the roses" of God's Word.

http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=1121071424537

Praying for Lucy Part 2

After being in a coma for 5 days, she came out of the coma last Monday (they thought it might be meningitis with fevers topping 104 F!), and here she is today!

AWESOME! 

THANK YOU JESUS!

Praying for Lucy

Lucy

Please pray for beautiful precious Lucy, who has been fighting a rare form of brain cancer, medulloblastoma, since February 2011.

This is the first post after the diagnosis in 2/11:

http://erikandkatekrull.blogspot.com/2011/02/in-blink-of-eye.html

What is strange is that the term "blink of an eye" (actually twinkle of the eye, but both forms really) has been on my mind lately, in it's Dutch form: Ogenblik...I've been having the nudge to post on that term, which in Dutch means THIS moment, at least that is how my mom always used that term, to refer to the present moment in time: "op het ogenblik" (at the present moment).

This is where Lucy is today, "op het ogenblik":

http://erikandkatekrull.blogspot.com/

This term is also used in the Bible when the Apostle Paul tells us about the moment we will see Jesus:

 1Co 15:51  Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
1Co 15:52  in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.
1Co 15:53  For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.
1Co 15:54  When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory."

in Dutch:

51 Ziet, ik zeg u een verborgenheid: wij zullen wel niet allen ontslapen, maar wij zullen allen veranderd worden;

52 In een punt des tijds, in een ogenblik, met de laatste bazuin; want de bazuin zal slaan, en de doden zullen onverderfelijk opgewekt worden, en wij zullen veranderd worden.

53 Want dit verderfelijke moet onverderfelijkheid aandoen, en dit sterfelijke moet onsterfelijkheid aandoen.

54 En wanneer dit verderfelijke zal onverderfelijkheid aangedaan hebben, en dit sterfelijke zal onsterfelijkheid aangedaan hebben, alsdan zal het woord geschieden, dat geschreven is: De dood is verslonden tot overwinning.

55 Dood, waar is uw prikkel? Hel, waar is uw overwinning?

No Arms, No Legs, No Worries Mate!

Nick Vujicic was born without arms and legs. He tried to take his life when he was eight years old, but found that he couldn't do it. He realized that God had a plan for his life, and allows the Lord to use him to inspire others. :)

Perfection Part 2

 Link

See  "Perfection" (part 1)

A favorite saying of mine is: "We are all wrong about something". There was a time that I felt it important to argue a point to death if I knew I was right and the other person wrong, that the Lord desired me to do so, that it is THE WAY that I can make sure that I make the truth known to all men and women who cross my path....but is that truly the way the Lord wants me to handle the truth? And even if I'm 100% sure I am right, and the other person wrong, doesn't the Bible say that my heart is deceitful above all things?

Jeremiah 17:9  The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

So how do I know for sure that perhaps I am deceiving myself on this point that I think I have a corner on the truth about?

And then there's this one:

Romans 12:16  Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.

Ouch! Well that shoe pinches a bit. "Be not wise in your own conceits" indeed! I've visited blogs where it seems the blogger thinks he/she has it most right, and everyone who doesn't agree is against God Himself....and like I said, I've been there (I say this to my shame). I honestly felt that if I didn't set people straight, that I was not doing my Christian duty.

Ok, I know I won't convince anyone else of what they should or shouldn't do, however I do know Someone who can, in His time, and all He asks of me is to watch and to pray, and to pray especially for my enemies. He also asks me to make sure I have my spiritual house in order (not other people's). If I can help others, such as showing them some kindness, any kind of wrongdoing will convict their own conscience by the Lord's doing it in a way and  a time He knows is best. I guess that truly is a better way than arguing all the time. ;-)

Perfection (Part 1)

 image link

Mat 5:48  Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. 

Have you ever had that verse thrown at you by legalists who insist it is possible to do all of the commandments of the OT (over 600 of them, including not wearing clothing made of mixed fibers, and stoning your children when they are disobedient)???? Things that make you go "hmmmmm"

So let's read that verse in context of the passage:

 Mat 5:38  Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
Mat 5:39  But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
Mat 5:40  And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.
Mat 5:41  And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
Mat 5:42  Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
Mat 5:43  Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
Mat 5:44  But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Mat 5:45  That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
Mat 5:46  For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
Mat 5:47  And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
Mat 5:48  Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. 

This passage is talking about not returning the "favor" when someone slights you or abuses you. It talks about going the extra mile, to bless those who curse you... it says nothing about going to church on a certain day of the week, or about abstaining from pork.

Let's find another passage which has that word "perfect" in it...

Mat 19:16  And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
Mat 19:17  And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
Mat 19:18  He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
Mat 19:19  Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mat 19:20  The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
Mat 19:21  Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.

Wow, the young man boasted of keeping the ten commandments, and yet that was not enough. Many legalists will still say it is possible to be perfect, and that this passage is a testament to that fact because Jesus would not tell us to do something that He knows we cannot do....and yet I still have to find one legalist who actually HAS sold everything and given it all to the poor.... but is that truly what Jesus was saying here? I personally believe (and of course I can be way off) that Jesus knew this rich young man's weakness was his love for and dependence on his wealth. We are to have that kind of love for and dependence on Jesus. That is the point. If we love Him, we keep the commandments (which? see above: don't return evil for evil, but always return love even when spat upon, or crucified for the truth), not the other way around (keeping the commandments legalistically in order to prove to everyone that we love Him, and are better at it than most everyone else).

But there's more...that word perfect...does it really mean what the legalists try to make it to mean? My Strong's says this:

G5046
τέλειος
teleios
tel'-i-os
From G5056; complete (in various applications of labor, growth, mental and moral character, etc.); neuter (as noun, with G3588) completeness: - of full age, man, perfect.


Complete. Jesus completes us, when we are in Him we are complete and in need of nothing... but let's not get that wrong, because we can become complacent in thinking we are in need of nothing because we are rejoicing in the things we have that bring us the comfort of this world:


Rev 3:14  And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
Rev 3:15  I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
Rev 3:16  So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
Rev 3:17  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
Rev 3:18  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
Rev 3:19  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
Rev 3:20  Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
Rev 3:21  To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
Rev 3:22  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

We can be destitute and at deaths door, covered with boils like Job was, and yet be complete if we are content in all circumstances knowing that God has us covered, and that this life is fleeting and not the place to set our hopes.

Mat 19:22  But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
Mat 19:23  Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 19:24  And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
Mat 19:25  When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?
Mat 19:26  But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them,....

....With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

It is impossible for us, because our flesh always gets in the way. The minute we think we have got it, we are now perfect in God's sight, we become a boastful and proud pharisee, and we don't have it at all. Paul put it like this:


Rom 7:14  For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
Rom 7:15  For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
Rom 7:16  If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
Rom 7:17  Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Rom 7:19  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Rom 7:20  Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:21  I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
Rom 7:22  For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:23  But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
Rom 7:24  O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Rom 7:25  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

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Peter prayed this for all the faithful in Jesus (which includes you and me!):

2Pe 1:2  Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
2Pe 1:3  According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
2Pe 1:4  Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

Amen! :)

To Where You Are

Chloe Agnew sings to her (our) forever love...so beautiful! Her voice is so light and clear, like a spring breeze:

The Glory of the Lord

Hab_2:14  For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.


Yesterday (Christmas Day) was a little gloomy for me... well, I had to work, not my favorite place to be by any stretch of the imagination ESPECIALLY on Christmas Day.....and I was also thinking about all the various people that would just love to do away with Christmas altogether, baby Jesus and all.....so I'm driving to work, and the sky is covered by small gray clouds with little peekholes into the bright blue sky behind it, and the sun was extremely bright behind and above those gray clouds, causing bright and beautiful rays of sunlight to shine through in long ribbons to the ground. It was extraordinarily GORGEOUS!!! and it made me so sorry that I couldn't capture it with my camera (left it at home)...besides, I was driving on the expressway so taking a picture would have been risky and probably wouldn't have turned out good either, lol.... but it sort of looked like this (only even more beautiful)

....and then the thought that all the dark, little, gray clouds in my life that I find so troublesome and cumbersome are there to help me see God's glory shine even more brightly in everything....and He reminded me of Romans 8:28.

God is sooooo good. :)

I love this song!

This was the one I meant to post:

This next one is sung by Peter Auty (to compare), also nice but I like Declan's much better, too much rolling of the "r" in Peter's version