Day 3: Drawing Closer to God (Did God really say that?)

I am thinking back to what I read in the book called The Jesus Code about the questions that Satan posed to Adam and Eve. It definitely shows how devious Satan is because his manipulation is so subtle. That one question, did God really tell you not to eat from the tree of knowledge? Okay, that was in my own words based on my wishy washy memory but its not about the exact wording but about the implication of what Satan is saying through this question. He's giving the seed of doubt and just like the seed of truth that Jesus sows, if the soil takes hold of it and let's it grow, that seed of doubt will weaken our faith and trust. Knowing that Satan will be so cunning, we have to prepare the soil in our souls each day by watering it with the truth in God's Word, fertilizing it by calling on the Holy Spirit within us and letting the light that is God pour into us. When we do this, our easy automatic answer to this question will be "Yes, he did and I will trust and obey him."
Genesis 3: 1-5
The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, "Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?" "Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden," the woman replied. "It's only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, 'You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.' "You won't die!" the serpent replied to the woman. "God know that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil."

365 Days of Sprit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 314

If you were asked what kind of plant are you and where are you growing? How would you respond? Each of us is a unique plant based on the seed that God created within our mother’s womb, probably even before that. Are you a rosebush, a pine tree, a grapevine, you name it? Will a rosebush thrive and produce beautiful roses if it is planted out in the desert? Will a pine tree survive a forest fire? Will a grapevine produce juicy grapes if it is planted where the sun doesn’t shine enough? Because each of us is unique based on who God created us to be, we need to transplant ourselves from wherever we may have ended up being planted to somewhere that will give us the nourishment we need to survive and thrive. That somewhere needs to be rooted in the Lord. A rosebush near a lake will get the water it needs. A pine tree beside a river will be protected by the river when a forest fire strikes. A grapevine near a stream with the sun shining down on it all day will produce those juicy grapes. Like a plant, we have to be transplanted in the Lord. The nourishment we receive is through His Word, worship, prayer and communion with other believers. Just as a plant needs good soil, sunshine and water, we need to live our life connecting to our nourishment through the good soil of His Word, the sunshine of worship, the water of prayer and the fertilizer that is our communion with other believers.  If we tap into all of these nourishing sources, we will thrive like never before. If you have not yet transplanted yourself into the Lord’s care, seek him in a simple prayer asking for forgiveness of your sins and let him take and plant you where you will thrive. If you are transplanted but are in need of some nourishment, you must make it a priority to nourish your soul every day in some way through His Word, prayer, worship or communion with other believers. No matter what kind of plant you are, you can survive and thrive when you are rooted in the Lord and seeking His nourishment daily.  

Jeremiah 17:5-8 Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord. He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 310

I was intrigued by this scripture below about a seed dying to actually grow so in my typical fashion I went to Google and started searching. Here is a quick 2 minute article about the science behind seeds and how death is the beginning. And here is my 2 cents worth of insight: Jesus died on the cross for our sins. He took on that kind of torturous death for us so that we may have life but to have that life we have to nail our sins to that cross. The sinful nature within us must die for us to grow in the glory that God designed and hopes for us. Again and again I will say, putting our sins on that cross isn’t a one-time deal but a daily for the rest of our lives process. Start today with taking your sins to the cross so your seed can grow and be fruitful.

http://www.examiner.com/article/seeds-for-success-pt-2-a-seed-must-die-before-it-grows

 

John 12:24 I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 197

My bible study is working on the book of Hebrews. We met last evening to discuss chapters 9 and 10. In one of the study books we are going by called Be Confident by Warren W Wiersbe, he talks about sin being man’s greatest problem. He goes on to say, “by nature, man is a sinner, and by choice, he proves that his nature is sinful.” He finalizes all this with a quote from sources unknown, “We are not sinners because we sin. We sin because we are sinners.” This one little line gets to the heart of the reason why many have a difficult path to real spiritual relationship with God. In my study on temperaments, there are temperaments that because of their needs or lack of needs do not think they need God or think they are too unworthy and unlovable. Shinning the light on sin is thwarted by our own weaknesses within our temperament but Jesus can be that light. Jesus can show each of us that we are sinners no matter how many good things we do or no matter if we have never committed a “big” sin. Sin is sin and we are all by nature sinners but we will try to cover it up, hide it away, disregard it. Our weaknesses are being played on by Satan. He will play upon those weaknesses to keep us from the light of Jesus and a real spirit-to-spirit relationship with God. Accepting ourselves as sinners is the great hurdle we have to jump over on our path to God. This hurdle cannot be done alone. Each of us play a part, plant a seed, say a word that can encourage and motivate another to seek God and get over that sin hurdle. Share your story, live your life as an example of Christ’s love, be all you can be for the Lord.

Hebrews 10:12-14 But when this priest (Jesus) had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.  

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 54

Today I am praising God for bringing new friends into my life. I met a lovely lady this last week through a meetup group when I emailed her about Faith to Life Connections. She was with me yesterday in the studio creating the ANEW layout based on Ephesians 2:10. It was so great to connect with another believer while scrapbooking through the afternoon. She is giving me the support I need in getting this ministry off the ground. She told me about an article she recently read about Dave Ramsey who is the very well known Christian speaker/teacher on finances. Dave Ramsey's first meeting was with only 6 people and today he is filling up large facilities with people. This reminds me of the story of the mustard seed that Jesus speaks about in Matthew 13:31-32 He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard see, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches. So, though my first official Faith to Life Connections crop was just with my new friend and myself, I am very hopeful that this seed will grow into something wonderful and hope it will be a blessing for my new friend and all the new friends to come.
Proverbs 17:17-18 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 24

Last night I was in the new spa with my daughter. It's not like we don't get plenty of opportunity to spend time together. That is her love language, quality time, so I make sure she is getting her love tank filled but there is something about relaxing in a hot tub at night with the dark sky and twinkling stars that just made it a very opportune time to really connect with her and see how things are going. So, she opens it up with 'let's talk' so I asked her how things are going at school with teacher, class and friends. Everything is good until we get to the friends part. She tells me one of her friends is hurting her. By this she meant she is getting hit, kicked and scratched by this 'friend'. Unfortunatley, this is not the first time with this 'friend'. They had this same issue back in either Kindergarten or 1st grade and I had to conquer my fears of confrontation and approach the mom at the bus stop and pull her aside to let her know what was going on. It seemed to have stopped but is now rearing it's ugly head. It may be because they are in the same class again but it apparently only happens at the lunch line in school, on the bus or at her house. Hmmmm... sounds like she's only doing this when she knows she can get away with it. Faith is a gentle and very-kind hearted person and says she doesn't want to hurt her feelings but also says she is afraid too because she doesn't want to hurt her more. Oh my... so for the first time probably ever, LOL, I told her I was going to pray about it and talk with Dad about it to see how to proceed. So, that next morning I was taking work off because my shoulder so I walked her over to the bus stop and afterwards walked the mom to her house telling her about the conversation I had with Faith. Of course, the protective defensive nature in a parent came up but we just discussed and decided to give the girls a break from playing with each other and she would talk with their teacher and her daughter. So, although I am not sure she is feeling like this is an issue with her daughter, as Nathan puts it, you have planted the seed and made her aware and that's all you can do at this point. So, I am thanking God for the opportunity to learn more about my daughter and her life and thankful for his guidance in how to deal with it.
Psalm 73:24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.