That Jesus will call them and no one will hinder them from coming.
"Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, but Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.' And he laid his hands on them and went away." Matthew 19:13-15
That they will respond in faith to Jesus' faithful, persistent call.
"The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance." 2 Peter 3:9
That they will experience sanctification through the transforming work of the Holy Spirit and will increasingly desire to fulfill the greatest commandments.
"And he said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" Matthew 22:37-39
That they will not be unequally yoked in intimate relationships, especially marriage.
"Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?" 2 Corinthians 6:14
That their thoughts will be pure.
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." Philippians 4:8
That their hearts will be stirred to give generously to the Lord's work.
"All the men and women, the people of Israel, whose heart moved them to bring anything for the work that the Lord had commanded by Moses to be done brought it as a freewill offering to the Lord." Exodus 35:29
That when the time is right, they will GO!
"And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.'" Matthew 28:18-20
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Prayers for Our Children
My sister, Marsha, posted this on her blog today. I think this is a great way to pray for our children and so I wanted to share it with my readers as well!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Shake it all around...Share God's commands
Matthew 28:19-20 "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Ok, I'm really trying to get back into the swing of things. Having vacations, a sick baby, and now a whiny teething baby is not making things easy, but I know God can help me through it! He has definitely helped me through worse before!
Today, I want to encourage everyone reading this to "Shake it all around" this week! We need to be sharing God's commands and his love to everyone we see. Everyone needs to know that God is with them "to the very end of the age". In these trying economic times many people are looking for some kind of change in their lives or just someone to tell them things will get better. We as Christians should be the ones out there helping others in whatever way we can. Some of you help by donating money or food to those that need it while others lend an ear to those that just need someone to talk to. Even simple things, the "common courtesy" things like smiling at someone or holding a door for someone can make their day better.
I'd like to challenge everyone reading this to invite 2 (or more!) people to church this week. This is where I struggle the most. I like to help people and do the common courtesy type things whenever I can, but when it comes to inviting people to church or really sharing my faith I start to argue with God and tell him that there must be someone better than me to do it. I know I'm not the only one that struggles with this, so I'm hoping that this challenge will help others share God's word as well as me. If you have any helpful suggestions for getting over this "I'm not good enough to do this" problem I have let me know!
Ok, I'm really trying to get back into the swing of things. Having vacations, a sick baby, and now a whiny teething baby is not making things easy, but I know God can help me through it! He has definitely helped me through worse before!
Today, I want to encourage everyone reading this to "Shake it all around" this week! We need to be sharing God's commands and his love to everyone we see. Everyone needs to know that God is with them "to the very end of the age". In these trying economic times many people are looking for some kind of change in their lives or just someone to tell them things will get better. We as Christians should be the ones out there helping others in whatever way we can. Some of you help by donating money or food to those that need it while others lend an ear to those that just need someone to talk to. Even simple things, the "common courtesy" things like smiling at someone or holding a door for someone can make their day better.
I'd like to challenge everyone reading this to invite 2 (or more!) people to church this week. This is where I struggle the most. I like to help people and do the common courtesy type things whenever I can, but when it comes to inviting people to church or really sharing my faith I start to argue with God and tell him that there must be someone better than me to do it. I know I'm not the only one that struggles with this, so I'm hoping that this challenge will help others share God's word as well as me. If you have any helpful suggestions for getting over this "I'm not good enough to do this" problem I have let me know!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Without Ceasing?
Sorry it's been awhile since I've posted. I've been trying to spend more time with family lately, and I'm finding it harder to balance my time, but I'm trying and with God's help I'll find a way to do it!
Everyone has heard to "pray without ceasing" but how many of us actually do this? Over the past 2 weeks, I just haven't been feeling myself so I have have been desperately trying to pray without ceasing. When you have a child, pets, spouse, and other family duties that all need your attention also it can be very hard. I find myself starting a prayer and then getting distracted way too often. Even when in church I'll occasionally find myself thinking about what to do for lunch, etc.
When I find myself completely unable to concentrate, I just pray one simple prayer over and over..."God, help me." He knows what I need. He knows when I need it. And I know He can help me!
So this week...Shake it for the Lord...without ceasing!
Everyone has heard to "pray without ceasing" but how many of us actually do this? Over the past 2 weeks, I just haven't been feeling myself so I have have been desperately trying to pray without ceasing. When you have a child, pets, spouse, and other family duties that all need your attention also it can be very hard. I find myself starting a prayer and then getting distracted way too often. Even when in church I'll occasionally find myself thinking about what to do for lunch, etc.
When I find myself completely unable to concentrate, I just pray one simple prayer over and over..."God, help me." He knows what I need. He knows when I need it. And I know He can help me!
So this week...Shake it for the Lord...without ceasing!
Monday, August 24, 2009
Shake it down...Fall down and worship
Matthew 4:9 "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me."
This one seems very self-explanatory I know, but so many of us get caught up in the "stuff" of our everyday lives that we forget to do this! It's easy to remember to do this in hard times or when prayers are answered, but we should be doing this ALL the time just as we should be praying without ceasing!
My birthday was last week, so I used the whole week to spend extra time with my family. God showed me that I have A LOT to be thankful for and I realized that I need to start praising God and worshiping him more in my everyday life. If I start now, it will be so much easier to teach Sydney (my 7 month old daughter) that we don't have to wait until church Sunday morning to worship.
Think about all of the things you have to praise and worship God for and just do it! Ricky's blood cell count is in the normal range now, he will be able to see Sydney again this weekend, my nephew is turning a year old, and those are just a few of my praises this week!
So shake it down this week!
This one seems very self-explanatory I know, but so many of us get caught up in the "stuff" of our everyday lives that we forget to do this! It's easy to remember to do this in hard times or when prayers are answered, but we should be doing this ALL the time just as we should be praying without ceasing!
My birthday was last week, so I used the whole week to spend extra time with my family. God showed me that I have A LOT to be thankful for and I realized that I need to start praising God and worshiping him more in my everyday life. If I start now, it will be so much easier to teach Sydney (my 7 month old daughter) that we don't have to wait until church Sunday morning to worship.
Think about all of the things you have to praise and worship God for and just do it! Ricky's blood cell count is in the normal range now, he will be able to see Sydney again this weekend, my nephew is turning a year old, and those are just a few of my praises this week!
So shake it down this week!
Monday, August 10, 2009
Shake it up - Change your life!!
Ezekial 36:26-27 "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws."
Life-changing...there are so many thing that could fall under this category...having a baby, getting married, life-long illnesses, but the main one that comes to my mind is the decision to follow Christ in your everyday life. This one is probably one of the harder ones to continually follow-through on. Once you get married or have a baby or find out you have a long-term illness, you're basically "stuck" with it. You don't wake up every morning and decide to keep the baby or spouse or illness. It's there, no decision to make other than change your life and continue living! You do have to wake up every morning and decide whether or not to follow Christ. Only you can decide whether or not you want to live for Christ and only you can show everyone around you who you are living for!
Knowing WHO we are living for can help us make many changes in our lives. My mom would always tell my little sister "you can make it a good day or a bad day." This is so true for everyone. We know the ending to our story, and if we are living for Christ then we know it's a happy ending. So why would we choose anything other than a good day? Just because small things go wrong doesn't mean we can't continue to have a good day. If you have a child, then you know things rarely go as planned. Things happen, but with Christ on our side, we can choose to have a good day anyway.
So, tomorrow morning when you wake up, expect to be shaken up...life is always changing. Tell yourself you are going to have a good day because you've made the biggest change already - to live your life for the Lord!
Life-changing...there are so many thing that could fall under this category...having a baby, getting married, life-long illnesses, but the main one that comes to my mind is the decision to follow Christ in your everyday life. This one is probably one of the harder ones to continually follow-through on. Once you get married or have a baby or find out you have a long-term illness, you're basically "stuck" with it. You don't wake up every morning and decide to keep the baby or spouse or illness. It's there, no decision to make other than change your life and continue living! You do have to wake up every morning and decide whether or not to follow Christ. Only you can decide whether or not you want to live for Christ and only you can show everyone around you who you are living for!
Knowing WHO we are living for can help us make many changes in our lives. My mom would always tell my little sister "you can make it a good day or a bad day." This is so true for everyone. We know the ending to our story, and if we are living for Christ then we know it's a happy ending. So why would we choose anything other than a good day? Just because small things go wrong doesn't mean we can't continue to have a good day. If you have a child, then you know things rarely go as planned. Things happen, but with Christ on our side, we can choose to have a good day anyway.
So, tomorrow morning when you wake up, expect to be shaken up...life is always changing. Tell yourself you are going to have a good day because you've made the biggest change already - to live your life for the Lord!
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