Changes

Wow, long time, no post, huh?

Well, some things are changing. I'm still going to bible study twice a month. Our current book is called Too Blessed to Be Stressed. I have no opinion really on it yet. And I've been in choir since last year, we're actually just about to start back up for the fall (and CHRISTMAS!) season. So starting next week, I'll have choir practice every Wednesday, and I also plan to change my schedule so I have Sunday mornings (at least) free, so I'll be singing in service most weekends as well. I go to services most weekends.

And I'm going to start working with the youth group.

This is the new. This is the change.

Months ago, I felt the pull to work with the youth and after a while I prayed about it. I told God that if he wanted me to do it, then I needed to get a raise since I'd have to cut and change my part time job hours.

I got a raise.

This was towards the end of the school year I think, so I wanted to wait until the next year was starting. After trying to talk to either the youth pastor or one of his helpers (both of whom are friends, but her more than him), I finally cornered my friend N recently and got a chance to discuss things. Once she found out I was changing my work schedule to be free on Sundays, she was all over it. I was given two choices: Sunday mornings for the 'traditional' youth or Sunday evenings with the small groups called D teams.  Morning is less of a time commitment, and probably better for me to start off with. But I have vacation coming up so I told them I would definitely be there on Sept 14th, and maybe on August 24th depending on my work schedule since I hadn't been able to change it yet. I finally got my schedule for next week yesterday.

I have the morning of the 24th off.

Talk about answering prayers! And I know people who don't believe in God. I don't understand. I really don't.

On an unrelated subject, I have a friend raising money for a transplant for her son. He has several health problems, and a new liver is necessary. Part of me wants to donate and support. But the other part of me, and probably the part that's winning, ... ?  Well, I don't really believe in transplants.  What he has is not curable. A transplant will prolong his life, yes, but is it really worth it? Granted this is obviously not my decision, it's theirs, but I don't think that my conscience will allow me to donate money when I am so opposed to the very idea of transplants. One of the tenets of the movement I belong to is faith healing. Yes, I go to the doctor for curable things, like a sinus infection. But for the incurable? Pray. Prayer is the only thing that is going to heal you. Medicine has it's limits, always has, always will. Depending on the severity and the survival rates, I honestly don't think I would go through chemo if I had cancer. I had a great uncle die from stage four colon cancer fairly recently and he went through chemo, which I just could not understand. Anyways, I really didn't mean for this to turn into a rant, I just wanted to get out my feelings on the transplant thing.

Also, there are reasons I don't share my beliefs with a lot of my friends, a good percentage of whom are not Christian. I realize that I'm getting more fundamental as I study the bible more (which I am VERY behind on) and as I age. So here we go: I believe in faith healing. Part of that is that I don't believe in transplants. I don't believe in abortion. I have no opposition to same sex marriage but all marriage should be civil as to not force a church into preforming any unions they disagree with. I really don't have an opinion on evolution vs. creationism, I probably lean towards the idea of intelligent design. Even though I do need to work on it more myself, I believe that everyone should dress modestly, male and female alike. I think poly relationships, open relationships, and promiscuity are wrong. I have no objection to drinking occasionally, but I don't understand drinking to excess, but I don't know if I think it's wrong necessarily. I also don't understand doing drugs of any sort.

Okay, I'm really done now. Just wanted to get those off my chest, even if all it's doing is going into the depths of cyber space where pretty much no one will ever read it.

What I'm Reading Now

1. Mom and I decided we didn't like the Gnostic Gospels and gave up on them. Since then, I've re-read Romans and Isaiah and just started re-reading Galatians.

2. I'm in chapter four of Mosaic. I like it, its just hard for me to find time to read.

3. Our current bible study is Nehemiah by Kelly Minter. We're almost done with it. Next is Simply Jesus by NT Wright.

4. And I did finally finish Let the Nations Be Glad.

I plan to start re-reading the entire bible on January 1st.

Just some Daily Devotional Bible Verses that I've been Squirreling Away...

He said to Him, “O Lord, how shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house.”
Judges 6:15 (NASB)

Anyone else feel like Gideon? Because I do. Asked to do something by the Lord that I think is totally beyond me. But just like Gideon, I know that the Lord is with me so even if I feel inadequate, obviously He thinks otherwise.

"On the day I called, You answered me; You made me bold with strength in my soul." 
Psalm 138:3 (NASB)

  This one feels like it kinda goes with the Judges verse. Strength thru God.

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28 (NASB)

I need to just take this verse and tuck it into my heart. Because I feel oh so very weary from my busy life right now. I definitely need to be given rest. 

Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
Romans 12:19 (NASB)

This may have just been proven true in my life. It is definitely not necessary to take revenge when someone does you wrong, because God has righteous anger on your behalf.

 But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, 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.   
Ephesians 4:20-24 (NASB)

I'm attracted to verses that speak of laying aside your former life and your old self for the new life and your new self in Christ.

If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.
Daniel 3:17-18 (NASB)

I love this message. If our God exists, then He will save us. If he does not, we still will not worship your gods. I love the absolute devotion that Daniel teaches.

 

Daily Devotional July 30 2013

I'm just gonna link this here. With no comments.

Psalm 51:7

Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

        Psalm 51:7

That's today devotional verse. And the devotion is about a friend that was abused and didn't know if she could come back to God after all that's happened.

As I know, you can always come back to God. He welcomed me home, and I'm sure he welcomed this friend home. You can always be purified and cleansed of your sins.

I really love Psalm 51, so go give it a read. If I remember correctly, it was our focus on Ash Wednesday. 

Depending on God

In my email this morning, was a message from my dear friend Anne (the leader of my Bible study group). She pointed me towards Proverbs 31 Ministries devotional from July 26th. I'm assuming because she knows that I was having a bad week last week (a fact which looks to be continuing this week so far). 

The verse that day was:

And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”

                                Matthew 14:29-30 (NASB)

and the devotional was about not losing our focus on God and leaning on Jesus instead of worrying about everything. Something that I try to do, but looking back on last week and its troubles, I don't think I was doing that. So this morning, I'm taking a deep breath and putting all my troubles (work computer is still broken and our mail delivery is screwy) on God.

And here's the devotional post if you'd like to read it for yourself. It was also amusing to me that if you follow the link to the writer's personal blog, she has a post about how to take God on vacation with you, and I have vacation coming up next week. The Lord certainly knows how to get us to listen sometimes, doesn't He? 

What I'm Reading - Quick and Dirty Update

We finished the New Testament!

And working on the Gnostic Gospels, we're maybe about halfway through.

I'm still not done with Let the Nations Be Glad, but only 20 pages or so are left.

I started reading Mosaic last night, just for a change from what I have been reading.

And a friend is letting me borrow a book called Love Wins, so that just got added to the reading list.