I have been reading in Nehemiah. I think I will probably be spending a lot of time going through this book.
To catch you up to where I'm at in Nehemiah 9 (for those of you who aren't experts in Nehemiah ;)....Nehemiah, the cupbearer to the king, heard about the state of Jerusalem, and God put it in his heart to go there and rebuild the wall. The king let him go for a stated period of time. At this point in the book, the wall is rebuilt. Ezra the priest has read the Book of the Law of Moses before all of the people assembled together. (Verse 8:3b is cool: "And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law". :) They celebrate the Feast of Booths (which I believe is in remembrance of God providing during Israel's 40 years of wandering in the desert...but I'm not positive) and after that they gather together again. Chapter nine is a recap of all the awesome works God has done for Israel....and verse 32 is after the recap and where I want to begin.
I was going to just type a couple verses, but I'm going to go ahead with 9:32-37.
32"Now, therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love, let not all the hardship seem little to you that has come upon us, upon our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our fathers, and all your people, since the time of the kings of Assyria until this day.
33 Yet you have been righteous in all that has come upon us, for you have dealt faithfully and we have acted wickedly.
34 Our kings, our princes, our priests, and our fathers have not kept your law or paid attention to your commandments and your warnings that you gave them.
35 Even in their own kingdom, and amid your great goodness that you gave them, and in the large and rich land that you set before them, they did not serve you or turn from their wicked works.
36Behold, we are slaves this day; in the land that you gave to our fathers to enjoy its fruit and its good gifts, behold, we are slaves.
37 And its rich yield goes to the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins. They rule over our bodies and over our livestock as they please, and we are in great distress."
Verses 32 and 33 are self explanatory in my thought process here....they are proclaiming the awesomeness and righteousness and faithfulness of God, despite how we act.
Verse 34 smacked me this morning making me think about our country's leadership. Have our leaders kept God's laws, paid attention to His commands and heeded His warnings? Have our citizens required or held our leadership accountable to this?? Have our citizens (read: "we") kept God's laws, paid attention to His commands and heeded His warnings? Ponder and pray on that...
Verse 35....God has given us a great land. America is an amazing country...full of amazing people! Strip away the people and look at the land itself. Such incredible and gorgeous diversity from snowcapped mountains to dry desert plains.....lush farmland, wide open plains perfect for grazing animals....the lakes and rivers and creeks and canyons and cliffs and rolling hills. Just sit and ponder all of that in your mind. This is a great, bountiful and rich country, is it not?! Not only that, but we, as a nation have prospered and don't think for a second it is of our own doing...God's hand has been on our nation and caused us to prosper. As a nation, we have forgotten....we are choosing wickedness.
Verses 36 and 37 tie together. I realize we are not technically slaves. But I am afraid we are being shackled without realizing it. We are allowing the government to step in places it shouldn't be. We are allowing them to choose for us what is right and what is wrong....and our government leadership is not taking into consideration God's Truth, God's Law and God's right and wrong. I touched in the earlier blog post about God having given the governing bodies the right to judge and enforce. That only works if the governing body is still surrendered to God's laws. When it decides it is not accountable to God things go haywire.
We are also being shackled by patterns of lies that we buy into. Lies about separation of God out of government and politics. We are being shackled and blinded by our sin as a nation and the rampant relativism that is so popular and SO WRONG. I have realized through some self examination and prayer that there are areas in my own life where I had accepted those lies and not even known it. I'm sure there are more layers of lies I have bought and don't realize as of yet...but I continue to pray and ask God to peel away those layers of lies until my world view is His world view.
I implore you again to spend some serious time in prayer for our country's leadership, our country's citizens and our country's political and cultural direction. It doesn't take a political analyst or theologin (I am neither!) to look at what The Word says and look at what our law says or our culture says and realize we are not running towards God as a nation.
"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14
Monday, April 27
Tuesday, April 21
Stellan is in surgery
Stellan (www.mycharmingkids.net) is in surgery this morning. He is having a heart ablation which is a very risky surgery on such a young one. To show support, Stellan prayer warriors are wearing orange today and spending some time on their knees!
(double post from family blog as well)
Monday, April 20
As His people...
I frequent a diaper bag forum and there is a little corner of it for spiritual discussion and prayer requests. (How cool is that, eh??!) Well, we have started taking turns posting a devotion on Mondays. Today was my day. I posted this and then felt convicted to post it here as well...so here it is:
______________________________
There is something that God has laid heavy on my heart over the last few months. As I sat down to seek God's face about what to write here, that same conviction gripped my gut.
So...this will be a little about Nehemiah, a little about America and mostly about what God has called His people to do....what OUR role is in all of this. I don't write this lightly and I want you to all understand up front that everything typed within this is meant to be read with an understanding that all things that motivate believers should be based upon the unconditional love of our Savior living within us...and also with the understanding that unconditional love doesn't mean unconditional acceptance of all viewpoints. I believe every person God created has the right to think/believe/not believe whatever they want, but I also believe in God's absolute Truth, which He reveals to us through His Word. That Truth has been abused and people have done horrific things throughout history in "God's name" motivated purely by greed or the hunger for power.
This devotion is written only out of love for our country, love for other people and a deep seated consuming love for our Father and His Truth.
A little historical background on Nehemiah. He was the king's cupbearer. Nehemiah was an Israelite but had never been to Jerusalem. This was during the Jew's captivity and the Persian Empire had control over what is known as the Near Eastern world. The walls of Jerusalem had not been rebuilt from when it was originally defeated years before.
Nehemiah 1:1-4: 1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah.
It came to pass in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the citadel, 2 that Hanani one of my brethren came with men from Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who had survived the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. 3 And they said to me, “The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.”
4 So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
He goes on to pray and essentially takes the sins of the nation upon himself and confesses them before God in repentance.
Nehemiah's response to his question about a city he had never been to floors me. He mourns and repents on behalf of his nation. When I first read that a few weeks ago my heart was heavy for America. I see things accepted in our culture that are in direct opposition to God's Word and God's Truth. And honestly up til recently I was of the mindset that you cannot legislate morality or Truth, that both of those things are "heart issues" and governmental laws won't change the heart so the laws of our country didn't need to be linked to God's laws necessarily.
I still believe that governmental laws won't change a person's heart. But God showed me something through another study (The Truth Project) that I was taking at this same time. Every aspect of life on earth from the rain patterns to the set up for government to the set up for the family unit are all designed by God with His imprint on them. The government/governing authority was set up to protect people, keep the order and they were given the authority to carry out judgment. The key to all of this was with the understanding that God is the ultimate authority behind the laws and the judgment. Problems arise when governing authorities think they don't answer to God. Through all of this, God opened my eyes to the fact that laws don't change hearts, BUT in order for a nation to be a godly nation, their laws and judgments need to line up with God's laws and judgments. There is much about the laws in our country that do not line up with God's Word. We have all been trained to accept all moral codes and be "politically correct" because "religion has it's place, but not in government". The thing is, God is involved in all aspects of life and He should be involved in all aspects of OUR lives and we cannot compartmentalize God into a nice box we open on Sunday or open in our houses alone as a family but close up when it comes to politics or government.
People act out what they TRULY believe. They can say whatever they want....they can say they hold to God's moral code and His Truth, but unless they ACT upon those things, it means nothing. When a believer says in front of other believers that they believe swearing is wrong....yet swear like a sailor at work, people roll their eyes and can see through the hypocrisy. When a government official says they believe God's laws and then vote in direct opposition we all overlook that because we don't want to offend other schools of thought and thus we live out the lie that God is not involved in government.
Until recently I had believed a lie about my role in politics. Now I'm not suggesting anyone go out and jump in on picket lines or start stalking government authority or sleeping on the lawns of government buildings or beating anyone with God's Word.
Or even standing on street corners on a box with a microphone preaching repentance or acceptance of God's Word. (But I suppose if that's how God convicts you to act, then go for it...just not my cup of tea nor what I'm suggesting in this devotion )
All I am saying is this:
2 Chronicles 7:14: 14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
Our role is to stand on what we REALLY believe. We need to examine our own hearts and seek God's Truth in every belief we hold and align ourselves with His Truth, not our personal relative truth, which is a series of lies. The ONLY Truth is God's Truth and His Truth is the plumb-line to be applied to ALL aspects of our lives. And through that personal evaluation and prayer and seeking God's face we will allow God to prune our lives and align our behavior and that will accomplish two things....we will unite as one body in Christ, people will SEE God's love and Truth in action, and He will hear our prayers for our nation, forgive the sins of our nation and heal our country.
I realize this can be a hot topic and I did not set out in here to offend anyone and I really talked with God about this and would have rather done a different subject matter but He said no. So I read and prayed and re-read what I wrote and I am going to click the submission button and continue praying that this is received in the manner in which it was written.
______________________________
There is something that God has laid heavy on my heart over the last few months. As I sat down to seek God's face about what to write here, that same conviction gripped my gut.
So...this will be a little about Nehemiah, a little about America and mostly about what God has called His people to do....what OUR role is in all of this. I don't write this lightly and I want you to all understand up front that everything typed within this is meant to be read with an understanding that all things that motivate believers should be based upon the unconditional love of our Savior living within us...and also with the understanding that unconditional love doesn't mean unconditional acceptance of all viewpoints. I believe every person God created has the right to think/believe/not believe whatever they want, but I also believe in God's absolute Truth, which He reveals to us through His Word. That Truth has been abused and people have done horrific things throughout history in "God's name" motivated purely by greed or the hunger for power.This devotion is written only out of love for our country, love for other people and a deep seated consuming love for our Father and His Truth.
A little historical background on Nehemiah. He was the king's cupbearer. Nehemiah was an Israelite but had never been to Jerusalem. This was during the Jew's captivity and the Persian Empire had control over what is known as the Near Eastern world. The walls of Jerusalem had not been rebuilt from when it was originally defeated years before.
Nehemiah 1:1-4: 1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah.
It came to pass in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the citadel, 2 that Hanani one of my brethren came with men from Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who had survived the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. 3 And they said to me, “The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.”
4 So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
He goes on to pray and essentially takes the sins of the nation upon himself and confesses them before God in repentance.
Nehemiah's response to his question about a city he had never been to floors me. He mourns and repents on behalf of his nation. When I first read that a few weeks ago my heart was heavy for America. I see things accepted in our culture that are in direct opposition to God's Word and God's Truth. And honestly up til recently I was of the mindset that you cannot legislate morality or Truth, that both of those things are "heart issues" and governmental laws won't change the heart so the laws of our country didn't need to be linked to God's laws necessarily.
I still believe that governmental laws won't change a person's heart. But God showed me something through another study (The Truth Project) that I was taking at this same time. Every aspect of life on earth from the rain patterns to the set up for government to the set up for the family unit are all designed by God with His imprint on them. The government/governing authority was set up to protect people, keep the order and they were given the authority to carry out judgment. The key to all of this was with the understanding that God is the ultimate authority behind the laws and the judgment. Problems arise when governing authorities think they don't answer to God. Through all of this, God opened my eyes to the fact that laws don't change hearts, BUT in order for a nation to be a godly nation, their laws and judgments need to line up with God's laws and judgments. There is much about the laws in our country that do not line up with God's Word. We have all been trained to accept all moral codes and be "politically correct" because "religion has it's place, but not in government". The thing is, God is involved in all aspects of life and He should be involved in all aspects of OUR lives and we cannot compartmentalize God into a nice box we open on Sunday or open in our houses alone as a family but close up when it comes to politics or government.
People act out what they TRULY believe. They can say whatever they want....they can say they hold to God's moral code and His Truth, but unless they ACT upon those things, it means nothing. When a believer says in front of other believers that they believe swearing is wrong....yet swear like a sailor at work, people roll their eyes and can see through the hypocrisy. When a government official says they believe God's laws and then vote in direct opposition we all overlook that because we don't want to offend other schools of thought and thus we live out the lie that God is not involved in government.
Until recently I had believed a lie about my role in politics. Now I'm not suggesting anyone go out and jump in on picket lines or start stalking government authority or sleeping on the lawns of government buildings or beating anyone with God's Word.
Or even standing on street corners on a box with a microphone preaching repentance or acceptance of God's Word. (But I suppose if that's how God convicts you to act, then go for it...just not my cup of tea nor what I'm suggesting in this devotion )All I am saying is this:
2 Chronicles 7:14: 14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
Our role is to stand on what we REALLY believe. We need to examine our own hearts and seek God's Truth in every belief we hold and align ourselves with His Truth, not our personal relative truth, which is a series of lies. The ONLY Truth is God's Truth and His Truth is the plumb-line to be applied to ALL aspects of our lives. And through that personal evaluation and prayer and seeking God's face we will allow God to prune our lives and align our behavior and that will accomplish two things....we will unite as one body in Christ, people will SEE God's love and Truth in action, and He will hear our prayers for our nation, forgive the sins of our nation and heal our country.
I realize this can be a hot topic and I did not set out in here to offend anyone and I really talked with God about this and would have rather done a different subject matter but He said no. So I read and prayed and re-read what I wrote and I am going to click the submission button and continue praying that this is received in the manner in which it was written.
Wednesday, April 15
Praying for Stellan
(This is a double post from the family blog as well)
I don't know how many of you follow MckMama on her blog www.mycharmingkids.net but if you don't, you are missing out on a HUGE blessing.
Their youngest, Stellan, is having heart troubles and they are headed to a specialist in Boston after having been at a children's hospital for almost a month now.
Click on over, read a little....you'll be hooked.....and pray for their family, especially brave little Stellan.
Their youngest, Stellan, is having heart troubles and they are headed to a specialist in Boston after having been at a children's hospital for almost a month now.
Click on over, read a little....you'll be hooked.....and pray for their family, especially brave little Stellan.
Tuesday, April 14
Still in that draught
Well, it's been three months since I posted and I'm sure anyone who used to follow this blog no longer does. :) BUT I do have some stuff I want to say here in a while. I'm updating the family blog with stories and pictures (lots of pictures) and even some video of our time in Wyoming while BigDaddy was down in Alabama. A lot of stuff is going on in my head in regards to missions and Lost and Found Ministries and America and politics and Truth (as in, the absolute Truth...the Source of Truth) and all sorts of stuff.
Picture me standing in a money booth trying to grab and organize the dollar bills flying around. That's a pretty good picture still of me trying to get my thoughts on everything organized and tied together. I'm holding a bunch of pieces of rope and I know at some point they all weave together I'm just not sure exactly where and how that all happens yet. :)
When I catch up on the family blog then I will come over here and try to sort out some of those thoughts and share them. :)
Picture me standing in a money booth trying to grab and organize the dollar bills flying around. That's a pretty good picture still of me trying to get my thoughts on everything organized and tied together. I'm holding a bunch of pieces of rope and I know at some point they all weave together I'm just not sure exactly where and how that all happens yet. :)
When I catch up on the family blog then I will come over here and try to sort out some of those thoughts and share them. :)
Monday, January 12
Blogging draught
Well....I have been wanting to upate both blogs with pictures and video and stories....but between The SB's teething (MOLARS!!!), his first little cold, my sore throat, lack of sleep and trying to get ready to go on vacation....it's just not happening. I might get it done tomorrow, but I might not. And if it doesn't happen tomorrow, it's going to be a while before I can get it done. So to all two or three of my regular readers (ha ha) I apologize!
Wednesday, January 7
I.....
Courtney stole this from Amber, who stole this from Carrie and I am stealing it from Courtney. :)
I AM ... so incredibly blessed.
I WANT ... to live close to family.
I HAVE ... lots to do before I can leave for Texas next week.
I WISH ... I had little magic housecleaning elves.
I HATE ... feeling sleep deprived.
I FEAR ... fear itself :)
I HEAR ... Sean throwing a bit of a fit.
I SEARCH ... for good deals online.
I DON'T THINK ... we will be moving this year.
I REGRET ... not being better about taking pictures when I'm out with friends/family.
I LOVE ... my family and my dogs *wink.
I ACHE ... for mistreated children.
I AM NOT ... motivated to do housework today.
I DANCE ... for The SB to make him giggle.
I SING ... loudly in the car...by myself.
I NEVER ... like to admit my weaknesses.
I RARELY ... cook.
I CRY WHEN ... something hurts my heart.
I AM NOT ALWAYS ... a good steward of my time.
I HATE THAT ... our society is so me-based.
I'M CONFUSED ABOUT ... what to do for The SB's first birthday.
I NEED ... to do laundry!!!!
I SHOULD ... buck up little camper and get stuff done today despite my exhaustion.
I AM ... so incredibly blessed.
I WANT ... to live close to family.
I HAVE ... lots to do before I can leave for Texas next week.
I WISH ... I had little magic housecleaning elves.
I HATE ... feeling sleep deprived.
I FEAR ... fear itself :)
I HEAR ... Sean throwing a bit of a fit.
I SEARCH ... for good deals online.
I DON'T THINK ... we will be moving this year.
I REGRET ... not being better about taking pictures when I'm out with friends/family.
I LOVE ... my family and my dogs *wink.
I ACHE ... for mistreated children.
I AM NOT ... motivated to do housework today.
I DANCE ... for The SB to make him giggle.
I SING ... loudly in the car...by myself.
I NEVER ... like to admit my weaknesses.
I RARELY ... cook.
I CRY WHEN ... something hurts my heart.
I AM NOT ALWAYS ... a good steward of my time.
I HATE THAT ... our society is so me-based.
I'M CONFUSED ABOUT ... what to do for The SB's first birthday.
I NEED ... to do laundry!!!!
I SHOULD ... buck up little camper and get stuff done today despite my exhaustion.
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