THE LORD ADDED...

...three more inches of reminders last night!

A blessed Christmas All as you ponder on the wonder that the Lord became man so He could become sin so we could become the righteousness of God in Him!

WHITE AS SNOW

I wasn't planning on writing any more posts this year but since my sister has graciously allowed me access to her beautiful new laptop I thought I'd bring you up to date on our exciting weather.

My husband and I left just before the "arctic blast" hit the Pacific Northwest. My daughter has been sending me updates and reports that there is now 15 inches of snow on the ground on our Gig Harbor property. Absolutely unprecedented for our neck of the woods! You can view pics of all our snow at my daughter's blog. Even my son who spent three years in Fairbanks is in awe of all the snow and is ready for it to be over! He reported to me today that he witnessed people cross country skiing in Tacoma, the city where he works.

There's nothing more beautiful than a fresh snowfall. I love how the Lord uses His creation to teach spiritual truth. Snow is a substance that is naturally white and portrays what is clean. Isaiah spoke of sins as being as white as snow. Before being sealed into the body of Christ we are spiritually dead in our sins. The Lord reaches down with His great love, draws "non-seekers" to Himself, opens our eyes to our lostness and sinfulness, grants us repentance, redeems us with His blood, so our sins can be washed as white as snow.

He's been piling on the reminders at my house of this magnificent truth!!!

THANKS...

...to all my faithful visitors, for all your kind words and good discussion over the last year. I'm taking off for a month. My husband and I are headed to Southern California to spend the holidays with my family and to shoot my twin sister's oldest daughter's wedding. We are looking forward to those sunny skies and warm temperatures! My mom already has several handy girl projects lined up for me. I will be helping my sister with last minute wedding preparations. I plan to just enjoy visiting with my family. Therefore, I probably won't be posting until I return. Have a blessed Christmas as you celebrate the first advent of the Prince of Peace.

A single star announced His arrival two thousand years ago. Now we watch for the signs that will signal the end of the age and His glorious return to gather His elect! (Mt. 28:20b - "...and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.") If I were to ask my granddaughter Daisy what the biggest sign of all is, that will signal His return is near, she would flash me that big grin of hers and say, "The abomination of desolation Grammy!" (If you're like me, you check periodically at The Jerusalem Post for any development in regards to the building of that third temple!) And if I asked, "Where would we find more of the signs and instructions from Jesus to know what to do after Antichrist exalts himself (2 Th. 2:4) in the temple?" She would reply, "Matthew 24!" And when the sun goes dark and the moon turns to blood, and not just one but all the stars fall from their places, then we know His return is imminent! Then we are to look up, for our redemption draws near! (Luke 21:28)

What an announcement that is going to be because the whole world is going to see it, and Him! (Rev. 1:7)

Take encouragement in these words Jesus spoke right before He told the Father of His desire to have us be with Him...

John 16:33 - "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world."

THE TESTIMONY OF JESSE ARMSTRONG'S WIFE

A few entries ago I posted the testimony of Jesse Armstrong. Jesse is afflicted with ALS and speaks from a perspective that few have. Here are his wife Lisa’s comments. She penned these at the same time Jesse penned his testimony. May they also be a blessing and a reminder to us all...

"When we are faced with life-changing and devastating circumstances, and there's nothing we can do to change the situation no matter how badly we may want to, we must cling to the truth that God is sovereign and that He allows all things for our good. Although we don't understand how a loss of a loved one can be a good thing, we must trust that it is. What is incomprehensible by our feeble minds is seen in perfect clarity by our Heavenly Father. The promise that carries us through the suffering is that God bestows on us enough of His love and grace to make it through each day. I have had the following words displayed in my kitchen for the past year: "Tried for a season, pure for eternity: When God permits His children to go through the furnace, He keeps His eye on the clock and His hand on the thermostat. His loving heart knows how much and how long." I Peter 1:6,7 (Warren W. Wiersbe)

While Jesse understands that God has called him to be a sign post that life is just a vapor, that we always need to live expecting to meet the Lord tomorrow, I believe Lisa is going to be one of those sign posts of leviathon faith that is gained through passing the stormiest of seas.

Our congregation is truly blessed.

PAUL’S PRAYER FOR THE EPHESIANS

“…to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.” (1:19)

Compare that with David’s words in Psalm 16:11 – “…In Thy presence is fullness of joy; in Thy right hand there are pleasures forever more.”

To be filled up to all the fullness of God is to be filled up with joy, and to be filled up with fullness of joy is to be filled up with God, and it’s the love of Christ for us that allows us to experience this!

What tremendous love by which we are loved!

A SPURGEON NUGGET

"Untried faith is always small in stature; and it is likely to remain dwarfish so long as it is without trials. There is no room in the placid pools of ease for faith to gain leviathan proportions, she must dwell in the stormy sea if she would be one of the chief of the ways of God."

May we print on our minds and hearts that the Lord is not trying to drown us when allowing storms to come into our lives; rather, He desires for us to gain leviathan faith!

The mind who views God as worthless...

...God gives over to a worthless mind - Romans 1:28

MY HEART SONG FOR THE DAY

What joy to know that just before Jesus faced the cross, He prayed for me...

John 17:20 - "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word..."

My heart really started singing when I read verse 24...

"Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world."

Jesus asked the Father that we, the Father's love gifts to the Son, might be with Him and behold His glory.

While we behold His glory at the present time in the pages of Scripture, someday we will be with Him and behold His glory face to face!

Philippians 3:20 – “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ…”

1 John 3:2 – “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”

I hope your heart sings at these words too. To think that Jesus longs for us to be with Him, where He is, what unconditional love! And because as the perfect, sinless, Son of God, Jesus always desired the will of the Father, we know this longing of Jesus will come to pass!

DEPRESSION AND THE CHILD OF GOD by a counselor friend

Depression, including anger which is one of its most common symptoms, is a God-given emotion. It is an alarm, a warning signal that something is wrong and needs to be fixed. So is anger. Both are valid emotions and in and of themselves they are not sin. But a child of God’s response to the depression or anger – what he/she does with them – can either be sinful or righteous. I will explain in a moment but first I want to lay down one definition as a ground rule.

As a child of God we are called to live by faith. Faith is one of those words that people struggle to define, so I am going to give a definition which I think will help as you decide whether or not you are going to walk by faith through trials. Faith is believing the Word of God and acting on it, no matter how I feel, because God promises a good result. Did you catch all that? True faith says that the Bible is God’s Word and therefore it demands an action in my life.

The key to this definition is the “no matter how I feel” phrase. Let me put it this way – are you a parent? When I tell my children to do something, I don’t want them to wait until they feel like obeying, I just want them to obey. I can see the big picture, I know more than them and I want them to obey because what I am asking is in their best interest. It’s the same with God – when He instructs us through His Word, He doesn’t want us to wait for our feelings to get on board, He just wants obedience. If you are not sure about this, read Luke 17:7-10. Jesus is pretty straightforward in demanding obedience.

So, faith means that we believe that the Bible is God’s Word – it tells us the truth (including, and most importantly, the gospel) and we chose to act on its instruction, no matter how we feel at the moment, because we KNOW that God’s way is the best. I encourage you to memorize the faith definition because I have found that it comes in handy many times throughout my day, let alone in life in general!

Did you know that Genesis records the first bout of depression right after Adam and Eve are thrown out of the Garden of Eden. If you look up Genesis 4:1-8 you will read the story of Cain and Abel. When God rejected Cain AND his offering verse 5 tells us that “he became very angry and his countenance fell.” Anger and a fallen countenance – the two most common signs of depression. Cain was depressed.

And then God gives Cain His counsel for depression – verse 6,7 – “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you but you must master it.” God says, if you do what is right then you will feel better. We live at a time where the secular counsel is “You can’t do what is right until you feel better – so here are some medications and when you feel like it, then return to your regular activities.”

Now, I am not against medications. But my point is – in faith, we have to believe that God’s counsel is truth. He says to do what is right (if you do well) – do what I command you to do. Apparently Cain knew what God instructed for an offering and he chose to offer something different. God told him to do what he had been instructed and his feelings would improve. That goes along with our faith definition – if we obey, no matter how we feel, our feelings will follow. Now we know God’s counsel for depression – do what is right – obey me – know my Word and do it – and your countenance will be lifted – the depression will lift.

If you feel like God is not answering your prayers remember that God never does not answer prayer. Perhaps the answer you desire is not the answer He has given, but I am pretty sure He has answered it. We often expect God to give us what we ask for and we do that taking passages like Matthew 7:7-11 out of context. Prayer is not to bend God’s will towards ours, but to bend our will towards God. When we pray for His will, when we ask for things that He would desire in our lives, then we see the positive answers that we are looking for.

Perhaps you are praying for the depression to lift or the anger to dissipate. Of course these are good things, but often times the Lord has a purpose for these emotions – to get our attention to an area of our life that is lacking. If he takes away the trial, you may never learn the lesson. In addition, when you submit to God, even when the trial is heavy and burdensome (remember the garden of Gethsemane and Christ) then you are becoming like Jesus and God is using that situation for good in the conforming process. (Romans 8:28,29)

If you feel like God is ignoring you remember that God never ignores His children – Philippians 4:6 commands us to bring our prayers to Him. So in faith, even when you don’t feel like it, in obedience you need to continue to bring your requests to Him. He has given you the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:3-5) and one of the Spirit’s responsibilities is to bring your prayers before the Father, especially during times of great distress (Romans 8:26,27). So in faith, you need to believe that you have not been abandoned or ignored.

If you feel like God is not helping you I need to ask you what your definition of help is – has He not given the life of His only Son for you? I think this is a matter of perspective. Often times when our trial does not dissipate we associate that with a lack of love or interest/involvement on God’s part. But James tells us that we are to consider it joy when we are in the trial, knowing that the testing of our faith is producing endurance and that endurance is so that we can be perfect and complete (James 1:2-12). So God is working in you through this trial – perhaps it is to make more of Himself and to make you more dependent on His counsel and guidance. But you have the responsibility to know Who God is and what He offers you. You do this through the study of His Word and then the practical application of it. This James passage is actually a wonderful one…please read it!

If you feel like God has abandoned you and that He doesn’t care at all or if you wish to be separated from knowledge of Him then you have bought into Satan’s lies and it is darkening your understanding of God. Stick with the basics – do you take lightly the sacrifice made on your behalf? How can you honestly accuse God of not caring when your salvation cost Him the life of His Son? I know that when you are in the valley of the shadow of death that it is a lonely and frightening place to wander through, but as David says, you need to fear no evil. Let God’s rod and staff guide you and comfort you. Don’t turn on the most precious and most important relationship in your life. You must stop living in the here and now and set your eyes on eternity. Colossians 3:1-4 tells us to set our minds on the things above and not on the things that are on the earth – we must live with an eternal perspective, which will put the earthly difficulties into proper perspective.

You are not abandoned. You are not alone. You are greatly loved by God. He is intensely and intricately involved in your life. Just because you can’t see Him doesn’t mean He’s not there. What does your pursuit of God look like? Is it prayer? I like to refer to our relationship with God as a two-sided conversation. If you spend a lot of time in prayer, then you are doing all the talking and the relationship will never grow. You have to let Him do some of the talking – actually most of it! How do you do this? By being in His Word. Everything He wants you to know about Him is in there. What makes Him angry, what brings Him joy, how He feels about you, what He desires for you – it’s all in there. If you take your eyes off of yourself and put them on God, and if you study the Word seeking to see HIM and NOT the solution to your problems, you will find that things will change for you.

You do not need to stay where you are – your life doesn’t have to be crippled by anger and depression. The process of change is not an easy one, however. It would be so nice if we could just sprinkle fairy dust over our heads and everything would be fine, but that’s not life. But you have everything you need for a good life and for godliness (II Peter 1:2,3) and that is in the Word of God with the power of the Holy Spirit intervening and giving understanding. If you have these two things, you can put aside the lies of Satan and change your life. But you have to roll up your sleeves and determine not to buy into the lies that you have embraced any longer. Believing these lies is sin and you need to confess this sin to God. Then in faith, make the choice to believe God’s Word and act on it, NO MATTER HOW YOU FEEL, trusting that God’s way is best.

Below is a list of some Scripture that may help in seeking God’s will and involvement in your life.

• Read Ephesians 4:17-32 – how a person changes and grows – list what you should put off and what you should put on – any time you take off a sinful characteristic, you must replace it with a godly one – what do you need to put off in your life? What should you put on?

• Romans 8:31-39 – this is a great passage to pray over – use His Words – do you believe these to be true? Is God a liar?

• Read through the book of John (gospel) and journal – Who is Jesus? Who does He claim to be? Who do others say He is? Once you see Who He is, how does that relate to you? How can He be these things to you?

• Read through the book of Proverbs and list out the characteristics of a foolish man and a wise man. Which list do you find yourself on?

• Read through Psalm 119 – what benefit does the Word of God have in the life of a believer?

• Read Matthew 6:25-34. Summarize the teaching. How can you practically apply this to your life?

• Read I Corinthians 13:4-8. List out what love is and what it isn’t. Then journal how God has displayed His love through His Word (for each word on your list) and then write out how you need to show love to Him practically for each word. For example, because love is PATIENT I will show my love for God by patiently waiting for Him to work in my life as this time of difficulty continues. Because love is KIND, I will speak kindly of God to myself and others, focusing on His goodness and what He has afforded me through salvation. Because love is NOT JEALOUS, I will not look at others who are prospering and long for their lives, but I will thank the Lord for the life He has given me and I will list out my blessings every morning when I rise…etc.

THE TESTIMONY OF JESSE ARMSTRONG

Proverbs 16:9 says, “The mind of a man plans his way but the Lord directs his steps.”

Jesse Armstrong planned to be a career missionary to Russia but at 38 he and his family are now back in the states because he has ALS. Lou Gehrig’s Disease has ravaged his body now to the point that he can no longer walk or talk or even write. He is a prisoner in his own body. Our pastor asked him to give his testimony. Using a computer with an electronic device attached to his forehead, he was able to type these words which our pastor read to us in the service the Sunday before Thanksgiving. May it encourage you to live for Him today but with the mindset that you could meet Him tomorrow.

"In the book of James we are reminded that our life on this earth is nothing more than a vapor or whiff of lingering smoke from an already extinguished fire. Many of us are familiar with this nugget of Truth. But in comparison, very few have grasped its meaning to the point that it has become motivation to live today with the conviction that tonight they might meet their Creator. Barring the rapture of the Church each of us will face death. Some will face death by accident, others by surprise, others on purpose. Based upon my observation of how the world is making decisions today, I would have to say that most people (Christians included) do not lead their life with the realization that eternity is just around the corner. There are a few, however, that have been chosen by the Lord to carry about in their bodies a constant reminder of the difference between the temporal and the eternal. I am among these chosen few. There is no earthly joy or pleasure in the difficulties surrounding ALS or any disease or ailment for that matter. The only real joy or comfort we, the chosen few that are Christians, have is:

From within--the peace that passes all our understanding.
From without--the acts of love that others show to us as individuals and to our families.

As you have blessed us in so many ways by showing us your love in tangible ways, please allow us to be a blessing to you by serving as a living reminder that this life is, oh, so temporary.

Live for Him today, expecting to meet Him tomorrow."