Truth Bomb

So, I've been awful at sticking to my previous post. But, I just wanted to send a quick shout-out to the blogging world...

Today I texted Robert - the most wonderful man alive - and said: "Honey, I am having a rough day! Can you just pray for me and my attitude? I love you."

He answers: "I will honey. If the love of God for you was written in ink on the sky it could not contain it. I love you and Jesus loves you infinitely more than I do or could..."

In a text! I cried (...and I was on the phone with someone at work when I looked at the text, so it was a little difficult to finish the call.) How humbling and awesome to consider that truth bomb at 8:30 on a Wednesday morning! That's what marriage is about. That's why marriage is the grace of life! That's why marriage is awesome. God is so good to allow us to glorify Him better together than we can apart! My God is so kind! What a great day!

BLOGOSPHERE

I know absolutely no one reads this anymore since I haven't posted in months...but, I really want to get back into the blogging world! I blog stalk all day at work, in between phone calls. It's so good to keep up with people, or "get to know" people who are just way cooler and more creative than you'll ever be. But, without the internet at home it's hard to be on the internet...if you know what I mean. And, it's hard to gather enough thoughts to make a decent post at work - plus, I should probably focus on my work. SO, while I try to develop discipline to make the time to write on here, here's a few of my favorite blogs to enjoy! :)

mrskristencrew.blogspot.com

brannonpeople.blogspot.com

resolved2worship.xanga.com

joannagoddard.blogspot.com

kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com

www.adisciplesnotebook.com

eastasianpeoples@newletter4fun.com

"As a Christian, the young professional Chinese man was appalled to hear of the suicide of several workers in his company earlier this year. Realizing that many of the factory workers feel desperate and have no one to turn to, he now deliberately listens to the concerns of assembly line workers before sharing Scriptures that tell them of eternal hope in Christ Jesus. He takes great delight in conveying the truths of the Gospel again and again. He said, 'I have the most precious bonus. It is invisible but I can feel it! It makes me so happy to tell them that they can have hope in Jesus!'"

How cool. What an eternal hope that we have - it transcends every earthly thing! Our God is good!

From "A Disciples Notebook"

Oh for a heart to praise my God
A heart from sin set free,
A heart that’s sprinkled with the blood
So freely shed for me.

A heart resigned, submissive, meek,
My dear Redeemer’s throne;
Where only Christ is heard to speak,
Where Jesus reigns alone.

A humble, lowly, contrite heart,
Believing, true, and clean,
Which neither death nor life can part
From Him that dwells within.

A heart in every thought renewed
And filled with love divine;
Perfect and right, and pure and good,
A copy, Lord, of Thine.

Thy nature, gracious Lord, impart,
Come quickly from above;
Write Thy new name upon my heart,
Thy new, best name of Love.

Charles Wesley (1707-1788)

Read This

Sometimes I think that this lady is in my mind. The second half of this, about walking in humility...SO GOOD. This is basically what I've been thinking about for quite some time. How can I glorify God more, and why don't I just do it! My sin stinks! - thanks for articulating A. Ann :)

http://resolved2worship.xanga.com/725762524/strawberries-in-the-rain/

Dreadfully Wonderful

"There must ever be a holy fear mixed with the Christian's joy...fear without joy, is torment; and joy, without fear, would be presumption...'Blessed are all they that put their thrust in Him'...Do we trust Him? Our faith may be slender as a spider's thread, but if it be real, we are in our measure blessed...'Lord, increase our faith.'" - Charles Spurgeon, Commentary on the Psalms

The Lord has been teaching me a lot about fear, holy fear, lately. I don't think it was something I ever really thought about, at least correctly, too much. I knew the song from Proverbs 9:10, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Lord is understanding." So, most obviously, I was quite unwise in not considering it too much. I loved the Lord and I trusted Him - why would I fear. The Bible, on so many occasions says that the Christian need not fear, because simply the Lord's name is a strong refuge (Prov. 18:10) and the victory is ours against Satan and his whiles (Eph. 6). I have realized, though, that those who fear the Lord little, have a little God!

God is huge. He is awesome - in every sense of the word! He is holy, and will not be sinned against. I have been reading through the Old Testament, and have seen the laws and ordinances God laid out for the children of Israel. His reasoning behind each of them compares not at all with the statement He consistently makes: "for I am the Lord your God." Done. End of story. He is God - what He does is good because He does it. His actions are just because He is just. He is the definition for those words. His love is great. His wrath is powerful. He is God!

"And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear: fear Him whom, after He has killed, has the power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!" Luke 12:4-5

I think we/Me, as believers, tend to think so much about what the world thinks in our approach to the Gospel, seeing it as everything to us, but awkard or possibly inconvenient to share with a coworker or neighbor. And, we get so comfortable just living for the Lord in our fellowhip groups... But when I sit back and really think of, dwell on the character of my God - my eyes well up with tears, my heartbeat increases, and I even get a little sweaty. I can only help but cry out like the tax collector, "God, be merciful to me a sinner!" (Lk. 18:13). Consider God's truth. His attributes. the Cross. Salvation, Election, Sin...Heaven and Hell - eternity! My mind cannot comprehend all of that, let alone be unaffected by it.

In light of all of that, GRACE! I feel like I always come back to grace. My whole life is but God's grace. I cannot explain it, and I surely do not deserve it.

Now, back to Spurgeon: fear and joy. They seem an unlikely pair. (at least to me)

Psalms 2:11, 12b, "Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling...Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him."

To fear the Lord, alone, is terrifying. Without the joy of His grace and mercy and love there is only His holiness of which I fall so desperately short and His eternal wrath is all that there is after this earth. On the other hand, joy, alone, allows me to presume upon the Lord and abuse His grace. Forget that my life is His, bought with a price (1 Cor. 6:19-20) So, we serve Him, because He is God and He is worthy! We rejoice in Him, because despite His awesomeness and our undeservedness, He loved us first! It is vital that as believers we look to our Savior as God! Without Him we will surely perish. By His grace, we are saved. It is a dreadfully wonderful concept

"Blessed are all those who put their thrust in Him." - Lord, increase our faith!

I Will Glory In My Redeemer

The Lord is so good. Isn't He. Perfectly patient, amazingly gracious, merciful, loving, kind, faithful... Much better than Mary Poppins, for He is truly positively perfect in every way - and still, He loves me so!

"For since the beginning of the world men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, nor has the eye seen any God besides You, who acts for the one who waits for Him." Isaiah 64:4

There is no one like our God!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxB_nlUfFrc

Fishes or Snakes

Taken from one of my favorite blogs to stalk: resolved2worship.xanga.com (some emphasis/editing added)

"What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a snake; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!" (Luke 11:11-13)

I thought how ironic. I had to ask myself, "Why is it that when I ask God for a "fish" it seems like there are times that I get a snake!"

I mean, there have been times, even this past week where I prayed, I asked for a certain something, a "fish." And it really seemed like God answered with a "snake."

Then something hit me. The answer that I thought was a snake, REALLY was a fish. Yes, it really was - is - always is.

And I think just because God didn't answer the way I thought, or because He allowed something I thought shouldn't have happened happen, that I was getting a snake! And HOW could God do that to me! ? !

Thing is I've got pretty foggy eyes. It really is a fish, even if it looks like a snake to me and feels like a snake to me. Thing is, I don't have the mind of God. Generally, I have the mind of self. My flesh thinks God's answer should look like and feel like what I think it should look like and feel like. It should always feel good, right? And it should always look good, right? Because that's what's good for me, right?

(in the background of my mind I am suddenly hearing that old country song, "I Thank God For Unanswered Prayers.")

For the first time I think ever, these verses are hitting me differently - my heavenly Father truly does give a "fish" when I ask Him - He gives what is good. ALWAYS. Does it look and feel good to me? No. But it is good. And like any father who gives good gifts to his children, it's out of love.

But what if it doesn't feel like love?

I'll tell you why it doesn't feel like love - it's because I've got nose-on-the-dot-on-the-chalk-board-syndrome...You don't see the row of dots 'cause your nose is stuck in that one dot in the line of dots on the chalk board.

I've lost all eternal perspective.

So what may look like a snake to me, is actually just my perspective based on living for myself. If I could see how God sees things - with an eternal perspective - how different I would see what comes my way in life. How different I would see His gifts. . .

How completely I would understand His love for me, His vision for me. How much more freely I would live in His grace. How peaceful my heart would remain no matter what came my way.

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My Reflections:

1. I DON'T HAVE THE MIND OF GOD! (Isaiah 55:10-11) and Praise the Lord that I don't, because so many would be missing out on God's best for them! Everything would be a mess. I would be a basketcase if I always got what I wanted, when I wanted it...I am far too easily pleased, as it is!

2. I have the mind of self! (Phil. 2:1-8 [v 2, 3, and 5: "...fulfill my joy by being like-mided, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself...Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,"]) This is one of those things that will not be perfectly achieved in this lifetime (like be holy, as I am holy!) but that I am to be constantly striving for. Having Christ's mind to exalt the Father in ALL things and loving others more than myself - aren't theses the greatest commandments?!

3. My perspective, based on living for myself, is going to be skewed 100% of the time! Having an eternal perspective, "the mind of Christ," changes everything. Then, we can say like Paul, "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Phil. 1:21. Only when we live for Christ is dying gain. In all things we are to be looking to our future goal - becoming like Chrsit, being with Christ, the glory of the Father! EveryTHING and everyone else are all just extra blessings from God. He is so good and so faithful! Each trial, each new joy, that flat tire, the promotion at work, no internet, free ice cream - all fish!! Psalms 118:23 "This was the LORD’s doing;It is marvelous in our eyes."


This is not in response to some trial or specific, present instance in my life. I just read her blog, and wanted to share. But, how encouraging to reflect on the Lord's perfect provision for us! And, how convicting to examine our perspectives and see if they align with eternity! God is good!

Random Banter

So...we have no internet for the time being. I try not to be too disheartened, seeing that we were pilfering it from a neighbor. But, nonetheless, I haven't been able to write on my blog (I know all two [if that] of you are so upset!) or check my e-mail. All in all, though, it's been good. I have been getting a lot of reading done! That has been good...I think soon I'm going to start a mini book review blog series - so stay tuned for that gem! haha!

Also, it has given Robert and I an opportunity to get more creative with how we spend our free time. Like, last night, we got an ice cream at McDonalds and sat in the parking lot for an hour and watched this weeks LOST! (really great episode, by the way!) And, when I was sick, a neighbor let me borrow all the seasons of Friends, so we'll watch that now and again. We've also been reading a great book (a little preview of the book reviews :) 50 People Every Christian Should Know. It's fifty short biographies on strong Christians who are great examples in the faith. We recently read Katherine Von Bora (Martin Luther's wife). Wow! So good! And we talk a lot...and take the occasional nap. Mostly, we're just generally really busy...Bible study, Staff meeting, work, seminary, church, Bible study, cooking dinner, pretending like i'm going to work out... We just like any time we have together! So, no complaints on the marriage front.

My friend Ashley had her sweet baby girl, Reese Lanae Mehringer; I can't wait to meet her. And, I got to go to the park with my neighbor Marie and her son Jude the other day, too. That was fun. When I was kid parks were not this cool, which is why we played things like hot lava, instead of doing the actualy park activities! This park had a rock wall and this really neat spinny thing...I couldn't enjoy that for too long, because apparently I had/have verdigo?!

As far as those of you who thought we might be moving...we thought so too, and now we don't know. We're not too worried about it, though. It may or may not work out, but it will definitely be for our good - because God is for us (Rom. 8:31)! Tim and Joni will be here on the 8th of April! We're going to go to the melting pot! And, it's just good to see family, in general. So, all in all, life is just really great, because God is so good to us! And this is God's world (shout out to 180 staff)!

This was the LORD's doing; and it is marvelous in our sight. This is the day that the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Ps. 118:23-24

Unite My Heart

“I will confess to you that over and over I am personally driven to do what I trust you may be led to do today. I look back on my life, and while I have much to thank God for, much in which to see His Spirit’s hand, yet when I feel my responsibilities and my shortcomings, my heart sinks within me. When I think of my transgressions, better known to myself than to anyone else, and remember, too, that they are not known even to me as they are to God, I feel all hope swept away and my soul left in utter despair, until I come anew to the cross and think of who it was who died there and why He died and what designs of infinite mercy are answered by His death.
It is so sweet to look up to the Crucified One again and say, ‘I have nothing but You, my Lord, no confidence but You. If you are not accepted as my substitute, I must perish; if God’s appointed Savior is not enough I have no other. But I know You are the Father’s well-beloved, and I am accepted in You. You are all I want and all I have.”
Charles Spurgeon

If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared. Psalm 130:3-4 (ESV)

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O praise the One, Christ Jesus, my Savior and my Lord, who willingly paid the perfect price for my sin. O God, I want to love you more. I want to know you more. O Lord, I am in such need of you - great, daily need. You are so good and I am not.

Psalms 86:10-12, "Teach me your way, O Lord; I will walk in your truth; UNITE MY HEART TO FEAR YOUR NAME. I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify Your name forever more. For great is your mercy towards me, and You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol."

Take At Least This Second To Worship

HALLELUJAH!

The Lord is so good!

"Bless the LORD, O my soul! O Lord my God, You are very great; You are clothed with splendor and majesty," Psalms 104:1

the end.

Grace to You

"This is Grace to You. How can I help you?"

"This is Grace to You. How can I help you?"

I have said those two sentences over 500 times in the last few days - literally. John MacArthur and Phil Johnson have been doing a three part interview on the radio, "Answering the Big Questions About the Sovereignty of God," and everyone who hears the interview and calls in can receive it for free. Well that's great, of course. The interview is excellent - about God's sovereign control over absolutely everything: evil, government, salvation, nature...(Psalms 118:23, Mark 12:11) and, it is good. All things are for God's glory and our good. Everything past, present, and future has been so that the works of God might be wrought (John 9)! How awesome and amazing and marvelous!!!

Yet, I am so selfish. And after two days of madness I thought that my job was about me and how I felt instead of God sovereignly orchestrating every conversation. Everyone wants to tell me how they stumbled upon our broadcast, and I just want to say ok just let me give you the free offer... And when people ask me "How are you?" I want to say overwhelmed, busy, blah, blah, blah... And wow, what a selfish and prideful person I am; what a sinner. And I saw my fleshly desires overcoming me and so I asked my friend Hannah to pray for me to be patient and kind, to portray the character of Christ to these people on the phone. And she so graciously reminded me that our answer to how we are doing should always be: "Better than I deserve"

I am a sinner saved by grace, I am doing wwaaaaayyyy better that I deserve. The God of the universe who is working all things at all time for His glory and my good is on my side (Romans 8:31)! He is good and gracious and I have so many opportunities to display His character and grace in my life. Praise God from whom all blessings flow and how blessed we are!

Pray Without Ceasing

Charles Spurgeon on Prayer:
"There are two prayers always worth praying, 'Lord, show me myself,' and 'Lord,
show me thyself.' May both be heard, and you will be well taught of God!"

"We may be certain that whatever God has made prominent in His Word, He
intended to be conspicuous in our lives. If He has said much about prayer, it is
because He knows we have much need of it."

"Did not our Saviour say that “men ought always to pray, and not to faint;” and did he not imply, by that form of expression, that, if they did not pray, they would be sure to faint?"

"A sigh, a sob, is the most you can get out. But a mother would sooner hear her own
child sob than another child sing. There is a music about that dear child’s voice
that moves her heart and touches her spirit. And so the inward moanings of a
broken heart are music in the ears of the Infinite Jehovah, and he accepteth the
sincere prayers of his people, let them be as broken as they may."

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Our God is so faithful to hear our prayers, Christ is so gracioust to intercede on our behalf, and the Spirit is so persistent in making our need for it known.

James 5:16b, "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much."
Thankfully, as I am His, Christ's righteousness is mine; and the God of all creation, King of Kings, Lord of Lords knows my heart and hears my prayers!

Married at the Marriot

"And Adam said: 'This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman because she was taken out of Man.' Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh..."

AMEN!

This was our first married Valentines Day, and it was wonderful! Robert and I went to San Diego and stayed downtown at the beautiful Marriot Hotel and Marina. I loved the city (and the fact that it was clean). I loved seeing the lights, and being able to walk everywhere. I loved the whole mood of the town - the tall, sleek buildings, the weather. I loved not going to work. But most of all I loved being with my husband. Being married is pretty much the greatest thing on the earth. What a blessing from the Lord to get to share your life, every day, with the one you love! We could have stayed at the romantic Castaic Inn (which is this hilarious little motel with like an 8"x10" swimming pool, an advertised 27" in-room tv, and a blinking red sigh that says ROMANTIC as you pull into the truck stop that so happens to be our exit off of the 5. It's priceless. You have to see it for yourself.) and had the most amazing time. But, the Lord was so gracious to us in allowing us to stay in such a gorgeous location and enjoy each other to the fullest!

We walked to breakfast. We went shopping. We ate amazing food - a lot of food - too much food! We went to the beach, saw a touch of the olympics, and smiled at each other. I called my mom the day before and just told her how excited I was to get away and just be with the hubs. And she laughed, fully knowing that we really have nothing to "get away" from, but totally understanding how great these special times are!

So, home is certainly where the heart is. I do miss my family and my friends daily, and terribly. But goodness, I sure do love this boy that I married. I am so proud of him and all of his hard work, and so very thankful for all the grace that God has given us.

Lastly, I wanted to add that we have decided to hire Isabell to travel with us, because we are wretched picture takers :)

Grace That Is Greater Than All Our Sins

"When I think about the Lord, how He saved me, how He raised me...it makes me want to SHOUT! Hallelujah!" (shout out LU, Sounds, full-scholarships, and clothing stipend!)

Thinking on the Lord, and the work that He has done and is continuously doing in my life, though, does make me want to shout, "Hallelujah! Thank you, Jesus! Lord you're worthy...!"

I have been reading and thinking about how great the Lord is and how terrible I truly am. Paul writes in 1 Timothy 1:14-16, "And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life."

In the past, as I have considered this verse, I always thought that Paul was referring to his previous iniquities and the persecuting of the believers in the early church. But, I was wrong. Paul was referring to the deceitfulness he could see in his own heart. He could not imagine that someone else could be as proud, self-righteous, selfish...fill in the blank, whatever the sins of the heart are. And, I, too, am just beginning to see that in my own life. How could one be as prideful and self-interested as me. On the outside, I seem nice enough, sure. But all my righteousness is as a filthy rag (Isaiah 64:6). My actions, my words, my thoughts, and even my motives are in constant need of God's grace and forgiveness.

But, praise be to God for His unspeakable glory and grace. The Bible teaches that my sin has been entirely paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ. Hebrews 10:14, "For by a single offering He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified." What great news. His perfect life, shed blood, and resurrection is sufficient for my past, present, and future sin! "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit." Romans 8:1. Truly, this is the greatest peace in the life of a believer. Every ounce of God's perfect, holy wrath was poured out on on His Son. At the same time, every act of righteousness performed by Jesus Christ stands in my stead!

The Word of God is so clear - and what a great revelation it is. Satan can attack us and tempt us to look at ourself and enter into a state of condemnation, but he can never diminish the work that Christ did on the cross. The devil tries to steal our joy and make us ineffective for the cause of Christ. Instead, conviction leads us to Christ and the cross. Focusing on His love for us changes our woes into the perfection of the saints. Surely we should not make light of our sin so that grace might abound more (Rom. 6:1). But it is imperative to recognize the forgiveness and grace that comes with knowing the Lord as Savior. Sanctification is ongoing in the life of a believer. Glory be to God, that He gives us the grace to persevere. We are closer to our salvation - future glorification - than we ever have been. To know the Lord and to be perfected by His grace is AMAZING.

Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt!
Yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured,
There where the blood of the Lamb was spilled.

Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that is greater than all our sin.

Sin and despair, like the sea waves cold,
Threaten the soul with infinite loss;
Grace that is greater, yes, grace untold,
Points to the refuge, the mighty cross.

Dark is the stain that we cannot hide.
What can avail to wash it away?
Look! There is flowing a crimson tide,
Brighter than snow you may be today.

Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace,
Freely bestowed on all who believe!
You that are longing to see His face,
Will you this moment His grace receive?

Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that is greater than all our sin.

With this confidence...

So many things...the Lord has been teaching me so so many things.

One of my favorite verses/passages is John 15, when John writes about the joy of abiding in the Lord. I just love that idea of resting in the Lord. Really, what other choice do I have, to fight against His will or to assist Him in accomplishing it in my life - no! But then somehow (flesh nature) I got too comfortable. Not the Paul kind of contentment that is to be emulated in Phil 4:11-13, but the kind where I forgot about verse thirteen - to rely on the Lord who is continuously strengthening me in all things.

Another thing I forgot about was the devil. I have known the Lord since I was almost five! And I love Him, and I love serving Him, and I know that "greater is He that is in me, then he that is in the world" (1 John 4:4). But, I moved and I was lonely and I was tired, and I doubted Him that was in me and really started relying on my own strength. Then, Satan saw my weakness, because he knows us, and he attacked. It hurt, and it was hard! It became so much more difficult for me to find joy in the Lord and to take Him at His Word - to be the God that He has said He is and that He has always been. I was so distraught, because I thought that I was too smart to fall for any of Satan’s lies; I started to question things that had always been my greatest confidence.

I cried out to the Lord, but felt like He couldn't hear me. I felt faint and weak and literally wouldn't be encouraged. Thankfully, God is so so gracious and patient! He is good and He is faithful. So, I searched and scoured the Word, begging the Lord for a solace for my soul. I looked to David, the man after God's own heart, who wept before the Lord - to feel His presence (Ps. 42, PS. 139...). Also, Peter. He walked on water and doubted, he was the leader of the apostolic church and he denied the Lord three times. 1 Peter has such an encouragement to me throughout the past few months. For it is faith that endures to the end that saves: Jude 22-24, Hebrews 10:22-23.

In light of all of this, I must gird myself with the armor of God! Ephesians 6 is so specific about the attacks of the devil and the offense that the believers must take against him. My husband so wisely reminded me that Eve, created in moral perfection, fell for the lies of Satan; who am I to think that I am above such temptation (for even Christ was tempted), and I am one full of my fleshly nature, equipped with pride, selfishness, covetousness…!

So, Eph 4:10-17
- Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might – I must continuously rely on the strength of Lord with which His power strengthens me!
- I battle not against flesh and blood, but against the devil, powers and hosts of wickedness… keep in mind Rom. 8:31 “if God be for us, who can be against us”!!
- Gird my waist with truth: without the knowledge of truth, deceit and lies are just a continuous pattern of life, because our hearts are desperately wicked.
- Put on the breastplate of righteousness: salvation, the blood of the Son, His righteousness in my stead!
- Feet shod with the Gospel of peace: the confidence/foundation that my peace is in Christ
- Above ALL the shield of faith which with to quench the fiery darts: those doubt and danger darts – only faith in God to be Who He says He is can satisfy such attacks! This is so crucial, for it is by faith I am saved, and faith that endures to the end!
- Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit: this is the assurance of our salvation, which is certainly under Satan’s attack. And, the Word of God, which is our weapon of revelation, peace, truth, and sharper than any two-edged sword.

With this confidence I stand, humbled.

For the Sake of Posting

This is a blog that I check every morning. It's encouraging and convicting, and overall really solid and wonderful!

http://www.adisciplesnotebook.com/

And, Keith and Kristyn Getty Hymns (check them all out)

O For A Heart

Oh for a heart to serve my God
A heart that's ever broken to His will
Oh for a heart to serve my God my King
A heart that's ever delighting Him

Oh that I would be made pure
That I would strive to love Him more
That every work of my hands
Would accomplish all His plans
So that He would be glorified

That I would place no other above
That I would die to lift high my God
That every gift I enjoy
Would always be employed
In the service of my faithful Lord

Keith Getty & Margaret Becker
Copyright © 2002 Modern M Music/Thankyou Music

Lastly, something that is always so encouraging in the battle to take every thought captive:

Phil. 4:8-9
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.

xoxo!