“For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect: and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.” Psalm 139: 13-18 People tend to fight for things that they see a potential value in and that will grow into something great. People fight for marriages, relationships, families, and things they treasure and believe in. These are things that are WORTH fighting for. An unborn child, voiceless, helpless, formed in the womb by God in heaven, created with unique purpose and life- is no less worth fighting for than those things. I feel even more compelled to fight for these precious unborn babies because they cannot speak for themselves.
John Wesley once said, "What one generation tolerates, the next will embrace." I’ve never seen a sadder time than when killing the unborn, classified as “tissue”, is okay. This “tissue” starts having a heart beat at 18 days old. We consider when the heart stops beating that one is dead, shouldn’t we consider when a heart starts beating that a child is alive? Most women don’t even know they’re pregnant when the child is 18 days old. Shouldn’t we be more bothered by this than we are? David Platt describes abortion as a “modern day holocaust”, yet many are so care-free about the issue. There are approximately 125,000 abortions done EACH DAY in the world. Each day. I’ll give you a minute to let that actually sink in. I understand accidents happen in women’s lives, and I’m not judging your situation if you are one of those women. I’m not pretending to ignore or even understand the injustices and accidents that happen to the women that get pregnant by accident. However, abortion is not and never has been the answer. And if you are one of those women, I want you to know I am sincerely praying for you that God will help you through whatever you are facing that got you into the situation you are in, and that He will guide you personally and carefully during this time of your life. Life is precious, and so is the child you are carrying no matter what the circumstance. In a time when life has become de-valued, and when we have become callused to feeling alarm at the thought of abortion, I encourage you to take a stand with me. Fight for the lives of these voiceless children. Pray for these children, the mothers, and families involved. Ask God what He is wanting you to do to stand against this injustice and inhumane act we have actually legalized in our own country. Martin Luther said, “He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.” I refuse to cooperate and accept the norm in society that abortion is okay and even normal. The value of a life is invaluable, and absolutely worth fighting for.
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You've may have heard of the quote "My secret is simple, I pray." A lot of people will look at the Christian and ask, "How are you still holding it all together when everything is falling apart?" The answer is spending time with Jesus. Spending time with Him will transform your outlook on life. You usually get what you put into something. If you invest you're time in Jesus, He is sure to move in your life. It's amazing what spending a little time with Jesus will do for your day. Are we really so busy we can't make time for the Maker of Time? We owe the Him at least that much, but really even more. ❤️ {Luke 10:38-42} #ChooseTheBetterPart I think sometimes we forget that God is for us when sometimes it feels there are so many things working against us. We've all had those days that seem like things couldn't get any worse, and suddenly things just get worse. It's been quoted, read, and posted many times about "If God is for us who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31).
It's so important for the children of God to know He is for us. Reader, God is for you. "And we know that all things work together for good to them who love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28). God is for you, and He's working for your good. I know sometimes things just look bad. I know. Sometimes things happen all at one time. I think about Job and how in one day his whole life seemingly fell apart. Yet, he still said, "He knoweth the way that I take: when he has tried me, I shall come forth as gold" (Job 23:10). God knows exactly where you're walking even if you don't. Even when you can't feel God moving and working things out for your good- He is. Job said in Job 23:8-9, "Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him: "On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him." Note where Job says, "where he doth work, but I cannot behold him." Job knew God was at work, he just couldn't see it. Even when you feel lost in the plan of God - He has a plan and He's working it for your good. He's for you. God is not against you. He sent His only Son for you, and Jesus is walking with you through this trial. "When I cry unto thee, then shall my enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me" (Psam 56:9). Do you know God is for you? Child of God- You can trust that He is! God is for you, God is working what you are facing for your good, and God loves you more than any one person on earth ever could. "Lift up the hands which hang down," (Hebrews 12:12) and be encouraged because GOD IS FOR YOU. I Thessalonians 5:18 "In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." I normally include verses 16-17 whenever I refer to this verse, but I want to focus specifically on this one for a minute. In everything give thanks! Lately I've had an overwhelming thankfulness to the Lord for simply being God in my life. The other day I was praying and I began to think of just how precious He has been to me all my life, even since the day I was born. He's kept me so many times and held me even when I wanted I wanted to let go. He's teaching me even on the hard days that He is constant in my life and He is always here, walking through life with me. I can't help but think of this song, "My Testimony" by Marvin Sapp. Although he wrote it, I can't help but thinking that the words are my testimony also. I know life brings ups and downs, and life can't be a constant mountain top experience for us to really grow. But whether you're in the valley, on the mountain, or climbing out of the valley to get to the mountain- Give thanks! God is so good, and He's working EVERYTHING for your good (Romans 8:28). Nothing is wasted with God. Not one experience and not one heartbreak is wasted. Not one second of the time you wait for promises or answers is wasted with our Almighty God. Give thanks! Just remember all He has already done for you. Is it really worth it to turn back now? No. Not ever. Look back at His faithfulness, and remember the battles you thought you couldn't make it through- but you did. The devil is a liar, and God can bring you through this battle too. This song may talk about already coming through a trial, but this song is for all the things God has already brought me through. Im so thankful and I never would've made it without Him! I also know that with Him, I will make it through what I'm facing now!🙌🏼❤️ In Christ AloneHappy New Year! It's hard to believe 2015 has come and gone so fast! I have a tendency to look back at the end of the year over of all that has happened- the good and the bad. I love looking back and seeing the times I didn't understand what was happening and then later seeing how God WAS indeed working in ways that I couldn't see at the time. It encourages me to trust Him in present situations.
I also look back through the year and evaluate my walk with Christ. I really never think I'm close enough to Him or finally perfected as a Christian, but looking back over this year I am so ashamed of my lack of desire for more of Him. I can think of so many times when I should've sought Him more and desired a closer, deeper walk with Him and I simply chose to stay where I was. In fact, looking back I feel like I became so complacent spiritually, to the point where I had no desire to grow. I can see where I have settled so much in my Christian walk my devotion has faded into a lukewarm state. This evaluation has stirred me so deeply, I know I can't stay in this place anymore. I've tried figuring out what exactly caused me to become so satisfied spiritually, and I've come to the conclusion that I lost my hope. I realize I let unanswered prayers and dreams disappoint me so much to the point I stopped believing in them. And I gave up on them. I realize that living without hope is no life for a Christian at all. Hope is what keeps the heart alive. So while praying the new year in, I poured out my heart to God once again. Firstly, I repented of becoming lukewarm. I hate the thought of not caring about being close to Him. And that's exactly what happened to me. Secondly, I asked God to give me hope. Or really to revive hope inside me. I feel like Jesus Himself spoke to my heart while praying, and told me the greatest hope I will ever have is the promise that I will see Him one day. I felt His presence so close to me while praying, that although I couldn't see Him in the room with me- I know He was there. I felt hope arise in my soul because, Oh how I long to see the one my soul loves! My hope doesn't come from answered prayers and fulfilled dreams- although I put those things in His hands- my hope is in Jesus Christ. In Christ alone my hope is found. "The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him." Lamentations 3:24 "...Lay hold upon the hope set before us: "Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil:" Hebrews 6:18-19 In this new year, let us "lay hold upon the hope set before us" - the hope that is found in Christ alone! It's officially 22 days until Christmas, and for some reason this year and am EXTREMELY excited about it. 😂 I have about half of my Christmas shopping finished. So hopefully I will get the rest done soon. 😳 I also haven't gotten tired of Christmas music yet. 👍😂
So at the moment I am sitting on the floor by our Christmas tree and I noticed one of our ornaments that says, "Peace". I was reminded of something the Lord did for me last year during a very hard time for me. It was during a bitter trial, and I had asked God for His peace to cover all my pain. I prayed this for 6 months expecting an answer sooner than that, but God has perfect timing. In fact, I started praying for peace in January. After several hopeless months with no answer in my heart, I pressed towards youth camp in June - knowing how greatly God moves there I felt He just HAD to give me what I needed then. But - He didn't. Youth camp was AWESOME. But He didn't give me what my heart had been asking. Another month passed, and it was during a church service in July. I don't remember anything specific about the service - I don't remember a single song, testimony, or the message. I just remember going to the altar like other times and as I knelt I said, (again I said these words like I had prayed a thousand times before) "Thank You God for not giving me what I thought I wanted." In an instant- and I mean immediately - Peace entered my heart and cleared me of all bitterness, anxiety and fear. I found it odd that He chose then to give my heart the peace it craved, but nonetheless ever since then His peace has been constantly in my heart. Yes- New troubles have arisen since then. Every now and again I can feel the bitterness try to come back- but His peace gently covers it all in the moment I am tempted. As Christmas nears, I think of the verse that says "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." Luke 2:14. These words were spoken by an angel to the shepherds telling them that Jesus had been born- Peace had come for all. I think of the instance God gave me His peace in my heart - how GRATEFUL I am for that. I'm not sure why I had to wait for 6 months. But if anything, I went for 6 months without that peace, praying and fighting every day for it. I can now be even more grateful for His peace because I know what it is like to be without it. Isn't that why we treasure Gods grace so much? Knowing what it is like to be lost- without God in our lives- this is what makes Grace so precious. That is what makes God so precious. Do we deserve Him and His gifts of peace, love, and grace? No. Everything we did without God was definitely not deserving of any of that. The wonderful thing about being found, is knowing what it is like to be lost. ❤️ Don't be ashamed of your past. I had a lot of bitterness in my heart during that trial, I'm ashamed to say how bad it got. But because I experienced great bitterness, I can now appreciate Gods peace more than I ever have in my walk with Him. To this day, I will never understand the meaning of all the trials I face. But I am so thankful for God's peace that passes all understanding! Praying everyone has a blessed week, and praying His peace covers each of you during whatever you are facing. This song I posted below came on the radio today and I've had it on my heart since. I've talked some already in my post about Considering Jesus how life can become so distracting and full of troubles that I forget to keep my eyes on Him. I've been guilty of becoming so focused on my problems, my critics, even myself, that I lose sight of the most important One in my life. Truly, I never want to neglect the One who's never neglected me. I know life can be stressful, but it's nothing compared to what my life would be WITHOUT Him. The song I am sharing is called "On Fire" and to just have a moment of honesty here- I can't even say how convicting the song is for me. The song is talking about losing your fire for God, and telling you to remember Him, and turn your eyes on Him. For some reason, ever since I graduated life has been a speedy blur. I can't count the countless times I've taken my eyes away from Him and been overwhelmed by a situation or circumstance and began to not only doubt Him but turn away completely. If I were honest with you, there have been more times I've wanted to give up on life in the last two years than in my whole life. I guess that's becoming an adult, haha! Yet- in all of it. God has not forgotten me. And He has kept me, held me, in times of sorrow or trial. Through it all He sends me His love through things like this song that came on today, or a Word from the scriptures, or a letter from a friend. Also- note to all- especially if you are a young person . I'm not writing this to discourage you about life. I'm here to tell you that even when life causes you to feel hopeless, Jesus is still there, and He never changes, and His promises to you are forever true. I'm here to tell you when you focus your eyes on Him- suddenly everything else dims in light of His eternal glory and somehow, through everything around you He gives you strength and faith to press on. :) "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds." Hebrews 12:2-3 KJV Tonight I'm going to share one of my devotionals with you. :) so this may be a shorter post! The title of it is "What is the use of Praying" and the key text is from Luke 18:9-14 which talks about comparing the prayers of the vain Pharisee and the humble sinner. Here's the devotional :) ~ Andrew Carnegie, the wealthy steel magnate of a past generation once remarked to a group of men that he did not feel the need of prayer. "What is the use of praying?" he asked. "I already have everything I want. What more could I ask for?" One of his hearers remarked, "Perhaps, sir, you might pray for the grace of humility." The person who thinks he does not need to pray does not understand the meaning of communion with God. The purpose of prayer is not to get something from God but to allow God to make us into the kind of men he would have us become. We are prodigal sons if our only words to our Father are "Give me." We begin to be true sons if we kneel before him and humbly say, "Make me." One thing prayer can most certainly do is change the spirit of man who prays in sincerity and in truth. ~ My personal prayer for me and you today is that in the midst of our requests to God, we continually ask Him, "Lord, please keep making me." ❤️ "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. "For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds." Hebrews 12:1-3 These are some of my favorite scriptures! For several reasons, but every time I get in a "stand still" place spiritually I go back to these and the Lord helps me to press on.
It seems - at least around here where I am - a lot of people are going through some hard things. We've had two deaths recently in our church-related family and there's several fighting cancer and it seems like I just look around and see the church weighted down. Not giving up- just with a heavy load. I also see where some Christians are struggling to keep the fight of faith. Even though not all these things are directly affecting me, I feel like I bear a part of the burden. I can feel the heaviness and I pray so much that God will give us a time of reaping after sowing so many tears. The Bible talks about "those that sow in tears shall reap in joy" (Psalm 126:5). All the while these things are happening, I am facing my own struggles. I mainly struggle in my mind- the devil is always trying to give me reason to doubt God, doubt His love and divine plan for my life, and the devil tries make me think everyone else is against me. Believe it or not, the battles are a lot more real than the words I'm writing. And lately I haven't just really felt the strong presence of God all around me. I know we aren't to live by feelings and I'm not always going to feel Him like I do when I'm spiritually on a mountain top, but it is nice to feel Him with me. Somehow, even though I can't always "feel" or "see" God working there's always something inside me saying, "I know You're here, God." The verses I quoted from Hebrews are my fallback when I am in struggling times. No matter what I face, or where I'm at- whether studying for a math test or fighting all hell in my mind- when I picture the cross...When I just picture Jesus, carrying that old rugged cross, bleeding, suffering, with stripes on his back and a crown of thorns on his head. When I think that "for the joy that was set before him [he] endured the cross." When I think about these things my soul cannot be silent; it cannot be still. I must go on. The Bible says to "consider him" that endured lest you become weary and faint in your minds. Every time I stop and consider Jesus, I feel strengthened and press on in His name. I remember the reason I started this race - because of His precious love for me. And His love compels me to keep going. (2 Corinthians 5:14). I challenge you to take time to "Consider Jesus" today, and remember why you started this race that is set before us. Well, here goes my first blog! Honestly I can't even say how excited I am and how blessed I feel to write this, because starting a blog has kind of been one of my dreams to do! :) I have so many things the Lord has done for me or shown me that I have been wanting to share for some time. I'm thankful through all the waiting on God to open doors for me, that there finally is a "time to every purpose" (Ecclesiastes 3:1). I feel like this is the time for me to start this blog, and I pray most of all that it will in some way bless you and encourage you in the Lord.
I decided to start off with the meaning of the name of my blog: A Door Keeper. To some of you this phrase probably rings a bell because the Bible talks about being a door keeper in Psalms. "For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness." (Psalms 84:10) To think that David - the King at this time, wrote this Psalm is very humbling. As King he held the highest position in the kingdom, yet he is saying he would rather take a position as a door-keeper for the Lord than spend time with the ungodly. No one comes to see the door keeper. People come to church to hear the singing, the preaching, the teaching. People may glance and occasionally greet a door keeper, but the moment is soon forgotten. To be frank, a door-keeper is a very lowly job. David is willing to lose his position and be this?? I feel like David knew that riches, wealth, and power did not compare to having the Lord, and if the Lord wanted anything, anything at all, David was willing to step down or step up to wherever the Lord had need. What if you woke up one morning and God spoke, "I need a door keeper." How many of us would jump up and say "Here am I Lord" then? So often I feel like the lowest, most unworthy person serving the Lord. I confess there have been days I would doubt my purpose in life because I feel my work is so little compared to people doing so many "bigger things" for Him. Even doing my all and my best did not seem enough. But then, when I would spend time alone with God in my secret place, God would remind me of His purpose and His love for me. I might be "keeping doors" but I'm keeping doors for the One I love, the One Who gave His life for me. His love compels me to do His bidding even if it is insignificant, impossible, or out of my comfort zone (which is most of the time haha). I would rather hold the lowest position in the house of the Lord than the highest position in this world, for one day with the Lord walking with me is better than a thousand anywhere else without Him. Just having Him is enough. If He calls me to be a door keeper, I will answer the call. I will be faithful to Him keeping doors until He calls me higher. Until then my ear is ever listening for my Shepherd's voice, waiting for Him, for where He leads I will follow. |
AuthorHello! :) Thank you for visiting my blog. Sometimes writing words are easier than saying them. I pray to be an encouragement, a friend, and someone who speaks the truth even if my voice (or pen in hand) shakes. For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. Archives
October 2016
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