Still

Note: This Blog post was written in in September as I was working through some things...I decided to post it for the sheer reason that I wrote it and though I am writing from a different place, the truths the Lord encouraged me with are the same.

Funny things, these blogs. We start writing. We stop. Time passes and we decide to pick it up again. My husband has been encouraging me to write and my excuse is that I never have time. Well, today I am making time because what I want to say cannot be said shortly in a Facebook post. I tend to do my sharing mostly on facebook which is funny because I don't write a lot there. I instead post what I read from others that challenge and encourage me. Today, maybe I can encourage you.

I have been walking through some really stressful things for the last few years. I begin to think I will process out loud. Sometimes I do with friends and family but even then, I find I am very rarely unguarded. I have learned that processing with others needs to happen but that there needs to be great wisdom in who we process with. Some people judge my words and my motives, others listen without comment and allow the Lord to teach me, and others still share their wisdom in gracious and kind ways. I see as the Holy Spirit works in me that I am fearing people less and desiring to share what He is teaching me more.

This morning, I couldn't go back to sleep. My mind was racing and my heart pounding. This last month, my husband and I have made some decisions that have resulted in a myriad of responses. They have been difficult, painful days with me wrestling between resting in the Lord and seeking to please people because I am driven by fear. The Lord, in His kindness, has not left me alone. He has been faithful to send encouragement through books ("Fear and Faith" by Trillia Newbell as well as "1000 Gifts" by Ann Voskamp.), through blogs, and most sweetly, through faithful friends and His unchanging Word.  Today as I was working through I Peter, we looked at the work of the Spirit. In some of the Scriptures we looked at, the Lord used it to encourage my heart and my mind has continued to reflect on them all day.  I have had to stop and take a few minutes to reread them a few times already. The study took me to II Corinthians.

In II Corinthians, Paul is writing again to the church at Corinth. This church had some major issues in the first letter that Paul addressed, but he begins this letter talking about the comforts of Christ in suffering. He talks about the grace and faithfulness of God to keep His promises because they are all "Yes" in Christ. Not only that, but He has given His Spirit as a seal and guarantee that we are recipients of all these sweet promises. He talks in chapter 2 about forgiveness and comforting someone who is repentant and talks about how we are led in triumphant procession to spread the knowledge of Jesus to others. A fragrance of death to death and life to life. What struck me the most, is written in chapter 3- the start of 4.

Paul begins chapter 3 speaking of how our lives are living letters written by the Spirit on our hearts. He goes on to say that the Spirit has made us ministers of a new covenant- a minister of the Spirit not of the letter. He then, says this:

"Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses' face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end,  will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory.
Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." ( II Corinthians 3:7-18)

 The Law was what was carved on the stone. They were the 10 commandments. I find it interesting that Paul speaks of the ministry of the law as the ministry of death. It makes me think of the verses in Romans where Paul talks about the law and its diagnosing us of our sinfulness. (Romans 7: 5, 7-10) The law that promised life if I kept it (Romans 2:13) brought me death because it revealed my sin. (Romans 7:10-13). That doesn't make the law evil or bad, for indeed, it was a glorious thing because of how it was the revealing of our God. Who He is. And in seeing His glory, we recognized the condemnation we deserve because it showed us how sinful and flawed we truly are and there is no way we can be justified by keeping it. (Romans 3:19-20) That is why the ministry of righteousness is so much more glorious. The ministry of righteousness is spoken of in Romans 3: 21-26:

" But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus."

Paul goes on to say that because we have the hope of the ministry of the Spirit, we become bold. Not like Moses who had to hide behind a veil because of the hardness of the Israelites heart. But instead, because of Jesus, we become unveiled and see the glory of God and instead are set free because of Christ. This freedom we find because of the Spirit's ministry of speaking and reminding us of Jesus ( John 14:26) and His work for us leads us to being transformed. Being changed from one image to another. This ministry of the Spirit gives us boldness to speak the Word of God relentlessly, boldly, and unwavering. What is the word we speak? It is not the ministry of death  but instead knowing the glory of God through seeing Christ.

" For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." ~ II Corinthians 4: 5-6

That is the gospel. That is the glorious message we speak. The message that encompasses the whole of Scripture.This is what we speak to unbelievers- though it is the fragrance of death to death because they are perishing ( II Cor. 2:16a)and the gospel is veiled to them (though if the gospel is veiled to them it is because the god of the world is blinding them from seeing Christ). To the believers, this precious gospel is the fragrance of life to life- because that is the ministry of the Spirit- speaking life! (II Corinthians 2:16b) If we want to be changed into the image of Jesus we need to grow in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus. The fruit of the Spirit and the characteristics that are added to our life are to aid in the effectiveness and fruitfulness of knowing Jesus. (II Peter 1:3-11)

Why am I writing all this out, you may ask. I am writing because today as I was encouraged in the Word to see my Savior and the sweet ministry of the Spirit in my life, I realized that some times the words we speak to one another as brothers and sisters of Christ are a ministry of death. They are words that are filled with to do lists, demands, expectations that are not life giving but weighty and crushing. They are not words of hope and grace centered around the glory of God in the person of Jesus but words that are people centered and built around performance... and I am withering. God has called us, as fellow heirs of grace, to speak freedom giving, Spirit filled words. We are to speak life to those around us. We have the ministry of the Spirit to encourage us and to provide the message that is needed to all. There is only one message needed for those who don't know Christ and for those of us who do- Jesus. Jesus is everything. And for those of us who are in Christ, Jesus and His work for us is the foundation for living a holy, submissive life that displays His holiness. ( I Peter 1:13-19) It is what keeps us from saying- "Hey, now that I have Jesus, I can do whatever!". If that is our attitude, we haven't really been exposed to the glory of God revealed in Christ. The more we see of Him, the more we are transformed. God renews our mind through His Word- a revelation of Himself! It is the gospel and seeing Him and His grace that teaches us to "deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world" and to look with hope to the coming of Jesus. (Titus 2:11-13}

These verses are a comfort and challenge to me. I am asking God today to remind me of the precious ministry of the Spirit that is at work drawing my attention to the glory of God in the face of Christ. I want to be transformed and He alone will renew my mind as I fix my eyes on Jesus. I am also asking Him to give me sweet words. Fragrant words. Life giving words that will minister grace to those who may hear them.

"Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person." ~ Colossians 4:6

The Sweetness of His Presence

Many things fill up the business of our day. If you are like me, you have meals, dishes, laundry, caring for multiple children, meeting the needs of friends and family. So much fills our day that the busyness of life can soon crowd out the joy we desire to experience as we do all that we have been called to do.

What do we do when disobedient children or an overloaded schedule, threaten to wreck havoc on our day? What do we do when too many of those kind of days lead to a dis-satisfied and hungry life?

There is only one answer. There is only One who will satisfy the ache within our hearts, souls, and lives.
Jesus. Jesus alone can fill and satisfy the longing soul. And better yet, He invites us to come. He is the bread of life. The well of water for our souls that never runs dry. And when we drink and eat deeply of all He gives, we find ourselves satisfied. Satisfied with His mercy. Satisfied with His love. Satisfied with the sweetness of His very presence.

I have been drinking deeply from the Psalms this week. Searching for Scriptures that proclaim and remind me of the steadfast love and faithfulness of God. I have found many verses to encourage my heart. One such passage is Psalm 63 which proclaims:

"O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;

my soul thirsts for you;

my flesh faints for you,

as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,

beholding your power and glory.

 Because your steadfast love is better than life,

my lips will praise you.

So I will bless you as long as I live;

in your name I will lift up my hands.

My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,

and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,

when I remember you upon my bed,

and meditate on you in the watches of the night;

for you have been my help,

and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.

My soul clings to you;

your right hand upholds me."

This Psalm has been on my heart today as I find myself thirsting and hungering more and more after God. And He is so satisfying. He satisfies my desire for love. He satisfies my desire for companionship. I am learning more and more how sufficient He is for all my needs and I am finding His presence to be so sweet.

I am praying that you too will know the sufficiency and sweetness of Him.

Thankful Thursdays

Over the last few years, the Lord has been working on my heart in the area of thankfulness.  There are a lot of fantastic resources to help build the habit of giving thanks into your life. One book that has been especially helpful is the book, "1000 Gifts" by Ann Voskamp. This book inspired me to seek and savor Jesus in the everyday moments of my life.  This has opened my heart to understanding that God is a gracious and good gift Giver and all He gives is for my good and His glory.  It has been amazing also to see how much Thankfulness is emphasized in Scripture.  Today I want to focus on a verse and something I am particularly thankful for.

Psalm 127 says this:

"Unless the Lord builds the house,

those who build it labor in vain.

Unless the Lord watches over the city,

the watchman stays awake in vain.

 It is in vain that you rise up early

and go late to rest,

eating the bread of anxious toil;

for he gives to his beloved sleep.

 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,

the fruit of the womb a reward.

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior

are the children of one's youth.

Blessed is the man

who fills his quiver with them!

He shall not be put to shame

when he speaks with his enemies in the gate."

 I am so very grateful that the Lord has been the builder of our home.  When my husband and I got married, I wanted a whole passel of children.  Instead of easy, joyful pregnancies, my husband and I experienced 10 pregnancies in 10 years resulting in 4 miscarriages (ranging in 6 weeks to 16 weeks) and 6 living children- 3 who arrived full term, and 3 pre-term (ranging from 30 weeks-36 weeks).  They were tumultuous days for me, with many times of struggle and discouragement and times of great joy.  I am so grateful that while I do believe that children are a precious gift from the Lord and would have loved to have many more children, I am so grateful that God is the one building our home- from the amount of children we have been given and even working out His purposes in out children's lives, despite our failings as parents.  I am so grateful that I know God will work in my children and it makes all the things we do in our home to teach and train them worthwhile- I know our work is not in vain.

I am so grateful for these precious lives and I can't wait to see all will do in our family and can rest in Him, secure!

Worship-focused Wednesdays

  Often time worship is presented as something we do when we sing to the Lord.  Worship is so much more than that.  Worship is honoring and glorifying the Lord with what ever we do -work, sing, pray, change dirty diapers, wash dishes, etc.  Worship is most certainly a lifestyle.  One of my favorite verses on worship is Hebrews 13:15:

Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.

 Our sacrifice of praise to God throughout our day is acknowledging Him as we go about our days.  Sometimes, seeing and savoring Jesus is easy; other days I have to beg God to give me eyes to see Him!  One of the habits I have sought to implement in our home is to have music going often to keep our eyes tuned to Jesus at work.  Sometimes it's praise and worship.  Sometimes it is hymns (with classical flair!).  Sometimes we play our catechism songs- songs my children love to sing and point them to truths about God and themselves!  Lately, one of my favorites to play is the song  "Oceans (Where feet may fail)" by Hillsong.  As I walk and see the waves seek to overwhelm me, I am grateful that He is faithful and will not fail!  Perhaps you will enjoy it as well, so I will share it in hopes that you will be encouraged to worship in music as you work for Jesus!

Truth-saturated Tuesdays

One of the goals I have set in my life is to surround myself with truth.  This world is filled with lies and deceit and discouragement will set in when our lives are constantly bombarded with them.  One of the ways that I have purposed to surround myself with truth is to place Scripture around my home.  Not only that, but to make looking in the Scriptures a habit throughout my day and not just at a regularly scheduled event.  I need truth spoken in my life continually and while some days I seek it more than others, I desire to set forth the importance of Scriptural truth in my home.

One truth from Scripture that I find myself clinging to often, is found in one of my favorite passages of Scripture, Romans 8.  The precious truth is this:

"He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?" (Romans 8:32)

 This precious verse is a jewel amongst a treasure of truth. It comes after Paul shares his struggle against sin and speaks that victory is found in Jesus. It is also after Paul speaks another truth: "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." No condemnation!  What a precious truth!  After that, Paul speaks of the work of Jesus on our behalf- blessed work- that makes us people who are in this Spirit and not the flesh.  But then Paul speaks of the sufferings we face in comparison to the glory one day we will experience as we are one day completely redeemed.  Because of this truth, we can know that the Spirit will pray for us when we cannot and He will pray according to the will of God.  We can know all things- good and bad- are at work for our good and His glory as He molds us more into Jesus' image.  After this treasure trove of truth, we get to this precious verse.

If God gave all- didn't even spare His Son to redeem us- to demonstrate how He is for us- we can trust that along with giving us Jesus, He will graciously give us everything.  In Christ alone, we have all that we could ever need or want. In Christ are all the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God (Col. 2:3I), in knowing Him we have all we need for life and Godliness (II Pet. 1:3)- because of Jesus we have all sufficiency at all times in all places to accomplish all He desires for us to do (II Cor. 9:8).  What confidence we can have in the goodness of God as we remember all the ways God has graciously blessed us in Christ!  Here is the truth and hope we can walk with for today and all our tomorrows! 

Because He has been so gracious,
          Amy

Mercy Filled Monday

  It has taken me a long time to actually sit down and begin working on this blog. The last few months have been filled with some of the most difficult days I have walked through. Though difficult, the Lord has been so gracious to teach me and love me in ways that still amaze me! Last year, I faced some circumstances that really rocked my world. There were many opportunities for me to admit my own sinfulness and the sting of being sinned against by others. I am still reeling over those days in many regards because I am now living in the results of choices made by other and choices I have made. When faced with the consequences of our decisions, it is easy to be overwhelmed and fearful-especially when they have been big decisions. What do we do as we walk through the difficult roads that the Lord leads us down?
 As I have journeyed here of late, I have been so grateful for the Mercy that I have experienced and received in those moments. The mercy has been given from One who completely understands the difficulties I have faced not just because He knows them, but because He personally walked through those difficult moments Himself- the difference is He walked through in complete obedience and in complete victory. Hebrews 4 carries some treasured truths that have become some of the sustaining promises I have held to in these difficult days. It says this:

                   "Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens,
                     Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.  For we do not have 
                     a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but who in 
                     every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.  Let us then with
                    confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and 
                   find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews4:14-16)

 As we journey through this life, navigating through it's many difficulties, we can walk confidently and securely, not in our choices or decisions, not in our ability to do things right, not even to walk victoriously over sin.  Our confidence rests in the person and work of Jesus. Jesus is the great high priest who is currently at the right hand of God interceding on our behalf. (Heb. 7:25)  He walked obediently on this earth- sinlessly- but not without temptation and struggle. He was tempted as these verses say "in every respect as we are".  He understand each struggle we face, each temptation, each difficulty.  He experienced them as we experience them- they were personal experiences. He knows them personally. Not only that, but Hebrews 2:10 says " For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering."  Jesus was made perfect through experiencing suffering. Part of Jesus being the founder and perfecter of my faith, bringing me (one of His many sons to glory), was being made perfect through walking difficult roads, enduring suffering, facing temptations and trial, and doing it perfectly!  And He did- for me. For you. So that we would be able to go to Him in our weak and frail state and receive mercy and grace during our season of need.  Big needs; small needs.  He is acquainted with them all and as we are one with Him through faith, we can find in Him all the mercy and grace to help.  This has become such a precious truth as I have walked difficult roads as of late.  In the words of Elyse Fitzpatrick in "Found in Him", 

"And because He lived our life and was victorious in all the places where we have failed, He can now help us in whatever we face. This has a practical application for us: in every situation in which we are struggling with temptation, we can reflect on the life of Christ and ask if there are not some similar situations he faced, and them we can "with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.'"

I have found so much encouragement as I have learned more and more about Jesus and His life that He lived on this earth and what that means to me as I live now.  It is amazing and beautiful.  It gives me hope for all of the days I have left here and hope for eternity.  What grace; what mercy!  Mercy to journey difficult roads, mercy to cover our sin, and grace upon grace from all of His fullness for our days!

Because He is so full of grace,
         Amy

Welcome!

Welcome to my new little home on the web. I have not written for so long on the other blog...I decided to start afresh. Lord willing, this will be a place for me to journey the daily graces I see the Lord graciously flood my life with...and you can join me on this little journey! I love to write and am looking forward to seeing where the Lord will lead me on this adventure!