God is a Jealous God....

Topics today: God is a Jealous God ...Continued study of God's Character and Valley Baptist Church....Global Impact Conference (GIC)

God is a Jealous God....

The word ‘jealous’ can stir up emotions in a person, can't it? In the biblical counseling ministry I would say myself and many other counselors have been exposed to the ugly fall out of a person that has been consumed with jealousy and/or the victim of it.  Jealousy and envy can make someone check their brain at the door faster than most any other emotion I know. (smile)

A woman wanted to reach her husband on his mobile phone but discovered that she was out of credit.  She instructed her son who was on site to use his own phone to pass across an urgent message to his daddy.  After Junior had called, he got back to Mommy to inform her that there was a lady that picked up Daddy's phone the three times he tried reaching Dad on the mobile.  She waited impatiently for her husband to return from work and upon seeing him in the driveway she rushed out and gave him a tight slap.  Then she slapped him again for good measure.  People from the neighborhood rushed around to find out what the cause of all the commotion was.  The woman asked Junior to tell everybody what the lady said to him when he called.  Junior said, "The subscriber you have dialed is not available at present.  Please try again later."

I rest my case! Ha,ha,ha,ha!

You might ask, “but if God is a jealous God isn't that sin?” God's word says jealousy and envy are sins. And it also says God is not a man that He should lie.  So how do you reconcile those truths?  This is why it is important to be able to look at the word of God in its original language.  The word ‘jealous’, used in scripture regarding God, is the Hebrew word gannâˈ; it is an adjective used only in reference to God in scripture.  Every place else the word jealous is used it is in regard to human jealousy either as a verb gânâˈ which refers to human passionate jealousy or envy, and/or a noun qinˈâh which takes on a wide range of meanings from zeal for God, to anger or envy. The exact meaning of these words is determined by the context.

God is innately jealous for us to love Him instead of spending our time worshiping and loving idols in our lives that cannot meet our eternal needs.

Jealous - God is unwilling to share with any other creature what is rightfully and morally His.

Exodus 20:5 (ESV)
You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,

Exodus 34:14 (ESV)
For you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

Psalm 78:58 (ESV)
For they provoked him to anger with their high places; they moved him to jealousy with their idols.

1 Corinthians 10:21-22 (ESV)
You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.  Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy?

Valley Baptist Church....

This weekend Melinda (graphic designer for Molly Missionary) and I were privileged to be a part of the Global Impact Conference at Valley Baptist Church Searcy, AR.   We represented Pure Joy International during the weekend.  We had an incredible time because God did some incredible things.  The most awesome one for me is that we had been praying for a contact person for our Burkina Faso trip.  Well, guess who set up a booth right next to ours -  a missionary couple from Burkina Faso that is stateside for a few months.  Got to love how the LORD works!  Found out they knew the other woman I had been trying to get hold of from that area who is stateside right now but had not been able to reach. And to top it off, I got a text from that woman while talking to the missionary couple!  With God those chances are 1 in 1!  

We have a location for Tanzania.  We are solidifying cost as of this week.  Working out all the little details that are important before signing on the dotted line!    Please pray with us that we don't miss a thing.  Also, please begin now praying for the teams to come together for both trips and for the missionary women that will be attending the retreats that have no clue yet we are coming.

Love you all so much...

His,

Vickie

This Week a Tribute....

I want to step back from our look at God's character this week and give a tribute to someone very special in my life, my spiritual mom.

February 12, 2014 my spiritual mom stepped into the very presence of God.   To say that she lived her life for Jesus is an understatement.  She lived life…every ounce of it that He blessed her with!  She was a running faucet of the love of Christ.  She loved Jesus, she loved Wil (my spiritual dad), she loved her children, grandchildren, her siblings, her church family, her friends and other peoples’ children, too, whether old or young.   She took God's word at face value and the teaching of Titus 2 that said, "older women train up the younger women ...”  I am one of those many younger women that she trained up and poured her very being into.  I caught more from her than she ever taught me and I praise God for that.  Because I caught a love of Jesus and a love for His word from her, I also caught that being a Christian meant doing everyday life with Christ and life can be hard but our God is bigger than all the difficulties.  I caught that when I have exhausted all my means for fixing something, my Heavenly Father is there smiling, waiting on me to let Him.  I caught that I don't have to like everybody in the world but I do need to be nice to them as unto the LORD (smile). I caught an incredible understanding of the importance of authority and how God set that in motion and how it protects us as women when we honor it.  I caught the truth of God's love at work through one of His servants and the impact it can have under your own roof and across the oceans.  I could go on and on but I suppose in its simplest form you can say I caught a glimpse of Jesus this side of heaven and for that I am eternally grateful.  Thank you my precious Friend.

Pat Vancil 1937-2014

His,

Vickie

Greetings Friends...

The blog will be a little late this week as I am out of town. Look for it in a few days.

His,
Vickie

God is Immutable...

Change is a funny thing isn't it. Change is something that impacts all of our lives throughout our lives. Some changes we have no control over, we just have to decide how we chose to deal with the change. Some change we do have control over and we have to decide if we are going to exercise the control we have over it or not. If not, then I suggest to people quit complaining about it if you aren't going to do something about it.  Some changes we instigate ourselves and have total control over.

Things we can't control ........Other people, Circumstances not set into motion by ourselves, The weather. (smile)   You get the point.   Things we can control........ourselves and how we chose to handle the things we can't control.

All of the above to say.....I love this attribute of God.  He is immutable.  It is so nice to know that He IS.....

Immutable - God is always the same in His nature, His character, and His will.  He never changes, and He can never be made to change.

Hebrews 1:10 (ESV) And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands;

Hebrews 13:8 (ESV) Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Malachi 3:6 (ESV) “For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.

Numbers 23:19 (ESV) God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?

James 1:17 (ESV) Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

In a world that is turned more and more to the deeds of darkness, where truth and justice have no place in everyday life for so many.

Where promises and commitments are becoming obsolete. Isn't it good to know that our God is Who He says He is in all His Nature and Character.  Amen!

Tanzania....Details are continuing to be locked in. Will share when dates are finalized.

His,
Vickie

God is Eternal...

Can you imagine life without time constraints?  When I have the opportunity to go on vacation -- which I don't even remember the last time I took a real genuine vacation. (I should see a counselor about that, ha,ha,ha!)  Anyway, when I have had the opportunity, the first thing I do is take off my watch and put it in the glove box of the car.  (Obviously, I've never flown to my vacation spot. ha,ha,ha)  Anyway, I do that because I am on vacation. I consider that as my time to NOT have any time constraints on anything.  When I eat, when I go to bed, get up, how long I stay at a certain place…it is my time to do what I want, period.   No “have to’s”.  Don't have to be here by a certain time, be there by a certain time, have this done by a certain time, etc., etc.  You get the picture!  It is amazing how time influences our daily routine and the amount of unspoken stress and sometimes spoken stress that accompany it.  Yet God is the cause of time. 

I have more thoughts about time and why God put it into place than I have space to write.  But I challenge you to think about time ....why did God put time in place on this earth?  Yes, it constrains and yes, it can cause stress at times, but it does a whole lot more than that which is really awesome stuff.  Think about it!  I would love to hear your thoughts on this one!!

Eternal - Eternal refers to God's relationship to time.  Past, present, and future are known equally to Him. God has no beginning, and He has no end.  He is not confined to the finiteness of time or of man's reckoning of time.  He is, in fact, the cause of time.

Revelation 1:8 (ESV)
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Deuteronomy 33:27 (ESV)
The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. And he thrust out the enemy before you and said, ‘Destroy.’

Psalm 102:27 (ESV)  

But you are the same, and your years have no end.

Romans 1:20 (ESV)
For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

1 Timothy 1:17 (ESV)
To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

2 Peter 3:8 (ESV)

But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

We are closing in our dates and location for Tanzania.  The retreat will be in November and most likely toward the middle of the month.   November 12- 15 are looking like the actual retreat dates.  So please continue to pray.  Also, we are most likely moving the September retreat for Ghana to the location of Burkina Faso or Senegal so please pray as we solidify this location.

Love you all so much...

His,

Vickie

God is a Wrathful God...

On Monday morning I sat down with a cup of coffee and the national news for the first time in a long time.  One of the top stories was about the Annual Grammy music awards and marriages.  It seems that the Grammys took this opportunity to get political on the issue of gay marriages by performing the marriage ceremonies of 33 couples while the world looked on.  Oh, and there were some heterosexual couples in that group for good measure.

All I could think was “'how much longer LORD will you tolerate our nation’s celebration of sin!” God's timing and ours are so different but His Word is Truth and His Word says, “He will not be mocked.”  

Galatians 6:7 (ESV)   Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.

Wrathful -  The personal manifestation of God's holy, moral character in judgment against sin. Wrath is neither an impersonal process nor is it irrational and fitful like anger. It is in no way vindictive or malicious. It is holy indignation‑‑ God's anger directed against sin.  God's wrath is an expression of His holy love. If God is not a God of wrath, His love is no more than frail, worthless sentimentality; the concept of mercy is meaningless; and the Cross was a cruel and unnecessary experience for His Son.

John 3:36 (ESV) Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

Romans 1:18-19 (ESV) For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.

Romans 2:8-9 (ESV) but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek,

It seemed fitting to me to finish this blog with the words from Ephesians 5 sometimes called the Love Chapter.  It tells us how to be, how to walk in love, how not to walk, consequences for walking wrongly, how we used to walk, and who not to company with, and gives final words of counsel on walking.

Ephesians 5:1-21 (ESV)

How to be: Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.

How to walk in love:  And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

How not to walk:  But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.  Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

Consequences for walking wrongly:   Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

Who not to company with:  Therefore, do not become partners with them;

How we used to walk: for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.

Final words of counsel on walking:  Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret.  But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Love you all and pray the morsels of God's Word sink deep into your souls!

His,

Vickie

He is Sovereign...

This attribute of God settles it for me. I personally count on it and consider it my resting place. This past weekend the Pure Joy board, advisors and ministry staff met for our annual retreat on what we have come to call "God’s Mountain". A precious friend who has traveled with us often and her husband offer us their cabin on "God’s Mountain" to get alone with Him as a ministry to praise, fellowship, and listen for His direction for the coming year. Once again we were not disappointed. This year we believe God (1) wants me on the road to get into some of your home churches to meet your missions director, women's ministry director, and/or anyone that is truly interested in ministering to our women missionaries overseas, (2) wants us specifically praying for our director of our first Burst of Joy which we believe is to be birthed in 2015, (3) wants us as a board, advisors, and ministry staff to pray for each other, the ministry, our sponsoring churches and individuals very intentionally on a weekly basis, and (4) wants us to fix our eyes upon Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, above all of the aforementioned matters.

Yes, God knew before the beginning of time we would sit on that mountain this past weekend and make those decisions for the ministry. So I ask you to pray with us as we move through this year and I challenge you as well to "fix your eyes on the Author and Finisher of your faith" above all things in 2014. Also, pray for us as we are working out the details of our Tanzania trip for the Fall of this year.

Sovereign - God is totally, supremely, and preeminently over all His creation. There is not a person or thing that is not under His control and foreknown plan.

Isaiah 46:10 (ESV)

Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose’

Psalm 115:3 (ESV)

Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.

Proverbs 21:30 (ESV)

No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the LORD.

Daniel 4:35 (ESV)

All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?”

Isaiah 43:13 (ESV)

Also henceforth I am he; there is none who can deliver from my hand; I work, and who can turn it back?”

Acts 5:38-39 (ESV)

So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice,

Ephesians 1:11 (ESV)

In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,

Looking forward to our year together.

His,
Vickie