Love is Reverent... and Dominican Retreat Update

We continue our look at the Ten Commandments from the perspective of Grace which gives us the Ten Love Commands.  Again, I suggest if you have not been following our blog since beginning this journey through the Love Commands that you go back and start reading the blog forward from March 22, 2012. 

So far we have looked at our first two commandments:

1.  You shall have no other gods before me. (Exodus 20:3)

      Love Command: Love is Loyal

2.  You shall not make any graven image (idol) or bow down before them or serve them.  (Exodus 20:4-5)

     Love Command:  Love is Faithful

This past week I pray you took the challenge to really ask yourself daily if your love towards God is faithful.  Did you identify anything you are holding on to more than you desire to hold on to Him?  God’s word tells us in Jonah 2:8 “that those that cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace of God”.  (NIV)   I like to look at it this way.  You can’t hang on to the things of this world and hang on to God.   Eventually, you lose your grip on one or the other.

Today, we look at our third commandment.

3.  You shall not take the name of the LORD in vain.  (Exodus 20:7)

     Love Command:  Love is Reverent

Reverent means to respect and/or to honor.  God’s word commands us not to take the honor, authority, and/or character of God and speak deceptively about it, blasphemous, vulgar, falsely, etc.   So many times we as Christians excuse ourselves by believing if we don’t use the cussing version of taking the LORD’S name in vain that we get a pat on the shoulder and a pass.  My dear friends, this verse is telling us not to dishonor the truth of Who He IS as God in our everyday conversations by misrepresenting Him.   Here are some simple examples of this:  Do you claim to be a follower of Christ but you live daily no different than the world?  This dishonors God because it communicates “Jesus doesn’t make a difference”.   Do you teach a Sunday School class and then through the week talk to your family, peers, employees, and employers with harsh language, disrespect, unkindness, all the time proclaiming you’re God’s child?  This takes His name in vain.  Do you wear a t-shirt proclaiming His greatness, or the Cross, or Him as your Savior and you are involved in adultery, stealing, lying, etc. on a habitual basis? 

This week I challenge you to consider your reverence to God.  Are you respectful to Him, His authority and Character as you journey through the day?

Pure Joy Dominican Republic News:

I recently received this email from one of the ladies that will be attending the retreat in May.  I have taken her name out and the exact location of the retreat but you will have no trouble seeing her heart as she wrote to me.

Dear Vickie,

I am one of the 50 going on the retreat in May 23-26.  I am still absolutely blown away and speechless that anyone would do this for us?!?!  I'm 38, and we've been serving now since '96, and I have NEVER seen any type of ministering or act of love of complete giving out towards us such as this.

I just had to say thank you.  I am so very grateful to you and your "team".  I am just thrilled about the theme God has laid upon your heart!  I can relate!  I will be a conference speaker coming up in early May, and God gave me the theme: Promises given in Secret Places" - I felt spiritually and mentally worn out begging on my face for God's voice in giving me His theme.  Know that you are being lifted up in Santiago, D.R.

Abrazos!  (hugs),

This one email represents the heart beat of our missionary women from all walks of life as they await our time together.  I hope you caught that while she is excited about us coming she is also continuing to be obedient to that which God has called her to there on the field!  I also hope you caught that while we are praying for our missionary women they are praying for us too!  God is being talked to from both sides and all of you that pray and give are the filling! (smile)

We have 4 more missionary women sponsored since our last report.  That gives us 17 sponsored with 33 more to go.  Keep praying and keep giving as the LORD leads!!!

Lots of activity is going on in regard to our trip preparations.  Last week some of our team members from Evergreen Church in Broken Arrow, OK had a Night of Pure Joy and were able to share with the women in their church about the up-coming trip and ways they could be involved.  Team members from Antioch, Conway, AR raised some missionary support this past weekend by cooking up desserts for those that called in pie, cake and cookie orders that were then delivered to the church on Sunday for pick up. We received some support for the missionary women from our Houston connections last week as well. 

I am still hearing from the missionary women and their excitement about our coming.  As I shared last week those that live far off from the retreat site continue to figure out how to carpool with each other to get themselves to retreat.   It has been fun watching some of the emails go back and forth from the ladies as they communicate and are already making connections with one another for the trip.

It is so hard to believe that we are less then two months from our departure time to the Dominican Republic. God is working! All the Time!!!! 

Love you all…

His,

Vickie