Our Pastor is taking us through the book of Colossians. He has been parked in Chapter 3 for several weeks. If you recall it has a lot to do with putting off and putting on.
Colossians 3:5-17
5Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all. 12Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Yesterday, he camped out on verse 13 “forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”
In the counseling ministry I see many lives that turn sour because of unforgiveness. I see marriages, families, friends, churches and work relationships go under because of unforgiveness. Our pastor gave an illustration of what it is like to hold unforgiveness in our hearts. You may have heard it before but if you haven’t please ponder its meaning…
In countries where they eat monkeys, hunters will hollow out the inside of a coconut shell (just enough for the monkey to get its hand in) and put peanuts down inside. The coconut is tied to something to keep it stationary. Once the monkey puts its hand inside the coconut and grabs the peanuts he is unable to get his hand out because grabbing the peanuts turns his hand into a fist. The monkeys are caught because they WON’T let go of the peanuts.
I give you the same challenge our Pastor gave us as a church. What in your life are you holding on to that keeps you from being available to move forward in your marriage, family, church, etc.? LET GO!!!!!!!
His,
vickie
Monday, July 12, 2010
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Thoughts to ponder on Family...
“The family is the most basic unit of government. As the first community to which a person is attached and the first authority under which a person learns to live, the family establishes society’s most basic values.” CHARLES COLSON (1931–)
DWIGHT LYMAN MOODY (1837–1899) quoted the following… “I believe the family was established long before the church, and my duty is to my family first. I am not to neglect my family.”
I would like for you to look back at what Colson stated in his quote. As the first community to which a person is attached and the first authority under which a person learns to live; the family establishes society’s most basic values.
How many parents have a clue their home environment is the first time a child is exposed to community? Furthermore, how many parents truly understand how they teach, train-up, discipline and exercise authority in the home environment prepares the child to step out into the community of friends, church, school, activities, etc.
If you are the parent of a young child please ponder these truths. If your children are older and/or grown then we can’t go back and train them up. However, we can start speaking these truths into their lives so when they have families of their own, they will consider the consequences of not giving attention to these principles. Oh, the consequences? Look around you.
Deut 6:4-9
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
God had strong words to say about family matters. Shouldn’t we?
His,
vickie
DWIGHT LYMAN MOODY (1837–1899) quoted the following… “I believe the family was established long before the church, and my duty is to my family first. I am not to neglect my family.”
I would like for you to look back at what Colson stated in his quote. As the first community to which a person is attached and the first authority under which a person learns to live; the family establishes society’s most basic values.
How many parents have a clue their home environment is the first time a child is exposed to community? Furthermore, how many parents truly understand how they teach, train-up, discipline and exercise authority in the home environment prepares the child to step out into the community of friends, church, school, activities, etc.
If you are the parent of a young child please ponder these truths. If your children are older and/or grown then we can’t go back and train them up. However, we can start speaking these truths into their lives so when they have families of their own, they will consider the consequences of not giving attention to these principles. Oh, the consequences? Look around you.
Deut 6:4-9
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
God had strong words to say about family matters. Shouldn’t we?
His,
vickie
Friday, July 2, 2010
Coming in late...
Greetings in Christ,
I know this is coming in late this week, but I just returned from Springfield, Missouri spending time with my dear friends Jim and Sharon Smith. If you remember, about two or three months ago, I asked you to pray for the Smith family as their son Zac was battling the last stages of cancer. I attached a blog sight for you to go to and hear his testimony. Recently Zac went to be with the Lord. His video is being played all over the world. His mom and dad told me they are amazed at how God is using Zac’s video to reach the lost when it isn’t even an evangelistic video. As I shared with them, we know that God’s Word tells us if the name of Jesus be lifted up, He will draw all men unto Him. This video is a testimony of JESUS in the life of a yielded young man! If you didn’t see it, I encourage you to go to youtube.com and type in Zac Smith. Click on the video titled.. “Cancer is the best thing that happened to me”.
Even in his final hours of physical suffering “NOTHING” could turn his eyes way from his Lord and God! Please remember his wife and children, mom and dad, sibling, and grandparents as they continue the joys and battles of this world. May each of us be encouraged to “stand strong in our darkest hour” for the things of Christ Jesus our LORD and Savior.
I told his parents that I believe Zac’s greatest ministry is in the days ahead because of what he lived for and left behind, JESUS.
His,
Vickie
I know this is coming in late this week, but I just returned from Springfield, Missouri spending time with my dear friends Jim and Sharon Smith. If you remember, about two or three months ago, I asked you to pray for the Smith family as their son Zac was battling the last stages of cancer. I attached a blog sight for you to go to and hear his testimony. Recently Zac went to be with the Lord. His video is being played all over the world. His mom and dad told me they are amazed at how God is using Zac’s video to reach the lost when it isn’t even an evangelistic video. As I shared with them, we know that God’s Word tells us if the name of Jesus be lifted up, He will draw all men unto Him. This video is a testimony of JESUS in the life of a yielded young man! If you didn’t see it, I encourage you to go to youtube.com and type in Zac Smith. Click on the video titled.. “Cancer is the best thing that happened to me”.
Even in his final hours of physical suffering “NOTHING” could turn his eyes way from his Lord and God! Please remember his wife and children, mom and dad, sibling, and grandparents as they continue the joys and battles of this world. May each of us be encouraged to “stand strong in our darkest hour” for the things of Christ Jesus our LORD and Savior.
I told his parents that I believe Zac’s greatest ministry is in the days ahead because of what he lived for and left behind, JESUS.
His,
Vickie
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Hands off - Don't touch...
Let's see if I can stir some memories in some of your hearts. Remember, growing up, the number of times you heard your mom, dad, or other relative tell you “Hands off – Don’t Touch?” Seriously, how many times have you told your own children, nieces or nephews the same thing? Probably can’t count them all, huh?
You know sometimes we still have that problem as adults. You know when we just want to put our little hands in a pot or just touch it a little even though we know it’s none of our business. Next, thing you know BOOM …..gum on your shoe! I say "gum on your shoe" because all a sudden you are in the middle of something and you don’t even know what it is really all about -- just because you couldn’t leave it alone and not touch it. Then you have to figure a way to get it off of your shoe!
God brought this truth home to me personally about ten years ago as I was out walking one day. You know when you walk, you see things along the road. Of course by this time in my life the “No Littering” laws were strongly honored and people were mindful of them as a whole. However, again as you walk the streets and roads, it is very interesting at times to scan the litter. One day as I was on the front end of my walk I noticed something off in the ditch. For the life of me I could not figure out what it really was, so of course, I reached down, touched it and picked it up to get a better look! It was nothing but trash, metal trash, but yet trash. Here I am with no pocket, convicted not to litter, even though it was litter, and I’m on the front end of my walk. Yes, I carried this metal trash with me until I got home. And it wasn’t as light as a coke can! I wish I could tell you I learned my lesson after that but nooooo. Over the next couple of months I finally got the principle God was trying to teach me. If you pick it up you then have to decide what you are going to do with it, even if it is litter (and not yours).
I was reminded of this today with something one of my clients was journeying through. It is good to be reminded and I am thinking maybe I should have paid them instead of them paying me!
There are so many things we deal with in our lives that God never intended for us to have to handle or touch. But, for whatever reason, we just have to put our hands in the pot and/or touch it. In fact, I suspect we could all live a more lighthearted life with Him if we were willing to let Him handle and touch things!
I think those signs they have in glass shops and antique malls, etc, that say, “DO NOT TOUCH” apply here. OUCH!
Proverbs 17:4
Wrongdoers eagerly listen to gossip; liars pay close attention to slander!
His,
vickie
You know sometimes we still have that problem as adults. You know when we just want to put our little hands in a pot or just touch it a little even though we know it’s none of our business. Next, thing you know BOOM …..gum on your shoe! I say "gum on your shoe" because all a sudden you are in the middle of something and you don’t even know what it is really all about -- just because you couldn’t leave it alone and not touch it. Then you have to figure a way to get it off of your shoe!
God brought this truth home to me personally about ten years ago as I was out walking one day. You know when you walk, you see things along the road. Of course by this time in my life the “No Littering” laws were strongly honored and people were mindful of them as a whole. However, again as you walk the streets and roads, it is very interesting at times to scan the litter. One day as I was on the front end of my walk I noticed something off in the ditch. For the life of me I could not figure out what it really was, so of course, I reached down, touched it and picked it up to get a better look! It was nothing but trash, metal trash, but yet trash. Here I am with no pocket, convicted not to litter, even though it was litter, and I’m on the front end of my walk. Yes, I carried this metal trash with me until I got home. And it wasn’t as light as a coke can! I wish I could tell you I learned my lesson after that but nooooo. Over the next couple of months I finally got the principle God was trying to teach me. If you pick it up you then have to decide what you are going to do with it, even if it is litter (and not yours).
I was reminded of this today with something one of my clients was journeying through. It is good to be reminded and I am thinking maybe I should have paid them instead of them paying me!
There are so many things we deal with in our lives that God never intended for us to have to handle or touch. But, for whatever reason, we just have to put our hands in the pot and/or touch it. In fact, I suspect we could all live a more lighthearted life with Him if we were willing to let Him handle and touch things!
I think those signs they have in glass shops and antique malls, etc, that say, “DO NOT TOUCH” apply here. OUCH!
Proverbs 17:4
Wrongdoers eagerly listen to gossip; liars pay close attention to slander!
His,
vickie
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Cultural Christian vs. Biblical Christian ...
In his book, “The Seven Seasons of a Man’s Life”, Patrick M. Morley makes the following observation about himself after a two year self-examination of his life, “I realized I had been living the life of a Cultural Christian, not a Biblical Christian. What I mean is that even though I believed in Jesus, there was nothing exceptional about my lifestyle that would recommend Him to others.”
What a powerful observation. What a question for us to ask ourselves. Do we as a Christian live a lifestyle that would recommend him to others? Hmmmm
For those of you who did and didn’t see the blog last week, I wanted you to see and/or be reminded of what I wrote. I hope you will and/or have considered the question.
This past week I read through a book titled “Seven Deadly Detours”. While I wasn’t in total agreement on everything the authored penned, I most certainly believe his over all premise is true. The book was published back in 1996 but the same basic issues are still on the table. He discussed how we as believers can become so overly involved in issues such as politics, squabbling over prayer in public schools, the homosexual agenda, shutting down abortion clinics, making Jesus a Right Winger, Christian Television, etc. that we are not available to do what He actually asked us to do…… “Share the Good News of the Gospel and Become like Him.” Which way are you moving forward? God’s Way and or are you living a life of Detours?
2 Corinthians 5:17-21
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 1that is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Matthew 28:16-20
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
His,
vickie
What a powerful observation. What a question for us to ask ourselves. Do we as a Christian live a lifestyle that would recommend him to others? Hmmmm
For those of you who did and didn’t see the blog last week, I wanted you to see and/or be reminded of what I wrote. I hope you will and/or have considered the question.
This past week I read through a book titled “Seven Deadly Detours”. While I wasn’t in total agreement on everything the authored penned, I most certainly believe his over all premise is true. The book was published back in 1996 but the same basic issues are still on the table. He discussed how we as believers can become so overly involved in issues such as politics, squabbling over prayer in public schools, the homosexual agenda, shutting down abortion clinics, making Jesus a Right Winger, Christian Television, etc. that we are not available to do what He actually asked us to do…… “Share the Good News of the Gospel and Become like Him.” Which way are you moving forward? God’s Way and or are you living a life of Detours?
2 Corinthians 5:17-21
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 1that is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Matthew 28:16-20
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
His,
vickie
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Cultural Christian vs. Biblical Christian
In his book, “The Seven Seasons of a Man’s Life”, Patrick M. Morley makes the following observation after a two year self-examination of his life:
“I realized I had been living the life of a Cultural Christian, not a Biblical Christian. What I mean is that even though I believed in Jesus, there was nothing exceptional about my lifestyle that would recommend Him to others.”
What a powerful observation. What a question for us to ask ourselves. Do we as a Christian live a lifestyle that would recommend Him to others? Hmmmm
His,
vickie
“I realized I had been living the life of a Cultural Christian, not a Biblical Christian. What I mean is that even though I believed in Jesus, there was nothing exceptional about my lifestyle that would recommend Him to others.”
What a powerful observation. What a question for us to ask ourselves. Do we as a Christian live a lifestyle that would recommend Him to others? Hmmmm
His,
vickie
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Summer abounds...
Well, kids are getting out of school everywhere and the summer is kicking into full force. I just finishing praying, even as I type these words, for one of our ministry staff's sons who is in Bobadaugou, Africa with Awestar Ministries . If you don’t know about Awestar Ministries, it is a powerful ministry involving youth sharing the gospel near and far. www.awestar.org Check it out.
Please remember our missionaries on the field during this time of year. Many churches, families, and individuals take June-August to make trips overseas, They come alongside our missionaries to encourage them in local projects to reach the lost of their area. While this is great for the missionaries, it also requires lots of energy to make sure that there is housing, meals, and transportation for so many. Pray for their endurance as teams come and go without much turnaround time.
Also, pray for Pure Joy as we make plans for the 2011. Please pray that God will open wide the door to the areas we are needed the most to bring encouragement and refreshing! Also, we have a new project on the horizon that I will be sharing with you more along the way, so keep watch!
To all you moms out there…..we are praying for you too, as summer takes you places too, camping, swimming, church camps, football camps, cheerleading camps, etc. Maybe there should be a camp for moms at the end of September for you to gain some of your sanity back! Ha,ha,ha,ha,ha . . .
Have a blessed week!
His,
vickie
Please remember our missionaries on the field during this time of year. Many churches, families, and individuals take June-August to make trips overseas, They come alongside our missionaries to encourage them in local projects to reach the lost of their area. While this is great for the missionaries, it also requires lots of energy to make sure that there is housing, meals, and transportation for so many. Pray for their endurance as teams come and go without much turnaround time.
Also, pray for Pure Joy as we make plans for the 2011. Please pray that God will open wide the door to the areas we are needed the most to bring encouragement and refreshing! Also, we have a new project on the horizon that I will be sharing with you more along the way, so keep watch!
To all you moms out there…..we are praying for you too, as summer takes you places too, camping, swimming, church camps, football camps, cheerleading camps, etc. Maybe there should be a camp for moms at the end of September for you to gain some of your sanity back! Ha,ha,ha,ha,ha . . .
Have a blessed week!
His,
vickie
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