Let's Not Tip Toe Around the Truth

What are we going to have to account for, what sins do we think we can hide?As I find myself getting ready for Bible Study, I once again catch myself reading one of my favorite Christian Authors Joyce Meyers, her book the Secrets to True Happiness is rich in the things of the Lord, and the importance of finding hapiness in him.As I was reading a quote caught my attention, and perhaps becomes the focus of this weeks bible study:"I have to stand before God and give an account of my life, and the gift God has put in me and so do you. God is not going to want to hear we disobeyed him because we did not want to make anyone angry." (Meyers, 200)Another words lets not tip toe around the truth because we think we are sparing someone's feelings, because feelings are fickle, and they are not as important as sharing the truth with others, sharing what we know the good Lord wants us to share.We are called to witness to those with a doubtful heart, and not to tip toe around the issue.Romans 14:23 says:23But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.As believers we are called to walk in faith, and in so doing we may find oruself in a situation that may not feel comfortable in the flesh, but is completely natural if we are walking in the Spirit.We are also called as Christians to wait on the Lord, the Lord has perfect timing, but sometimes we feel the need to rush things, when in reality everything comes about in God's perfect timing.Psalms 27:13-1413 I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. 14 Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD."Faith is the postive view of God, and the ability to and willingness to help us, and faith always expects something good to happen."(210)Faith is not in any way shape or form waiting for the shoe to drop to borrow a cliche, it is not looking for the dark cloud in a clear sky, but it is the believe that things will get better, that the bad times are not permanent, it is not being pessimistic, but having an optimistic view of life.When we have faith we realize that God is in control of all the moments of our lives:"God does not only speak to us in the urgent or important matters in life. He also guides us in the most seemingly insignificant situations." (Meyers 220)Sometimes the Lord can use the smallest most insignifacnt gestures, to ignite a soul for Christ.It was the spark of a friendship with my friend Amy that led me to the Lord, that led me away from a path that would have no doubt led to destruction.Martin Luter King Junior summed up the path of faith well in a few words:"You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step."Powerful truth right?Many have taken that first step, but how many have started on the journey and froze in the same place?Remember Christ will spit us out if we are lukewarm!Copyright Michelle R KidwellJuly.15.08

Get Over or Go Under

After church today I found myself flipping on TBN tuning into one of my favorite shows which is Everyday Life with Joyce Meyers, I love her no nonsense apporoach to subjects, the fact that she pulls to punches, she said a couple of things that got me to thinking, and I found myself feeling once again as if she had hit the nail on the head, to borrow a cliche:You need to get over it, or go under it.Sometimes we have the tendency to prolong the pain, to make something last longer than it nneds to last.Another quote from Joyce Meyers once again proved to be ture."You need to get better or get bitter."Then she read from the Deuteronomy 8Do Not Forget the LORD 1 Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land that the LORD promised on oath to your forefathers. 2 Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. 4 Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. 5 Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you. 6 Observe the commands of the LORD your God, walking in his ways and revering him. 7 For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land?a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills; 8 a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; 9 a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills. 10 When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. 11 Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. 12 Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, 13 and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. 16 He gave you manna to eat in the desert, something your fathers had never known, to humble and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you. 17 You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." 18 But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today. 19 If you ever forget the LORD your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed. 20 Like the nations the LORD destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the LORD your God.

The Courage of Esther

If our people were in danger would we have the courage of Esther? I read the Story to my niece today at Church, and was reminded once again of just how courageous this woman was, and just what was up at stake when she made the decision to help her people, King Xeres had no idea she was a Jew, and she knew that if he found out it would mean certain death for her, but yet she was brave enough to listen to Mordecai and in so doing save her people...Esther 4Mordecai Persuades Esther to Help 1 When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city, wailing loudly and bitterly. 2 But he went only as far as the king's gate, because no one clothed in sackcloth was allowed to enter it. 3 In every province to which the edict and order of the king came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing. Many lay in sackcloth and ashes. 4 When Esther's maids and eunuchs came and told her about Mordecai, she was in great distress. She sent clothes for him to put on instead of his sackcloth, but he would not accept them. 5 Then Esther summoned Hathach, one of the king's eunuchs assigned to attend her, and ordered him to find out what was troubling Mordecai and why. 6 So Hathach went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king's gate. 7 Mordecai told him everything that had happened to him, including the exact amount of money Haman had promised to pay into the royal treasury for the destruction of the Jews. 8 He also gave him a copy of the text of the edict for their annihilation, which had been published in Susa, to show to Esther and explain it to her, and he told him to urge her to go into the king's presence to beg for mercy and plead with him for her people. 9 Hathach went back and reported to Esther what Mordecai had said. 10 Then she instructed him to say to Mordecai, 11 "All the king's officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that he be put to death. The only exception to this is for the king to extend the gold scepter to him and spare his life. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king." 12 When Esther's words were reported to Mordecai, 13 he sent back this answer: "Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will escape. 14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?" 15 Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: 16 "Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish." 17 So Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther's instructions.

Gasping With Grace

Gasping with Grace (Part One)
Wednesday, July 9, 2008 - 2:24 AM
As I prepare for Thursday Mornings Bible Study, I find myself reading Jill Briscoe's Little Book The New Normal, and finding out just how prevalent it is, this book was written in 2005, four years after 9'11 the day that will mark my generation in perhaps a deeper way than any generation before, but I digress, the book talks about the different 911's you might face, whether it be the death of a loved one, a brioken relationship or any number of things, but whether we believe it or not, the fact of the matterIn Herbrews 11:6 it says6And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. There is something in page ten of Jill Briscoes book I want to quote, because it so abtly states what I have experienced in my life:"I was to dicover the peace that wouldn't quit and thay flooded my heart and soul and left me gasping with grace."Gasping with Grace, I love that phrase, Grace is that most amazing ahh feeling when we realize that we have the living God directing our lives.I know those who have gotten so angry with God, that they claim they can no longer believe in him.I am left opened mouth wondering, how you can not believe in something, and yet be angry with someone, and I am wondering what can make someone who was once so strong in faith fall away, I have seen it time and time again and truthfully it is hard to watch, they are left searching, searching for something, that amazing Savior that had once been such a part of their lives.Another 9'll, having someone you love fall away from the faith that you once thought they were so firmly rooted in.Being angry with God or claiming not to believe in Him is not going to change who he is, another quote I found in Briscoes book again sums what is important up well:"It isn't in who is in any Great White House that matters in the end, it is who is on the Great White Throne." BriscoeWe have a tendency to get angry for God, when the reaction is a result of one of our actions, like a child putting a hand on a hot stove, we have a tendency to put our hands, in hot water, but as we grow in faith, we learn not to do that as much, just as a child learns not to touch what is hot.To Be Continued

Author Blog Tour: Mike Delosso

1:) When did you first start writing?I started writing September of 1998. I remember like it was yesterday, where I was, what I wrote, and the emotions surrounding it. Those "early days" of writing are some of my fondest because I was truly writing just for the love and freedom and expression of putting words on paper unhindered. I was exploring my new freedom and was totally uninhibited.
2:) What prompted you to put words to paper?It's a unique story, actually. I never really liked writing. It was not something I enjoyed and "always wanted to do." In September of 1998 my brother-in-law was in a very serious motorcycle accident, wound up in a deep coma, and was not given a promising prognosis at all (death or persistent vegetative state). My wife and I (living in PA) travelled to Albany, NY to visit my sister and Darrell in the hospital and when we got home I was so full of a hodge-podge of emotions I thought I'd burst or do something very extreme. So I did the only thing I could think to do--grab a pen and pad of paper and start writing. And you know what? I haven't stopped since. I've always struggled with stuttering and when I put that pen to paper and started pouring out my heart I found a voice, a fluent voice, I never had before. It was all very liberating. It was freedom. I know it sounds a bit melodramatic but that's because it was and why I remember the day like it was yesterday. Oh, and by the way, Darrell pulled through and is just fine now. Praise the Lord.

Thistles, Rocks and Sin

When I was younger my Dad used to take me rock climbing, (before our relationship became strained) and I felt safe on those rocks that rose hundreds of feet from the earth, because I could feel my Dad's strong arm gripping my hand. I never once fell, he always kept me safe, while my Mom sat back teeth gritting.Sometimes I feel like I am on those rocks again, but these rocks are built with sin, and I need to reach out for my Abba Fathers hands. He reaches out for me when I fall just like my Dad did when I was a little girl on those larger than life rocks.As I was reading Amy Grant's Memoir entiled Mosaic, I came across a quote that I found would fit my thoughts for today. "Sin is alot like a thistle, it can look beautiful to the eye, and be pleasing to the sentence, that you hardly notice the seeds spreading until whole fields are taken over by them." Paraphrase mine.That's alot like the sins in our life one sin will often lead to another until our life is immersed in sin, I am not saying as Christians we will never sin, but as Christians we should be quick to repent. We should not let the sins choke the life out of us, the way the thistles choke the life out of the plants.

A Diviniely Inspired Gift

Well maybe I am a little prejudice, but I am impressed with this young girls talent, I used to teach her in Childrens church, and now our church has closed, and this little girl is now a teen, fourteen, but her voice is impressive to say the least.I am praying that Kennedy continues uses this gift, to sing her praises to the Lord, in this day and age, it is refreshing to see our next generation singing for the Lord.