November 22, 2024

Joy of Growth

December 15, 2014 by

gchSHadventjoygraphic

You love Him even though you have never seen Him.
Though you do not see Him, you trust Him;
and even now you are happy with a glorious, inexpressible joy.
Your reward for trusting Him will be the salvation of your souls.
1 Peter 1:8-9

My heart was filled with joy this past Sunday (December 7). Our daughter turned four just a little over a month ago. Now, at our church, they have nursery for those 4 and under during early and late services. We usually attend the early service. (Yes, I manage to get a 4-year-old and 6-year-old up early on Sunday mornings in order to make 8 am church service.) I decided to try something this past Sunday with our daughter…and I hoped that it would not backfire on me.

Now as I was saying, our daughter just turned 4. I decided to take her with us to “big” church this Sunday to see how she would do. I was nervous thinking she would be loud and wiggly like a lot of kids. However, I had faith. I also made sure to have a coloring book and pad of paper available for her to draw on to keep her busy. She surprised me, though. She tried to sing the first chorus with us, and the only major thing she did was she was a little wiggly and curious. She never did get loud. My heart really filled for joy when she put our Lottie Moon offering in the offering plate. It was the joy of being a parent and watching my child learn.

I can only imagine the amount of joy that Mary felt that first Christmas night. Her firstborn Son was born, but also her Savior was born. She was overjoyed that she had been chosen to be His mother. She would have the joy of watching Him grow and mature into adulthood. She already knew the pain and anguish that would come with being His mother, but she trusted God. Mary put her whole faith in God. By putting her faith in God, Mary knew that she was given a most glorious gift.

Just as Mary had faith in God, we should have faith as well. Our faith in Jesus can bring us joy all year long—not just during this time of the year. Our reward for trusting in Him and believing that He died on the Cross for us is the saving of our souls when Jesus returns. We will go to Heaven with Him and celebrate in great joy and peace.

*    ♥  ~  ✝  ~  ★    *

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the birth of Your Son. Without Him we would be nothing. Thank You for the joy of watching our own children grow and for the chance to lead them in them in the right direction—to You. Watching them and guiding them brings its own joy. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Little Bundles of Thanks

November 9, 2014 by

seekingHimthanksgivinggraphic

Praise the Lord!
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,
in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them.
Full of honor and majesty is His work, and His righteousness endures forever.
He has gained renown by His wonderful deeds; the Lord is gracious and merciful.
Psalms 111:1-4

In this season of the holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years), we often forget that this is a time to thank God for all we have.  The Lord had a plan when He did His great works.  God made everything for His glory.  As a group of believers, we should give thanks to God when we are together and when we are not.  The Lord is present at all times, and He hears our prayers of thanks.

On Mother’s Day, many churches hold baby dedications to thank God for the birth of new little ones.  When our son was born, we were going to a Methodist church, so we had a christening.  We had already decided to do his christening the Sunday before Thanksgiving.  We had the same plan for our daughter.  When our daughter was born, we had already moved to a Baptist church.  Baby dedications are done there in May.  I was able to talk to our Pastor and the Children’s Director about doing a dedication service the Sunday before Thanksgiving for both children.  The reason for doing all this at Thanksgiving was that I had miscarried our first pregnancy.  When we got pregnant with our son, it was in November.  We wanted to give thanks to the Lord for getting us through the miscarriage and sending us our son to us.   We wanted to do the same with our daughter.  I don’t know about my husband, but I wanted to honor and thank God for our blessings—especially during such a special time of year.

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
1 Thessalonians 5:18

Going through rough times can teach anyone to be thankful.  Losing a child can make one thankful for the little ones we do have.  I know I have a very soft spot for my son because I took a hard hit when we lost our first.  I still think about that one to this day.

As a group of believers when we dedicate our children to the Lord we are thanking Him for sending us this little bundle of joy that brings love, pain, heartache, and everything else that goes along with it.  In the company of other believers, we thank God for this little person and pledge to teach him/her the Judeo-Christian values for which our country was founded and to teach the child to be a person who loves and honors God through worship and service.

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Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for our children and the children of our friends and family.  You send us a great gift when you send new little ones to the church.  We pledge to teach them Your ways and to honor You through service.  We thank You for Jesus and the sacrifice You made as a father.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

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God our Teacher

November 6, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore he instructs sinners in His ways.
He guides the humble in what is right
and teaches them His way.
Psalms 25:8-9

No one is perfect.  No one is without sin.  If we were, we certainly would not be in this world.  We would be in the glory of God at this very minute.  However, we fall short—way short.  We needed Someone to teach us how we should act and worship in order to reach God’s glory.

Without Someone’s perfect ways and blood, we could not ever hope to reach God’s glory in the end.  We would be looking forward to an eternity of doom.  God instructs us to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior so that we may be reunited with Him in the end and be able to spend eternity in Heaven.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom;
teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
Colossians 3:16

Jesus becomes our Guide and Teacher once we enter into a relationship with Him.  The relationship works to help teach yourself and others how God expects us to live.  We live in the Word to keep ourselves from falling in line with the world and with Satan. We become wiser the longer we stay in the Word of God and immerse ourselves in our relationship with Christ.  When we become wiser through God, we can help others become closer to God.  By allowing God to be our Teacher, we gain the wisdom to be able to discern what is right and wrong. We become humbled and are able to teach others about God.

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Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for being our Father and Teacher.  With Your teachings we can walk the right paths and look forward to the glory of God in eternity.  Thank You for giving us the wisdom needed to teach others and be able to discern right from wrong.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Breakfast

November 1, 2014 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

Hold the milk, put back the sugar
They are powerless to console
We’ve gathered here to sprinkle ashes
From our late friend’s cereal bowl
Breakfast Clubbers, say the motto
That he taught us to repeat:
“You will lose it in your gym class
If you wait ’til noon to eat”

Back when the Chess Club said our eggs were soft
Every Monday he’d say grace and hold our juice aloft
Oh, none of us knew his checkout time would come so soon
But before his brain stopped waving, he composed this tune

When the toast is burned
And all the milk has turned
And Captain Crunch is waving farewell
When the big one finds you
May this song remind you
That they don’t serve breakfast in hell

Breakfast clubbers, drop the hankies
Though to some our friend was odd
That day he bought those pine pajamas
His check was good with God

Those here without the Lord
How do you cope
For this morning we don’t mourn
Like those who have no hope

Oh, rise up, Fruit Loop lovers
Sing out sweet & low
With spoons held high
We bid our brother, “Cheerio!”

 Singer/Songwriters: Peter Furler, Steve Taylor along with the NewsBoys

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Breakfast is often said to be the most important meal of the day. The meal is one of many starting points for our days. Some of us eat eggs, bacon, toast, or whatever. Others eat cereal or pop tarts. It just depends on what is in the pantry and different tastes. For some people, it is their favorite meal of the day. Yet, it is not the most important thing on earth.

When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked,
“Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said,
“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Matthew 25:26

Men make meals. Men make things. We, as humans, come together to make wonderful things happen. Yet, we cannot do these things without God. Yet, men cannot save themselves from death. They can join groups of men, but they cannot do what God and His Son and His angels can do.

In the song, Breakfast by the Newsboys, the Breakfast Club (a group of eaters) has lost one of its members. The song illustrates that they are saying goodbye to this person, but that they know that they will see that person again because when they died they were children of God. Using the examples of the breakfast items, the song reminds us that the good things we experience here on earth will not be in hell—the choice we make when we refuse God.

When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we have nothing to worry about. We don’t have to worry about where we are going to spend eternity. Jesus gave His life for us so we may enjoy eternity in His glory and not in the fires of hell. We get to live with Jesus in Paradise.

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Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You for being able to choose to accept You and spend eternity with You. We know where we will be spending eternity—in Your glory. Your love has saved us, and we don’t have to worry about where we will spend eternity. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Answering the Caller ID

October 26, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness:
Thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress;
have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.
Psalm 4:1

Do you have caller ID?  Most everybody does.  It is one of those digital advances that most people cannot live without these days.  It is a way of identifying who is calling you.  You can decide whether or not to answer the phone when it rings. You can decide whether to answer the phone if you don’t know who it is. If you miss a call, you can go back and see who called. Then you can decide whether or not to call that person back. You can ignore tele-marketers and bill collectors. Caller ID has certainly made it easier to ignore those we don’t want to talk to when the phone rings.

As humans we can select who we call and whose call we answer here on earth. However, when it comes down to it, there is one call that we are supposed to answer no matter what. The caller ID is our heart being tugged at by Jesus wanting us to accept Him as our Savior. It is a call that should be answered every time.

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
Romans 10:17

By answering the call of Christ, our faith is strengthened and fortified. Our spirit is healed. Our heart becomes stronger in the Lord. We begin to strengthen our faith and fortify it through listening to Christ and practicing what He teaches us. We strengthen ourselves through our relationship with Him. When we answer Christ’s call, God hears us. We become blessed even more.

God blessed us when His Son sacrificed Himself on the Cross for our sins. He showed us mercy. Jesus brought us closer to God by shedding His blood. God heard the call to be saved from death. He gave us a way to be reconciled with Him. All we have to do is recognize His call on our internal caller ID—our heart—and accept the gift that Jesus gave on the Cross.

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Dear Heavenly Father: Thank You for calling us to You. Thank You for giving us an internal caller ID to recognize Your spirit and love. Thank You for strengthening us and fortifying us. Without our own internal caller ID, we would ignore You and not listen. We would be facing an eternity of fire instead of an eternity filled with love and Your glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Slow to Anger…Quick to Love

October 22, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
nor will He harbor His anger forever;
He does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
Psalms 103:8-10

As a parent, I often find it hard not to grow angry or frustrated when my kids do something (or keep doing something) after I or their father have instructed them not to keep doing whatever they are doing.  I love my kids.  I love them to the moon and back.  I am usually slow to anger.  However, after a stressful day, I find that I am quicker to be angry than usual.  That is all part of being human.

Know this, my beloved brothers:
let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;
for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
James 1:19-20

God is the perfect example of what a loving parent should be.  He is:

  • quick to hear and patiently listens to our requests and confessions
  • careful in His answers to our prayers
  • patient, loving, and kind
  • puts up with a lot from us, but yet He still loves us

We, as humans, are not in any way getting the punishment or rejection that we deserve.  Many of us have rejected our heavenly Father, but He still does not punish or reject us.  He loves us in a way that we will probably never understand. Thanks to Jesus we will not receive the punishment that we deserve for sinning against God.

God does not harbor His anger His children.  He does not hold a grudge—like so many people do.  He does not hold our sins against us.  Instead, God forgives us and loves us.  He welcomes us back with open arms and helps us learn from our mistakes.

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Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You for being slow to anger and always loving. We are so thankful that You do not hold a grudge against us. Your love is wonderful and compassionate. Because You love us so much, we do not have to worry about the wrathful punishment that awaits those who have rejected You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Remembering and Deciding

October 14, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

Remember Your word to Your servant,
for You have given me hope.
My comfort in my suffering is this:
Your promise preserves my life.
Psalms 119:49-50

Remember in the Disney movie, The Jungle Book, Mowgli meets the youngest elephant of a herd.  The leader of the herd, the young elephant’s father, proclaims that an elephant never forgets.  However, as the herd is leaving, the elephant’s mother ends up reminding the father that he is “forgetting” their son who is still talking to Mowgli.

Yet, we have a heavenly Father Who does not forget about us.  He brings us hope and love in the midst a life of sin and temptation.  He never leaves our side.  We can call out to Him, and He will answer us in the way that He thinks is best for us.

For the wages of sin is death
but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23

Yet we can find comfort in our Father who does not forget about us or His promises to us.  Remember John 3:16?  God gave us His Son so we would not perish if we believed in Him.  God sent His one and only Son here to die for our sins.  Jesus wiped away our penalty—death—for sinning against God.  Our punishment for sinning is death. However, if we believe in Jesus and proclaim Him as our Savior, our penalty has been paid.  We look forward to eternity in Heaven with God.

God’s promise of eternal life for acceptance of His Son as our Savior is very powerful. The war for our souls has been won once we repent and allow Jesus to come into heart.  It is free.  All we have to do is make the decision and open our hearts.  God’s promise preserves our life and brings comfort to our weary life.  He brings healing and love to our broken hearts.  It is a comfort that we have such a wonderful Father.

*  ~  ♥  ~  ✞  ~  ♥  ~  *

Dear Heavenly Father: Thank You for remembering us—Your children. You created us and know every thought and move before we do. Your love has saved us from eternal condemnation and pain. You bring us comfort, love, and healing. Thank You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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A Guiding Hand

October 5, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

A Guiding Hand

The law of the Lord is perfect,
refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
The precepts of the Lord are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is pure,
enduring forever.
The decrees of the Lord are firm,
and all of them are righteous.
They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
They are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the honeycomb.
Psalms 19:7-10

My son has been learning about Moses and the Ten Commandments at church on Wednesday nights. I was probably about his age when I was first introduced to them myself. When I stop to think about them, I always imagine Charlton Heston playing Moses in the movie, The Ten Commandments, and receiving the tablets from God. Just seeing the fear on Moses’s (Heston’s) face is enough to invoke trembling in anyone’s mind.

When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”
Exodus 20:19-20

When Moses came down from the Mount, the people could tell that he had seen and talked with God. They themselves became scared. They had been trembling in fear when the thunder and lightning and the trumpet sounded. They knew that Moses had spoken to God, but they were afraid to speak to God themselves. They told Moses they would listen to what God said if Moses spoke it to them.

God gave His people His perfect Law through Moses. Moses’s face radiated the glory of God when he descended from the Mount with the Ten Commandments—the same commandments that many people are fighting over displaying today. God made these Laws to help guide us and protect us from the temptation of sin. His Laws are firm just like those of parents’ rules for their children.

God knew what human nature was like even before Adam and Eve bit the forbidden fruit. God knew that without guidance that man would fall into sin and not be able to return Him. It is wonderful to know that we have a God Who already knows about us and knows how to guide and take care of us.

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   *

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for Your guiding hand. Without it we would surely be stuck in slavery to sin. You are always with us and always showing Your love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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You Are, I AM

October 4, 2014 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

I’ve been the one to shake with fear
And wonder if You’re even here
I’ve been the one to doubt Your love
I’ve told myself You’re not enough

I’ve been the one to try and say
I’ll overcome by my own strength
I’ve been the one to fall apart
And start to question who You are

You’re the one who conquers giants
You’re the one who calls out kings
You shut the mouths of lions
You tell the dead to breathe
You’re the one who walks through fire
You take the orphan’s hand
You are the one Messiah
You are I AM
You are I AM

I’ve been the one held down in chains
Beneath the weight of all my shame
I’ve been the one to believe
That where I am You cannot reach

The veil is torn
And now I live with the Spirit inside
The same One, the very same One
Who brought the Son back to life

Hallelujah, He lives in me

~ Mercy Me ~
singer/songwriters: Daniel Muckala, Jason Ingram, Seth Mosley, Robby Shaffer, Barry Graul, Jim Bryson, Bart Millard, M ike Scheuchzer, Nathan Cochran
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Do you ever feel like your life is just weighed down with many burdens?  Do you feel a great weight on your shoulders even though you have worked to take some of the pressure off?  Ever feel like you’re just walking around with imaginary chains wrapped around your body?  When sickness or other difficulties hit our lives, we can often feel this way.

Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them,
‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’
What shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”;
and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.'”
God, furthermore, said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel,
‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’
This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.…”
Exodus 3:13-15

Moses had a lot on his shoulders when he became God’s deliverer for the Israelites enslaved in Egypt.  He had the job of delivering God’s message to Pharaoh and then leading Israel to the promised land.  He knew that he would be asked by the Israelites about who had sent him.  He needed a name.  So God said, “I AM WHO I AM” (verse 14).  Moses had a huge task ahead of him, but he had the greatest love and power aiding and shielding him in his mission—God, the great I AM.

Our God, the great I AM, loves us unconditionally.  He broke the chains of bondage of the Israelites by using Moses.  God broke the chains of sin and its consequence—death—by sacrificing His own blood through His son Jesus, so that we could be free from the tyranny of sin.  Instead of being chained to death, we, as Christians, can look forward to an eternal life in Heaven with our Father—the One who freed us from a life of slavery to sin and death.

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   *

Dear Heavenly Father: Thank You for breaking the chains of slavery to sin.  Without Your freeing love and sacrifice, we would certainly burn in the consequences of sin. Thank You for loving us and giving us the life breath of eternity.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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The Next Generation

October 3, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

With the mighty deeds of the Lord God I will come;
I will remind them of Your righteousness, Yours alone.
O God, from my youth You have taught me,
and I still proclaim Your wondrous deeds.
So even to old age and gray hairs,
O God, do not forsake me,
until I proclaim Your might to another generation,
Your power to all those to come.
Psalms 71:16-18

One of the biggest roles that we are charged with, especially when we become parents, is to raise up the next generation of God’s children in His name.  We are supposed to be teaching them how to live by God’s rules and to follow Him.  For many of our older children (school age and beyond) that means attending a church with a good youth group and youth activities.  These groups can be fundamental in growing our youth into godly young adults.  Our youth are one of the greatest things that a church can invest in.

God is with us from the time we are born.  The first teachers He gives us is our parents. They are the first ones to teach us about God and Jesus.  Then as we grow up, we are introduced to the members of the church we attend: ministers, Sunday School teachers, peers, and other adults.  As a group we learn about God and pass on the teachings of God from the older to the younger generation.  The older generation proclaims the greatness of God and pass these proclamations on to the younger generation.

The glory of young men is their strength, and the honor of old men is their gray hair.
Proverbs 20:29

God is glorified when we pass our knowledge of Him and Jesus on to the younger generation that are being raised in the church.  It is an honor to be able to lead the younger generation into the ranks of God’s children.  The younger generation brings strength and vigor to our churches.  The older generation brings wisdom.  The older generation guides the younger generation as they take their rightful place in God’s family.

A solid and good children’s program and youth group is one of the reasons my husband and I chose to attend the church we attend today.  We have seen many of the youth leave our church and be productive both for God and our country.  The leaders of the children and the youth are great, and they have our children’s best interest at heart—just as parents do for their own.

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   *

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the godly people You have put in our family’s life. In today’s world it takes more than a parent’s positive influence to raise a child. Putting godly examples in front of our children helps us to guide our children in the way that You would have them go. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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