Pleeeeease forgive me
for being an little late with my post.I will try to do better next week!
Pictures to come...my sweet husband, the "man of a thousand pictures",
is feeling puny tonight and in fact, I am not feeling so swift, myself!!
But he will add them asap. (Sunday ~ pictures are done ~ thank you, dear!)
Thank you for all who prayed
for our family last week.We said good-bye to 4 family members who will be living overseas
for 3 years .
It was a bittersweet time. We were reminded of theverses in Ecclesiastics 3 that say that there is a time to laugh and
a time to cry. Truly, that is how we felt...we were so proud of them
stepping out and answering the call of God on their lives, but inwardly,
not imagining how 3 years of separation really feels like.
When I read our verses for this posting, the word "stand firm" ~
"stood" out to me.
The Apostle Paul was "walking his talk" here...
He was standing firm when he was in the dire
circumstances of being chained to a Roman guard.
But before we get into the Bible Study,
please go to my Playlist on the left sidebar,
all the way to the bottom and click on the song "Stand"
by Donnie McClurkin. (If you do not see the song, click
on the arrows until it shows and then click on the song.)
I thought of this song when I read verse 27.
Please enjoy and then we will start on
our Bible study for this week!
Wow! Stand firm, don't give in!!
That will be our topic this week.Verse 27 ~ "Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel."
- "Whatever happens"...hmmmm...this reminds me of our theme verse
WHATEVER the circumstances."
- ..."stand firm in one spirit"...this reminds me of the Upper Room in Acts 2:1.
- The New Century Version of the Bible states verse 27 in the following manner:
"Be sure that you live in a way that brings honor to the Good News of Christ."
Verses 28-30 ~ ..."without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved - and that by God. For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for Him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had and now hear that I still have."
From Ray Stedman commentary :
"There is only one way to handle fear, and that is to face it at its worst.
What is the worst thing this thing or these people I fear can do to me?
Will it be to cast me out of the group? Is it to kill me?
Whatever it is, face its worst threat, and then make a clear choice
between Christ and your fear. When you take Him at His Word
and recognize there is no possible compromise, that it
must be one or the other, that is the way to be delivered.
Putting it in those terms, a true Christian will inevitably choose Christ.
Once we face it on this basis we are delivered from the
power of this fear."
I know of a person that right now is experiencing panic attacks
because of possibly bankruptcy from having his ID stolen by a
family member. The family member is non-apologetic! This man
has to talk to people through out the day to make a living. He never
knows when one of these attacks will "cripple" him and he cannot
function at that time.
Mr. Stedman says to think of the worse-case scenario and know that
EVEN IF that happens ~ "that" being a panic attack, the loss of your home,
feeling like a failure, a divorce, a report of bad news from your doctor,
a death in your family, a child born with special needs, ECT...
God still will love you and will care for you and bring you out of that
trying time a better person...He did for Paul and He will do that for us,
also ~ I know personally that it works!!
Stand firm, don't give in!
Let's hear of some testimonies of how God has loved you
and cared for you during a trying time in your life.
I'll go first! Please click on the word "comment" below my name.
Until next week, may God keep you under the shadow of His wings, Psalm 57:1,
Debbie G.
Today, Sunday August 31, is the 14th anniversary of my first husband, Bruce's death. It is still hard for me to type the word "death" after all these years!
ReplyDeleteI will never forget the last 8 days of his life in the hospital. I will never forget his strength and courage during his fight against lung cancer. Being that he was a non-smoker, the diagnosis came too late to help him. He was 42.
The Lord was so near to me that I compare it to feeling as though He was blinders connected to my temples like a horse uses. Blinders...keeping me focused on Him and doing whatever I could do to ease my husband's pain and concerns.
Bruce did have that "peace that passes all understanding", but of course, there were times where decisions had to be made and we were concerned that we would do what would honor the Lord and honor Bruce's dignity.
We stood as firm as we could on what seemed like shifting sands and a "roller coaster ride".
Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.
Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!
Thank you Lord, for Your Presence to cheer and to guide, even through the darkest days,
Debbie G.
Thank you Debbie, for your comments, and for leading this great study! I pray that your daughter and family are "landing" in India and the hands of the Almighty God are keeping them safe.
ReplyDeleteI feel somewhat like a baby, in that I don't have any big event to write about for standing firm. One thing I can think that we are in the season of the teenager. My oldest son is 16 and driving. He is trying hard to spread his wings and become a man, yet I can see so much that he still needs our guidance and direction (but he doesn't always want to bend to our instructions). It's hard to start letting him out on his own, trying to give him room, but also wanting to control where he is and with whom he is spending his time. I feel like I'm walking a fine line between being overbearing, and thus driving a wedge in our relationship, and trusting him and what we've taught him, and also trusing God to protect him, and also to nudge him gently (maybe) when he's not doing what he should. I think I just wrote a really long run on paragraph, but suffice it to say I know I will survive this -- my parents are proof that you can live through it!
Blessings,
Teresa
Teresa,
ReplyDeleteThank you for commenting.
I had 2/16 year olds once ~ at the same time, b/c they are twins and I know of what you speak. They were girls and I wonder if that does make a difference in my situation. I guess the condition of their heart makes the big difference, not gender.
As I was typing this, I was reminded of the Scripture in Ezekiel 36:26 "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." In this case "flesh" is a good thing! I am not supposing that your son has a heart of stone; I am suggesting that we pray that all teenager's hearts (and ours) stay soft and pliable to the Lord and to instruction. Amen
Update on my daughter's family in India!(I need to keep their names out of this, because of the sensitive situations in India regarding Christians.)
ReplyDelete*They arrived safely, PTL! The only negative was not having 2 bags arrive with them, but they were supposed to have them by now. The boys, 11 and 4, did remarkably well being on the plane for 21 hours!! Must have been all the time spent in their van for 1 1/2 + years itinerating to raise support for this calling on their lives!
*Yesterday,Monday morning, our time, my daughter set out on a 2 day train trip to travel with the another "seasoned" sister in the Lord and other ladies from their church to a Women's Conference. She is to spend 2 nights and 1+ days on this train. She had to jump right into the culture, with her going on this trip approx. 5 days after arriving in India. Please pray for her. Her sister and I have talked briefly to her while she has been on the train. She is not frightened, just not comfortable with her surroundings, yet. After the Conference her husband and 2 boys will join her and travel(I think by plane) to another city and then fly(I think) back to their home base.
I appreciate your prayers for them. Your prayers are priceless!!
Debbie G.