Just Two!!

Good  Sunday morning to all from Hawkinsville, GA. Waine and I are working covering Taylor Memorial Hospital and Waine is also playing in a golf tournament at Southern Hills Country Club which is a very nice Club here in Hawkinsville. The weather is very pleasant at 60 degrees and although I have been busy I have been able to enjoy the outdoors each day. Waine and I watched LSU beat the Georgia Bulldogs yesterday in the second half and of course this has been the topic of conversation throughout Hawkinsville today; that and Tiger's quest for his first win in over 2 years. Aleron's birthday is on 12/5/11 and I can't believe our "baby" boy will be 30. Wow! Waine is getting old!

I am continuing my journey in Jeremiah 16, verses 1-13 "Then the word of the LORD came to me: You must not marry and have sons or daughters in this place. For this is what the LORD says about the sons and daughters born in this land and about the women who are their mothers and the men who are their fathers: “They will die of deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried but will be like dung lying on the ground. They will perish by sword and famine, and their dead bodies will become food for the birds and the wild animals.” For this is what the LORD says: “Do not enter a house where there is a funeral meal; do not go to mourn or show sympathy, because I have withdrawn my blessing, my love and my pity from this people,” declares the LORD. “Both high and low will die in this land. They will not be buried or mourned, and no one will cut themselves or shave their head for the dead. No one will offer food to comfort those who mourn for the dead—not even for a father or a mother—nor will anyone give them a drink to console them. And do not enter a house where there is feasting and sit down to eat and drink. For this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Before your eyes and in your days I will bring an end to the sounds of joy and gladness and to the voices of bride and bridegroom in this place. When you tell these people all this and they ask you, ‘Why has the LORD decreed such a great disaster against us? What wrong have we done? What sin have we committed against the LORD our God?’ then say to them, ‘It is because your ancestors forsook me,’ declares the LORD, ‘and followed other gods and served and worshiped them. They forsook me and did not keep my law. But you have behaved more wickedly than your ancestors. See how all of you are following the stubbornness of your evil hearts instead of obeying me. So I will throw you out of this land into a land neither you nor your ancestors have known, and there you will serve other gods day and night, for I will show you no favor." Amen. May the Lord add a blessing to the reading and hearing of His Word.

One of the reasons that Jeremiah has been a struggle for me is that this is not the God I know. The God I know through Christ is compassionate and forgiving. This God of wrath in the Old testament is not the God that is revealed to us Christians because of the sacrifice of Christ. This is a sacrifice that erased and erases our sins on a consistent basis which means that God only sees us through His Son, Jesus the Christ or through the eyes of perfect LOVE. In these scriptures God is telling Jeremiah that he must conduct himself as one who expects to see his country ruined very shortly. In the prospect of sad times, he is to abstain from marriage, mourning for the dead, and pleasure. In other words, those who would convince others of the truths of God, must make it appear by their self-denial, that they believe it themselves. By so doing, the peace of God that should be present, inward and outward, can be acknowledged to be wholly the work of God. By withholding His loving kindness and mercy the disobedient people of Israel will now experience the natural distress which is a consequence of God withdrawing His forgiveness and peace. God is also telling Jeremiah that there may be times when it is proper to avoid things that bring us pleasure and comforts as a demonstration to those watching that a relationship with God is a serious matter. Also, Jeremiah is being given guidance for those who quarrel at the Word of God, instead of humbling and condemning themselves and who justify themselves, as though God did them wrong. A plain and full answer is given. Jeremiah is instructed to tell them that they were more obstinate in sin than their fathers, walking every one after the devices of their own heart as opposed to hearkening to the instructions of God; they shall be hurried away into a far country, a land they know not. They will be driven there without God's favour which will result in their captivity and subjugation by the idol worshippers. Thank God for the Blood of the Lamb that covers my transgressions! Hallelujah!

Whether in the Old or New Testaments, God states that there are TWO (2), just two commandments that we must abide by that is to Love the Lord with all of our hearts, mind and soul. Forsaking any worship of any other man made gods or idols. God also instructs that we are then to love each other as God has loved us. This supernatural love would then dictate our behavior as being that of Christ --long suffering and forgiving.  God says on these two commandments hang ALL the laws of the Universe. Just 2! We are commanded to follow JUST 2 commandments--so why then does man make up so many rules that cloud the simple relationship we are to have with God through Christ. My belief is that man seeks to be god through these rule makings as opposed to just following the Commandments of God. This sin nature has been present since the beginning of time starting with Lucifer, continuing through Eve and then Adam and through us. Our sin nature will full you into thinking that you are in control of your life and destiny. I would invite all who believe that to delve into the Old testament and read what happens to people who turn their face from God and try to become gods themselves. I am convinced that God never allows that to happen.

During this Advent season leading up to the celebration of the Birth of the Christ, it is a good time to get back to the Basics of what makes us Christians. Love God and then love someone who you find it hard to love.

Now may the LORD bless you and keep you; may the LORD make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; may the LORD turn His face toward you and give you peace.

Stephanie

Are you plugged in?

Good morning to all on this wonderful Thursday morning. My friend and brother Eric Byron Taylor experienced his second sunrise yesterday at 5:24 AM. He was 65 years old and is now walking with Jesus and is praying for us. I amhoping that God assigns him to be one of my guardian angels. Please continue to keep his family in your prayers. Please continue to keep JKS in your prayers and pray for her sustenance and healing.  God has a plan for all of us and I can tell you that in the last 2 weeks I have seen first hand how God will intervene just in time!

I am continuing my journey in Jeremiah 3: 1-5 "If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him and marries another man, should he return to her again? Would not the land be completely defiled? But you have lived as a prostitute with many lovers— would you now return to Me? declares the LORD. Look up to the barren heights and see. Is there any place where you have not been ravished? By the roadside you sat waiting for lovers, sat like a nomad in the desert. You have defiled the land with your prostitution and wickedness. Therefore the showers have been withheld, and no spring rains have fallen. Yet you have the brazen look of a prostitute; you refuse to blush with shame. Have you not just called to me: ‘My Father, my friend from my youth, will you always be angry? Will your wrath continue forever?’ This is how you talk, but you do all the evil you can.” May the Lord add a blessing and understanding to His Words, amen!

The Word of God emphasizes the sanctity of marriage and the fidelity that should exist between husband and wife. This must be an important principle because it comes up over and over again in the Word of God. The very act of 2 people completely devoting themselves to each other is a founding principle of the relationship between God and man--we are to completely give of ourselves to God and have such an intimate relationship with Him there is no room for a relationship with any other god. As a married woman, I share my deepest thoughts, fears, and aspirations with my spouse; in fact my beloved can look at my expression or body language and tell what I am thinking. He measures my moods and responds according. We at times can hear the same thing and start talking about the same conclusions. Waine and I are in SYNC!

When you are intimate with someone you are like a flight of birds, moving in the same direction. Likewise with our relationship with the Father--He wants us to be in sync with Him and not to be distracted with other spiritual relationships. He knows us best because He created us; He has numbered the hairs on our head (oops there goes hair #2,067); He knows what will make us fulfilled and as He said in Jeremiah, this fulfillment will only happen when we stop prostituting ourselves to other gods (power, money, vanity, prejudice, narcissism). When we discover God in His purest form, we will be fulfilled. We are like electronic products that need to be plugged into our source of energy and in this case God is the ultimate renewable energy source. Eric is no longer wondering what an eternal life with God is like. He faced God yesterday at 5:24 AM. Eric's angels carried him Home and he was able to hear his God say, "Sit down and rest for awhile My good and faithful servant! You have done your job well and I am proud of you." Our kingdom mission is to spread the good news that God provided a way for our sins to be forgiven and our lives to be realigned with its original purpose. His name is Jesus and He can save the world from the wasteland of sin.

Now may the LORD bless you and keep you; may the LORD make His face to shine on you and be gracious to you; may the LORD turn His face toward you and give you peace.  Rest well my brother Eric and keep me in your prayer!

Stephanie

Christ Jesus, Our Hope!

Good morning to all on this glorious Tuesday and thank you Jesus for waking me up. I work a clinic on Mondays and Tuesdays and have been praying to God to be able to wake up early enough to have my devotion and then exercise before I go to work and this morning He woke me up and help me get out of bed. Its also hard to leave my husband in bed as we love to snuggle in the morning; I have a special burden though to continue my exercise regimen because its good for me. Some one told me yesterday that the devil is a liar and the author of confusion; he works best when you are close to your goal but become weary. That is when you should press on to the mark even if you can't see the goal or understand what it is you are pressing toward. Faith is the Promise of things not seen and the Substance of things hoped for. My Faith will be rewarded today as will yours. Please continue to keep ET and his healing in your prayers as well as JKS for her healing. TK needs a job so please pray for her. I love you all and thank you for your generosity of prayers!

We finished Paul's letters to the Philippians yesterday so let's explore Timothy. Timothy was one of Paul's early converts and was apparently from Lystra which is now in modern Turkey. Timothy was as a son to Paul and often served as his traveling companion. In the 1st letter to Timothy 1 verses 1-11 Paul writes "Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope. To Timothy my true son in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer or to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. Such things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God’s work—which is by faith. The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Some have departed from these and have turned to meaningless talk. They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm. We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which He entrusted to me." Amen.

It would appear that Timothy wanted to be with Paul in Macedonia but was needed in Ephesus to encourage the early Jewish Christians to change from their practice of learning the genealogy of Christ and their other Hebrew leaders to practicing the Spiritual legacy left by Christ. Remember the Hebrews were schooled in the law and judging each other by the law but Christ had fulfilled the law so there was no more need to dwell there. In fact Paul calls it "meaningless talk". Instead, Paul is urging Timothy to remind the Christians in Ephesus to practice instead SINCERE FAITH in the power of the resurrection of Jesus. What puts Jesus above all the prophets of the old testament or the LAW as Jews learned it, was that Christ was born, spent His life teaching the laws and commandments of God His Father, willingly died for our sins and then, and then , and then WAS RESURRECTED so that we were no longer going to have to be in bondage to sin and a slave to the law. The Jewish Christians of Ephesus were "stuck" in the laws of the past which prevented their liberation of faith. Since Faith comes from hearing and hearing from the Word of God, Paul is encouraging Timothy to stay in Ephesus and preach the Word of God to these young Christians so that their faith could be strengthened.

There is a message here for me. Unless I am about God's Kingdom building works and spread the good news of Jesus, that He died for us all, then there will be a multitude of people who will be judged according to the law and not by their faith. Paul is telling us that the law is not made for the righteous but the unrighteous who are described as "lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers". These are the folk that need Jesus and they are with us each day. This is our ministry and we have to set ourselves apart from them with our lives. If we walk and live among them and act like them that is not kingdom building. We are to let our life so shine that they will see the light and come toward it as a moth to a fire. We need do anything else other that to live our lives as God commands and that is in FAITH, HOPE, and LOVE and the greatest of these is LOVE.

Love someone today that you find hard to love; you will be blessed beyond measure!! Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Now may the LORD bless you and keep you; may the LORD make His face to shine on you and be gracious to you; may the LORD turn His face toward you and give you peace. Amen!

Stephanie