Happy Reformation!

Today is the anniversary of Martin Luther nailing his 95 Theses to the door of the church. Even though he had some horrible anti-semitic views, God used him to reform the modern church.

Martin Luther (November 10, 1483 – February 18, 1546) was a German monk,^[1] theologian, university professor, Father ofProtestantism,^[2][3][4][5] and church reformer whose ideas influenced the Protestant Reformation and changed the course of Western civilization.^[6]

Luther's theology challenged the authority of the papacy by holding that the Bible is the only infallible source of religious authority^[7] and that all baptized Christians under Jesus are a universal priesthood.^[8] According to Luther, salvation is a free gift of God, received only by true repentance and faith in Jesus as the Messiah, a faith given by God and unmediated by the church.

At the Diet of Worms assembly over freedom of conscience in 1521, Luther's confrontation with the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and his refusal to submit to the authority of the Emperor resulted in his being excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church and being declared an outlaw of the state as a consequence.

His translation of the Bible into the vernacular of the people made the Scriptures more accessible to them, and had a tremendous political impact on the church and on German culture. It furthered the development of a standard version of the German language, added several principles to the art of translation,^[9] and influenced the translation of the English King James Bible.^[10] His hymns inspired the development of congregational singing within Christianity.^[11] His marriage to Katharina von Bora set a model for the practice of clerical marriage within Protestantism.^{[12] - from Wikipedia}

:Luther's 95 Theses in English

très fabulous

My dear friend Suzi made this. I thought I would share with all our sistas!

Come to Friend Thanksgiving!

This Blog is updated each Tuesday.

The Lord scoffs at those opposed to His Anointed One.

Psalm 2:2-4

A friend of mine blogged about an Indian story recently and I had also planned on blogging on it in a different light. She did not use it this way and this is in no way a reflection of her post.

There is a story about a Native American Man who is telling his grandson about two wolves fighting. The grandson asks which one will win and the older man replies, "the one I feed the most." 

I hear this over and over from people sitting across the table from me explaining to me why their life is in such a mess. They think they have been feeding 'the wrong wolf.' This is a great theory if you apply it to thought process or idolotry. We weaken ourselves when we practice idolotry. The problem is that people are attributing this to the work of God and the devil in their life. 

The concept is a form of duality. Duality is when you believe that the two forces are equals. Symmetrical. This is not the case for those of us in Christ. Our opposing forces are not equal. I cannot help or hinder the battle God has waged against his enemy. Our God is the one whose snake ate all of Pharoah's snakes in Exodus (throw the staff down and let God work)! That is who we must realize God is. We must believe Him, trust Him, and obey Him. We absolutely cannot feed Him and help Him win the battle. It's won. 

Claim the victory.

John 16:33

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

1 John 5:5
Who is it that overcomes the world? 

Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

1 John 5:4
for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.

1 John 4:4

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

___________________________

All Saints Day

In the mad cultural rush for Halloween we tend to miss All Saint's Day. Most of us think that it is a Catholic holiday, but that is not the whole story. In the early church when someone was martyred for Christ an all night vigil was held in their honor on the day of their death (and subsequent anniversaries). The next day a feast was held in order to honor and celebrate their life as it was given in service to Christ. In the early persecuted church there was such an abundance of deaths that they consolidated this to one annual celebration. The date has been moved around and the idea changed by the Catholic church, but the origin remains. I have had a strong desire for our family to celebrate this day with friends. It will be our "friend Thanksgiving." Our desire is to honor, learn about, and celebrate the lives of those who have lost their life for Christ. The night before we will pray for the persecuted church. How often do we celebrate the lives of those who died so that we could hear the gospel? How many of us know the name of any martyrs (besides Jim Elliot)? 

On November 1st celebrate All Saints (Martyrs) Day with us!

Revelation 6:9-11 (New Living Translation)

 9 When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of all who had been martyred for the word of God and for being faithful in their testimony. 10 They shouted to the Lord and said, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you judge the people who belong to this world and avenge our blood for what they have done to us?” 11 Then a white robe was given to each of them. And they were told to rest a little longer until the full number of their brothers and sisters—their fellow servants of Jesus who were to be martyred—had joined them.

________________________________

Denbigh keeps trying to get me to talk about the day I decided to flip on the tv and I watched about 8 minutes of Barney (yes, the purple dinosaur). From one commercial break to another I saw Barney get on a magic train and take kids to Egypt, Tibet, and a magic show. When in Egypt they learned a song about how to praise and worship the sun. In Tibet they learned how to chant. At the magic show they were taught that magic draws from the spiritual forces around us. I can't make this stuff up. It left me with my mouth agape. In 8 minutes, if I was not aware, my child 5 and under, could be indoctrinated into pagan and occultic rituals. 

1 Thessalonians 5:6

So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep,

 but let us be alert and self-controlled.

Psalm 42

Theopneustos

This Blog is updated each Tuesday.

Theopneustos- (thay-AHP-noo-stos) God breathed, breathed out by God. This does not imply that God breathed life into man's words, but that they were created by God. They reflect His very heart, His very speaking.

"All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

2 Timothy 3:16-17

I had a God Breathed Friday night.

We saw this house on the way to the respite. It reminded me of where many of us were at. Much of our lives had been consumed, but the foundation remained. Trust God.

Emily and Melissa

I came across a verse over the weekend in 1 Peter 3. It says that a gentle and quiet spirit (tranquil and meek) is imperishable. I found that interesting. I think it is hard for people to be quiet or tranquil even. It is what we should strive for. It will endure the fire. What does this look like? Do it mean we never speak and that will make God  look on us with great love? Not so. 

Meekness:

πραΰς - praÿs :Meekness toward God is that disposition of spirit in which we accept His dealings with us as good, and therefore without disputing or resisting. In the OT, the meek are those wholly relying on God rather than their own strength to defend against injustice. Thus, meekness toward evil people means knowing God is permitting the injuries they inflict, that He is using them to purify His elect, and that He will deliver His elect in His time (Isa 41:17, Luk 18:1-8). Gentleness or meekness is the opposite to self-assertiveness and self-interest. It stems from trust in God's goodness and control over the situation. The gentle person is not occupied with self at all. This is a work of the Holy Spirit, not of the human will (Gal 5:23).

Are you overly occupied with self? Do you spend as much time or more listening as you do talking? What could you do to instill this character in yourself? How can you be more bent on the will of God than affirmation?

The San Gabriel River

Angie

Kristi

The back decks.

View from our balcony.

Kristi and Angela

We were all having a laugh at our fabulous photographer.

At "A Woman's Respite" I gave out a list by Nancy DeMoss. I thought you might like to check your heart against it.

40 Evidences That You Have Left Your First Love

Lucille

Today we buried my grandmother so I am taking a break from the norm to tell a few stories about her. I will write more later in the week. 

Lucille, MaCille, Lucy. She was by far the strongest woman you would ever meet. Her feisty attitude and warmth preceded her everywhere she went. Today I was thinking of her telling Denbigh about her returning home from one of their stays at the White House to realize she had left her girdle. Denbigh asked if she got it back and she gave him a look and said, "Denbigh, who are you going to call at the White House to get your girdle back?!"  Once she and DaBo had dropped off some paintings to LBJ and Lady Bird and she saw that he hadn't paid them the right amount of money. She called Lyndon up and told him about it. He never let her live it down. He would always say," what woman do you know of that would call the President of the United States and tell him that he owed her more money?!" That is just the woman she was. Strong. Fierce. Passionate. Helpmate. She was a beautiful picture of how a woman can encourage and stand behind a man in everything she did. I celebrate her vibrancy today. 

I love you, Cille.

Vote. Vote. Vote

It's confession time. I have always chosen my candidate based on the Christian moralist agenda. I am sure there is a card or something that American Family puts out to tell you which way to vote. We have "key" issues that are what we judge by. We don't really need God to help us with our checklists. 

As this election is looming I have been driven to my knees by thoughts of judgment on our nation. Have you gotten on your face and asked God who He desires to be in office? Prayerfully, have you gotten an answer? I would love to know.

I Don't Want to Vote

I know I am posting alot. It's a mood I am in.

 The Tuesday update is still on time so keep checking in weekly.

So, I don't want to vote. The thought of it is making me nauseated. Isaiah chapter three says that a sign of God's judgment is when the young and when women rule over us. On one hand we have a deeply unwise baby with substantial ties to terrorism. He has voted for all of the bills that have led us into this current financial crisis. He is the most liberal candidate ever to be on the ticket. 

He is barely old enough to run for President.   

On the other hand we have an overlooked older man who has made some excellent choices in his political years. He voted to control Freddie and Fannie long ago. His sidekick , a woman, is a model of the Christian moralist agenda. The problem is that biblically we see that she being placed in the position she is in is not a beacon of hope to the female driven side of emerging church. 

Her position is a sign of judgment.

Do we pray to see who will bring the least judgment on our country while we get down on our faces and cry out for God's mercy?

(Denbigh suggested I choose a write in candidate like Voddie Baucham.)

 Isaiah 3 (does verse 14 sound like the current financial crisis?)

 11 Woe to the wicked! Disaster is upon them.

 They will be paid back for what their hands have done.

12 Youths oppress my people, 

       women rule over them. 

       O my people, your guides lead you astray; 

       they turn you from the path.

 13 The LORD takes his place in court; 

       he rises to judge the people.

 14 The LORD enters into judgment 

       against the elders and leaders of his people: 

       "It is you who have ruined my vineyard; 

       the plunder from the poor is in your houses.

Lady, Are You Speaking English?

This Blog is updated each Tuesday.

My pregnant thoughts are all over the place. 

I will try to keep them orderly, but I am not 

making any promises. 

Let us begin our journey together.

In Bible Study Fellowship this year we are studying Moses. Something stood out to me that has not  before. I think in my mind I thought that all of those Israelites in Egypt were there loving the Lord and being persecuted. I thought they came up with the random idea to build a gold cow because they were terrified. The historical and biblical reality is that many of them looked more like pagans than a holy people set apart. They built that gold cow because it was comfortable. It's what they knew. Oppression was comfortable because it was accompanied by choice food and wine. It was accompanied by a tangible deities you could hold in your hand. They thought a little Asherah or Baal or Ra  worship wouldn't hurt if they just added it in the mix with God. That was not the case. It's not that grace does not abound in disobedience. It definitely does. The fact is that we silence the very One we are trying to hear when we turn to talk show hosts, word of faith preachers, and self help gurus. God desperately desires to talk to us. He desires to allure us into the quiet to hear His voice. We day after day drown Him out. We have a choice to be the remnant that petitions God to save His people or the people God saves in spite of themselves because of His faithfulness. 

All of this reminded me of Romans Chapter 5. While we were still sinners Christ died for us. While we still preferred the pagan comforts of Egypt. . .

Random News: Today I got gas for $3.08! Please continue to petition God for provision for Gomer's House. I got my Reeces Pieces. Denbigh wants me to blog about Barney so that will come later in the week. Stay tuned. 

Shiloh is tonight!

This Ministered To My Spirit

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Isaiah 25:1

O Lord, You are my God;

I will exalt You and praise Your name,

for in perfect faithfulness 

You have done marvelous things,

things planned long ago.

√