Saturday, April 30, 2011

For Ladies Only

Ladies and of course, Gentlemen, for a long time I always felt the guilt of Eve's sin. I thought she was responsible for the fall of mankind. The book of Genesis is one of my favorite books in the Bible.

My husband and I searched through the scriptures today; it was enjoyable talking to him about the Word of God. Well, of course, after reading the first and second chapter, we concluded that Adam really was the one who messed up and all this time, I had thought Eve was the real culprit. Now Eve did mess up, but God had given specific instructions to Adam. Chapter 1:27 states, "So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." So let's look at what was read and discussed today.

First, let deal with the word, "command." Webster's New World Dictionary states that command means 1) to give an order; direct, and 2) to have authority over; control.

Chapter 2 of the book of Genesis tells of how God formed man, v. 7 and how He formed the woman, v. 22. The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it, v. 15, and the Lord God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die, v. 17. In v. 18, the Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone, I will make a helper suitable for him. There you have it, Adam and Eve, in the Garden of Eden.

In Chapter 3 the serpent convinces Eve that she should eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, v. 1-5. Eve ate and then gave some to Adam, her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, v. 6.

What happens when we do something wrong and we don't want anyone to know? We try to hide and cover up the wrong, v. 8. The only problem here is that you cannot hide anything from God, v. 9; God is all-knowing and He cannot be deceived.

Adam, not realizing that God sees and knows everything, is hiding and he tells God he is afraid because he was naked. I tell you those of you who are mothers, doesn't this sound like your child or children? God asked Adam how does he know he is naked and He asked Adam this question: "Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?

God doesn't go to Eve and ask her what she has done, He goes directly to one He commanded, Adam.

Adam, like most children, wanted to lay the blame elsewhere, away from himself. He tells God, "The woman you put here with me---she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it, v. 12. Now we should know that what from this? God created man; he gave him a helper, woman, but God commanded Adam, the man not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. What does God expect of us, both men and women? He expects obedience.

God has given us free will but this free will must be in the image of God, used with God's intellect. We should use our free will to make good choices. When God directs us, and God is usually very specific, we are to obey his direction. God is our Creator and He is in command, or better said, has authority over our lives.

The Bible has been said by some to be Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. We are blessed to have the Bible to instruct us on how to live this earthly life. God has given us His specific instructions for a good reason and for His purposes.

Thought for Today: God created us for His purpose, and for His plan.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Everything that has Breath Should Praise the Lord!

I am reflecting on the Psalm 150 and I quote verbatim,

"Praise the Lord.

Praise the God in his sanctuary,
Praise Him in His mighty heavens.

Praise Him for His acts of power;
Praise Him for His surpassing greatness.

Praise Him with the sounding of the trumpet,
Praise Him with the harp and lyre,
Praise Him with tambourine and dancing,
Praise Him with the strings and flute,
Praise Him with the clash of cymbals,
Praise Him with resounding cymbals.

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord."

Many people don't believe in music in their churches, but the Bible specifically says you can praise God with many instruments. If you can talk, you should open your mouth and praise God! It is a command, folks, that everything that has breath should praise the Lord.

Sometimes we don't want to praise God when the going gets tough or the tough gets going. God communicates with us and, we, with him, through our praise.

Praise God that we have victory over sin and temptation, and praise God that Jesus made it all possible that we have victory over Satan and all his evil powers. Psalm 147 tells us that it is good to sing praises to our God; it is pleasant and fitting to praise Him.

God doesn't change; we change; God doesn't move away from us, we move away from Him. All He wants is our praise. Get a song in your heart and in your spirit.

Thought for Today: God appreciates our praise; if you don't have an instrument, use your voice to stand up and praise God!

Thursday, April 21, 2011

How to Listen to God (corrected version)

Strange thing, I don't consider myself a very good listener, but this subject of listening to God came to mind.

Listening to God is like listening to anyone. Before you can hear Him, you must be ready to listen. This is what happened to me. I had to get my heart ready to listen to God by learning and studying His Word.

Just as in a conversation, you cannot hear the other person if you are talking or if your mind is distracted. So it is with God. If you want to hear Him speak, you must be quiet and focused on what He is saying.

Regular conversation with God starts with prayer, and regular conversation can transform your life. Consider identifying a place and time to meet with God every day.

Psalm 143:8 says "Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul."

Listening to God requires a deliberate choice to shut out the chaos around you and focus your thoughts. Is God someone you hear? The Bible says He is, and the Bible is one of the main tools through which He speaks.

We live in a world of noise. Almost everywhere we go, we find sounds competing with our minds. Hearing God's voice means not listening to the noise of the world around us.

King David, author of most of the book of Psalms, gave us a model for meeting with God in Psalm 143:8. He sought God's direction in the morning, at the beginning of the day. Like a general in God's army, he wanted to hear from his Commanding Officer before he entered into battle.

Every day we step out our doors, we enter the battlefield. Be prepared and have on your armor, the Word of God.

Thought for Today: Listening to God takes effort, find a quiet place.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Temptation

Sharing with you one of my favorite scriptures to reflect upon when I am tempted. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful, he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." This is a mouth full right here. Isn't it amazing that God knew before hand that man (woman) would be tempted and would have this particular scripture incorporated in His HOLY Word! Wow! He knew that both Adam and Eve would be tempted and he knows it about me and about you. Temptation in itself is not sin. Jesus was tempted. (Mt 4:1) Yielding to the temptation is sin. Giving in; not resisting is sin. God enables us through His power and His spirit to say "no." Have you ever wondered what gets you in trouble? It is the "i" in sin that gets people in trouble. It is thinking about yourself and caring the the consequences later. What is encouraging about temptation is that God will make a way of escape for you. It has been said that "God always makes a way of escape and sometimes the way of escape is the king's highway and a good pair of heels." In other words, let the Devil see your heels---run as hard as you can to get away from the temptation! Idolatry was a temptation during the Apostle Paul's day as he went to minister to the church in Corinth. Idolatry is still a form of temptation today. There are so many types of idolatry that it will take another time to discuss them. Beware that the Devil seeks to destroy humans by tempting them and humans are sometimes aware and sometimes unaware of the temptation. But you have been put on notice! God is faithful and gives you a way of escape. He will not let you be tempted more than you can bear. Thought for Today: Prayer helps temptation. Go from mine to thine. Keeping your focus on Christ.

Monday, April 4, 2011

I apologize for how the Blog is being posted

Dear Friends, I apologized for how the Blog is being presented. I separate the paragraphs but lately it all runs together. I hope you can get the gist of the message. Joy Terrell

Justice and Truth

Our lives should be examples to our children and grandchildren,models to which they can look for patterns of living. Because others are watching us, we can't afford to allow any room in our lives for injustice and dishonesty. How important it is, then, that our own model be the life of our Lord. The Bible tells us that only by faith can we live just lives. When we walk in the light of our faith, then our families will see in us examples of justice and truth. Oswald Chambers is quoted as saying, "Never look for righteousness in the other person, but never cease to be righteous yourself." Romans 1:16-17 states, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes...For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith." The Bible spells everything out for us if we only take time to pick it up and study the scriptures. Look for righteousness in yourself! Don't worry what someone else is doing or could be doing. Just you be the example. My husband shared with me that his teaching leader told them that Christ never joked or smiled. I never much thought about it, but then on reflection, I don't remember reading in the Bible if Christ every joked or smiled. Christ always seem to know His purpose and His purpose was always to be obedient and serve the Father, God. Proverbs 20:7 says that "the just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him." God tells us in Hebrews 10:38 that "Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him." What is integrity? The dictionary tell us that integrity is honesty, and sincerity and another meaning says it means completeness. The Bible says that a just man walks in his integrity. How deep is that? His children are blessed after him, will find God's favor, God's holiness. When you are blessed you are happy; you are fortunate! The just live by faith. The same faith that Abraham had; he followed God not knowing where he was going, but God told him to go and Abraham was obedient. Jesus was obedient even to death! The Word of God is for the people of God. Those who are highly favored; those who are obedient, and those who will go where God tells them to go. Until I started studying the Word of God, I didn't understand what it meant to be favored, faithful, obedient, or to be blessed. You think about people saying "bless you" when you sneeze but you don't really understand what it means to be blessed. Thank God that His word is clear and if you just dig out His word, it will be very clear to you. If you don't understand what you read when you are reading the bible, search for a bible teaching church or a bible study course by a reputable preacher/teacher The Bible says that only those who have faith can live just lives. Thought for Today: Live your life in a way that pleases God.