He was eager to explore his surroundings, so he gave me a half-hug and ran off. I yelled for him to turn around so that I could get his picture, and this is what he did.
You would think that he’d feel a LITTLE sad that he was leaving his mother for the FIRST time..for a WHOLE week. But no. He shot me the peace signs and said, “Bye Mom! I’m going into my HOUSE!” (referring to the cabin)
I suppose this means I’ve done a good job of encouraging him to be independent.
I need to encourage myself to be independent from HIM.
I do enjoy the peace and quiet.…..but I am looking forward to Friday.
speaking: Tye Tribbett]
When the enemy comes in like a flood,
The spirit of the Lord will raise up a standard against him.
I see the enemy coming in like a flood in our houses, in our churches, in our families.
But what I don’t see is the standard. People of God where’s the standard at?
We in a war y’all. It’s time to stand OUT!
[G.A.:]
It’s about to go down. The battle has begun.
It’s time for you to choose, whose side you gonna be on.
The devil is recruiting, temptin’ every man.
But he’s already defeated, all we have to do is stand.
No time for mixing light with the darkness.
Be black or be white, no more shades of gray.
Be separated, be holy, no matter what you do, don’t bow.
And even if you stand alone, stand anyhow.
[CHORUS]
[Tye:] Rise up!
[G.A.:]
Rise up people, put on your strength.
There’s a war going on and we will win.
Stand up and fight, let the kingdom prevail.
With power and might, we will stand out.
Stand out!
[G.A.:] Stand out!
Be not conformed to this world.
[G.A.:] Stand out!
Be transformed, renew your mind.
[G.A.:] Stand out!
Just like the three Hebrew boys,
[G.A.:] Stand out!
[G.A.:]
God is playin’ it cool, don’t wanna rub nobody the wrong way.
Almost like we’re trying to fit in. Acting like we don’t know the name.
It’s time for us to stand out and go against the grain.
Forget tryin’ to be down, let the world know you’ve been changed.
How you gonna be the praise leader? But you listen to R & B?
And hip-hop is on your ringtone. I’m trynna tell you God ain’t pleased.
And since when did it become cool for you to live together unmarried?
Men with men?
Women with women?
I’m tellin you God ain’t gon’ have it.
[CHORUS]
[Tye:]
It’s time to recognize.
The war it’s in disguise.
No time for compromise.
Wake up open your eyes.
[together:] The devil is a LIE!
You must be hot or cold.
You can’t blend in the crowd.
It’s time for God’s people ta -
[CHORUS]
[Tye:]
Let me hear your war cry!
[G.A.:]
Ooh! Ooh! Ooh!
[Tye:]
Let me hear your war cry!
[G.A.:]
Ooh! (Let’s Stand Out!) Ooh! (Let’s Stand Out!) Ooh!
[Tye:]
Little bit louder.
[G.A.:]
Ooh! Ooh! Ooh!
[Tye:]
One more time!
[G.A.:]
Ooh! (Cry out loud!) Ooh! (Stand out!) Ooh!
STAND OUT!
[Speaking: Tye Tribbett]
We in a war people of God.
You don’t have to fight, all you gotta do is stand.
Make some noise G.A.!
Having done all to stand…
Now stand people of God!
If you gonna stand out with us… SCREAM!
I’ve got so much to thank God for
So many wonderful blessings
and so many open doors
A brand new mercy
along with each new day
That’s why I praise You
and for this I give You praise
For waking me up this morning
That’s why I praise You
For starting me on my way
That’s why I praise You
For letting me see the sunshine
that’s why I praise You
of a brand new day
A brand new mercy
along with each new day
That’s why I praise You and for this
I give You praise
You’re Jehovah Jhireh
That’s why I praise You
You’ve been my Provider
That’s why I praise You
You see so many times You´ve met my needs
So many times You rescued me
That’s why I praise You
I want to thank You for the blessing
You give to me each day
That’s why I praise You
For this I give You praise
For every mountain You brought me over
For every trial you’ve seen me through
For every blessing
Hallelujah, for this I give You praise
Jehovah Jireh, my provider
You are more than enough for me.
Jehovah Rapha, you’re my healer
By your stripes, I have been set free
Jehovah Shammah, You are with me
You supply all my needs.
You are more than enough
More than enough
More than enough for me.
The race is not given, to the swift nor to the strong,
but to the one that endures, until the end,
There’ll be problems, and sometimes you walk alone, but I know,
that I know that I know, It will work out, yes it will for the good of them
For the good of them
For the good of them
For the good of them
Who loves the Lord
Eyes have not seen, and neither have ears heard,
the things that God has prepared for them that love Him
Sometimes, you may have to cry,
And sometimes, You may have to may have to walk alone
But I know, that I know, that I know,
Things will work out, yes they will, For the good of them
For the good of them
For the good of them
For the good of them
Who loves the Lord
No matter what the problem,
You can’t solve them
They will come, but don’t, you worry.
It will work out for the good of them who love the Lord
Every time I make up my mind to write on a regular basis, I allow things to get to me to the point that I have no desire to write. I forget that writing is my chance to let things go, instead of letting them weigh on me all the time. So, I’m trying to shake it off and get to writing. On top of that, I can’t find a wordpress theme that I like…and I don’t have the time or the inclination to try to make one up on my own!
So what’s been going on with me?
Reading: I’m still reading Knowing God and The Pursuit of Holiness. I just haven’t written out my thoughts. It’s coming.
Work: Same ole, same ole. My job is pretty low stress and pretty boring. Not complaining though. I’ve worked a stressful job. It was more money, but not worth me being stressed out.
School: This month, orientation started. I’ll be going to Geneva College’s Center for Urban Biblical Ministry. I’ll earn an A.A. in Christian Ministry. I plan to get a Bachelor’s after that, but I’m not sure in what. Baby steps here. School doesn’t officially start until the end of August. I’m ready for it to begin!
Home: When I moved in February, I knew it would be rough financially. And it has been tougher than I imagined. I can see some light at the end of the tunnel, though. God is my provider, and He is faithful. I LOVE my home and I don’t regret moving at all.
The Boy: He’s a wonderful child. He’ll be going away to camp for a week, starting Sunday. FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER. He’s anticipating it, though…even counting down. I’m glad he’s not afraid. That was my main concern. He did tell me that he needed me to give him a picture of me to take with him, though. I’ll make sure he has it.
What am I going to do for a week by myself? I have to go to work. I have 2 more sessions of school orientation, bible study to teach. My life will pretty much go on as normal, except that I won’t be getting my daily hugs and kisses from my little dude, and I won’t hear “Mommy!” every 5 minutes. LOL! It’ll be real quiet at home. I’m just gonna take the time to refresh myself. Watch some movies, do some reading, do some writing, listen to some music…all with no interruptions. Yeah..that’s it.
Sometimes you have to encourage yourself.
Sometimes you have to speak victory during the test.
And no matter how you feel,
speak the word and you will be healed;
speak over yourself,
encourage yourself in the Lord.
Sometimes you have to speak the word over yourself,
the pressure is all around,
but God is present help.
The enemy created walls,
but remember giants, they do fall;
speak over yourself,
encourage yourself in the Lord.
As I minister to you, oh I minister to myself,
life can hurt you so,
’til you feel there’s nothing left.
No matter how you feel,
speak the word and you will be healed
even though i can’t see
and i can’t feel your touch
i will trust you lord
how i love you so much
though my nights my seem long
and i feel so alone
lord my trust is in you
i surrender to you
so many painful thoughts
travel through my mind
and i wonder how
i will make it through this time
but i trust you
lord it’s not easy
sometimes the pain in my life
makes you seem far away
but i’ll trust you
i need to know you’re here
through the tears and the pain
through the heartache and rain
i’ll trust you
everything that i see
tells me not to believe
but i’ll trust you lord
you have never failed me
my past still controls me
will this hurt ever leave?
i can only trust you
no one else like you do
How can a Christian determine which doctrines are essential and which are not?
To begin with, the strongest words of condemnation in all the New Testament are aimed at false teachers who corrupt the Gospel. Therefore the Gospel message itself must be acknowledged as a primary point of fundamental doctrine.
But what message will determine the content of our gospel testimony? Let’s turn to Scripture itself and attempt to lay out some biblical principles for determining which articles of faith are truly essential to authentic Christianity.
I moved to a new home in February and in my packing, came across The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges. I KNEW I had it, but had forgotten where I put it. When I got into my new space, I placed the book and the accompanying study guide in a place where I could NOT misplace it. Now, I’m digging in.
In the preface, Bridges says:
…the pursuit of holiness is a joint venture between God and the Christian. No one can attain any degree of holiness without God working working in his life, but just as surely no one will attain it without effort on his own part. God has made it possible for us to walk in holiness. But He has given to us the responsibility of doing the walking. He does not do that for us.
We cannot say we’re Christians if we take no actions toward conforming to Christ. There are things that WE must do (or not do) in striving to attain holiness. Funny thing is, I rarely (if ever) hear Christians talk about being holy, living holy lives, or pursuing holiness. It’s as if once God saved us, we think we can wear HOLY across our chests like a superhero. I don’t hear much talk about what being holy looks like in everyday life. More often than not, it’s “God knows my heart!” or, “I’m still growing in that area!” But no talk about how to tackle our sinful issues and conquer them by God’s grace. Bridges says there are two reasons for this:
We don’t want to face up to our responsibility. We prefer to pray to God for victory when we know we should be acting in obedience.
We do not understand the proper distinction between God’s provision and our own responsibility for holiness. We struggle with what we’re supposed to do and what we’re supposed to rely on God to do.
When the word pursue is used in reference to holiness, it suggests two things: First, that EFFORT and DILIGENCE are required. A pursuit is not a pursuit at all without EFFORT and a commitment to seeing the pursuit through. Second, this pursuit is a task that will last our whole lives. It does not end. We will never attain perfection in this life, but we have to keep striving for it until we breathe our last breath. We strive to conform to the will of God in one area of life…and surely he’ll reveal our need for holiness in another area. We will ALWAYS be pursuing holiness…that is, if we’re committed to following Christ.
And that’s just a part of the preface, ya’ll. LOL
Going on throughout the book, we’ll discover what holiness is, what our responsibility is for living a holy life, why we struggle so hard to defeat sin,and what God has provided to help us over come it.
GOOD STUFF! If you don’t have the book, get it. But even if you don’t, I hope you’ll keep reading as I go through it.
I’d love to know your thoughts so far..so register and leave a comment. I know registering is a pain, but it cuts down on spam…and I HATE SPAM!!