http://www.christiansurfers.com/2011/11/06/how-god-feels/

11.7.11 Christian Surfers Monday Morning Devotionl
This was a quote left behind by a victim of the holocaust: “I believe in sun even when it is not shining…” Often we seek to determine, based on the circumstances of the day, whether the “sun” even exists.

Last week we looked at Mark 1:11 “And a voice came from Heaven: ‘You are my son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” This is God the Father speaking to God the Son at His baptism. I think that it is with great intentionality that the Father states clearly how He feels about the Son. Since next,  Jesus is led into is the desert to be tempted by the Devil. There the Devil says that he’ll  give Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if Jesus will worship him. What he’s saying is, if you worship me I’ll love you and I’ll treat you great. The implication is God must not love you because He sent you out here into the desert for 40 days with nothing.

The Devil still tells us this lie. He shows us momentary pleasures and contrasts them to the suffering of the cross and says that He will treat us better. He then takes it a step further and gently begins asking, “Does God really love you?” We are tempted to look at our circumstances and doubt that God loves us and has our best in mind. I’m sure Jesus was tempted with this as well. But, rather than look at the circumstances, He “took God at His word.” He went back to what God had stated, not what He felt. That’s exactly what we must do – Take God at His word. Scripture is filled with statements of God’s love for us; John 3:16, 1John 3:16, Hebrews 13:5, 1 Peter 3:18. Where we should look, to see how God feels about us, is not to the circumstances of the day but to the circumstances of that day 2,000 years ago, just outside of Jerusalem when Jesus hung on a cross for us. That cross states boldly how God feels about you.

Don’t listen to the lies of the Devil when he points to the difficulties in your life and says that God doesn’t love you. Rather, look to the cross and God’s word and be assured that He does love you and every circumstance in our life is for His Glory and our good.

Please. turn to scripture and prayer. Turn to God not to ppl first.

Also, I would offer a suggestion to not only talk to Harvesters, but to EFC as well (such as Elders Tim and Simon as well as Harvest Deacon Ken Lay and others). They may offer insight from our whole church and fellowship history, not just within the last couple of years. Let us not forget that they were the ones that hired pastor Jeff in the first place and have been the ones to sustain and keep Harvest alive and growing since it’s birth. I have full faith in their leadership since it has kept our congregation growing (even if their work is behind the scenes) for the last 20+ years.

 I’d urge you to remember what Pastor Jeff said @ retreat about waiting upon the Lord in silence (Psalm 62). It is good to have discussion, but also it is good to just remember and meditate on His goodness and faithfulness, trusting that He has a perfect plan in everything. I hope that we may remember that God sovereignly planned for this to happen(Jeremiah 29:11) and it will work for good (Romans 8:28)

I pray that we may not be rash with our words, but continue to be loving as we are called to be for we are one united under Christ, under the greatest love story of all time: the Gospel. No matter what happens we still worship the same God. We aren’t following people, we’re following the almighty great God.

So let us encourage each other with prayer, scripture, and love. And i humbly leave you all with this. (in PJ’s favorite translation)
(Ephesians 4:1-7=>NASB)

Ephesians 4
Unity of the Spirit
 (1)Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,(2)with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, (3)being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.(4)There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; (5)one Lord, one faith, one baptism,(6)one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.(7)But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

We often sing the word Hallelujah in musical worship, but does it ever translate into our everyday speech? Do we even know what it means?

From a website I stumbled onto: http://gracewalk.wordpress.com/2007/01/26/hallelujah-what-does-it-mean/

The author draws from Jewish references to get to the meat of what hallelujah means in the context of the Judiasm and Hebrew. Below is an excerpt by Jewish rabbis.

“Hallelujah is a remarkable word. In the Bible, it appears only in the book of Psalms; yet this exuberant exclamation of joy and gratitude has survived the passage of centuries, transcending the barriers of language and culture. What exactly does it mean? According to the Talmud, Hallelujah is the most sublime expression of God’s praise, combining together in one word both praise (hallel) and God’s Name (the two-letter Name ‘Ya-H’)”

How amazing is that! Hallelujah =”exuberant exclamation of joy and gratitude…the most sublime expression of God’s praise”

Hallelujah, the new anthem of my life.

Devo from Christian Surfer’s that simply explains a heart issue (click on the title link for the news article):

Well, did you see the news this week?  Noah’s Ark is back in the headlines.  Let me say right off the bat – I have no idea if this is the Noah’s Ark.  So, why does this matter?  In a total oversimplification the logic goes like this; if it is Noah’s Ark than the Bible is true and everyone will turn to Jesus and the world will become utopia.  Or, it isn’t the Ark hence proving that the story is ridiculous and proving that the Bible isn’t true and ridding the world of Christianity.

But that doesn’t match what Jesus taught us.  In Luke 16:19-31 Jesus tells a story of a rich man that dies and goes to torment.  Dialogue takes place and ends with the man asking that someone would go and tell his brothers so that they would not come to this place of torment.  Then verse 31 happens: “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.”

The reality is that people do not believe in Jesus or reject him based on facts.   Don’t get me wrong, truth is very important.  But, there are plenty of “facts” to support the Bible, Jesus and His resurrection.  The fact is that God asks us to trust HIM.  That is a decision.  People choose to believe or not believe for reasons unrelated to the facts.  Reasons like pain in life, disappointment, anger, pride and the list goes on.  It’s the same with questions: People ask questions for two reasons, 1. They want answers 2. They want excuses to do as they please.

So, here’s a question to ask your friends, “If you get answers to your questions are you prepared to lay your life down at the feet of Jesus and follow Him?”  The problem may not be intellect and a lack of information, it may have more to do with the will.

Courtesy of Joe Lee:

How to Game up a girl at church.

(it is and isn’t what you think)

Joy to the World by Sufjan Stevens

Singing for Him

Help us to raise awareness, or just support each other in this walk for cancer treatment/research and  patient/caregiver resources.

http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?pg=team&fr_id=20295&team_id=608045

First post :D
(btw, anyone know how to change font size of a post?)

I haven’t blogged since middle/high school xanga, but I think there are things God is revealing to me that I just can’t keep to myself. That and once I do post, I love sharing about good food and cute places to eat. Just as my first blog chronicles my transition and growth from nonChristian to Christian, I hope and pray that this one will also be a testament to God’s faithfulness and goodness. So, yes in a way it will be a “Christian” blog, but I’d rather call it glimpses into a relationship with my greatest Comforter, best Friend, most loving Father, and beautiful Savior.

I’m a little scared to start b/c it means I’ll be more vulnerable then usual, but if it brings Him glory and even a little encouragement to 1 person for even a minute, it’s totally worth it.

I feel like at this moment, in this past week, it’s been a culmination of many things.

- Brothers and sisters are growing, maturing

- Investments that have been made are bearing fruit.

- Prayers that have been faithfully remembered everyday are being answered.

And I think finally I’m realizing the theme of my life for this academic year. Every year, since college God has been teaching me something consistently (Even if it’s already half way through the quarter :P)

First year: what it means to have God as my Father , to be adopted as His beloved daughter (1 John 3:1)

Second year: Trust in God’s sovereignty ( Jeremiah 29:11-13)

Third year: What it means to have the love of Christ control me( 2 Corinthians 5 with focus on these vereses: 9, 14-15, 18, 20) and a subtheme: Doing things not of my own strength, but through Him who works through me.

Last Thought: Sunset = God’s beauty in creation.

Nothing like being still before Him (Psalm 46:10) and nature has a way of facilitating that.

Even in the midst of the business of life, I invite you to take a moment to watch the gentle strokes of purple and reds, the lilac bleeding into gentle cherry blossom that pain the skies.

To watch the breathless beauty of God’s artistry in the horizon.

To sit in quiet awe at His feet.