"Let Your Requests Be Made Known"

I was going to write this wonderful post on dating -vs- courtship but was distracted by another topic. If you are disappointed or courious about this please read Douglas Wilson's book: "Her Hand in Marrage." Or perhaps you would like to wait until the notion hits me again.

I am currently employed to care for a wonderful set of children. The elder is a girl, energetic and challenging to my ageing body. While the younger is a charming boy who makes it hard to say no unless you really care for his wellbeing. The latter is nearly finished with potty training, however there are the occasional incidents. Today one of these happenings occurred. I had put him down for a nap and as usual expressed my will that he not get out of his bed. Most of you, I suppose, may be able to figure out what happened. This has brought to my mind a chosen predicament of many believers. One in which I frequently place myself.

The desire expressed in the above situation was that the child not leave the bed and the request was followed to the "t". However at the cost of a mess the child failed to consider that I, as a loving caregiver, would understand his issue and help him deal with it in the best way my finite mind could conceive. All the child needed to do was verbally express his need and his nanny would quickly and joyfully escort him to the best room to meet that need.

While God's will and plan for our lives is solid and premeditated in every part, leaving no wiggle room, it is not laid out before us in such a way that we can read it's every detail. How many of us have said, "I just don't know what God wants me to do." The kicker is that God has expressed everything He wants us to do. In His word many commands are given and are to be followed in order that one's heart of love for the Father will be reflected. Israel followed the command of circumcision to reflect the heart having sin trimmed away by the divine hand of God. While the Church is called to be light exposing God's truth to the world, that the same heart would be shown in contrast to the selfish ambitions of the flesh.

As we learn of the commands of Scripture, let us first, learn of the heart of God as our loving Caregiver. Secondly, pray and perhaps confess our sin concerning the command and its reaches into our daily lives. And last (but the first to be seen by others) change.

If your heart and life are not changed daily by the Word of God, step back and see if your heart has been hardened by sin (Hebrews 3:13). I would say to you, "pray that God show to you your sins that you may confess them with a contrite heart," but contrition is impossible for the hardened heart. Therefore, pray that He would circumcise your heart, trim the wall that surrounds it and keeps it seperated from the truth of His word.

Love Him,

N.L. White

Matthew 5:21-30

21"You have heard that the ancients were told, 'YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER' and 'Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.' 22"But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, 'You good-for-nothing,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell. 23"Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering. 25"Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. 26"Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last cent. 27"You have heard that it was said, 'YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY'; 28but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29"If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30"If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.

"You're So Selfish"

Hey, You All;

I have a bit of a confession to make. I've been a little depressed lately. This time around was really bad. I could try to blame it on stress, stuff, or other people but the truth is that I sin and have trouble trusting in God, whom I can't see, for all things. I am however grateful that it has happened after salvation because, to be honest, my flesh didn't care if I'd wake up in the morning or not. As an unbeliever I struggled frequently with this form of selfishness. (I don't think it's a chemical imbalance in my case.) I even went as far as to imagine ways to end my life.

Praise God for his preserving power over every part of me!!

Depression is a funny thing. Sometimes you just want someone to notice that you're a bit down and others you don't want anyone to even look at you. More often than not people see the side effects first and in the case of women chalk them up to hormones or emotionalism. A dear friend of mine has helped me to deal with some of the side effects during this round and I thought that perhaps some of you could benefit from her words.

“...may we all grow in the glory of God knowing that we each live with our flesh taunting us to protect ourselves at any cost. But like Christ, may we humble ourselves considering the needs of others as more important than our own.” – a dear friend

Romans 8:10-18

If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh - for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, " Abba! Father!" The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

So Long Self

MercyMe - From the album Coming Up To Breathe

Well if I come across a little bit distant, it's just because I am

Things just seem to feel a little bit different, you understand

Believe it or not but life is not apparently, about me anyways

But I have met the One who really is worthy, so let me say…

So long self ; Well it's been fun, but I have found somebody else

So long self ; There's just no room for two so you are gonna have to move

So long self ; Don't take this wrong but you are wrong for me farewell

Oh well, Goodbye, don't cry; So Long Self

Stop right there because I know what your thinking, but no we can't be friends

And even though I know your heart is breaking, this has to end

And come to think of it the blame for all of this, simply falls on me

For wanting something more in life than all of this, oh, can't you see…

So long self ; Well it's been fun, but I have found somebody else
So long self ; There's just no room for two so you are gonna have to move
So long self ; Don't take this wrong but you are wrong for me farewell
Oh well, Goodbye, don't cry; So Long Self

Farewell, Goodbye,

Oh, So long self

A Bad Word

Perhaps to some of you this is a new or old concept.
Easter is a bad, bad word.

I had the opportunity last year to celebrate the resurrection of our LORD on the Sunday following Passover. The gospel was preached and we celebrated the day. On "Easter" Sunday we aslo recieved the gospel as well as a teaching on the hediousness of that bad word. It was a wonderful opportunity to make the distinction because the two were not on the same day.

I understand that most of America and even the Church say this word all the time in reference to the day of Christ's resurrection. I also understand that most of us are uneducated on the origin of this word and the goddess it reflects. A left-over from the Roman Catholic church that protestants didn't notice.

Please take the time to read through this sermon. Perhaps you will be as disgusted with yourself and your lack of understanding as I was.
http://www.hopecbc.org/documents/sermons/Easter%202005.pdf

Titus 3:3a "For we also once were foolish ourselves..."

Many blessings as you celebrate the Resurrection of our Saviour and Lord.

Love Him,
N. L. White

Burying the Hatchet (Part 2): A Step Beyond The Sin

It is not enough to set sin aside. Never the less, sin must be thrown down not to be sought again.

How easy is that? It's not. There is, as most of us know too well, a battle raging within every Christ-follower. The flesh wages war against the soul, begging to return to that which is familiar and easy. Walking by the flesh or by sight is comfortable but it is not the wide and wiggly road that leads to Heaven. The straight and narrow, walking by the Spirit and often blindly, is an irritating catalyst to change and let's face it hard. But it is what is required of God’s child.

(Anyone who says that following Jesus is easy, teaches a false gospel. A yolk of any caliber is difficult and Jesus Himself said that we will have trouble.)

To be a Child of God who struggles with sin is one thing but to be defined as a sinner is quite another. I pray that you are no longer the latter but have been saved by the mercy of our God.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

Titus 3:3-7

For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Do not be fooled. Whether your sin is listed here or not, which I don't see how one could be left untouched by these scriptures, it can own you. It can be dug up as the burried hatchet or left to rest forever, covered over by the Prince of peace.

There is a sin that haunts me, a sin that if it were announced publicly, I would run screaming and crying into the night. But this sin no longer owns me. What do I mean by own? Well, I once identified myself according to this sin. I used it to define my person and my worldview. It dictated my actions and drove my motives. We say in the children's “good news colors” song "My heart was dark with sin, until the Saviour came in." Well, my mind and conscience were defiled, coated with this abhorrent way of thinking, this sinful way of life.

After salvation, I continued to struggle. No one had said to me; “This is a sin” but the Spirit began to carve the edges of this cancer out of my heart. As His work was being done, I found myself searching the Scripture to know if repentance was required. In this search I found the end of myself and as I stood on the edge of the chasm that was left by the carving of God’s hand, I couldn’t make the jump required. Through human logic and personal feeling I clung to the cliff as long as possible. As my grip began to fail and the rocks began to crumble, I fell further into the rift and found myself in a deep depression. I knew that a simple reach toward my God would release me from this torture but couldn’t bring myself to let go for even a moment and let Him lift me to His “high places.”

I had tried with little avail to keep myself from being tempted toward this sin even though I refused to admit it’s detestableness. It kept me from fellowship, from pure worship, and from opening up to God’s people. But even in this depression I knew that my efforts were in vain. I ran to my shepherd in secret hopes that he would take me to the Shepherd. The process was painful and the wall began to crumble piece-by-piece over 3 weeks of counseling with my Youth Pastor and his wife. However my head was hard and my grip on the familiar was obstinate. Finally, I had no choice but to confess my sin, to cast it down and turn to see my Saviour with open arms to show the forgiveness and guidance that only He can give.

There is a Todd Proctor song that says “It’s not who I was, but who I am in Christ.” Let us no longer owned by sin. When the enemy and flesh taunt us to return to it’s clutches, let us again plee to our God in the heavens and call for the Spirit to soften our hearts to His will.

Interlude

We've finished our Messanic Passover and I now have a bit more time for fellowship instead of sitting in a very small office formatting and making copies. As a single chick I have a wonderful opportunity to minister to some of the wives of our church in a way that I see as unique. When some of their husbands travel for business I am blessed and pleased to join their families for dinner and what ever they have planned for the evening. Last night I had the pleasure of attending my first soccer (football) game since high school and chowing on some chicken pizza with a wonderful family. (I do prefer pepperoni but am limited by a pork allergy - not religious constraints.)

The blessing I think is not in what I am afforded to enjoy by way of food or games but rather in the opportunity to see people living the faith they proclaim. I've been impressed over the last ten years that living for Christ is demanding and hard, while following the flesh and idols is easy and lazy. Although we all struggle in The Way and press hard for the truth and the road is not easy I pray that we will not lose sight of the goal and the blessing of the prize.

Burying the Hatchet (Part 1)

There is a Garth Brooks song I listened to in my wild and wooly days, (Okay, just wooly) that spoke of burying the hatchet only to dig it back up. It has been my experiance that this is just what I/we do with sin.

Repentance is to turn away from your sin and walk in the completly opposite direction toward He who is devoid of sin and cannot tolerate it's presence. But too often we turn away from a sin only to position our heads in such a way that we may ocasionally see if it's still back there. I once heard a Whoopie Goldberg routine where she was pretending to be a little girl of color longing for "long luxurious blonde hair." In the sketch she removed the yellow shirt from her head and tried to ignore it, not even think about it only to pick it up again for fear that it may get dusty. - yeah, I was immersed in worldliness as a youngster. Too bad it wasn't spelling or language arts.

Do we really need the help of Satan and his devils to remember that which has been laid aside. Let your sins get dusty friend. Let them be buried under layer upon layer of the thickest covering, that you may look back on it with even a portion of the contempt that God holds for such. (Ezekiel 36)

Yeah, yeah, well said, but do I practice what I write? No. I am usually writing to state what I know to be true, not that it may change one or some of you (not that any of 168 people who have viewed make comments so that I know you're even reading this blog...hint...hint) but rather because it is what I'm struggling with at the time. The truth that I am trying to affirm so that I can move beyond the lies of the world and the evil one.

(Look for "Burying the Hatchet (Part 2): A Step Beyond the Sin. On the same batty blog, from the same batty blogger.)