Yesterday, Sunday 8.28.11, Pastor Bruce Frank of Biltmore Baptist Church taught a sermon on the difference between being of the gospel vs being of religion. Something so many Christians get confused.
He started by introducing the story of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector from the book of Luke. (Luke 18: 9-14)
Two men, a pharisee and a tax collector, both went into the temple to pray.
The Pharisee prayed to himself "I am thankful I am not like other men-robbers, evildoers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all i have."v11-12
--Its as if the Pharisee is saying, wow God you really did a good job when you created me. Well done. Bragging upon himself while loudly and obviously putting down on others around him who cannot do the things he does. (specifically the tax collector)
The Tax Collector prayed to God "God, have Mercy on me, the sinner." v13
--How humble of the tax collector to openly admit his thoughts and raised his mercies up to God.
verse 14 gos on to say "I tell you that this man (the tax collector) rather than the other (the Pharisee), went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
--Being justified means, through Christ God makes you Righteous (clean, blameless). You are more than forgiven. You have His mercy. Through the Gospel the tax collector understood this. (2 Cor 5:21)
RELIGION-I obey so I'm accepted.
GOSPEL-I'm accepted, so I will obey.
Obeying simply because you feel like you have too to gain acceptance completely defeats the purpose. When you truly obey, you do it whole heartily. Not because you are trying to gain acceptance, but because you know you already have it!
NO matter how many things/deeds we do God can never love us more, and he can never love us less! Being a Christian needs to revert back to being more about the Gospel than about Religion. You are already accepted, you do not have to do ANYTHING to gain it!
So how do we come more about Gospel than Religion???
1-Stop comparing yourself to others.
2-Humble Yourself.
Be OK with being overlooked
Serve Someone
I pray that i don't fall any harder into the "obey because I have to" mode. I need the mindset of I "obey because I want to". we are all guilty of this in some form or the other! I pray that you revert for the gospel and obey because you are accepted, not because you want to be!
29.8.11
22.8.11
The power of 3
Mothering is a partnership between me and God.
Fathering is a partnership between my husband and God.
Parenting is a partnership between me, my husband and God.
To be the best mother/father you can be to your child you must co-exist with Jesus. Without Him you will never be all you can be as a parent. You are merely his tool, he is doing His will through you. So, without him you are and can do nothing!
I recently started a study by Denise Glenn called: Freedom for Mothers. It has been such a great learning experience for me as a new mom. I am only in the second week but already i have been gifted with so many new insights, for example:
-God is the vine. I am the branches. Through him i can do anything, but without him I can do nothing.
-Jesus can fill all of my emotional/spiritual needs.
-Trusting the Lord with everything sets you free!
-Through every situation we must remain in Him still. NOTHING should separate us from our Lord.
-Jesus lays out for you all the qualities you need to have to be a good.Godly mother. Galatians 5: 22-23.
-Rely on Jesus for Help.
-Jesus is the answer to ALL of our needs. Not anything or anyone else.
-Jesus didnt come to be in our life, He came to BE our life.
-Do not dominate with discipline, do it gently and carefully.
-You cannot be selfish to be a good/effective wife and mom.
-Being of the flesh (me, my self and I) is not living spirit-filled.
Is it not amazing how much God can teach us each and every day. Something new in every moment. I am so eager to learn more! And what a blessing that is.
Fathering is a partnership between my husband and God.
Parenting is a partnership between me, my husband and God.
To be the best mother/father you can be to your child you must co-exist with Jesus. Without Him you will never be all you can be as a parent. You are merely his tool, he is doing His will through you. So, without him you are and can do nothing!
I recently started a study by Denise Glenn called: Freedom for Mothers. It has been such a great learning experience for me as a new mom. I am only in the second week but already i have been gifted with so many new insights, for example:
-God is the vine. I am the branches. Through him i can do anything, but without him I can do nothing.
-Jesus can fill all of my emotional/spiritual needs.
-Trusting the Lord with everything sets you free!
-Through every situation we must remain in Him still. NOTHING should separate us from our Lord.
-Jesus lays out for you all the qualities you need to have to be a good.Godly mother. Galatians 5: 22-23.
-Rely on Jesus for Help.
-Jesus is the answer to ALL of our needs. Not anything or anyone else.
-Jesus didnt come to be in our life, He came to BE our life.
-Do not dominate with discipline, do it gently and carefully.
-You cannot be selfish to be a good/effective wife and mom.
-Being of the flesh (me, my self and I) is not living spirit-filled.
Is it not amazing how much God can teach us each and every day. Something new in every moment. I am so eager to learn more! And what a blessing that is.
16.8.11
Changes
So, as you can see i have changed the title of my blog. Parenting.....it takes 3. I want to change the direction of my blog into not only a tool for myself, but something other parents can use to see how having Jesus as an added parent in a family makes such a big difference in raising your child, and any family relationship for that matter. I, personally would be nothing without Jesus. He makes me who I am, and that will mold my daughter into who she will become. My Husband and I are equally yoked which is so important when it comes to bringing up children! In our house we want Christ to be the center, so n my "new" blog I want to share our experience as parents with the help of God.
Experience 1:
The first experience i would like to share is more of a personal one. I have always suffered with anxiety. As i have gotten older it has gotten worse. I never knew after giving birth to Adley that i would experience something far more devistating. Post Partum. For anyone who has ever experienced this, you know how brutal it can be. I can whole-heartedly say that without Jesus i could not have been as strong or maybe even gotten through the experience. How can you get a beautiful, healthy baby home and feel so depressed? or have so many negative feelings? I'll tell you.......hormones. One minute i would be crying the next i would be overwhelmed with terrible thoughts. I couldn't get away from it. Luckily, I had a hiding place from it all. Going to God in prayer, and this is the truth, is the only way i got through the depression. When an uneasy feeling or though came to me, i would pray through it. I was always okay if I did so. My husband was such a great support. He would listen to my feelings, pray with me and for me. Finally i pushed through and with prayer and family support I am happier and less anxious than i have ever been. Jesus was my refuge in a storm i didn't know i could survive. People always say, everything happens for a reason. And because of this experience i know it really is true.Looking back on it all i see why I Jesus had put this in my life. No matter what circumstance or struggle I may be going through, I never failed to fully care for my little, helpless baby girl. I put myself last and my daughter first. What a testimony to how Jesus put himself after everyone else. I know i can never begin to fathom his sacrafice, but even a small glimpse of what He has done for me through my post partum experience was well worth the struggle. I know now, more than ever, whatever i may be going through, good or bad, Jesus is my rock. With him i can do anything, without him i can do nothing. That includes being a mom. Jesus makes me the mom I am. I hope and pray i can fulfill his will for me!
"He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and myfortress; my God, in Him I will trust." Psalm 91:1-2
Experience 1:
The first experience i would like to share is more of a personal one. I have always suffered with anxiety. As i have gotten older it has gotten worse. I never knew after giving birth to Adley that i would experience something far more devistating. Post Partum. For anyone who has ever experienced this, you know how brutal it can be. I can whole-heartedly say that without Jesus i could not have been as strong or maybe even gotten through the experience. How can you get a beautiful, healthy baby home and feel so depressed? or have so many negative feelings? I'll tell you.......hormones. One minute i would be crying the next i would be overwhelmed with terrible thoughts. I couldn't get away from it. Luckily, I had a hiding place from it all. Going to God in prayer, and this is the truth, is the only way i got through the depression. When an uneasy feeling or though came to me, i would pray through it. I was always okay if I did so. My husband was such a great support. He would listen to my feelings, pray with me and for me. Finally i pushed through and with prayer and family support I am happier and less anxious than i have ever been. Jesus was my refuge in a storm i didn't know i could survive. People always say, everything happens for a reason. And because of this experience i know it really is true.Looking back on it all i see why I Jesus had put this in my life. No matter what circumstance or struggle I may be going through, I never failed to fully care for my little, helpless baby girl. I put myself last and my daughter first. What a testimony to how Jesus put himself after everyone else. I know i can never begin to fathom his sacrafice, but even a small glimpse of what He has done for me through my post partum experience was well worth the struggle. I know now, more than ever, whatever i may be going through, good or bad, Jesus is my rock. With him i can do anything, without him i can do nothing. That includes being a mom. Jesus makes me the mom I am. I hope and pray i can fulfill his will for me!
"He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and myfortress; my God, in Him I will trust." Psalm 91:1-2
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