New Year's Resolution

Exodus 20:3

"You shall have no other gods before me.

Good morning ladies,

Welcome to the final day of 2009 and the last z-mail of the year.

Tomorrow many people are going to be making New Year’s resolutions, and many of those resolutions will involve dieting.

After a month of national gluttony we now repent and turn to the month of dieting.

If you think I am exaggerating look at the displays in the stores. Shelves that used to be covered with chocolate and goodies are now filled with Special K and weight loss bars. Costco has removed the Christmas decorations and replaced them with Nordic Trackers and treadmills. Even the book stores have dieting at front and center. The prime floor space is given over to The Flat Belly Diet, The Fat Flush Plan and Dieting for Dummies just to name a few.

This is a dangerous month for me.

I was put on my first diet when I was nine. I started taking diet pills when I was sixteen and they were legal. I have been on Adkins and Optifast. I have joined Weight Watchers and the Schick Center, which was a horribly humiliating experience involving wet Cheetos. I have counted calories, carbs and fat grams and still I am not thin.

But I want to be and Satan knows it.

God has promised to give me every good gift if I will only seek Him first and I believe Him, but oh those diet books look tempting. Yet every moment I spend reading and obsessing over diet books is one less minute I can obsess over God.

And God keeps reminding me “Seek ME first and I will set you free.”

If you are planning to embark on a new life style tomorrow or read a new book that promises to change your life, may I suggest that you resolve to read your Bible and to seek after God instead? Because I know that works.

Love,
Jill

Snuggie

Matthew 6:33

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Good morning ladies,

I am not sure where to begin.

This Christmas, because of what was going on with my sister and my nephew, I couldn’t focus. All I could think about was that Dawn and Norm would get to see each other again and Dawn would meet her grandchildren. So it was really difficult to think about the other aspects of Christmas, like gift giving.

I bought the kids a few gifts, but they knew we needed to save money for Disneyland so they didn’t want much. Gary and I decided not to exchange gifts at all.

This morning, while I was doing my Bible study, I told Gary I’d found a new journal, just like the one I currently have, at the book store yesterday.

“Well God just got you everything you wanted for Christmas this year, didn’t He?” was his reply.

And it was true.

I had three things on my mental Christmas wish list, my zebra license plate, a zebra snuggie, and a new journal, and God gave me every one of them.

The more I read the New Testament the more I am convinced that all we should care about is our relationship with God and our relationship with other people.

Jesus never cared about “stuff” or how He looked; all He cared about was healing the sick, helping the lost and bringing glory to His Father. He knew His Father had everything else covered.

Seeing my family reconciled this Christmas was gift enough and God did not need to get me anything else but He did, not because I deserve it, but because He is a generous and loving God who desires to bless His obedient children.

Ladies, we worry about so many things, many of which we cannot change, but what we should worry about is our relationship with God and with His people. Let Him worry about everything else.

Love,
Jill

T-shirt

Mark 8:38

If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."

Good morning ladies,

I have no idea how many times this same sentiment is repeated in the New Testament. I found five and I wasn’t even looking very hard.

I am not much of a clothes horse. I enjoy wearing jeans and T-shirts and one of my favorite clothing stores is a gas station on Interstate Five. They have the best Christian T-shirts.

We haven’t driven down to Southern California for awhile so we stopped on our way to Disneyland and replenished my wardrobe.

I bought a shirt that my daughter already has. It is the American Idol logo, but instead on saying American Idol it says Amazing Grace and underneath in smaller print “I don’t need an idol I have a savior.” I have been watching Katherine wear it for the last year and I decided I needed one too.

I was so excited about getting it I wore it to Disneyland.

About halfway through the day I was regretting my decision, because that shirt attracts a lot of attention. And to be honest I was glad when it got cold enough to put my coat on. I don’t know how Katherine does it.

In this adulterous and sinful generation people wear all kinds of things on their T-shirts, some of which I find completely offensive, yet I was embarrassed to be wearing a Christian T-shirt on Christmas Day in a public place.

Ouch!

I do not want Jesus to be ashamed of me when He comes back and I do not want Him to deny me before His Father. I want Him to be proud of me. I want to be so identified with Jesus that when people look at me they see Him. And that has nothing to do with wearing Christian T-shirts.

But if I can’t stand up to a few looks and comments about a shirt without becoming uncomfortable I think God may be showing me that it is an area that still needs work.

Love,
Jill

It is Finished

John 19:30

When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Good afternoon ladies,

I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas, I did.

My sister, Dawn and her son, Norm, have not talked to each other in fifteen years. Six months ago God allowed me to be part of a plan that ended in reconciliation on Christmas morning in front of Disneyland.

Last summer at a Zebra meeting Dawn shared that you didn’t have to do what a godly person tells you, unless God also tells you to. Everyone agreed. But what they didn’t know was she was referring to a conversation we had had about the fact that she had to forgive Norm and restore their relationship.

I immediately got angry because I knew what she was saying was not true. She didn’t need to forgive Norm because I said so, but because God said so. And He says so in His Word.

As I sat there trying to control myself, God convicted me of my part in this situation. Gary, my husband, had urged me to go see Norm many times over the years, but I never did. I knew going to see him would make Dawn angry and I didn’t want to make her angry so I didn’t go. I was as guilty as she was.

Two weeks later the kids and I went to see Norm.

That small act of obedience allowed God to start working.

On Christmas morning as I watched them embrace all I could think of was “it is finished.” I had done what God had asked of me and He had done the rest. Fifteen years of anger, strife and separation was finally over.

Jesus did not have to come to earth or die on the cross. I think we often forget that. And He did not come because He loved us. He came and died because He loved and obeyed His Father. His obedience, not His love, set us free.

I think we way underestimate the power of obedience, I know I did.

Love,
Jill

Reconciled to God

2 Corinthians 5:18-19

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation

Good morning ladies,

I can’t stop thinking about something Pastor Kelly said last Sunday at church. He said often times when someone becomes a Christian they just add Jesus into the holiday. You know buy a Nativity and put it up next to Santa.

That really struck a chord, because I would say that is what I did. We have at least fifteen Santas and over twenty-five nutcrackers, but only one Nativity. It is not that I don’t know that “Jesus is the reason for the Season” but it is hard to overcome years of worldly training.

I have tried acting out the Nativity, and lighting advent candles on the four Sundays before Christmas but for me those were just more tasks to do. They never really changed my heart. Christmas still had too much of a worldly focus.


This year is finally different. I bought less presents, and put up fewer decorations, but I don’t think that is what made the difference. I think what made the difference is I have spent this season focused on being still and knowing God.

Over two thousand years ago God sent the best present possible to us. He sent us the only way to reconcile our lives to Him. He sent us peace, love, joy and eternal life all wrapped up in swaddling clothes.

Some people spend a lot of time making the outside of the presents look spectacular but God didn’t do that. He didn’t need to.

Without Christmas we would be a lost people separated from God forever with no possible way to redeem ourselves.

And nothing you have, or don’t have, under your tree even comes close.

Love,
Jill

The Gift

James 1:16-18a

Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth,

Good afternoon ladies,

I was reading in Matthew this morning where Jesus tells the crowds:

"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple.

And for the first time it didn’t seem too harsh.

In this season which is devoted to buying gifts, we are all trying to find the perfect gift for the people we love. We want them to really like what we buy them. But we wouldn’t like it if they loved the gift more than they loved us.

When I was about ten years old, my older brother Dane came home from serving in Germany with the armed services. I adored my brother and had missed him terribly so I was very excited to see him.

My mother made me go to school that day, but when I got home he was there. And he had brought me a present which was sitting prominently in the middle of the kitchen table. It was the nicest doll I had ever seen.

But I purposely ignored it.

Later I had to leave the room and when I came back my brother had placed the doll on top of his head.

When I asked him why he had the doll on his head, he said he wanted to make sure I saw it. I reassured him I had seen it. Then, he wanted to know, if I had seen it, why I hadn’t paid any attention to it. Didn’t I like it? I remember being a little bit embarrassed when I told him I had ignored the doll, even though I liked it, because I hadn’t wanted him to think I was happier about getting it, than I was about seeing him.

He was touched.

Obviously Jesus does not really want us to hate our mother, father, children, sisters, brothers, house, car, job, or our own life.

He just wants us to remember who gave them to us and love Him more

Love,
Jill

Treasured Possession

Deuteronomy 14:2

Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the LORD has chosen you to be his treasured possession.

Good morning ladies,

Did you know that if you look up self-esteem in a topical Bible you won’t find any listings? There are listings for self-control, self-denial, self-discipline, self-examination and two pages on self-righteous, but nothing on self-esteem.

I think that is because we were never supposed to get our sense of esteem or worth from ourselves.

I used to weigh myself every day, sometimes two or three times a day. At one point it bordered on obsessive. If the scale said what I wanted it to say, I was happy, but it for whatever reason I had gained a once or two my mood would plummet. My sense of self-esteem was related to the numbers on the scale. Eventually I threw the scale away.

I see the same thing with the kids. Kids who do well in school or excel at sports have a better opinion of themselves than the kids who struggle. Yet they often struggle when they graduate and have to find new ways to measure their worth.

And I think that is why so many people are depressed these days, it is not just that they lost their jobs, it is they lost what they felt made them important.

But we who are in Christ should not get our value from the world. It does not matter how smart we are, or how pretty we are, or how much money we have. Who we are is defined by God.

One of the things that being still is teaching me is that my value and God’s love is not dependent upon me

There is nothing I can do to make God love me more, and there is nothing I can do to make Him love me less. And I have value because I am His child.

My value and His love both come from Him.

And whether you believe it or not, so does yours.

Love,
Jill

Truth

John 8:31-32

To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

Good morning ladies,

I have discovered an ugly truth about myself. I don’t like to make people angry.

"But," you may say, " that’s good, you don’t want to run around making people angry." And I agree, but not when keeping people happy means compromising the Word of God.

Last night at Bible study we looked at what it meant to be a bondservant of Christ. Paul often introduced himself that way and it was really interesting to see how much meaning was behind those two little words. One of the verses we referenced was Galatians 1:10b.

If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Each morning I pray about what to write to you. I want to write you something that encourages you because I know you already have enough things in your life that bring you down. And because of that I sometimes am not as bold as I should be.

This morning as I was praying God brought this verse to mind. “Jill,” He said, “It is not watered down platitudes that will make them happy, but the whole truth and council of my Word.”

So here’s the truth: You will never have joy if you have one foot in the world and one foot in the “church.” You know too much to enjoy the pleasures of the world, and you know too little to really see the majesty and wonder of God.

Picture a person who is standing with one leg on the dock and one leg in a boat and the two are drifting apart. At some point you have to choose and jump or you will end up in the water.

The same is true with the things of God. Jesus said to his disciples:

"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

And really, nothing has changed.

Love,
Jill

Healing

Luke 8:46

But Jesus said, "Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me."

Good morning ladies,

I have done a fair amount of Bible study, a lot of which has been focused on Paul’s letters, the Old Testament, and selected passages from Psalms and the Gospels. Although I have read the Gospels and I studied both Matthew and John with BSF, I felt that in preparation for retreat I needed to read and study the Gospels again to get a clearer picture of Jesus.

What struck me as I was reading was how many people Jesus healed.

In this story there is a crowd around Jesus and a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years reached out and touched the edge of His cloak. Immediately she was healed.

“Who touched me?” Jesus asked, but everyone denied it. The disciples helpfully pointed out that there were a lot of people pressing against Him, but Jesus knew this touch had been different because power had gone out of Him.

Eventually the women confessed and Jesus said “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”

What struck me about the story is, as the disciples pointed out, there were a lot of people around Jesus. The Bible doesn’t say whether any of the rest of them needed healing, but my guess is they probably did.

Jesus seemed to attract those who were sick, lame, blind, or possessed. They knew that Jesus had the power to heal them and they flocked to Him. So it would make sense that there were others in the crowd who needed healing, but it was the woman who reached out and touched Him in faith who received it

Hurting people still flock to Jesus because He still has the power to heal.

I was one of them.

Of course I didn’t need a physical healing I need an emotional one.

For a long time I walked along side of Jesus. I went to church, I hung around Christians, and I read my Bible. But I was still broken.

It wasn’t until I reached out and touched Him in faith that I was healed. I continue to reach out to Him everyday.

It is my prayer at this retreat everyone one who comes will draw one step closer to Christ and be healed.

Love,
Jill

Two Become One

Genesis 2:24/Matthew 19:5/Mark 10:7-8/Ephesians 5:31

For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

Good morning ladies,

Yesterday when I told Gary I loved him, he asked me “Why?’ “Because God gave you to me.” was my reply. He laughed and said “Well that’s good you should always love what God gives you.”

This morning I was praying about Gary’s future. And I realized, again, that our futures are intertwined. Where he goes I go and where I go he goes and because of that we should both be praying for God’s direction and guidance.

I am not a committee worker. I think the most efficient way to accomplish a task is to divide and conquer. You do your job and I’ll do my job and everything will get done.

That attitude occasionally bleeds over into my marriage and because of that we sometimes get out of sync.

Kelly often talks about having a vision for the church. I think it is equally important for us to have a vision for the family. Not just what God wants for me and what God wants for Gary, but what does God want for us.

If you have ever been in a three legged race you know how frustrating it is to run when you and your partner are not in step. You trip and fall or you move really slowly. Instead of being in the front of the pack where you want to be you are limping along in last place. It is even worse it you aren’t both going in the same direction.

You may want to blame your partner but the truth is you are both at fault.

Ladies, if you are married God has made you one with your husband and you need to learn to run together with a common vision. And that takes work.

I suggest starting with prayer.

Love,
Jill

Answered Prayer

Matthew 6:33

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Good morning ladies,

I used to worry A LOT! When I first began growing in my faith I had to read Matthew chapter six verses twenty-five through thirty-four every single day. Because of my childhood I was constantly worried that Gary was going to lose his job and we wouldn’t have enough money. It was all consuming.

But God is faithful. He eventually healed me in that area but quitting work and relying on God is definitely stretching my faith.

Yesterday after mailing the check for the taxes on the house Gary’s mom called. She needs a tax deduction so she is giving us $5000. That is twice as much as we needed so not only did God provide for the taxes He also gave me enough to get new tires and a tune up for the van.

Yippee!

God is so creative.

In the book of 2Samuel God used the forest to defeat David’s enemies.

The battle spread out over the whole countryside, and the forest claimed more lives that day than the sword.

He often did things like that so the Israelites would know who was really winning the battle.

And I think He still does.

God could have given us the money through Gary’s job, that would have been normal, but I think he used the IRS so we would know it was from Him.

Thank you all for praying.

Love,
Jill

Refocus

2 Corinthians 4:18

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Good morning ladies,

Yesterday was a battle day.

It is cold and dark. Attendance was low at the Zebra meeting. (I know its Christmas and people are busy.) People don’t want to come to Bible study because they say it is too hard. Christmas is two weeks away and I don’t have a single decoration up. The taxes are due on the house today and God didn’t supernaturally supply any extra money. And Gary’s company is not giving Christmas bonuses.

So Satan had plenty of ammunition to work with. “Just give up” he whispered. “Go back to work. Quit this silly God-stuff, it isn’t working out. You need to refocus on what’s really important.”

Fortunately I am getting better at recognizing Satan’s lying little voice so I went into battle mode which means scripture and prayer.

I prayed for myself and I called a few Zebra sisters and asked them to pray for me too. Then I forced myself to meditate on the Word of God.

Satan wants us to focus on the world. He wants us to base our happiness and joy on the things that we see.

God wants us to base our happiness and joy on Him.

The important difference of course is that one changes, and one does not.

I can’t change my circumstances. I cannot make people come to Bible study or Zebras and I cannot make money appear from nowhere. But I can quit focusing on it.

Every day we have a choice, we can focus on our circumstances which may or may not be good, or we can focus on God.

I encourage you to focus on God.

Love,
Jill

Something Old

John 14:26

But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

Good morning ladies,

Have you ever wondered how the early church knew what to do? I mean they didn’t have the Bible, at least not the New Testament and the writings they did have would have probably been in the hands of the religious leaders. Common people didn’t have their own personal set of scrolls.

That topic came up last night at Bible study while we were discussing Paul’s prayer for the Philippians in chapter one verse nine.

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless

Obviously it was possible to gain knowledge and insight otherwise Paul would not have prayed it, but without the Bible where would it come from?

We were having a very intellectual debate when dear sweet eighty-year-old Myrtle said. “They must have listened to God.”

Duh.

We have so many resources at our finger tips, concordances, devotions, commentaries, radio programs and websites just to name a few. And that is great, but none of them are a substitute for learning to listen to God yourself.

Even the Bible, which is the inspired Word of God, is just a book if it is not read with the power of the Holy Spirit.

As a society we are enamored with new things. Old things are replaced not because they don’t work but just because they are old. Technology is so advanced it is amazing. Just in my life time I have seen records replaced by eight tracks which were replaced by cassettes which were replaced by CDs which have been replaced by Ipods and who knows what else. Which is all very cool and very fun but what works in the world does not work with God.

Two thousand years ago God sent the indwelling Holy Spirit to lead believers into all truth. And it may seem old-fashioned, but the system still works.

Love,
Jill

Be Still part 2

Psalm 46:10a

Be still, and know that I am God;

Good morning ladies,

This is the key verse for our retreat and one I have been meditating on as I prepare to speak.

When I started this I had no idea what it really meant to be “still.” I shared with you God first commanded me to be still nine years ago, but what I didn’t tell you was I wasn’t really sure what He wanted and I never bothered to find out. That was rather short-sighted.

To me the idea of being “still” involved not moving, a cessation of activity and that was something I had no intention of doing. Besides being scary, it really wasn’t very practical, I had a husband and two kids, not mention a whole boat load of obligations and I didn’t have time to just sit around being “still.”

Now I do and it has been a revelation to me that being still has more to do with the mind than with the body.

The world and all of its obligations does not go away just because we have been commanded to be “still.” And God knows that. He knows we have to work and provide for our family and He isn’t telling us to stop, just to slow down enough to learn to be “still”.

What does it actually mean to be “still”?

It means not worrying, it means not fretting, it means trusting that God is GOD and He has it all under control. It means learning we don’t have to try and control every aspect of our lives, it means letting go of our need to micromanage everyone and everything around us. It means getting out of the driver’s seat, climbing in the back and letting God drive WITHOUT our help.

And that takes work.

What it doesn’t mean is sitting around doing nothing.

Love,
Jill

Satan's Trap

Genesis 4: 6-7

Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."

Good morning ladies,

If you asked me what my “life verses” are, verses that have shaped my life, this isn’t one that I would mention, but it is.

Today I woke up feeling tired and discouraged. Last night was Awana and I hadn’t prepared very well so even though the club went well I knew I hadn’t done my best.

I came home from club ate a plate of nachos and crawled into bed thinking I should just quit, throw in the towel and give up.

After getting the kids off to school this morning I settled down do my quiet time and immediately God brought this verse to mind. (I think He was waiting for me.)

“Why are you sad and discouraged? Isn’t it because there is something that I have asked you to do that you are not doing? Do you think I can bless you when you are being lazy and disobedient? You know how to fix this. Just do what I have asked of you to the best of your ability. If you don’t you are going to fall into the trap of self-pity and depression. It’s your choice.”

Ouch!

Of course then I had to look the verse up to reread it in context and at the bottom of the page I saw this chart:

Satan's Plan:

Doubt: Makes you question God’s Word and His goodness
Discouragement: Makes you look at your problems rather than at God
Defeat: Makes you feel like a failure so that you don’t even try.
Delay: Makes you put off doing something so that it never gets done.
Diversion: Makes the wrong things seem attractive so that you will want them more than the right things.

Too often we forget that our battle is not against flesh and blood but against the powers of darkness and evil. God tells us that although Satan cannot steal our salvation he would love to steal our joy and peace.

We have to resolve not to let him.

Love,
Jill

Make It Your Own

Acts 19:13-16

Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, "In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out."

Good morning ladies,

Paul could do amazing things, another revelation I had while reading Acts. The Bible says God did extraordinary miracles through Paul and even his handkerchiefs and aprons had the power to heal the sick and drive out demons.

Obviously others noticed. They decided that they too could drive out demons using the name of Jesus. The problem was they didn’t personally know Jesus, they just knew Paul.

Today’s verse is the beginning of very funny and yet sobering story.

One day while they were driving out evil spirits one of them turned and said "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?" I guess they didn’t have a good answer because the Bible says the evil spirit then jumped on them and beat them up.

One thing I love about my husband is he is TALL. I am not a petite person and I love the fact that when I stand next to him I feel small. But it somehow makes me feel taller too.

When Gary and I were first married I was saying something to my brother about how tall I was. He looked at me and reminded me that just because I had married a tall person didn’t mean I was tall. I didn’t grow when I married Gary.

That’s what this Bible story reminds me off. This Jewish priest knew Paul, he had probably seen Paul perform miracles and somehow he thought that he could do it to. But he couldn’t. Just because he knew someone who had amazing faith didn’t mean he did.

Each of us is responsible for developing our own faith based upon our relationship with Jesus. We can’t rely on the faith of others. Not our parents, not our spouses, not our friends. Not even the pastor of the church.

We don’t get more spiritual just standing next to a spiritual person. We get more spiritual as we develop our relationship with Christ.

Love,
Jill

Passion

Acts 22: 2b-3

Then Paul said: "I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. Under Gamaliel I was thoroughly trained in the law of our fathers and was just as zealous for God as any of you are today.

Good morning ladies,

Last night at Bible study we discussed Paul. Our assignment had been to study Acts 20-28 to get a clear picture of this man who could write such amazing things, to try and understand his passion and dedication to the Lord.

What I saw as I reread these chapters is that Paul’s devotion to Jesus came not from knowledge but from his own personal experience with Christ. Twice in five chapters he shared his “road to Damascus” story.

Paul had a lot of knowledge. He was a trained Pharisee and because of that he knew a Messiah had been promised but he didn’t realize it was Jesus until he met him himself.

That was such an encouragement to me.

One of the things I struggle with is that I have no formal Bible training. I would love to have some type of degree attached to my name so that people would say “Oh Jill, she really knows her Bible, we should listen to her.” What God showed me last night is that I don’t need a degree I study my Bible and He has given me a story,

I have had a life, not as bad as some, but worse than many. A life that should have defeated me but it didn’t because God protected me. He watched over me and took care of me and when He chose to reveal Himself to me I became a new person, on fire for the Lord, and I couldn’t stop talking about Him.

Unfortunately it didn’t last. I had passion but no knowledge so when the trials came I fell, hard. I walked away from God for years.

And that became part of the story, passion alone is not enough.

The Bible says God is a god of second chances and I can testify to that. I can testify to His grace, His love, His mercy, His faithfulness, His power and His omnipotence. I can look back over my life and see the amazing healing power of God. I can speak passionately for hours about all that He has done for me and the journey He has taken me on but because of my own personal experience I am equally as passionate about the importance of studying your Bible.

Some people have passion and no knowledge; some people have knowledge and no passion.

It is my prayer to be like Paul and have both.

Love,
Jill

Not His Job

2 Peter 1:3

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

Good morning ladies,

Every morning I do everything possible to make sure my children have a successful day at school. I wake them up, cook them a warm breakfast, pack them a “lunch of love”, hug and kiss them and send them out the door with prayer. Then how well their day goes depends upon them.

God does the same thing with us.

He has given us everything we need to be successful. He has given us the divine nature, the same nature that lived in Christ, and everything we need for life and godliness and then it is up to us.

We can choose to live lives defeated by sin or we can choose to believe God and build upon what He has given us.

The rest of this passage says we are to add to our faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love so that we will be effective and productive in our knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Basically, God has done His part now it is up to us.

I want my children to do well in school and I could probably do more to ensure that they do. I could cheat and do their homework for them. But it is not my job. My job is to provide the foundation so that they can succeed and it is their job to do the work.

God wants us to do well in life; He wants us to have peace, love and joy. He wants us to overcome the corruption of the world and He could do more to ensure our success. He could make sure that we never had another trial or temptation. He could take away free will and force us to obey.

But it is not His job.

His job is to provide everything we need to be to successful and it is our job to do the work.

Love,

Jill

You Are Not Alone

Deuteronomy 31:8

The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

Good morning ladies,

My husband likes the movie Wall-e from Pixar. For those of you who haven’t seen it is a story about the future of the earth. People have so polluted the planet that they have had to flee to a space station there they are living until life can be sustained again on earth. The only thing left is a robot named Wall-e and a cockroach.

To see if there is life on earth a probe is launched from the space station, a robot named Eve. When Wall-e sees Eve he falls instantly in love, but Eve is, to say the least, a bit of an ice princess.

Eventually Wall-e takes her home and shows her around his house. Eve is starting to warm up and then suddenly for seemingly no apparent reason she shuts down. Wall-e tries to talk to her but she is totally unresponsive.

But that doesn’t stop Wall-e from loving her and taking care of her.

This part of the movie makes me so sad, I can’t even watch it.

I feel so sorry for Wall-e loving something that doesn’t even acknowledge his existence

I wonder if that is how God feels.

God has loved His people with an everlasting love. He has taken care of them and provided for them and protected them. He has been faithful and true and loyal and we haven’t always noticed.

We get so busy with our lives that we sometimes forget Him.

Dear Lord, I love You so. Forgive me for all the times I put something else in front of You. Forgive me for not always seeing Your protective hand and Your love. The Bible says You love me with an everlasting love and that You will never leave me nor forsake me. Thank You God for always walking with me even when I think I am walking alone.

Love,
Jill

Freedom

Galatians 5:1

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Good morning ladies,

Yesterday when I was out shopping I saw a truck in the parking lot whose license plate frame said: “My son died for your freedom.”

Immediately my mother’s heart went out to the driver of that truck. I prayed for him and wondered as he looked at this country, did he think his son’s sacrifice was worth it. Were we living up to what his son had died for?

Then God said: I gave my Son as well.

And I was convicted.

God gave His Son, He allowed Him to die on the cross so that we could be free. Are we living up to the sacrifice?

Many of you have probably seen Saving Private Ryan, a gut wrenching story of the cost paid to bring one solider back to his family alive. The opening scene is supposedly one of the most realistic ever filmed on the landing at Normandy. It is incredibly hard to watch. The cost we paid to get a foothold on that little piece of land was enormous. And although it was the turning point in the War, you have to wonder if all those mothers who lost their boys thought it was worth it.

At the end of the movie old Private Ryan, who never forgot the sacrifice that was made on his behalf, is standing at the grave of one of the men who died saving him. He is reflecting back upon his life and hoping that his life was worth the sacrifice it took to save it. It is a powerful ending.

Yesterday, looking at that license plate, I realized I spend a lot of time thinking about the love of God and the power of God and very little time thinking about the sacrifice of God.

Dear Lord, You gave so much, You watched Your Son die to set us free something as a mother I cannot even imagine. How could You love us so much? And I know there is nothing I can do to repay that sacrifice, let my life be transformed by that knowledge and let me never forget that my freedom came at a cost.

Love,
Jill

Thanksgiving

Romans 8:28

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Good morning ladies,

Happy Thanksgiving!

This month in Zebras we are supposed to be looking back over our own lives and thinking about the faithfulness and love of God. Our assignment was to read the historical Psalms: 66, 78, 95, 105, 106, 111, 114, 135,136 and 149 and then try and write our own.

If you have not read them I really recommend you do. These are not Psalms of gushiness about all the wonders God has done, but realistic writings about God’s faithfulness and His dealings with His unfaithful people.

When I look back over my life some of the things that I am most thankful for are the things that were most difficult to go through at the time. One of those was having my father move in.

I did not have an ideal childhood. My mother died when I was two weeks shy of my thirteenth birthday and I was raised by my father who was probably an alcoholic.

Years later when my father became ill and had no place to go my husband insisted that he move in with us. I was completely against this plan, but it didn’t matter, Gary was adamant.

My dad lived with us for two and half years and it was not easy but God knew what He was doing. Having my father here allowed me to see that he was just a man who had made a lot of mistakes and not the evil person I thought he was. And because of that I could forgive him and move on.

It also allowed my children to get to know their grandfather. Nicholas especially loved my dad and he has very fond memories of the time they spent together.

And it allowed my eight year old daughter witness to him.

A few weeks before his death Dad thanked me for taking care of him, he said he knew he didn’t deserve it and he was grateful. That really broke my heart.

None of us deserve anything and yet God gives us so much.

Take time today to be thankful.

Love,
Jill

Giving Back

2 Samuel 24:24

But the king replied to Araunah, "No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing."
So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels of silver for them.

Good morning ladies,

When David was commanded to build an altar to the Lord he went to Araunah to buy a threshing floor. Araunah wanted to give the floor to David, but David refused because he did not want to give to the LORD something that had cost him nothing.

When the kids were little I used to give them money and take them to an inexpensive store and let them buy Christmas presents for everyone. Of course they were very excited about buying gifts for their friends and family and especially excited about buying something for their dad. It wasn’t until they got older they realized they were using Dad’s money to buy Dad’s gift. They weren’t really “giving” him anything.

This morning as I was praying and thinking about Thanksgiving I had the same revelation about God. God has given me everything and I have nothing of my own to give in return.

And God has given me so much.

He picked me up out of the mire, dusted me off and put my feet on solid ground. He reached down from heaven and picked up a broken person and healed me in ways I would not have thought possible. He guided me and provided for me when I didn’t even know I needed it. He loved me when it felt like no one else did and He never gave up on me. He encouraged me to try and believed I could succeed. He was faithful even when I wasn’t and solid. He never changed. Most amazing of all, He used me. He knew what I was really like and yet He still used me. I had an overwhelming desire to give something back.

But what do I have that I could give to God for all His has given me?

The answer of course is nothing and everything.

Realizing that there was nothing that I could give God that He hadn’t given me first made me want to give Him everything.

Love,
Jill

Suffering

Matthew 5:11-12

"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Good morning ladies,

Because of our Bible study in Philippians I have been doing a lot of thinking about suffering, and I have decided there are at least three types.

First, there is suffering related to our own personal choices. Consequences for decisions we have made certainly make us suffer, but they result in very little joy. Instead they are often accompanied by regret and embarrassment. More than once I have related to Psalm 32:4 where David writes:

For day and night
your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was sapped
as in the heat of summer.

The only cure for that type of suffering is found in the next verse.

Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, "I will confess
my transgressions to the LORD "—
and you forgave
the guilt of my sin.

Second there is the suffering that comes from being in the world. In John 16:33b Jesus said “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." So we should not be surprised when we suffer instead we should think upon the purpose of our suffering which is to test and increase our faith. James 1:2-4 says:

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

And then there is suffering for the gospel, the type of suffering seen in Jesus, Paul, and others who have devoted their lives to God and have suffered because of it. People whose willing sacrifices resulted in suffering that advanced the Gospel. It is this type of suffering Jesus was talking about in today’s verse from the Sermon on the Mount.

As I have been pondering all of this and realizing that very little of my suffering was related to advancing the Gospel, God led me to a song that Justin McRoberts wrote called Done Living; here are the words of the chorus

You see the question isn’t
Are you going to suffer any more
But what will it have meant when you are through?
The question isn’t are you going to die,
you’re going to die
But will you be done living when you do?

It is my heartfelt prayer that I accomplish all God has for me to do before I die.

Love,
Jill

Precautions

Deuteronomy 6:5-7

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

Good morning ladies,

Last Friday after I wrote to you I went for a walk, part of my new “being still” campaign in preparation for teaching at the retreat.

During the walk I started thinking of the precautions I need to take to make sure Joshua stays safe. I need to make sure the door is shut by throwing the dead bolt and I need to make him wear his collar and tags. That way if he does get out whoever finds him will know where he belongs.

Now this is no guarantee but I will feel better knowing I have taken precautions.

God showed me the same is true of my children.

Katherine and Nicholas started in Awana when they were four and three respectively and have finished a book every year for the last twelve years. They have both learned over seven hundred Bible verses.

Both kids went to Bible Study Fellowship, Nick for seven years, Katherine for six. Originally Nick went with me during the day while Katherine was in school. That made her jealous because she wanted to go to Bible study too, so Gary enrolled in the night class and started taking her. Eventually I transferred to nights and we went as a family for years. We would often go out to dinner before BSF, or stop for a treat afterwards and I remember thinking. “Dang, this is getting expensive!” Now I think it is probably some of the best money I ever spent.

I have been in a teaching role for the last eleven years, first in Awana, then in Precepts, and now Zebras. Because of this I am always thinking and praying about what God would have me say and so it is a constant topic of conversation around our house. Today’s verse is our life.

And I have modeled the faith to the best of my ability. I have prayed and studied the Word of God daily for years. I have been transparent and honest and the kids have watched me change. They can see I am not the same person I used to be, not completely different, just better.

Finally, I have prayed for them.

Now I know none of this is a guarantee my children will always follow the Lord, they do have free will, but it makes me feel better knowing, through the grace of God, I have taken precautions.

Love,
Jill

Wander Away

Psalm 61:4

I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings. Selah

Good morning ladies,

Yesterday I had a bit of a scare. My six pound moodle dog, Joshua, wandered out the door without me noticing. I was working on the computer and didn’t realize the front door was not completely closed. He seized the moment and took himself for a walk.

As soon as I noticed I mobilized the forces, I called my husband and sister and had them start praying and I went out to look. Fortunately a neighbor found him before he got hurt and we had a happy ending.

Later that night I was asking Joshua why he wanted to run away. Doesn’t he know no one will love him as much as I do? Nor will they take as good of care of him. Besides I pointed out, he would miss me.

My daughter, who was listening to this whole conversation, said “Mom, he isn’t running away from us, he is just going to look for something else. He doesn’t understand the consequences of leaving.”

Well of course he doesn’t, he’s a dog, but the same thing happens with people. They don’t mean to wander away from God; they are just looking for something else. They don’t realize what they are leaving is better than anything they will find.

Yesterday, when I lost Joshua I was so sad. I knew what could happen to him out there in the big cruel world and I wanted to find him and get him home.

I wonder if that is how God feels when His children wander away?

My children are getting older; they will soon be able to make their own choices about God. They will be able to wander away if they want to, and that’s a little scary. I know how enticing the things of the world are, I know how easy it is to get distracted and wander away, just for a minute, and be lost for years. That is not something I want for my children.

So this morning I started praying this verse for them:

Dear Lord, I pray Katherine and Nicholas will realize and truly understand that there is no where else to go, and no one who will ever love them like You do. I pray they will always long to dwell in Your house and take refuge under Your wing. Amen

Love,
Jill

Good Gifts

Matthew 7:11

If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

Good morning ladies,

One of the great things about wrestling with God is when you finally give up.

One of the things that I was sad about was not having money to go on vacations, very worldly I know, but I really love vacations. Other people are going on vacations, and if I was still working we would have the money to go too, but oh no I’m serving this stingy God who doesn’t provide very well.

You can see how jealousy is a BAD thing.

We had originally thought about having the women’s retreat at a Spa in Napa but it was too expensive. And although I much prefer Mt. Hermon for our theme, ever since then I have wanted to go to a spa and relax. Now I have NEVER wanted to go to a spa before, in fact I have avoided them, but lately it has sounded like fun, soaking in hot water, maybe even getting my first massage, basically being pampered.

I almost asked Gary Tuesday if we could scrape together the money and go for one night, but I knew we couldn’t afford it and it would just make him feel bad, or worse he would agree and we would put it on the charge card.

Yesterday, after realizing God is not stingy AT ALL, that He has already given me far more than I deserve including eternal life, the indwelling Holy Spirit, the power of Christ, love, joy, peace just to name a few, and there is nothing I would rather do than devote my life to serving Him, we got an e-mail about the company Christmas party.

You guessed it-at a spa in San Diego-everything paid, even airfare.

Isn’t God fun?

So here’s my lesson.

God does not want to withhold blessings from His children, and He is definitely NOT stingy. He just wants us to be grateful for what He has already given and not expecting/demanding more.

Love,
Jill

Dark Night of the Soul

John 6:66-69

From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.

"You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve.

Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We
believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."

Good morning ladies,

I shared with you yesterday that it has been a rough week for me, but Monday was the worst. I would say it was even a small crisis of faith. Pastor Kelly called it the “dark night of the soul.”

When I quit work in June I figured God and I had a deal. I would devote all my time to doing His work and He would take care of all financial issues. On Monday I realized that wasn’t really the deal.

A popular teaching is that God will not allow His people to be shamed. Verses from Psalms and Isaiah are often quoted as proof. But what I realized as I studied Paul is that God will allow His people to be shamed, in the eyes of men, IF they are willing and it advances the Gospel. Paul was shamed by the world’s standards and of course Jesus himself was shamed on the cross. Why should we be any different?

Somehow this wasn’t exactly what I had bargained for. I was so disappointed.

I spent five hours crying on Monday evening, my kids tried to comfort me by reassuring me that no matter what had made me so sad I always had God, but of course that didn’t help because God was what I was crying about.

Tuesday I had to decide what I was going to do. I could chuck it all and start subbing again or I could continue down the path that I believe God has me on. It was my choice.

Jesus is no stranger to people turning away from him and this section of scripture came to mind.

Like Peter, I really have no where else to go.

I have done the world thing, I have relied on my own strength and abilities and it was tiring and depressing. And I have done the “God thing” and it is amazing and fun.

Last night, my sixteen year old daughter, Katherine asked me what had made me so sad and although I didn’t want to tell her because I didn’t want her to think less of God, I did. After she listened to me explain, she replied “I would rather put my future in the hands of God, than depend upon myself.”

Amen.

Love,
Jill

Paul's Secret

Philippians 1:12

Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.

Good morning ladies,

It’s been sort of a rough week for me. We started the study of Philippians and I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about Paul.

When I first started studying the Bible, I decided I wanted to be like Moses and lead God’s people to the Promised Land. Then I really studied Moses and decided that spending time with all those whining Israelites would’ve probably driven me crazy.

For a short time I wanted to be David, a man after God’s own heart. But if you study David you learn he made some big mistakes and he suffered the consequences, so although I still love him and find inspiration from his story, I moved on.

For the last couple of years I’ve wanted to be Paul.

When people told me they wanted to be Paul, I thought they were crazy, You don’t need to know very much about the Bible to know Paul didn’t have it so good. Shipwrecked, beaten, stoned, imprisoned, you name it and it happened to Paul.

And yet, there is something about him.

This week I may have figured out what it is. Paul had a single purpose in life after his meeting with Jesus, and that was to advance the Gospel. Nothing else mattered. If God’s work was being accomplished, he was happy. He lived the last of the beatitudes.

Matthew 5:10

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Paul did not suffer because of his own mistakes, nor did he suffer the circumstances of life, and make the best of it, he suffered for the Gospel and in that he found joy.

I look at people who exercise a lot and think, “Man, they look great,” but I know I’m not willing to put in all the work it takes to get there. Paul is the Mr. Universe of the Bible and I am struggling to decide if I am willing to go there.

Love,
Jill

It's All a Loss

Philippians 3:8

What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ

Good morning ladies,

I have been thinking about this verse since Friday. How could Paul consider all things rubbish compared to knowing Christ?

I mean “all things” is a lot of stuff, it isn’t just the material things we give up, it is everything, our hopes, our plans, our dreams, and our vacations. Everything. That’s a lot.

Yesterday God used a baby to show me what Paul meant.

I was standing in the lobby of church waiting for a friend. Denise was in the lobby holding Rebekah. Lisa, Rebekah’s mother was busy with Ryan so Denise had taken Rebekah. Now Rebekah seemed perfectly happy with “Auntie Denise” but then Daniel, her father walked in the room, and she lit up like a Christmas tree.

Suddenly Denise wasn’t good enough, because something better had walked in.

That’s what Paul meant. It isn’t that the things of the world aren’t great, they are. In fact God gave them for us to enjoy, but they are nothing compared to Christ himself. They are rubbish.

This morning as I was thinking about all of this I was reminded of an old hymn that I love, some of you might know it, Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus.

The chorus goes:

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face;
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace.

Follow the link below to hear it for yourself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QR0LiRiz4l4&feature=related

Have a wonderful day.

Love,
Jill

Be Still

Psalm 46:10a (NIV)

"Be still, and know that I am God;

Psalm 46:10a (NASB)

"Cease striving and know that I am God;

Good morning ladies,

I am very excited about the women’s retreat, not only because we get to spend a beautiful weekend together at Mt. Hermon, but because I get the privilege of thinking and pondering on our topic for the next three months.

Being still is something I have been working on since Nick was 6. I was a Stepping Stones’ teacher in Vallejo and I couldn’t figure out how to make my schedule work with Nick’s school schedule. Up until that point it had worked fine, I would drop Katherine off at school and then Nick and I would go to Stepping Stones together, but since kindergarten started later that wasn’t going to work.

One day as I was driving down Hastings praying about what I was supposed to do, well maybe negotiating would be a better word, because I knew God wanted me to quit, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to. I liked being a teacher and I didn’t know what I would do with all my free time. He brought this verse to mind. “What you will do,” He said, “is be still and know I am God.”

I quit. That was nine years ago.

Being still does not come naturally to me, but it is worth the effort.

My moodles follow me around all day. They patiently wait for me to stop moving so that they can jump up on my lap, They know that I will give them very little attention when I am on the move, but if I am sitting reading my Bible or taking a nap they can cuddle up next to me and get love.

This morning as I was straightening up the house the moodles were following me around. When I grabbed a blanket from the couch to fold and put away they got very excited. “You two,” I laughed “are just waiting for me to be still.”

And God replied, “So am I.”

We live in a very busy world and we often think we don’t have time to be still because we have a lot to do, you may even think that being still is a waste of time. Let me assure you it’s not, because when you are still and cuddle up with God you get love, not to mention wisdom and strength.

Love,
Jill

Secret of Being Content

Philippians 4:12

I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.

Good morning ladies,

I was doing my Bible study in Philippians this morning and I was struck by this verse. This is a pretty famous verse, many of us know it, some of us even have it memorized, but this morning when I looked at it I realized it said far more than I had originally thought.

To me, this verse speaks to the fact that Paul, who often seemed to be living in dire circumstances, had learned how to be content. But it actually says a lot more it says he also knew how to be hungry when living in prosperity.

When I think of Paul, I think of his beatings, his shipwrecks, and his imprisonments, I do not think of him living in prosperity, but of course before he met Jesus he had.

Paul was born to Jewish parents who were also Roman citizens. At this time most Jews were not Roman citizens, it was an honor reserved for people who made great contributions to the Empire. Therefore, Paul's parents were probably people of influence and perhaps even moderate wealth.

Paul grew up knowing what it meant to have plenty.

At the age of fourteen Paul was sent to Jerusalem to train to be a Rabbi and since they also wanted to have something for him to fall back on during hard times, he was trained to be a tent-maker.

Paul had a bright future, things were looking good for him, but when he met Jesus on the road to Damascus his life was changed forever.

Paul had lived a life of prosperity and he had been hungry; he would now live a life of suffering and be filled.

Satisfaction and contentment does not come from our circumstances, it never has, and it never will. If it did the United States, not Disneyland, would be “The “Happiest Place on Earth.”

Love,
Jill

Live at Peace

Romans 12:17-19

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.

Good morning ladies,

My kids, for the most part get along really well. I feel very blessed that they are still best friends, but they still have disagreements.

Yesterday when I was refereeing a minor squabble about a book, they started down the “He said…, She said ….” road. Both of them thought the other person was at fault and that they were, if not totally innocent, at least more innocent.

This morning I sent them off to school with this verse.

It is our responsibility live at peace with others. And although some days that seems nearly impossible, it doesn’t change the directive.

Fortunately the Bible has a lot of good suggestions on how to live at peace with others, many found in the book of James. Watch your tongue, don’t get easily angered, show no favoritism, and a reminder to follow the royal law “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Nowhere does it say; “But he…”, in fact it says the opposite. It says the reason we quarrel and fight is because we do not get what we want. I know that is true of most two year olds, and me.

I like to be right; my family would tell you I love to be right, and I like to have things my way. But the truth of the matter is if I want to live at peace with others I can’t always have things my way, and I can’t always be right.

What I can do, with the help of the indwelling Holy Spirit, is die to myself, and live for Christ, to love others more than I love me, and to put their needs above my own.

The amazing thing is when I do that, God takes care of everyone else.

Love,
Jill

Protection

Psalm 40:11

Do not withhold your mercy from me, O LORD;
may your love and your truth always protect me.

Good morning ladies,

I am getting ready to start the Precepts Bible study on Philippians tomorrow night and I‘ve been reflecting upon the past Bible studies I have done. From each one of them I can take away at least one truth that has changed my life.

From the life of Moses, that God has standards for His leaders and He expects them to live up to them.

From 2 Peter, the truth that we are given the divine nature and everything we need for life and godliness, and then it is our responsibility to add to our faith, goodness, knowledge and self-control.

From James, the truth that we must look into the word of God and REMEMBER what we learn there and not walk away and forget. It is the man who remembers what he has learned who is blessed.

And from 1 and 2 Samuel, the life of David, that God looks at our heart and our motives, He does not judge on actions alone, that sin has consequences, but there is nothing we can do that God can’t forgive, and each one of us are given tasks to do and we must focus on those.

Just to name a few.

I love the Word of God, it has the power to transform, train and protect, but just in case I had any doubts God gave me a great reminder yesterday at church.

I was sitting with my grape juice waiting to take communion and I accidently spilled the cup. Fortunately it spilled on the cover of the Bible I was holding in my lap instead of on my pants, since I still had to do announcements at second service.

As I was walking to the bathroom to wash off the Bible, I stopped and talked to Daniel, the worship team leader. When he noticed the grape juice on the Bible he said the same thing had just happened to him with coffee. He had spilt his coffee and if it hadn’t been for his Bible it would have gone all over his white shirt.

Only God could take a spiritual truth, like the importance of having the Word of God in your life, and make it so practical.

Love,
Jill

Still Small Voice

John 10:27

John 10:27

Jesus said "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me"

Good morning ladies,

There is nothing more important than learning to listen to the voice of the Lord. Then you will know where to go and where not to go. But it doesn’t happen overnight.

It takes practice to be able to hear the still small voice of God in the midst of our busy world.

I have been doing Bible study for over eleven years and everyday I can hear the voice of the Lord a little better.

Recently I had two experiences where I clearly heard God’s voice.

Last Sunday I did not want to go to church, no reason really, I just wanted to play hooky. I normally do the announcements so I had to tell Janet I wasn’t coming and then Pastor Harvey asked me to announce something for him, so I also had to tell him I wasn’t coming. I told him I felt a little guilty, but I was going to stay home anyway. Jokingly he gave me absolution. But God didn’t.

All week God kept annoying me. I had a restless feeling that I have come to associate with disobedience and no matter how I tried I couldn’t shake it, so I went to church, where I received a wonderful blessing from God, which I would have missed had I stayed home.

On Monday I attended a meeting that I knew I shouldn’t go to, it wasn’t a bad meeting, in fact it was a good meeting, it just wasn’t where I was supposed to be. Again the restless feeling started.

After the meeting I went home and prayed, the next morning I turned in my resignation.

A good friend responded with today’s verse.

We are God’s sheep; we need to be able to hear His voice. He is the one who knows what we should and should not do, and once He speaks we need to obey.

Love,
Jill

Take Up Your Cross

Luke 9:23

Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

Good afternoon ladies,

This month we are supposed to be thinking about what it means to be totally surrendered to Christ. In fact this is one of the verses that Rovellyn referenced.

But what does it really mean.

The first thing that jumps out at me is that it is a daily commitment. Everyday you have to follow Christ. So of course that would mean you have to know where He is going, and what He would want you to do, and the best way to do that is to start each day with Bible study and prayer. I mean how many of us would start out on a journey without any directions or any idea of where we are going. Every day with God is part of a journey; you really need directions to stay on course.

Second, Jesus gave them a choice. It was not commanded. He did not say, “You have to deny yourself and take up your cross.” He said, “IF anyone would come after me.” IF you want to follow me, IF you want to be my disciple, then this is what you have to do, deny yourself, and take up your cross.

Now we all know what it means to deny ourselves something. For example, I denied myself Halloween candy this year. Which means it is something I wanted but I did not let myself have it. But I think Jesus was aiming for something bigger than candy, especially since He mentions the cross.

To us the cross is the symbol of life; to the Jewish people it would have been the symbol of death. The Roman government crucified lots of people and many of them, including Jesus had to carry their own cross to the execution.

So what Jesus is saying is; if we want to follow Him, we must die to ourselves, our wants, our desires, and our agendas. No longer do WE get to pick what we do, say or even think. If we are serious about being a disciple of Christ, every thought, every action, and every word belongs to Him.

Now you know why we need the Holy Spirit.

Love,
Jill

Glory of God

1 Corinthians 10:31

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

Good morning ladies,

I am headed off to school today to substitute for a friend. Since it is the day before Halloween she asked me if I would do it since the kids are going to be crazy and she knew I could control them.

Now I know not all the schools celebrate Halloween anymore, but this one does, so I am going as a zebra.

When I first wandered back to my faith, I had some people tell me I should not celebrate Halloween, that it was Satan’s holiday. Of course that upset me, since Halloween was one of my good childhood memories, so I started asking around to see what other Christians believed.

My favorite advice came from my friend Janet. She grew up in Bakersfield and one of the biggest fund raisers for the youth group at her church was the haunted house they had at Halloween.

She told me, that everyday in her house belongs to the LORD; Satan does not get a holiday, no matter what she is doing.

I liked that.

Therefore I always let my kids celebrate Halloween, but they were never allowed to be anything dark or scary. In fact I used to pray about their costumes.

And when I was teaching I had the same restrictions for the kids in my class, nothing dark or scary and no characters from “R” rated movies, because it was my classroom and I had control of what went on in there. Eventually it became school policy.

I don’t think the question is really do you celebrate Halloween or not, I think the real question is, do you honor God in everything that you do?

Have a wonderful day!

Love,
Jill

God's Will

John 4:34

"My food," said Jesus "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.

Good morning ladies,

Obviously I know I am not Jesus, but it is also my will to do what God would ask of me. And until today that has been to write and encourage you to grow in your faith, but today God really hasn’t given me anything to say.

Many of you know that song If It Be Your Will by Leonard Cohen that we sometimes sing at church. (If you don’t it is on YouTube) That song always makes me cry. Would I be willing if it was God’s will to speak or write no more?

Since I love doing this that would be the greater sacrifice.

I didn’t want you to worry about me so I am sending you this note. I’m fine, all is well, God just asked me to be quiet today.

Love,
Jill

Your Choice

1 Peter 1:15-16

But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."

Good morning ladies,

I often get into discussions with people about sin. Questions such as: Does God really expect us not to sin? Aren’t our sins forgiven? Don’t we live under grace? Are there still consequences to sin? etc. And the more I try to answer these questions the more muddled I get.

So here is what the Bible says: Yes, God really does expect us to try and not sin, that is why He gave us the indwelling Holy Spirit so we would have the power to overcome sin.

Yes, our sins are forgiven, but it came at a high price. Jesus Christ suffered and died a horrible death on the cross so that we would not have to pay the ultimate penalty for sin which is death and separation from God forever.

Yes, we live under grace, but that does not negate all the teachings of the Old Testament. God is still God, He has not changed, He is still holy and He expects us to be holy too.

And, yes there are consequences to sin; the most obvious is a broken relationship with God.

The last few days I have been indulging in two of my favorite sins, laziness and poor food choices. Today I woke up feeling horrible and depressed. Not really a big surprise because the consequences of those actions is that my physical body feels awful, sluggish and tired, and emotionally I am a wreck.

God does not want me to live that way, that is not why He sent His son, but it is always my choice, He has given me the power, He expects me to use it.

In the Old Testament Joshua took over from Moses and was given the task of leading Israel into the Promised Land. Right before he died he called together the nation of Israel and presented them with a choice. Joshua 24:15b is a very famous verse, often quoted and a popular one to hang in houses, but I think it is even more powerful when you look at it in context.

Joshua 24:14-15
Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

Every day we serve something, either the gods of this world, our own sinful desires, or God it is always our choice.

Love,
Jill

Not About Us

1 Chronicles 22

David said to Solomon: "My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God.

Good afternoon ladies,

I have really enjoyed studying David. His life is filled with lessons and good reminders such as; God looks at the heart, sin has consequences, God’s work needs to be done God’s way and God forgives our sins and restores our relationship if we will only repent, just to name a few.

Tonight we are discussing the last chapter in David’s life. He is getting older and he is preparing to hand the kingdom of Israel over to his son Solomon.

David loved God and earlier in his life he had wanted to build God a house, a place for the Ark of the Covenant to permanently rest among the people of Israel. But God told him no. David was a warrior, so God did allow him to build the temple; instead He told David that his son, Solomon, would have that privilege.

What struck me as I read this story was David’s attitude.

Although he was denied the privilege of building the temple, he did not complain, in fact he did everything he could to make it easier for Solomon. He got the materials, he organized the men, he made the plans and then he turned the job over to his son.

David put the desires of God above his own. Do we?

Are we working diligently to make sure others, especially our children, are successful in their service to God?

Many of us have things we would like to do for God, but what if He said no, what if He chose someone else? Would we be as gracious as David and help them do what we had hoped to do ourselves? Do we have the big picture? That it’s not about us, but about God.

Love,
Jill

Spin Master

Psalm 37:3-5

Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this:

Good morning ladies,

Pastor Kelly referenced Psalm 37:4 yesterday, but since it was a supporting verse for a minor point in his sermon he didn’t really talk about it much. But it got me to thinking.

Some people use this verse to teach the “ministry of prosperity,” the idea that if you truly delight in God and commit your ways to Him he will give you everything you want. Sort of like Santa or the Genie from Aladdin. “Just believe and you will receive everything you ever wanted.”

Obviously that is not true.

What God does for us is far more amazing.

My kids tell me I am the master of “the spin.” If there is a choice to be made and I have a preference on the outcome, I always present my choice in the most favorable and desirable way. They hate the fact that even if they originally wanted to do the other thing, by the time I’m done presenting the choices, they have changed their minds.

Another “master of the spin” was Tom Sawyer. Remember the fence painting story?

Or look at the advertising industry. Isn’t it all about “spin,” making you desire what they are selling?

Now God is not a spin master, but He does change the desires of your heart.

God loves you but He has no personal agenda, nothing to gain, and everything to give. He created you, He knows what is best for you and that is what He wants you to have.

What Psalm 37:4 is saying is if you delight yourself in God, He transforms and changes the desires of your heart. He makes you want what He has for you and then He gives it to you.

I don’t know how He does it, I just know He does.

And it is good.

Love,
Jill

,

Habits

Mark 1:35

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

Good morning ladies,

Yesterday I wrote about not giving Satan a foothold. This morning Susan responded that the best way to accomplish that is to start your day with prayer. And she is absolutely right.

Staring your day with prayer is not some mystical thing for the chosen few, it is basically a habit that you need to develop.

Every morning I pray in the same place and because my moodles love me so much, they always want to join me. To keep them from being a distraction I made little beds for each of them, one on either side. When I go to pray they settle down on their beds and keep me company.

Yesterday I didn’t follow my normal routine, I did a few chores before prayer and the moodles were confused. They kept going to their little beds and settling in expecting me to follow suit. When I would walk right past they would jump up and follow me, but you could see they weren’t pleased. They have come to like this time because I stay in one place and they can rest.

Now ladies, I know the dogs aren’t praying, they are just resting on pillows, but that’s not the point. The point is Bible study and prayer are habits.

They say it takes six weeks to develop a habit, but it happens one day at a time.

Nine years ago God convicted me with this verse. If Jesus, the Son of God, had to get up early to pray don’t you think you should?

When people ask me what I had to give up for God, the first thing that comes to mind is sleep.

All of us have habits; make sure spending time with God is one of them

Love,
Jill

Foothold

Ephesians 4:27

and do not give the devil a foothold.

Good morning ladies,

Tuesday Alicia shared a funny story with me. She was at work and a young gentleman came in with his bike. Since bikes are not allowed inside the library Alicia went over to tell him he had to leave. When he turned around to talk to her she saw his face was painted like the devil. Holding her ground she told him he needed to take his bike outside. But, he argued, he would only be a minute besides he didn’t have a lock for his bike. She ended up letting him stay, but only for a minute.

I have been thinking about that ever since.

The Bible tells us not to give the devil a foothold. But what’s a foothold? The online dictionary defines it as: A firm or secure position that provides a base for further advancement; an initial accomplishment that opens the way for further developments and an area in hostile territory that has been captured and is held awaiting further troops and supplies. Basically it is the means to and end.

Eve gave the devil a foothold when she argued with him in the garden, and we all know how that turned out. David gave the devil a foothold when he stayed home from battle, because if he had been where he was supposed to be he would have never seen Bathsheba. And yesterday I gave the devil a foothold which ended up with me being really harsh with my kids.

Satan does not need a huge sin to get you, all he needs is a foothold, a thought, a careless action, anything to get you to turn your attention away from God and cause you to stumble. Then after you have fallen he is right there to tell you how awful you are.

When Christ was in the desert and Satan came to tempt Him, He did not give him a foothold. He didn’t argue, He didn’t try to reason with him, Christ simply quoted the Word of God.

The Bible says Satan is a liar, the accuser of the brethren, a roaring lion seeking to destroy us. But it also says he is defeated, but not by us.

Christ defeated Satan on the cross and with His power we can do the same.

Love,
Jill

Helping God

Isaiah 48:9-10

I make known the end from the beginning,
from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say: My purpose will stand,
and I will do all that I please.

From the east I summon a bird of prey;
from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.
What I have said, that will I bring about;
what I have planned, that will I do.

Good afternoon ladies,

I wasn’t feeling too well this morning so I slept in. I was planning on skipping writing today until I watched lesson six from the Truth Project and Dell said the same thing that I was planning on saying to you.

God is sovereign, make no mistake about it. His plans will not be thwarted, what He said He would do, He will do. The only choice we have is if we want to be part of it.

Many people who have done great things for God say this truth is one of the reasons they were willing to step out in faith. They did not want to be left out of God’s plans. They knew God would accomplish His work and if they weren’t willing to do it, He would find someone else who would.

This is the argument that Mordecai used on Esther when he was trying to convince her to go before the king to save the Jewish people. Because of her obedience she got a book in the Bible. What if she had said no? God would still have saved them, and Esther would have missed a blessing.

When Esther's words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer: "Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?" Esther 4:12-14

I watch people miss blessings all the time because they are not willing to do what God has asked of them. They put the things of the world before the things of God. They could be part of God’s plan, but they choose to amuse themselves with worldly diversions, or they allow themselves to be frozen with fear. And that’s their choice.

But that is not my choice, and I hope it is not yours.

God does not need us to accomplish His plans, but He lets us help. I love that.

Love,
Jill

Count the Cost

Luke 27-29

And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him,

Good morning ladies,

I had an epiphany the other day.

Rovellyn has challenged us this month think about what it means to live a life totally surrendered to Christ. She remembers vividly when, after years of trying to live the Christian life her way, she made the decision to live her life God’s way. That moment is as clear to her as the day she was saved.

I understand what she is talking about because I have walked a similar journey. But Janet hasn’t.

Janet is one of those fortunate people who grew up in a Christian home that was really a Christian home. They honored God everyday, not just on Sunday, and they taught Janet to do the same thing. She remembers the day she made her faith her own, but she never had the experience that Rovellyn is talking about.

Any of you who are fortunate enough to know Janet, know that her life is totally devoted to God, so why the difference?

Here’s the epiphany.

Janet grew up knowing what salvation meant. When she accepted Christ she knew God expected her to die to self and live for Him. She had seen the Christian faith modeled in her life and understood what it really was. She had counted the cost and signed up anyway.

I did not. When I accepted Christ I had no idea what I was getting into. It wasn’t until years later God revealed to me what the Christian life was all about and then He gave me another decision. “Now that you know what it really means to follow Me, are you willing to do it?” At that point I had to decide to die to myself and live for God.

Each one of us is on our own personal journey, probably no two exactly alike, but if we are really seeking to know and serve the God we love we all end up understanding that to live for God means we have to die to ourselves.

Love,
Jill

Weakness

2Corinthians 12:9
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me

Good morning ladies,

I need to share something with you. I can’t write. It is not a strength of mine.

If you asked me what I was good at in school I would tell you math, but actually I wasn’t good at that either, I just had a good teacher.

When I was in fourth grade my teacher told me I was stupid because I hadn’t learned my multiplication tables. I was crushed.

In fifth grade I had a wonderful teacher, Mr. Mahoney. What made him wonderful was he believed in me, he thought I had value, he thought I was smart, and he made me think so too.

In high school I met his wife. I had failed Algebra 2 and I was standing in the hallway looking at the posted grades when Mrs. Mahoney walked by. She told me not to worry about that grade, just to take it again with her the following year. She told me it wasn’t my fault; she told me that teacher wasn’t very good at teaching math.

For the next three years Mrs. Mahoney was my math teacher. She made me think I was good at math. But when I got to college I found out I wasn’t really. She was good at math, and when I was with her I was good at math, but on my own I really wasn’t very good at it.

The same is true of writing.

On my own I’m not that good at it. I failed Freshman Composition twice in college. I have never considered writing a strength, in fact I think of it as one of my weakness.

So of course that is why God can use it.

The Bible says that God uses the weak things of the world to shame the strong, the foolish things of the world to shame the wise.

God doesn’t need our strength, He has plenty of that. What He needs is our weakness.

Love,
Jill

Be Brave!

1 John 4:4
You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

Good morning ladies,

Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified…for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you not forsake you. (Deuteronomy 31:6-9)

Don’t you love those verses? I do!

Moses was getting ready to die. He was giving the leadership of the Israelites over to Joshua who was going to take them into the Promised Land, to the land of giants and scary things, to the land of the unknown.

And God commanded them not to be afraid or discouraged.

Why would God have Moses tell them this?

Because He knew they were afraid.

It is natural to be afraid when we face the unknown. But God tells us not to worry. He has it under control. He is with us. We can be brave, not because we are strong, but because He is.

Sometimes I think I would like to know the future. Other times I think if I knew the future, I would never get out of bed. But I always know God’s got it covered, He knows the future and He has promised to walk with me every step of the way.

Be brave little Zebras, God is on OUR side.

Love,
Jill

Why Do You Obey?

John 14:15
"If you love me, you will obey what I command."

Good morning ladies,

If you asked me what the Old Testament was about I would say obedience, the big “O”.

If you asked me what the New Testament was about I would say love. “For God so loved the world….”

For me, this verse ties the two together.

I once asked my class: “Do you obey your parents because you love them or because you fear them?”

Most of the kids said they obey out of fear. A few said they didn’t obey at all.

Now as a parent I can tell you that either way works. My children can obey me because they love me or they can obey me because they fear me, but I expect them to obey.

Of course I want my children to obey me because they love me; it shows that we have a healthy relationship. They know that I love them and because of that they want to please me therefore they obey.

But I also have the power and I will use it if necessary.

The same is true of God.

He loves us and He wants us to obey Him because we love Him, it shows we have a healthy relationship, but He still has the power.

I think Christians often struggle with their view of God. They think of God as either a giant teddy bear who would never discipline them or as an angry entity waiting to strike them dead.

He is neither. He is God, and He wants us to obey.

Love,
Jill