Have You Done Your Job Lately?

We know that our primary responsibility is to spread the Gospel, but one of the most powerful tools we have to do this job is to pray for those who we witness to who haven't yet trusted Christ.  Hey ladies - we've got a job to do! One of our own has been witnessing to a friend (is it you?!). Would you stop and pray right now that this person would be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit and trust Christ for salvation?

School's In Session! Do Your Homework!

I caught this in the SacBee on September 10, 2010: "Sacramento Interfaith Leaders Plan 9/11 'Blessing of Peace' on Quran."   I'm going to post the whole article at the end of this post, just in case it gets taken off the SacBee website, but I do want you to read it.   

After you've read the article, here's your homework: The article mentions that in addition to reading from the Quran, several passages from the Old and New Testaments will be read (or were read, since this happened yesterday).  From the NT a verse from Matthew 5, and from the OT a verse from Isaiah 2.  Come on - do I even need to TELL you what I want you to do?  Okay - I haven't blogged for a while, so you have forgotten how this works. :-)  Look up those passages (and their contexts), and tell me what's wrong with using them for this purpose (other than the obvious "blessing the Quran" thing!).  

Here, I'll make it easier for you: Matthew 5:9 and Isaiah 2:4. 

Here's the article:

More than 50 members of Sacramento's interfaith community - including Christians, Jews, Sikhs, Quakers, Muslims and Druids - will meet at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament on Saturday, the ninth anniversary of 9/11, for a "blessing of peace on the Quran."

The 7 p.m. event, on the steps of the cathedral at 11th and K streets, is designed to blunt the threats of Florida Pastor Terry Jones to burn the Quran.

Jones' associates said today that no Qurans will be burned, but organizers of Saturday's event "wanted to send an alternative vision from America - placing roses on the Quran as a symbol of peace and tolerance. The World Peace Garden in Capitol Park has agreed to supply us with three dozen roses," said the Rev. David Thompson, president of the Interfaith Service Bureau.

"Afterwards the roses will be given to Muslim families," Thompson said. "Whether or not the Florida pastor goes through with his scheme to burn copies of the Quran, we in Sacramento are hopeful of bringing cooperation and peace here as we try to undo the damage already done, to protect our troops and to affirm our Muslim brothers and sisters here in America and around the world."

Non-Muslims will give seven readings from the Quran.

"The passages are chosen to show there are peaceful, wonderful passages from the Quran," Thompson said.

Each reader will then place a rose on the Quran.

There will also be reading from Hebrew and Christian scriptures - "correctives from the faiths Terry Jones is supposed to be representing," Thompson said.

Father Michael Kiernan of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament will read from Matthew 5: "Blessed are the peacemakers. They shall be called sons and daughters of God."

The Hebrew scripture, from the second chapter of the prophet Isaiah, declares, "God will wield authority over the nations and adjudicate between many people; these will hammer their swords into ploughshares, their spears into sickles. Nation will not lift sword against nation, there will be no more training for war."

The seven blessings from the Quran each carry the message, "Let there be peace on Earth and let it begin with me," Thompson said. "Everyone in Sacramento who cares about this issue and wants peace and to show kindness to Muslims is encouraged to bring the gift of a rose and place it on the Quran. Let there be peace on Earth and let it begin with us."

Don't let your brains get rusty, ladies..."Renew your mind..."

I await your comments. :-)

Rudderless Faith!

This is short and sweet, ladies!

I recently read an excerpt of a sermon by the late Pastor Dan Rodgers entitled "Noah's Ark Had No Rudder." Think about the implications: Noah's Ark - that big honkin' ark - had NO rudder. No steering mechanism!? Talk about faith! Of course, the Ark didn't NEED a rudder - it was guided by the Lord. Noah had faith that the Lord would take that Ark wherever He wanted it to go.  And here's the part that really gets me: not only was its DIRECTION guided by the Lord...its SPEED was also guided by Him.

Are you struggling with the Lord's timing right now?  Next time you start to wonder about the "speed" with which things are (or are not) happening in your life, remember Noah's Rudderless Ark and have faith in the One Who is guiding your direction AND your speed. :-)

Quit trying to steer the boat (excuse me -- ship)!

"Designer Babies" - The Next Stage

Saw this blog post by Al Mohler the other day and it has really been on my mind.  The whole idea of aborting the "wrong baby" is appalling to begin with, but Mohler brings up the "bigger" issue here: the idea of using abortions as a "search and destroy" mission for babies who are somehow not what the parents want them to be.  Now it's Down syndrome babies...next up: babies who carry the markers for Autism...after that, what?  "This baby is going to have blue eyes and we want a brown eyed baby..."?

The implications are horrifying.

One more reason to continue in prayer for our unsaved (and saved) friends who are still struggling with the lie that abortion is okay...

A Little "Light" Reading...

March was crazy! Between working on another Salvation video for BCM, prepping the house for sale/finding a new place to live, and trying to get all of Professional Development hours in at work, the time just FLEW by! Thankfully, we had Spring Break to allow us some time to settle down and get our heads back on straight.  And while I don't have time to write the long, enlightening blog post that I'd originally planned to write, I did want to pop in, swap howdies, and give you a little "light reading" for your free time. :-)  I'm nice like that!

We're going through Romans in our Wednesday night Bible Study, and it has been great. One of the great things we are constantly being reminded of is the amazing POSITION we have in Christ! Yes, we fight with our old nature, and yes we struggle, but isn't it comforting to remember that we are safe and secure in our salvation?!

Like I said - I'd planned on writing a long post on this, but I feel compelled to share ANOTHER blog post with you instead.  This post was written by the man who teaches our Wednesday night study, and I think you'll find it interesting, to say the least.  I'd be very interested to hear your thoughts on it -- VERY. But I warn you - you may want to save it to your iPod, or print it out and read it on the bus or something - because it does require some "thinking." (gasp!)  So, click the link and get reading -- then come back here and holler-back!

In the meantime...Happy Easter! 

Starting with the BIG topics right away!

Here’s an interesting article: Kentucky Crack Mom Faces Jail for Endangering Unborn Baby 

You can read it yourself or just trust my summary: a Kentucky mother is facing jail time (in fact, she has indeed pled guilty) for endangering her unborn child’s life by using crack cocaine while she was pregnant.  Her attorney is making the obvious (and ironic) argument that it doesn’t make sense to charge her with this crime if it’s “okay to kill” an unborn child through abortion.  The Kentucky case is not the only one, either.  Part of the issue regarding this case relates directly to a nearly identical case waiting to be considered by Kentucky’s Supreme Court - a case that goes back to 2006, but a brief Internet search will quickly show that this has been an issue since abortion became legal.  If it is legal to kill a baby via abortion, how can it then be illegal to endanger it (and possibly kill it) via drug/alcohol use or other lifestyle choices during pregnancy?

Why this topic? Aren’t we already on the same page on this? Here’s why: I think that way too many godly women are taking the attitude that abortion, while it is a problem, is not “our” problem. It is the World’s problem, right? Christian women don’t have abortions! Think again. Would it surprise you to know that 37% of women who have abortions identify themselves as Protestants, and about 18% specifically as “Born Again/Evangelical”?  And since over 90% of abortions are done for “social reasons” (as opposed to medical reasons or rape/incest - which I’m not saying is okay!), that means that a LOT of Christian women are having abortions, and that makes it our problem indeed!

Have we become hardened? Have we become so used to the sin around us that our spiritual senses have become dull? Have we begun to compromise? How did we - as Christian women - get this way?

What should our response be to those statistics - to the whole issue in general?  Sure, we can expect the World to condone abortion, but does it disturb you that upwards of a quarter of a million children in the United States are murdered by their “Christian” mothers every year?  Do we just shake our heads and click our tongues and thank the Lord that we don’t go to “that kind” of church? 

I suppose, as blog posts go, this is probably a crazy one to start with (are you wishing I’d have stuck with Systematic Theology?), but it’s been on my heart so much lately that I just had to say something.  

If you know me at all, you know that abortion is a big deal with me - and I am not ashamed to admit that I’m a single-platform voter when election time comes around (much to the chagrin of my more politically-minded friends); however, I find the statistics about “Christian” women and abortion to be quite troubling on a grander scale.  I think it is indicative of a much larger problem within the Church today - the tendency to compromise so much that that line between us and the World gets blurrier and blurrier and eventually we just can’t find it at all.  We compromise in the name of “love” and even in the name of “witnessing,” and it has finally gotten the best of us.  We’ve stopped standing up for what is right - for what is RIGHTEOUS.  We’re so afraid of being considered judgmental and fundamental and pharisaical that we have become willing instead to sacrifice righteousness on the altar of compromise, and I think Satan is pretty thrilled with that, don’t you?   

We’ve gotten so used to compromising with the World that we’ve started doing it in the Church. We need to open our eyes and open our mouths and stop acting like dumb sheep following the rest of the World off a cliff in the name of compromise!  We need to stop letting the World’s way of thinking infiltrate our spiritual lives and our homes and our churches.   

I’m not suggesting that we go to the other extreme (even though my extremist nature is just screaming at me right now!) and all turn Amish! But I am suggesting that we start paying attention to those fundamentals that we supposedly hold to, starting with the inerrancy and authority of scripture and the importance of a literal hermeneutic!  

Oh, and if you just said to yourself “literal-hermeneutic is such Christianese” then pause for a minute to smack yourself on the head! I’ll wait. Because seriously, THAT’S the kind of compromise that made 250,000 Christian women think it was okay to kill their children last year!  

So the moral of the story is: don’t be afraid of being judgmental, right? :-) But “...judge with a right judgment” (John 7:24) and speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15).  But at least speak! 

♥ I’m memorizing 2 Peter 1:3-10. I would like to encourage you to memorize it with me if you don’t already know it.  I’m focusing right now on that first line: “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness,” because it ties in so nicely with my current rant!  We already have what we need - EVERYTHING we need.  We don’t need to compromise or settle for the World’s idea of “good” - we already have “His precious and very great promises...”! 

How can YOU respond to a Christian friend when it looks like she’s making sinful choices?

 

Rethinking Things...

Okay - I said January...it's February 1st. So close! Hopefully you'll understand why once you finish reading this post.

I've been doing a lot of thinking and praying about this Blog, this Study, my general reasons for even wanting to do all this, and what we should actually be doing.

Originally, I wanted a place where we could do some Bible studying together - even though we may be miles apart, but I wanted it to be more than just a milky, application-only, quasi-study...I never enjoyed those kinds of studies myself, nor have I ever found them truly useful. :-) But I also wanted a place where we could talk about things that are important to Christian women -- but not some place that was exactly like every other Christian women’s blog out there.

I still want those things.

After much thought and discussion (way back at the beginning), I decided to do the Systematic Theology study -- which I've enjoyed doing. And I still believe that the study of Systematic Theology is important and relevant. However, if you will recall (or just slide on down to the April 11, 2009 post), I tend to be an extremist. So even though I've enjoyed the ST study, it has become much more extreme than I planned (or anticipated!)...much larger in size, I mean (obviously it's a huge topic to begin with!). It’s been feeling more like I was writing a curriculum rather than a bi-monthly (okay, monthly!) Bible study, and that's not where I wanted to go with this ministry. Maybe it’s the extremist in me; maybe it’s the teacher in me; who knows. But I know that I was struggling and, I admit (gulp) sometimes dreading writing the studies.

The need is still there; the desire is still there; I’ve just been struggling with a way to give it a new start. ;-)

Praise the Lord for my amazing husband, Bob! For whatever reason – either because he sensed my reluctance and disquietude or because of some connection he has with the Lord’s will (I swear that guy has a direct line to God’s timeline sometimes!) – for whatever reason, he suggested to me that I might want to rethink this Blog and this study and this ministry as a whole.

Praise the Lord for Bob! (I needed to say it again.)

So...(you knew it was coming, right?), after much prayer and thought, I’m going to make some big changes. Hopefully you will be on the same band-wagon as I’m on…if not, well, I’ll probably finish that ST curriculum in the next decade or so – maybe I’ll sell it to a Bible college and you can take it as a regular class!

I still want this Blog to be a place we can come for Bible study, but on more of an informal scale, and I also want it to be a place where you can learn about things that are going on in the world – things that affect us, as Christian women, or things that we need to be aware of. There will still be actual Bible studying going on, but it will be more casual…less like school. :-) But I think there are things that need to be said (it IS a Blog, after all!), sites and articles that we need to look at, and issues that need to be discussed in a Biblical context.

What does this mean for YOU?

Well first of all, it means you’ll have to check in a little more regularly. Some of you already receive notifications when I update the Blog – let me know if you want me to add you to the list (or remove you); you can also add this Blog’s link to your feed reader (and if you don’t know what that is, well…just pretend I didn’t say it); you can just check in every now and then to see if I’ve added anything new; you can “Follow” this Blog; there are lots of things you can do to keep up with us here.

Second, just because we’re not doing the download-and-complete type of study anymore doesn’t mean you don’t have any “assignments” to do – be prepared to participate in what goes on here, whether by commenting on the site, talking with a friend (ooh – or a stranger!) about what you’ve learned, or just sending me cookies. :-)

Ultimately, I want this to be a Ministry – and as such, it’s important to me that it, well, MINISTERS to you in some way. So let me know your thoughts, will ya?

Did you think you were going to get off without any homework? Here’s a passage from 2 Peter that has really been on my heart lately. I’m thinking about memorizing it. Want to join me? Either way, read it, and see if you can figure out why it’s been on my heart. I’ll give you a hint: the answer is somewhere in the between-lines of this Blog post!

"His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall." (2 Peter 1:3-10, ESV)

Talk to you soon!