A Picture of Set-apartness

They say there is a young lady in New Haven who is beloved of that Great Being who made and rules the world. They say that He fills her mind with exceeding sweet delight, and that she hardly cares for anything except to meditate on Him. If you present all the world to her, with the richest of its treasures, she disregards it. She is unmindful of any pain or affliction. She has a singular purity in her affections. You could not persuade her to compromise her true Love even if you would give her all the world. She possesses a wonderful sweetness, calmness, and kindness to those around her. She will sometimes go about from place to place, singing sweetly. She seems to be always full of joy and pleasure, and no one knows exactly why. She loves to be alone, walking in the fields and groves, and seems to have Someone invisible always conversing with her. 

- written of Sara Edwards by Jonathan Edwards, her future husband
- (from Marriage to a Difficult Man by Elizabeth Dodd) 

What Ministry (and Job) should be :)

JOB OR MINISTRY? 

A job is at your choice.
A ministry is at Christ's call.

In a job,you expect to receive.
In a ministry,you expect to give.

In a job,you give something to expect something.
In a ministry,you return something that has already been
given to you.

A job depends on your abilities.
A ministry depends on your availabilty to God.

A job well done brings you praise.
A ministry done well brings honor to God.

Some people have a JOB in the church;
others involve themselves in a MINISTRY.
What's the difference?

If you are doing it just because no one else will,
it's a JOB.
If you are doing it to serve the Lord,it's MINISTRY.

If you quit because somebody criticized you,
it was a JOB.
If you keep on serving,it's a MINISTRY.

If you'll do it only as long as it does not interfere with
your other activities,it's a JOB.
If you are committed to staying with it even when
it means letting go of other things,it's a MINISTRY.

If you quit because no one praised you or thanked you,
it was a JOB.
If you stay with it even nobody recognizes your efforts,
it's a MINISTRY.

It's sometimes hard to get excited about a JOB.
But it's almost impossible not to be excited about a MINISTRY.

If your concern is success,it's aJOB.
If your concern is faithfulness,it's a MINISTRY.

An average church is filled with people doing JOBs.
A great and growing church is filled with people involved in MINISTRY.

Where do you think you have fit in?

If God calls you to a ministry,
please don't treat it like a job.
If you have a job, for sure you have also been called to a ministry. 

Evangelical Hypocrite

Of all hypocrites, grant that I may not be

an evangelical hypocrite,

who sins more safely because grace abounds,

who tells his lusts that Christ's blood

cleanseth them,

who reasons that God cannot cast him into hell,

for he is saved,

who loves evangelical preaching, churches,

Christians, but lives unholily. 

A Puritan prayer from the book Valley of Vision.

Note: reposted from Joshua Harris' website. 

his integrity

(I included an excerpt of Stormie Omartian's chapter (called 'his integrity') here:

Why "his integrity"? Because 'The righteous man walks in integrity; his children are blessed after him.' - Prov. 20:7. Well i sure would love to have blessed children because of a husband who is a man of integrity. 

"Integrity is not what you appear to be when all eyes are on you. It's who you are when no one is looking. It's a level of morality below which you never fall. no matter what's happening around you. It's a high standard of honesty, truthfulness, decency, and honor that is never breached. It's doing for others the way you would want them to do for you.

A man of integrity says something and means it. He doesn't play verbal games so you never really know where he stands. He knows to let his "yes" be "yes" and his "no" be "no." "For whatever is more than these is from the evil one" (Matthew 5:37). He will not play both sides of the fence to please everyone. His goal is to please God and do what is right. A man can be highly esteemed among men but an abomination to God (Luke 16:15)". 

Sweet! 

Halloween - the Chick way

I love how Chick Publications suggest for all of us to do when trick-or-treating season comes: instead of locking the doors, closing the windows, turning off the lights and ‘pretending’ to be asleep, here is what we can do to EVANGELIZE:

(Yes, the Gospel doesn't sleep!)

When trick-or-treaters come knocking on your door, be sure to have the candy bags ready - with a Gospel tract included!

(Courtesy of Chick Publications)

WHAT WOULD JESUS DO…If the Lord Jesus knew that one night each year a steady stream of unsaved children would come to His door asking for a treat?

You answer.. :-) 

This is something we may not have thought of doing before - but we now have a month to prepare for!

Kids think Gospel tracts are comic books. Who doesn't love comic books when you're a kid?

Parents care and do inspect the candy bags their children get on Halloween night. And what do they find amid the sweets? They’ll get the Gospel, too!

Now we got ourselves a month to get some Bible tracts or ask around the church on how to get them. Throw in a handful of those sweet thingy called candy, and be sure to pray over those tracts! God will do the rest :-) 

Here's the Chick Website. 

What 'harmless' really is.

The below link is one of my invariably favorite article. It was written by a woman whose life call is to urge us to really be set-apart. This opened my eyes and made me understand how serious ‘harmless’ truly is.

It grieves my heart to know that born-again Christians participate and celebrate Halloween in any and every sense of it, and even pass it on to their kids‘ generation. I know of someone whose little child is going to a Halloween kids party on November 1st, dressed as ‘Joseph Prince’. 

Being dressed as Pastor Prince, dynamic as he is for God’s glory, does not justify this kid’s participation in the celebration of Halloween trick-or-treating. I could be dressed as Moses, or Elijah, or Benny Hinn, but these facades will never give me any protection from how darkness operates in the spiritual realm, which, we have to know, has already been given full access to the kid’s spirit and sowing seeds that are unquestionably not of GOD's. 

It sure did remind me of 1 Corinthians 8:9: Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. I am in no way judging them, but for those of us who know the truth, God is also expecting something from us (please read Luke 12:48).

And for those of us who really know the truth, please do refrain from doing anything that will cause others - pre-believers, believers, and the weak, to stumble. Better not do (an action) that will cause a brother or a sister to stumble when they see you doing it. 

I am speaking to myself as well. May we really DESIRE + ALLOW GOD to make us 'set-apart' people in these last days.

Here's the article link (thank you). 

Halloween Recall (Parenting 101)

Halloween Recall (an awareness/concern with the situation at hand) 

Journey 101 - Leg 3. Call me a month advance, but this is what God has been speaking to my heart as I stumbled upon article after another of Halloween Recall: Proverbs 22:6 says “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” 

As with my other recent posts, they have something to do with the approaching worldwide and WORLDLY Halloween festivity. Yet if we confess with our mouth that we are born of the Spirit and a worshipper of Jesus Christ, we no longer conform to the patterns of the world (Romans 12:2). 

Who, then, will inherit our eternal fortune? Who will we pass them on to? And when is the best time to start? 

I can hear you say, “My kids, of course” and “Now!“ with conviction. So, when will we start telling our kids about Jesus? 

And when, too, will we start telling our kids that they cannot and must not associate with the works of darkness? Matthew 6:24 says no one can serve two masters (God and money). In the same way, no one can serve two masters by professing our devotion to God but serving satan with our actions. If we truly, truly believe in Proverbs 22:6, the best time to start with the truth is in their childhood. 

I can’t begin to imagine how darkness operates, but as godly parents, we can start putting a covering of protection on our children through prayers, and by making sure (and making them understand) that they don’t engage in activities that involve darkness - no matter how “common, harmless, fun, everybody’s-into-it, trendy, and highly popular" they may be.

It pays off in the long run. Our children will reap blessings because the Holy Spirit is free to operate in their spirit. And they will thank the Father for making us wise enough to deal with that in their early years.

[Here's facing Halloween: Do we hide our light, instead of letting it shine?] 

My own journey through 101

I could write a book about parenting, but my meager stint is only a two-hour class on Sundays with the kids at church. I never think of it as less, but I have never been a mom (not yet) and I only learned how to put a baby’s diapers on when I was 26. (This was mainly because nobody thought I would need to know soon, so nobody bothered to coach. Reason: changing diapers comes with maternal instincts)(?).

Ok, so someone once said that we don’t need to be hens to know that the eggs are stale. This could be true, but on the contrary, we (I, for one) all need wisdom from above to know some of life’s most important subjects.

I firmly believe in “training a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it (Proverbs 22:6), so to share with you what God has been teaching me so far, I would give you a handy 101 list instead, which I would fill as I go through life (hopefully fill it sooner). You have probably done any of them one way or the other. 

They come in any order of importance. Here goes:

1. Never, ever “terrify” your kids of “monsters” that are out to grab them - if they didn’t obey you.This sounds childish, and you’re right, it IS, but I’ve heard too many parents quickly pick this “easy” way. And not only is this childish, it also sows seeds of fear in your children, creating a doorway for the spirit of fear to spook them. You may think this is trivial, but the truth is, children start to fear dark places, and does NOT give the opportunity for God’s spirit to inhabit their minds and hearts. Find other ways to train them for obedience instead. Remember, we are raising kids to be Godly and victorious.

2. Be lavish on affirmation (and love!).Most children are bombarded by worldly standards, comparisons, people’s opinions, expectations, criticisms, and all the other destructive things that make them doubt, feel inferior, pity themselves, or lose their confidence. These happen as early as they start school, and unless they are home-schooled, they deal more with these things everyday, even simple issues as a test score that made them feel bad! Parents should always be quick to affirm with what God say in His Word, versus what they hear from other people. A strong foundation is your time with your kids to study the Bible. Back your affirmation with the Word of God, and always assure them of your unconditional love.

Romans 16:20

The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. Now, who would like to wrestle with the devil? Any takers?

Like the prophet Jeremiah, we never run out of excuses to God. After all, we are only a "child" so to speak, and a child is fed milk and all these soft chewables that is pleasing to the taste.

Yet God never intended for us to remain a child. You were born to be a mighty warrior in His army!
But the choice is up to you.
Would you stay in your comfort zone? You have been there for the longest, and it doesn't make you any less 'Christian', does it?
Well you can stay like that by all means.
Or you can get hold of your sonship, your real identity, your heavenly citizenship, and start acting like ONE.

A notable preacher once said that like an army camp in a war zone, God's people should be wired and ready 24/7.
Believe me, the devils of hell never sleep while you compromise your Christianity. They never take a break while you choose to watch TV or be in Facebook instead of spending time with your Father. They roam to and fro, all over the earth, like a roaring lion that will seek you, really take you by surprise, and devour you (before you even know it!)
Will you let him trample you, instead of the other way around?
Or will you tell him that's enough, stand on your feet, put on your armor (the Armor of GOD in Ephesians 6:11-18), and crush him underneath your feet?Afterall, GOD has equipped you, not only with a complete armor, but the wisdom on when to fight.*

Praise God for seasons in life. But we always get back up and refuse to be defeated, because our name is synonymous with victory through JESUS. And through our seasons, we learn lessons and know the difference between a victorious life and a barely-get-by.
I know the perfect (and only) place to gather your weapons. Find them at the feet of your Father - complete, not lacking, and more than state-of-the-art. Spend more time with Him and get to know His voice better!

If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world
can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for
another world. ~C.S. Lewis

*(In spiritual warfare, God's wisdom is vital. We can't just go surging against the enemy without God's go signal, especially in specific circumstances.)