Archive | February 2014

Testimonies Of Faith

Feb28

Their belief in the truth that they have been taught must be strong and steadfast so that they will be able to teach it to others and show those who disagree with them where they are wrong. — Titus 1:9

Is this discipleship? You bet. We are to pass on what we have learned. As much as I love the Word of God it does not do much good for me or those around me if I don’t live it out. When I live the Word of God my life becomes filled with testimonies of God, testimonies to share of His glory, to tell of the things which my eyes have seen.

To live out the testimonies of God I need to implant His Word in my heart. This helps me to keep the faith and a good conscience. It helps me retain the standard of sound words which I have heard, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. I must hold steadfast and strong to the word I have been taught through God’s Word, through other brothers and sisters in Christ, and an intimate relationship with Jesus.

We are not only to teach and learn from one another but to also be a witness to those who do not know the Lord.  We can help those who disagree with the Word by our faithful walk as it makes them aware of their wrong thinking. Let us shine for Jesus and pass His Word on to others by our actions and the testimonies of God’s work in our lives.

Testimonies are encouraging and uplifting to others. Please feel free to share testimonies of God’s work in your life. I would be encouraged by them as I know others would be too.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

 

“Only give heed to yourself and keep your soul diligently, so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your sons and your grandsons. — Deuteronomy 4:9

keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith. — 1 Timothy 1:19

Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. — 2 Timothy 1:13

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Seek While You Can Find

Feb27

 Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near. Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously. — Isaiah 55:6-7

Now is “the day of salvation”. Seek the Lord while He can be found. One day in your life the time will come when the decision whether to have a relationship with Jesus Christ will be made for you. What could have been your freewill acceptance of Jesus will actually be your freewill rejection of Him.

So turn to Him now, seek Him while He can be found. He is calling to everyone from one end of the earth to the other. Know that He is God and there is no other. Call to Him and He will hear you, cry to Him and He will say, ‘Here I am.’. Jesus will help us when we decide to wash ourselves, make ourselves clean; remove the evil of our deeds from His sight and cease to do evil.

Then, O glorious day, our Lord God will wipe out our transgressions and remember our sins no more. For some of us that day has already been realized. We now walk in the brilliant light and trust of the Lord Jesus, standing firm with endurance even if the mountains may be removed and the hills shake knowing His lovingkindness will not be removed from us and His covenant of peace will not be shaken because the Lord has compassion on us. Hallelujah!!!

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

 

for He says, “At the acceptable time I listened to you, And on the day of salvation I helped you.” Behold, now is “the acceptable time,” behold, now is “the day of salvation”— 2 Corinthians 6:2

Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other. — Isaiah 45:22

“Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; You will cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you remove the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness, — Isaiah 58:9

Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil, — Isaiah 1:16

“I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, And I will not remember your sins. –Isaiah 43:25

“For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake, But My lovingkindness will not be removed from you, And My covenant of peace will not be shaken,” Says the Lord who has compassion on you. — Isaiah 54:10

 

Missionary Moment

Feb26

How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? — Romans 10:14

God is so amazing! He speaks to us in our language, giving us examples in life to correlate with His Word. I was absolutely blessed this morning when I checked my stats. I had received 4 views from Lebanon and 1 from Russia.

As I was pondering on this thought, my Mom asked me what I was thinking about. I shared with her that when my husband and I were at Seminary we contemplated seeking missionary opportunities. With God’s leading we decided that we had a vast mission field in our own backyard. I thought how hard it would be to pick just one place to go to minister – Africa, Indonesia, Thailand, Brazil, Philippines – see what I mean? God just opened our eyes to see this is where He wants us – United States.

God has so blessed me with this website. The thought of having one would never have crossed my mind 3 years ago. I prayed about it for about a year when God and I started this adventure. He is the One who guided everything and put the plan into action. Now barely 2 months into it He has blessed me by letting me be a missionary not only in my backyard (United States) but around the world. My heart is elated.

The visits to my website are left up to God’s leading. I have told very few people of this site and trust the Lord God to lead those He would have to come and read. How can they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How can they believe in whom they have not heard? How can they hear if we don’t tell. I thank God for giving me the words every day to write for His glory and for the world to hear. Thank You Lord God for allowing me, by the power of the Holy Spirit I received, to be Your witness in Jerusalem (United States), and in all Judea (Lebanon) and Samaria (Russia) and even to the remotest part of the earth.

One promise I can hold to: His word will not return to Him empty, without accomplishing what He desires, and without succeeding in the matter for which it is sent. Thank You again Lord for allowing me to be Your ambassador to the world as I share Your Word with them.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

 

but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” — Acts 1:8

So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it. — Isaiah 55:11

Debt Testimony

Feb25

I was warned. Young married couples tend to go into debt when first married because they need (want) so much. They want what Mom and Dad worked 25 years to get. My husband and I did pretty well in the beginning then we bought our first house. That was instant debt but so much more was added because we need new furniture, new appliances, new lamps, and the list goes on.

Before long we were up to our eyeballs, okay, over our heads in debt. We were struggling to make it from paycheck to paycheck. My husband and I were getting tired of being in debt so we decided to give our debt to the Lord. We were also convicted that we needed to pay our debt because we created it.  We started by repenting of using God’s provisions for selfish reasons, for mismanaging the things He had given us and promising to give Him control of our finances.

At the top of that list was tithing. We started with a little step of faith by tithing off of our net income for one year. We had to trust the Lord at His Word and so after that one year we started tithing off of our gross income. It never ceased to amaze me how month after month He met all our needs and we still had money left over. His word proved true. (Malachi 3:10)

My husband and I took a class at church, Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University, and started to practice some of the principles in that program. We started to pay off credit cards and loans and our indebtedness declined. It was still a struggle but learning to lean on the Lord and trust Him was the benefit of our journey.

At one point in this journey my husband left his job but we continued to tithe, even the 2 weeks vacation he received when he left. That turned out to be a testimony to the person who collected the tithe in our Sunday School class. She wanted to give it back but we insisted that it was God’s money and He would take care of us,  which He did.

It took 5 long years to get us out of debt. God is wonderful. It was not easy and we suffered through it. We ended up losing our house to fire and I lost my job in the midst of this but through it God delivered us from debt. My husband and I have been debt free for 13 years and we do not own a credit card and have not for over 13 years. Without a credit card I have to trust God for my provisions. As yet He has not let us down.

When I look at the lessons learned from this experience the one that stands out the most is that an extreme debt has to be paid by suffering. Just as Jesus suffered to pay our debt. He paid my debt on Calvary and that is for eternity. My financial debt was paid by my suffering but God was there through it all. I learned that I can trust Him with my needs. He is all I need. Jesus is sufficient.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

 

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. — Malachi 3:10

Do You Hear?

Feb25

Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” — John 18:37

Jesus speaks. Are we listening? Do we recognize His voice? Jesus says, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;”. If we are His sheep who hear His voice then we will be following Him. That means we are obedient, putting our faith and trust in Him, walking in His ways. We have a relationship with Jesus. When we have a relationship with someone we can recognize their voice before we even see them. We have yet to see Jesus face to face but we should recognize His voice.

Through our relationship with Jesus, grace and truth are realized. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:7). This Truth, Jesus Christ, sets us free. In response to His voice we come and are saved from the wrath of God, from our own demise. In response to Christ, we desire to hear His voice. We seek His Word, listen to teachers and preachers, and in quiet prayer we listen for the still small voice of our conscience.

As we develop our relationship with Jesus we start to recognize His voice more and more. We know Him intimately and when others speak we are able to decipher the spirit of truth from the spirit of error. Those who are of God hears the words of God.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

 

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; — John 10:27

For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.– John 1:17

and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” — John 8:32

We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. — 1 John 4:6

He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.” — John 8:47

I Love The Way You Love Me

Feb24

Lord, I love the way You love me

You are so good to me
Lord, I love the way You love me
For eternity.
God, I love the way You love me
In the way that You direct.
God, I love the way You love me
Always to protect.
God, I love the way You love me
You’ve always got my back.
God, I love the way You love me
In You I never lack.
God, You are amazing
That You would love even me.
So much that You would send
Your Son to Calvary.
Jesus, I love the way You love me
In Your faithfulness so true
Jesus, I love the way You love me
Help me to be faithful too.
Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Sin Loses It’s Power

Feb24

Since Christ suffered and underwent pain, you must have the same attitude he did; you must be ready to suffer, too. For remember, when your body suffers, sin loses its power, — 1 Peter 4:1 (TLB)

What was Jesus’ attitude when He suffered and died for us? “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth.” And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He did not answer. Then Pilate *said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?” And He did not answer him with regard to even a singlecharge, so the governor was quite amazed.

Christ suffered and yet did not open His mouth. He did not complain, grumble or lose His focus — to fulfill God’s purpose. Do we have the same attitude or are we saying, “that’s not fair” or “woe is me” or even “I don’t deserve this”? When we are in the midst of suffering are people amazed at our attitude? They should be if we are following in the footsteps of Jesus. We have been called for this purpose.

“Your old evil desires were nailed to the cross with him; that part of you that loves to sin was crushed and fatally wounded, so that your sin-loving body is no longer under sin’s control, no longer needs to be a slave to sin; for when you are deadened to sin you are freed from all its allure and its power over you.” Jesus suffered and died enabling us to have power over sin by the power of the Holy Spirit indwelling in us. The power of God eliminates the power of sin in our lives.

Are you suffering? Praise God for when the body suffers, sin loses its power. The more we focus on God and His purpose the less power sin has over us. Seek Him in every aspect of your life. Seek Him continually.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

 

He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth. — Isaiah 53:7

And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He did not answer. Then Pilate *said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?” And He did not answer him with regard to even a singlecharge, so the governor was quite amazed. — Matthew 27:12-14

For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, — 1 Peter 2:21

Your old evil desires were nailed to the cross with him; that part of you that loves to sin was crushed and fatally wounded, so that your sin-loving body is no longer under sin’s control, no longer needs to be a slave to sin; 7 for when you are deadened to sin you are freed from all its allure and its power over you. — Romans 6:6-7

 

 

 

 

 

 

Are You Trusting? Then You Are Obeying.

Feb23

Lord, we show our trust in You by obeying Your laws; our heart’s desire is to glorify Your name. — Isaiah 26:8 (NLT)

Lord, I want to obey Your laws so You can see how much I trust You! In obedience to Your Word, I glorify Your name as others see the work You do in me. Help me to pay attention to You, give ear to Your Word, and obey Your law so that I may see the light You have set before me.

O Lord, You are my God and I will exalt You! I give thanks to Your name for You have worked wonders from day 1 of creation with perfect faithfulness. My heart rejoices when I think how You love me. You gave me laws to protect me, Your Word to guide me, Jesus to save me, the Holy Spirit to teach me and life to glorify You. I hope to be a testimony to You by my obedience and trust in You. To You, Lord God, be the glory forever and ever through Your Son, Jesus Christ.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

 

“Pay attention to Me, O My people, And give ear to Me, O My nation; For a law will go forth from Me, And I will set My justice for a light of the peoples. — Isaiah 51:4

O Lord, You are my God; I will exalt You, I will give thanks to Your name; For You have worked wonders, Plans formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness. — Isaiah 25:1

 

In The Love Of God

Feb22

keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. — Jude 21

Keep ourselves in the love of God. Hmmmm, how is that done?

First we must come to believe the love that God has for us. We must believe that His unearned love is simply who God is, He is love. We know Him when we abide in love. Abiding in love is abiding in God. When we abide in Him, He abides in us. Jesus said, “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.”

Jesus is our example. He tells us that He kept the Father’s commandments and abided in His love. Jesus informs us that if we keep His commandments we will abide in His love. So keeping His commandments means loving one another. God’s Word says that if we love one another God abides in us and His love is perfected in us. We need to seek Him, love, keep His commandments, love one another to abide in Him.

When we do abide in our Lord, we bear much fruit. Apart from the vine the branch cannot bear fruit. So let us keep ourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, being fruitful to eternal life.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

 

We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. — 1 John 4:16

Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. — John 15:9

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. — John 15:4

If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. — John 15:10

No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. — 1 John 4:12

 

Second Chances

Feb21

That the generation to come might know, even the children yet to be born, That they may arise and tell them to their children,  That they should put their confidence in God And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments, — Psalm 78:6-7

When I look back over my child rearing years I see many regrets and failures. If I could change or have do overs I would say the name”Jesus” more often. I would tell the plan of salvation until they understood. I would point out the attributes of a living God. My lips would testify more often of His greatness, goodness, provision, compassion, mercy and grace. My children would hear the Word of God more often than Sunday mornings. They would see me praying more often and family prayer would be more than just before eating or sleeping. They would know that Jesus was a very real part of the family Who would go with them out into the world when they started their own journey.

If only . . .

God is a God of second chances. Maybe becoming a grandmother is my second chance. I just found out I am to be a grandmother for the first time. I am so excited about this new creation being formed and woven in it’s mother’s womb. I give thanks to my Lord for my grandchild who is fearfully and wonderfully made. This baby’s frame is not hidden from Him and all it’s days are already ordained and written in His book.

God has given me a second chance to make a monumental difference in a child’s life. Thank you Almighty God. To you I will look for strength and seek Your face continually.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them. — Psalm 139:13-16

Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face continually. — Psalm 105:4