Do any of you recall the song by...um...George Jones..."Finally Friday"? No? Okay well it goes a little something like this..."It's finally Friday, free again, got my motor running for a wild weekend!!" That is how I feel. Well not that I am going to have a wild weekend, but I am really glad it is Friday. How about you?I hope you all are doing well and are looking forward to a great weekend with your family.
We have had a pretty eventful week around here as we got to mail off our i600A form. In adoption language that is a request to file for immigration and fingerprinting in Atlanta. That simple form was sent with a check for $890. I know there are those of you that would think that an insignificant amount. But for us it was a matter of faith and trust and God's provision. Several weeks ago I was very discouraged about that $890. I knew we would save up for it, but how long would it take? We continued to trust Christ and His heart for the orphan. Weeks went by and we had to continue to trust His words and that He would do as He promised. Well as I have already shared we mailed it this week. I am continually amazed at the ways God provides for my family. We are going to get to share in detail our story on May 13, in the Sunday night service. I tell you this just to remind you to stay in His word. His word is where we find our instructions on living this life, where we read what is important to God, and where we find our encouragement and comfort. I am convinced you can't live this life without it. Without our commitment to His word Terry and I would have more than likely quit this adoption journey, maybe even have quit each other. It has hemmed us in on more than one occasion. O how gracious He is! So, there, that is your ramblings from this chick, now go eat some chocolate and say YAY FRIDAY!!!!
Pressing On,
Carrie
Friday, April 27, 2012
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
October Baby
Hey ladies, I just wanted to put an idea out and see what the interest would be. I don't know if many of you have seen or even heard of the movie October Baby but it tells the story of someone who was adopted and in her adult life researches her background. You can see the clip here
http://octoberbabymovie.net/.
Anyway it is an amazing story and the people in charge of Bible studies have come up with one that I think is worth looking into. I am thinking this would be one that would meet in my home and be high school girls and ladies. You can research a chapter from the Bible study...here..
http://www.octoberbabymovie.net/ministryresources/octoberbabyresources
Let me know what you think, if you are interested, train wreck of an idea, cool-but won't come...
Hope you are having a great day....BTW have you been in the WORD lately??
Carrie
http://octoberbabymovie.net/.
Anyway it is an amazing story and the people in charge of Bible studies have come up with one that I think is worth looking into. I am thinking this would be one that would meet in my home and be high school girls and ladies. You can research a chapter from the Bible study...here..
http://www.octoberbabymovie.net/ministryresources/octoberbabyresources
Let me know what you think, if you are interested, train wreck of an idea, cool-but won't come...
Hope you are having a great day....BTW have you been in the WORD lately??
Carrie
Monday, March 19, 2012
Good Monday Morning Girls,
Below is a post from John Piper's Website desiringgod.com. It is a blog post from Piper. It describes exactly where I am walking lately which is fragile, tired and overwhelmed. I read this this morning and it was exactly the prod I needed to press into God and His words, a little deeper and a little longer. How blessed we all are to have His words that are there in times of victory and times of defeat. I hope this helps and encourages you also. Love you.
Pressing On
Carrie
John Piper-
There are mornings when I wake up feeling fragile. Vulnerable. It’s often vague. No single threat. No one weakness. Just an amorphous sense that something is going to go wrong and I will be responsible. It’s usually after a lot of criticism. Lots of expectations that have deadlines and that seem too big and too many.
As I look back over about 50 years of such periodic mornings, I am amazed how the Lord Jesus has preserved my life. And my ministry. The temptation to run away from the stress has never won out — not yet anyway. This is amazing. I worship him for it.
How has he done this? By desperate prayer and particular promises. I agree with Spurgeon: I love the “I wills” and the “I shalls” of God.
Instead of letting me sink into a paralysis of fear, or run to a mirage of greener grass, he has awakened a cry for help and then answered with a concrete promise.
Here’s an example. This is recent. I woke up feeling emotionally fragile. Weak. Vulnerable. I prayed: “Lord help me. I’m not even sure how to pray.”
An hour later I was reading in Zechariah, seeking the help I had cried out for. It came. The prophet heard great news from an angel about Jerusalem:
Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls, because of the multitude of people and livestock in it. And I will be to her a wall of fire all around, declares the Lord, and I will be the glory in her midst. (Zechariah 2:4–5)
There will be such prosperity and growth for the people of God that Jerusalem will not be able to be walled in any more. “The multitude of people and livestock” will be so many that Jerusalem will be like many villages spreading out across the land without walls.
But walls are necessary! They are the security against lawless hordes and enemy armies. Villages are fragile, weak, vulnerable. Prosperity is nice, but what about protection?
To which God says in Zechariah 2:5, “I will be to her a wall of fire all around, declares the Lord.” Yes. That’s it. That is the promise. The “I will” of God. That is what I need. And if it is true for the vulnerable villages of Jerusalem, it is true for me a child of God. God will be a “wall of fire all around me.” Yes. He will. He has been. And he will be.
And it gets better. Inside that fiery wall of protection he says, “And I will be the glory in her midst.” God is never content to give us the protection of his fire; he will give us pleasure of his presence.
This was sweet to me. This carried me for days. I took this with me to the pulpit. I took it with me to family gatherings. I took it to staff meetings. I took it to phone calls and emails.
This has been my deliverance every time since I was first marking my King James Bible at age 15. God has rescued me with cries for help and concrete promises. This time he said: “I will be to her a wall of fire all around, and I will be the glory in her midst.”
Cry out to him. Then ransack the Bible for his appointed promise. We are fragile. But he is not.
________
Recent posts from John Piper —
Below is a post from John Piper's Website desiringgod.com. It is a blog post from Piper. It describes exactly where I am walking lately which is fragile, tired and overwhelmed. I read this this morning and it was exactly the prod I needed to press into God and His words, a little deeper and a little longer. How blessed we all are to have His words that are there in times of victory and times of defeat. I hope this helps and encourages you also. Love you.
Pressing On
Carrie
John Piper-
There are mornings when I wake up feeling fragile. Vulnerable. It’s often vague. No single threat. No one weakness. Just an amorphous sense that something is going to go wrong and I will be responsible. It’s usually after a lot of criticism. Lots of expectations that have deadlines and that seem too big and too many.
As I look back over about 50 years of such periodic mornings, I am amazed how the Lord Jesus has preserved my life. And my ministry. The temptation to run away from the stress has never won out — not yet anyway. This is amazing. I worship him for it.
How has he done this? By desperate prayer and particular promises. I agree with Spurgeon: I love the “I wills” and the “I shalls” of God.
Instead of letting me sink into a paralysis of fear, or run to a mirage of greener grass, he has awakened a cry for help and then answered with a concrete promise.
Here’s an example. This is recent. I woke up feeling emotionally fragile. Weak. Vulnerable. I prayed: “Lord help me. I’m not even sure how to pray.”
An hour later I was reading in Zechariah, seeking the help I had cried out for. It came. The prophet heard great news from an angel about Jerusalem:
Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls, because of the multitude of people and livestock in it. And I will be to her a wall of fire all around, declares the Lord, and I will be the glory in her midst. (Zechariah 2:4–5)
There will be such prosperity and growth for the people of God that Jerusalem will not be able to be walled in any more. “The multitude of people and livestock” will be so many that Jerusalem will be like many villages spreading out across the land without walls.
But walls are necessary! They are the security against lawless hordes and enemy armies. Villages are fragile, weak, vulnerable. Prosperity is nice, but what about protection?
To which God says in Zechariah 2:5, “I will be to her a wall of fire all around, declares the Lord.” Yes. That’s it. That is the promise. The “I will” of God. That is what I need. And if it is true for the vulnerable villages of Jerusalem, it is true for me a child of God. God will be a “wall of fire all around me.” Yes. He will. He has been. And he will be.
And it gets better. Inside that fiery wall of protection he says, “And I will be the glory in her midst.” God is never content to give us the protection of his fire; he will give us pleasure of his presence.
This was sweet to me. This carried me for days. I took this with me to the pulpit. I took it with me to family gatherings. I took it to staff meetings. I took it to phone calls and emails.
This has been my deliverance every time since I was first marking my King James Bible at age 15. God has rescued me with cries for help and concrete promises. This time he said: “I will be to her a wall of fire all around, and I will be the glory in her midst.”
Cry out to him. Then ransack the Bible for his appointed promise. We are fragile. But he is not.
________
Recent posts from John Piper —
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Happy Hump Day, All!!
I am gonna jump right to the point today with something that first God convicted Terry and I about and since has burned in my soul. I just had to share my thoughts. The sin of grumbling. Grumbling. Big deal, right? Very big deal. Especially to a Holy God. The Old Testament records the "grumbling of the Israelites" and God's response to them. He sent Moses, manna, quail, and dry land. Yet, still they muttered in discontent. It was too hot, too cold. It was too lonely, too many people, not my kind of people. It was too hard, too boring. On and on they bellyached, griped, grouched, groused, growled and grumped. "Oh get it together you babies", we scream at our Bibles on our laps. Flipping the pages, but not before we roll our eyes at their lack of trust, faith and love in a caring Father, a huge God, an awesome Provider. We want to go to something more relevant. Something more now. Something that God would want to say to the "church" to "me". But wait, over and over Christ and the New Testament speak of instructions against not murmuring. Jesus calls out His disciples in John 6:16 for grumbling. Can you imagine being reprimanded by Jesus? Then in Phil 2:14 Paul says to "do all things without grumbling or disputing" Another verse even goes so far to say to "Show hospitality to one another with out grumbling" 1 Peter 4:9. Could Christ be telling US not to grumble?? "I don't grumble Lord" "Besides, if you had given me manna from Heaven I never would have grumbled" "If you had parted the Red Sea right in front of me, I would never have grumbled" "All you gave me was.....eternal life, pardon from sins....Besides Lord you don't know my mother in law, my mom, my co-workers, my friends, my husband, my kids, my church......you would grumble too Lord." Ooops, girls dare I say we have a grumbling problem. So what is a chick to do?? I have come up with only one solution and it is to SHUT UP! This week I was so tempted to blast off on some different things in the media that had ruffled my feathers, offended my convictions and just really ticked me off. I thought about several ways and places I could go about letting my feelings be heard. I wanted to complain of unfairness to my faith. A while ago I was privy to a conversation where someone blasted someone for having lots of kids. I wanted to shout that it was none of their business. I also had the blessing of being around some "dear Christian ladies" who belittled in a nice way what I do everyday. I wanted to spit back that what I was doing was indeed important! Thankfully, and O so gratefully my Jesus held my tongue. To my soul He spoke "will these people be won by your tongue lashings?" The answer was a resounding "No, Father" How then will a scandalous media, carnal Christians, and a lost world be won? Jesus says by our love, by our actions. Yes I suppose there is a time when a holy anger spurs us to say what needs to be said. That was certainly the point of the prophet of Old Testament days. But I couldn't help but wonder could my community, my world be changed by them watching me show Christ's love. What does this look like? Well for me it is staying home on one income, it is taking my kids to the grocery store with me and not grumbling. It is adopting 1, 2, or however many children from another race. It is working to stay head over heels in love with my husband. It is cooking meals for a couple in need of encouragement. It is loving the hard to love. It is giving till I am spent physically and spiritually. That is weird. That will get the "church" noticed. Not our programs, not our rules. Not our standards and convictions shouted at them. But faith fleshed out right before there very eyes!! I just want to encourage you girls the way Christ has shown me to SHUT-UP! :) To live Christ-like loudly. Like real loud. Like let your life scream...I LOVE JESUS!!!! From the words of Ron Hutchraft to face the hypocrisy between our spiritual image and our private (or public) trash talk. This way is so much harder. It is easier to talk. To yammer. But Christ calls for hard. Do hard with me. Go on, Shut up!
Pressing on,
Carrie
I am gonna jump right to the point today with something that first God convicted Terry and I about and since has burned in my soul. I just had to share my thoughts. The sin of grumbling. Grumbling. Big deal, right? Very big deal. Especially to a Holy God. The Old Testament records the "grumbling of the Israelites" and God's response to them. He sent Moses, manna, quail, and dry land. Yet, still they muttered in discontent. It was too hot, too cold. It was too lonely, too many people, not my kind of people. It was too hard, too boring. On and on they bellyached, griped, grouched, groused, growled and grumped. "Oh get it together you babies", we scream at our Bibles on our laps. Flipping the pages, but not before we roll our eyes at their lack of trust, faith and love in a caring Father, a huge God, an awesome Provider. We want to go to something more relevant. Something more now. Something that God would want to say to the "church" to "me". But wait, over and over Christ and the New Testament speak of instructions against not murmuring. Jesus calls out His disciples in John 6:16 for grumbling. Can you imagine being reprimanded by Jesus? Then in Phil 2:14 Paul says to "do all things without grumbling or disputing" Another verse even goes so far to say to "Show hospitality to one another with out grumbling" 1 Peter 4:9. Could Christ be telling US not to grumble?? "I don't grumble Lord" "Besides, if you had given me manna from Heaven I never would have grumbled" "If you had parted the Red Sea right in front of me, I would never have grumbled" "All you gave me was.....eternal life, pardon from sins....Besides Lord you don't know my mother in law, my mom, my co-workers, my friends, my husband, my kids, my church......you would grumble too Lord." Ooops, girls dare I say we have a grumbling problem. So what is a chick to do?? I have come up with only one solution and it is to SHUT UP! This week I was so tempted to blast off on some different things in the media that had ruffled my feathers, offended my convictions and just really ticked me off. I thought about several ways and places I could go about letting my feelings be heard. I wanted to complain of unfairness to my faith. A while ago I was privy to a conversation where someone blasted someone for having lots of kids. I wanted to shout that it was none of their business. I also had the blessing of being around some "dear Christian ladies" who belittled in a nice way what I do everyday. I wanted to spit back that what I was doing was indeed important! Thankfully, and O so gratefully my Jesus held my tongue. To my soul He spoke "will these people be won by your tongue lashings?" The answer was a resounding "No, Father" How then will a scandalous media, carnal Christians, and a lost world be won? Jesus says by our love, by our actions. Yes I suppose there is a time when a holy anger spurs us to say what needs to be said. That was certainly the point of the prophet of Old Testament days. But I couldn't help but wonder could my community, my world be changed by them watching me show Christ's love. What does this look like? Well for me it is staying home on one income, it is taking my kids to the grocery store with me and not grumbling. It is adopting 1, 2, or however many children from another race. It is working to stay head over heels in love with my husband. It is cooking meals for a couple in need of encouragement. It is loving the hard to love. It is giving till I am spent physically and spiritually. That is weird. That will get the "church" noticed. Not our programs, not our rules. Not our standards and convictions shouted at them. But faith fleshed out right before there very eyes!! I just want to encourage you girls the way Christ has shown me to SHUT-UP! :) To live Christ-like loudly. Like real loud. Like let your life scream...I LOVE JESUS!!!! From the words of Ron Hutchraft to face the hypocrisy between our spiritual image and our private (or public) trash talk. This way is so much harder. It is easier to talk. To yammer. But Christ calls for hard. Do hard with me. Go on, Shut up!
Pressing on,
Carrie
Thursday, December 29, 2011
I am stained...
Good Morning!!
I hope all of you all had a wonderful Christmas and that you were able to find some time to truly contemplate the wonder and miracle of Christ taking on flesh to save a lost world.
If you have read my emails for any length of time you should know that after Christmas, Terry and I do our state of the family meeting. For the past several years we have set a night aside to devote to talking about our family's strengths, our weaknesses, our successes and failures of the past year and our goals for the next one. We haven't yet planned the night the official talk will happen but we have already started discussing what all the Lord has done this year. If I was to write a book about all the ways the Lord has worked, delivered, provided for our family, I am not sure anyone would believe me. It seems He delights in displaying His glory for the Smiths. I can honestly say we have done nothing special to deserve His favor. But yet His favor has been with us. The most awesome thing about that is He desires and delights in doing the very same thing for your family. I would love love to hear the ways He has worked in your family this year and any other year. You can go to the chicks and chocolate blog and add a comment for all to see what works the Lord has wrought. Chicksandchocolateblogspot.com is the address.
One verse that the Lord keeps bringing to my heart over and over lately is one I have shared before. James 1:27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. Now, as you know we are in the process of adoption so this verse is very familiar to me. However, for some reason I have never contemplated the second part...to keep oneself unstained from the world. It hit me hard this week. How do I do that O Lord? One version says unspotted and another says polluted. It is so hard to not be stained by this world. It isn't something we can stay on the defense with. We have to be on the offense, moving forward against it. If we only combat this world when it hits us we will be caught off guard and maybe knocked down. Sometimes these stains are so subtle, so sneaky, so nice looking that we don't even remember being tainted. One of my children very recently said to Terry and me "Why does doing bad seem so fun or feel so good?" Gulp! Glad Terry was there for that one! The Holy Spirit has shed some light on some areas where I have been polluted. And it sickens me. As a matter of fact it kept me up last night. I got up this morning weary of trying to remove the stains. So spent that I longed for Heaven. As a parent I weary of keeping myself free of the trappings of this world but seeing my children become entangled can be more than I can bear. Oh how I wish I could be my kids Holy Spirit, I think. Doesn't it stink that they have a will of their own! But then there are those moments when you see them choose right, even when it is hard. Or when they come to you after reading "Search my heart, O Lord" and they feel they need to repent before the Lord and you. Could this be just a glimpse of what our Heavenly Father feels? The pain of watching us immerse ourselves in the garbage of this world and then the gut-wrenching, heart breaking confession followed by the joy of being clean, truly clean. Spotless, unstained, white as snow before our Holy God. I realize this has been an awful lot of rambling. Forgive me. But for some reason the start of a New Year and this verse of keeping myself unstained by this world are going together. Not sure if this will be our focus as a family this year or not, but it will definitely be something, I pray, work towards. More Him, less spots.
Pressing On,
Carrie
I hope all of you all had a wonderful Christmas and that you were able to find some time to truly contemplate the wonder and miracle of Christ taking on flesh to save a lost world.
If you have read my emails for any length of time you should know that after Christmas, Terry and I do our state of the family meeting. For the past several years we have set a night aside to devote to talking about our family's strengths, our weaknesses, our successes and failures of the past year and our goals for the next one. We haven't yet planned the night the official talk will happen but we have already started discussing what all the Lord has done this year. If I was to write a book about all the ways the Lord has worked, delivered, provided for our family, I am not sure anyone would believe me. It seems He delights in displaying His glory for the Smiths. I can honestly say we have done nothing special to deserve His favor. But yet His favor has been with us. The most awesome thing about that is He desires and delights in doing the very same thing for your family. I would love love to hear the ways He has worked in your family this year and any other year. You can go to the chicks and chocolate blog and add a comment for all to see what works the Lord has wrought. Chicksandchocolateblogspot.com is the address.
One verse that the Lord keeps bringing to my heart over and over lately is one I have shared before. James 1:27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. Now, as you know we are in the process of adoption so this verse is very familiar to me. However, for some reason I have never contemplated the second part...to keep oneself unstained from the world. It hit me hard this week. How do I do that O Lord? One version says unspotted and another says polluted. It is so hard to not be stained by this world. It isn't something we can stay on the defense with. We have to be on the offense, moving forward against it. If we only combat this world when it hits us we will be caught off guard and maybe knocked down. Sometimes these stains are so subtle, so sneaky, so nice looking that we don't even remember being tainted. One of my children very recently said to Terry and me "Why does doing bad seem so fun or feel so good?" Gulp! Glad Terry was there for that one! The Holy Spirit has shed some light on some areas where I have been polluted. And it sickens me. As a matter of fact it kept me up last night. I got up this morning weary of trying to remove the stains. So spent that I longed for Heaven. As a parent I weary of keeping myself free of the trappings of this world but seeing my children become entangled can be more than I can bear. Oh how I wish I could be my kids Holy Spirit, I think. Doesn't it stink that they have a will of their own! But then there are those moments when you see them choose right, even when it is hard. Or when they come to you after reading "Search my heart, O Lord" and they feel they need to repent before the Lord and you. Could this be just a glimpse of what our Heavenly Father feels? The pain of watching us immerse ourselves in the garbage of this world and then the gut-wrenching, heart breaking confession followed by the joy of being clean, truly clean. Spotless, unstained, white as snow before our Holy God. I realize this has been an awful lot of rambling. Forgive me. But for some reason the start of a New Year and this verse of keeping myself unstained by this world are going together. Not sure if this will be our focus as a family this year or not, but it will definitely be something, I pray, work towards. More Him, less spots.
Pressing On,
Carrie
Friday, November 25, 2011
Friday, November 4, 2011
2 Marks of a true follower of Christ
Rescue those who are being taken away to death;
hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.
12If you say, "Behold, we did not know this,"
does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?
Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it,
and will he not repay man according to his work?
Proverbs 24:11-12
Everyday before I start school with the kids I read the Proverb for the day. I realize that while they eat that bowl of Frosted Mini Wheats or eggs and toast that they may not be tuned in keenly to what I am reading. But my prayer is that they will pick up on truths that will be planted deep, deep down in the well of their soul. Every new month we start over, reading the same ones over and over. But last month on the 24th those two verses struck something deep in my own soul. So I did a study on them. Turns out that what those verses are referring to are two-fold.
First, it is directing that as true followers of God we are to care for those who are suffering. When God reveals a need to us, when He lets us in on a plight of some form we are to do what we can to relieve that person. The orphans of course come to my mind since that is where we are walking. But of course it is for the widows, the poor and homeless, the tired and weary, the hurting. There is no need to pray God should I help, the prayer is HOW can I help. Does He want me to provide food? A hug and encouraging words? Money? My home? My time? We are His people bearing His name. We can not sit by and say "But we did not know". God perceives our hearts, He holds us accountable. We are to lead the way to bandage the broken and hurting, "to hold back those being taken away to death, those stumbling to the slaughter". Never have I seen such hurting world-wide, never have I seen so many chances to be God's hands and feet. It can be overwhelming. God help us to be focused on where You are at work and give us a discerning heart to MOVE and DO!
Second, the verses point to rescuing those being taken away to death through a life of sin. If we see someone stumbling to the slaughter, taking a path that will lead to their demise, we are to ACT. Again we can not say "Behold we did not know this." People are all around in droves marching to their graves in need of a Savior. How dare us not invest in their lives. We must. God says. The times in which we live demands us to measure every activity against His word. True followers of Christ must de tangle themselves from the world and pursue people. Now, am I saying we are to quit all extra curricular activities and do a mass evangelism door to door every day all day?? No of course not! We must though change the reason we do them. If you take your kids to ball use this as an activity to reach out to your community for Christ. Meaning get involved in their lives. Build relationships. Don't just invite them to church, even though that is great. Do Not just give them a tract even though that is good too. Learn their hurts, their background, go to dinner with them. Speak truth into their lives. If you work, that is no longer just a job, a way of providing for your family. It is now a battlefield where you seek out the ones the enemy has injured and lied to and you are escorting them to the path of life. This includes our Christian brothers and sisters. We all have stumbled onto the wrong path and need help and encouragement coming back.
I feel like God has shown me that this is a true mark of a true follower. We can not simply declare His name, or accept His salvation. We must do, obey what He says. And clearly He has spoken.
I hope I didn't bore you with rambling. God has convicted me about all this lately. It is where I am walking. May God change our hearts. I pray He speaks to you clearly too. May He stir us to ACT and SIT NO MORE!
Pressing On,
Carrie
hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.
12If you say, "Behold, we did not know this,"
does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?
Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it,
and will he not repay man according to his work?
Proverbs 24:11-12
Everyday before I start school with the kids I read the Proverb for the day. I realize that while they eat that bowl of Frosted Mini Wheats or eggs and toast that they may not be tuned in keenly to what I am reading. But my prayer is that they will pick up on truths that will be planted deep, deep down in the well of their soul. Every new month we start over, reading the same ones over and over. But last month on the 24th those two verses struck something deep in my own soul. So I did a study on them. Turns out that what those verses are referring to are two-fold.
First, it is directing that as true followers of God we are to care for those who are suffering. When God reveals a need to us, when He lets us in on a plight of some form we are to do what we can to relieve that person. The orphans of course come to my mind since that is where we are walking. But of course it is for the widows, the poor and homeless, the tired and weary, the hurting. There is no need to pray God should I help, the prayer is HOW can I help. Does He want me to provide food? A hug and encouraging words? Money? My home? My time? We are His people bearing His name. We can not sit by and say "But we did not know". God perceives our hearts, He holds us accountable. We are to lead the way to bandage the broken and hurting, "to hold back those being taken away to death, those stumbling to the slaughter". Never have I seen such hurting world-wide, never have I seen so many chances to be God's hands and feet. It can be overwhelming. God help us to be focused on where You are at work and give us a discerning heart to MOVE and DO!
Second, the verses point to rescuing those being taken away to death through a life of sin. If we see someone stumbling to the slaughter, taking a path that will lead to their demise, we are to ACT. Again we can not say "Behold we did not know this." People are all around in droves marching to their graves in need of a Savior. How dare us not invest in their lives. We must. God says. The times in which we live demands us to measure every activity against His word. True followers of Christ must de tangle themselves from the world and pursue people. Now, am I saying we are to quit all extra curricular activities and do a mass evangelism door to door every day all day?? No of course not! We must though change the reason we do them. If you take your kids to ball use this as an activity to reach out to your community for Christ. Meaning get involved in their lives. Build relationships. Don't just invite them to church, even though that is great. Do Not just give them a tract even though that is good too. Learn their hurts, their background, go to dinner with them. Speak truth into their lives. If you work, that is no longer just a job, a way of providing for your family. It is now a battlefield where you seek out the ones the enemy has injured and lied to and you are escorting them to the path of life. This includes our Christian brothers and sisters. We all have stumbled onto the wrong path and need help and encouragement coming back.
I feel like God has shown me that this is a true mark of a true follower. We can not simply declare His name, or accept His salvation. We must do, obey what He says. And clearly He has spoken.
I hope I didn't bore you with rambling. God has convicted me about all this lately. It is where I am walking. May God change our hearts. I pray He speaks to you clearly too. May He stir us to ACT and SIT NO MORE!
Pressing On,
Carrie
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