• Nov. 8, 2009 - Leading and Following
JESUS IS COMING SOON! MARANATHA LORD!
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1 The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: 2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; 3 nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; 4 and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.
5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for
“ God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”
6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
(1 Peter 5:1-7, New King James Version)
When it comes to authority, most of us find ourselves somewhere in the middle, with some people in authority over us and others below us in the chain of command. For example, a man is head of his home, but is under the authority of the church, the government, and of course God. The wife is under the leadership of the husband, but is in authority over the children, and even the child may find themselves given temporary authority over younger children. So all of us, men, women, and children need not only to learn to have a HEART OF SUBMISSION, but we also need to learn how to lead others in a humble way that honors God.
The first group of people Peter addresses are the elders of the church, but principles of leadership he gives to them can apply to any position of authority. They are to shepherd those under them. A shepherd cares for his sheep and always tries to do what is best for them, putting aside his own wants to do wthat will most help them survive and thrive. So the elders, along with others in authority, are called not to lord over those they shepherd, but rather to serve humbly by setting an example.
Extending this principle to others in authority, husbands should not "lord over" their wives and children and try to "lead the home with an iron fist", but rather should shepherd their families, instruct them and guide them with gentleness and humility, and be a living example of godliness. Mothers should likewise be doing so with their children, and teach their children to act in the same manner if they find themselves in authority. God will be the rewarder of those who live in this way.
We also should give deference to the one in authority over us. We should ALL willingly submit to each other with a humble heart, knowing that ultimately it is God we submit to, and knowing that it will be God who will lift us up.
Often, it is difficult to submit to authority because we fear losing something we want to keep, and it can also be difficult to take up authority because we fear losing the hearts of those we are responsible for. However, we can cast those cares upon Jesus, anything we are concerned with we can give to Him, knowing that He loves us and wants what is best for us.
Lord, help me today to lead when I am called to and to follow when I am supposed to. Help me to lead in gentleness and humility, and to seek Your will above all else.
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• Nov. 7, 2009 - We Need Revival
JESUS IS COMING SOON! MARANATHA LORD!
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7 But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. 8 And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.” 9 Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. 10 As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 11 If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
12 Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; 13 but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. 14 If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters. 16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.
17 For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 Now
“ If the righteous one is scarcely saved,
Where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?”
19 Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator. (1 Peter 4:7-19, New King James Version)
We are in the end times, it may be tempting to look at verse 7 and think that since it was so long ago that Peter said the end was at hand, he must have been wrong. However, he wasn't wrong. In the scheme of History, it wasn't really that long ago. We have been in the end times since Christ ascended, moving closer to His return each day, and each day the signs increase all around us, indicating that His return is imminent. He wants us to continue to live our lives, but always with the knowledge that He could return any moment.
Remain watchful, see the signs around you and talk to God about them, ask Him to help you understand their significance, ask Him for wisdom, and He will give it. Continue in love, hospitality and service to another, not grudgingly, not with a grumbling heart, but rather doing all for God's glory.
Expect some level of persecution, it may come of in only in the form of mockery, or it may be full blown persecution by an evil government that wants to make it a "hate crime" to teach certain parts of the Bible, but all of us need to realize that some for persecution is to be expected. It is not unusual, but rather is a normal occurrence when one follows Christ in this fallen world.
American Christians have had it easy so far, our idea of persecution has consisted mostly of people laughing at us behind our backs, and perhaps in extreme cases to our faces. We might even occasionally get yelled at, or if you live in certain cities, beat up because you believe. But most of us have never experienced these things, for most of us, we fear ridicule and think that is persecution. However, government sanctioned persecution is coming to America, I believe that in the very core of my heart. It is very near as the world becomes more and more tolerant of all viewpoints other than Christian, and more and more intolerant of our beliefs. In many places in the world, places that have had free speech laws similar to those in the U.S. it has become illegal to read certain portions of the Bible out loud in Church, or to express publicly your belief in what those parts of the Bible teach. Our own country is fast heading down that same road. Soon, belief in the Bible will called hatred and bigotry, and teaching the Bible will be a hate crime.
It is coming, we may be able to delay it through the democratic process, we be able to temporarily fight it in the courts. Certainly God may see fit to delay it if we get on our knees and pray earnestly for revival to sweep this land. If we fast and fall on our faces before God brokenhearted, not only over the sin of unbelievers in our land, but over our own sin. Perhaps if we humble ourselves, confess our sin, and recommit to God as Nehemiah did in Nehemiah 1:5-11. Perhaps God will hear, and send revival, and delay the persecution that is heading our way. Either way, whether He grants us a reprieve or not, we must trust God, totally commit our souls to Him, trusting that He knows what is best. We must continue to do good and to walk with Him, doing all to His glory.
In some cases we need to repent of being more political than spiritual, and of being busybodies in other people's matters, and in other cases we need to repent of not using the freedom we have to influence our government, either way we must repent of not putting God first, and not travailing in prayer over the direction our nation is taking. Judgment begins in the house of God, the Church must repent of its materialism, its apathy, and its prayerlessness. Revival always begins with an awakened awareness of sin and repentance from it. Let the Church examine itself and ask God to search it and know it. Let the individual Christian look into the mirror of God's word and ask God to show us if their is any wicked way within us. Let us come to Him humbly repenting, not just in hopes of avoiding persecution, but in humility, in deep pain over having dragged Christ's name through the muck by our actions. Let us truly be sorry for having dishonored and disobeyed god. Let us come to Him humbly and repent.
Lord, I confess to You that in so many ways I have strayed from Your ways and Your word. In so many ways I have not been serious and watchful, in so many ways I have sinned and not served You with all my heart, have not loved You all my heart, mind, and strength. Lord, I implore You, I beg You, send revival. Let revival be sent to this nation, and let it begin within my own heart, right now.
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• November 7, 2009 - Tickled Blue!
I am so excited and very proud to say I am now officially the oldest of 9 children! :) Samuel Ira was born today! We are 20 years and 12 days apart. He is just precious and sweet! A true gift from God! I'm tickled there is another newborn in the house! :D Altho... there are so many people to share him with. LOL! Trying to snatch him anytime I can! ;) Will get some more up about him and pictures soon! :D I am just soo happy he's here!
I am so blessed by God to have another sibling to love, to watch grow up and to TRY to be an example of how to live as our Messiah did!
Thank you God for the blessing of this precious babe! Such an awesome Shabbat this has been!
©AmandaDixon2009
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• Nov. 7, 2009 - Featured Blogger ~ DiamondsInTheRough
This week's Featured Blogger is Diamonds In The Rough!
"Mrs. Diamond" and I have been getting to know each other through our blogs. Her "Diamondettes" (I refuse to cal them lumps of coal), have been blog friends with my girls for awhile now. It's fun to meet families as a family on HSB!
Now there are TONS of blog posts I could link you to, but I had such a hard time deciding what to go with. I've opted to link to categories, that way you can see a bunch of posts at one time.
The first category up is Emily's 400 Questions, and Mrs. Diamond isn't kidding when she makes that claim! Some of the questions her daughter comes up with will surely make you chuckle and wonder where that question came from. Others are very thought provoking. All are fun to read! Now if Mrs. Diamond would put the answers she'd have her own Q & A Encyclopedia!
Ever wonder what it's like to live in the desert? Then the category Life in the Desert is what you want to click on! It's hot, it's cold, and it's always full of blessings--and lessons from the Lord.
With the holidays coming up you are more than likely looking for some new recipes. Try this little recipe "book" Recipes From My Kitchen. The recipe that is a family favorite for my family is the Dutch Baby. Yummo!
My all time favorite category though is Diamonds and Other Gems. Wow! There are some lessons to learn here! Like the worth of diamonds--and souls.
Please click on over and say hello to my friend, DiamondsInTheRough!
Tia Linchied
Senior Editor of HSB
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• Saturday, November 7, 2009 - "Please Mom?"
Posted By Amy
That is what mom hears when I find another free download of a photoshop program.  So far, I have Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0 (yes, it is really old...) and Jasc Paint Shop Pro 8 (another older version), Adobe's Artweaver, and now Picasa. The other day I found out what neat things Google's Picasa can do. So I downloaded it. (if you do download it, be warned that it can be a headache and you might end up reinstalling it because you did it all wrong...) Probably my favorite feature is the handy "collage" button. You select the photos, and in one click you have a collage. It takes a few more clicks to get the settings right though. This collage was mady with 250 photos, or something close... The only problem is that with so many photos it makes them really really tiny! Well, they aren't tiny until you resize it... But there was no way I was putting a picture that was abut 5000 pixels wide on my blog! 
Here is another one I made with only pictures of Elisabeth's face.
Speaking of faces, Picasa has the neatest feature where it can sort faces! Its really hard to explain, so if you'd like to read about it, go here: http://picasa.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=93773 Its really good at it too! Only once did it think that Alison was me. :-) Even the computer thinks we're twins! LOL!
This last one is just a few random pictures that I've taken that I really like. I'll probably make quite a few more collages with my pictures! It's really fun!
I've learned a few things about Picasa the hard way, but now that have figured a few things out not to do, I'll never never NEVER do them again! LOL!
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• Nov. 7, 2009 - stomach ache.
Posted By Al
im so tired again. like im unbelievably tired. but thats probably because nicole had a 7:50am game this morning in Vancouver so we had to get up at like.. 6 to get there in time. and i was up ALL night reading When It Happens by Susan Colasanti. best. book. ever. like seriously ive been taking it everywhere so i have it to read if something happens like. i get bored..
i keep thinking its like almost 3pm-ish. but its not even noon yet. that's the only good part about getting up early - the day lasts longer. but i only like that when i have nothing to do in the day. like by the time we get done with nicole's next soccer game today is going to be dark, and ill be way beyond tired and ready to crash, and then i have to get up early for church tomorrow, and then im gonna be at church until like.. four. because we're having the harvest dinner and im going to stay as long as i possibly can =)
but yeah. i need sleep. i was trying to watch iCarly a few minutes ago, but i kept nodding off, and so i decided to come and check my email.. but i can barely keep my eyes open. AND ITS NOT EVEN NOON. what is this? ugh.
and the rain is driving me crazy. i wish it was sunny again. like honestly, i know i complained about the heat and i wanted the sun to leave and the heat to go with it, but now its just like.. come back amazing summer days =(
everything about Summer 2009 changed my life. |
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• Nov. 7, 2009 - Feel That Fire - Dierks Bentley
Posted By Al
Feel That Fire - Dierks Bentley
She wants her nails painted black
She wants the toy in the crackerjack
She wants to ride the bull at the rodeo
She wants to wear my shirt to bed
She wants to make every stray a pet
N' Drive around in my truck with no place to go
But she needs to feel that fire
The one that lets her know for sure
She's everything I want and more
A real desire, Does she know I'd walk alone out on the wire
To make her feel that fire
She wants a cabin in the woods
She wants to stand where nobody stood
And someday she wants a couple kids of her own
She wants to make love on a train
And some days she only wants a break
Hey but she wants what she wants, but man I know I know I know
She needs to feel that fire
The one that lets her know for sure
She's everything I want and more
A real desire, Does she know I'd walk alone out on the wire
To make her feel that fire
Yeah, feel that fire
So as long as there's a breath to take
A smile to share, a prayer to pray
A chance to hold her hand to fan the flame
She's gonna feel that fire
The one that lets her know for sure
She's everything I want and more
Her real desire, Does she know I'd walk alone out on the wire
Yeah, to make her feel that fire
Ohh feel that fire
She wants her nails painted black
She wants the toy in the crackerjack
She wants to ride the bull at the rodeo |
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