My reading Bible

Some folks have their regular glasses and their reading glasses. I have my regular Bible (actually 2) and my reading Bible. My reading Bible is very special to me, because its the Bible that helps me to read all the Bible, and to read every day. Its called the One Year Bible, and it gives me daily reading from the OT, NT, Psalms and Proverbs. There is no devotional, no commentary, just the Word.

I find this format to be extremely helpful to get a great cross-section of the Word for my daily needs. Also, the calendar format encourages me not to miss a day.

Now, reading your Bible everyday faithfully does not necessarily guarantee spirituality. That being said, you cannot be spiritual if you are not daily renewing your mind with Scripture. I must daily check my mind-set with the mind-set of God. If needs be, I must readjust my thinking. If I am not continually in the Word, satan can lie to me, and I will not know the difference. I must daily, systematically fill my mind with the Truth.

There are days that my reading is fulfilling and exciting. There are some days when I am just going through the motions, I must confess. Still, the habit of reading is there, and God can use it!

What helps you to read and study God's Word daily?

Ruth

My mom has been teaching from the book of Ruth for the past two weeks at ladies Bible study. What a great story! We are in Ruth 2 this week. Its only after you come face to face with true poverty that y0u see what these women lived through. Ruth has the apparently humbling task of picking up grain after the reapers. This was something for the poorest of the poor to do. Not only was she a poor widow, but a Moabitess, most surely an outcast.
But God, in his mercy sends Boaz, who has already heard of the kind young woman who returned with Naomi. He speaks very kindly to her, and invites her to eat with his workers. What really touched me today after reading the story out loud at the meeting, was the fact that after she ate her fill, she saved the leftovers for Naomi. This wasn't like a doggie bag we sometimes take home from a restaurant. This was one hungry girl, remembering a hungry old woman at home. Most Americans don't know about hunger, except when they are on a diet! I have seen ladies at our Bible study taking the sandwiches and cookies we serve and fold them up in a napkin to take home for her little ones. I am sure Naomi was thrilled to get what ever Ruth had brought home to her.
Ruth was a hard working gal, and I admire her.
She chose to go to Israel even though she knew she would be an outcast.
Would I have been that brave?

Just a thought

Sliding into sin

Things are actually going good at Church. God is good, and I thank Him!

One interesting thing that is happening is that one of my dear young ladies is slowly falling into a sinful relationship with an unbeliever. The process has been going on for months now, and doesn't seem to be near any end, anytime soon. I've prayed, pleaded, scolded, cried to her and over her. The whole process is tiring. My husband has instructed me to back off. I watch her and grieve, but I must let the Holy Spirit work. I am grateful, however, because it has been a learning experience, at least for me.

I have been wondering just how someone who certainly knows better, can fall into unthinkable sin? The "surface" sin is a romantic involvement with an unbeliever. According to her, nothing except simple flirtation has occured between them, but other symptoms lead me to believe otherwise. I elaborate more on that later. Since we haven't been able to work through this particular situation, I have been forced to acknowledge every aspect of the "fall". Here is a small list of some issues we're trying to deal with that I believe to be a part of backsliding.

1. A feeling of superiority. This girl is very smart and capable. She knows a great deal about Scripture. Our Church is filled with mostly simple and often simple-minded people. This superiority complex has lead to the next point.
2. A slow distancing from other Christians even while attending Church faithfully. This young lady doesn't "mix" wellwith the people in the Church, although she used to.
3. A judgemental attitude. She is obvious in her displeasure at other Christians who have fallen.

My whole point in this post is that while I believe her when she says that nothing has happened yet, something has happened. At least in her mind.
I believe that she has had a relationship with this man in her mind, she has imagined what she thinks it would be like. She has all the symptoms of a woman "in love", and she is willing to forfeit all of her service to the Lord for this flirtation. That is why it is sooooooo important to bring every thought, EVERY THOUGHT into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:5 (King James Version)
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;


You see, sin is avoidable.
1 Corinthians 10:13 (King James Version)
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

Most often, sin is stopped by nipping every little sinful thought in the bud. Most often, the easiest route of escape is learning to eliminate the very first hint of a sinful thought. Confessing sinful thoughts. Repenting of sinful thought. No matter how small, and thank God that they are still just small, small thoughts.

Just a thought.

Relaxing weekend? I don't think so!

We've come to an end of another weekend. From Friday evening to Sunday night, we have pretty much non-stop activity. This was intesified by the fact that the Preacher left this morning early on a missions trip to Argentina with 4 preacher boys. We had people in and out all weekend.

We had a great service at the Mafil mission in spite of the fact the Neil didn't go. He was sick. Woke up with a migraine and a fever. He was at the morning and evening services here in Lanco, though. We had so-so attendance, 74 here in Lanco, 15 in Mafil. We had 2 visitors.

Once, an old preacher told us this story. He had pastored several churches over his lifetime. Someone asked him the difference between a large Church and a small Church. He replied "The difference between a Church of 100 and a Church of 1000 is 900 problems"
It seems sometimes that we are having more problems than ever before, but that is because we have more people than ever before. How does one not get discouraged by people-problems? Sometimes, we'll have a great day, except for one or two who are having "issues". Fr'instance, this Saturday, Neil took a group to go see one of our boys at Boot Camp. They had a great day. When they got home, one of our ladies called to tell us that her son, one of the Seminary boys, had come home drunk the night before. Then on Sunday A.M. while were in the Deaf Sunday school class, one of our most faithful young ladies who is going through a rebellious phase, decided that she was bored with the teaching and started humming a song! I was so ticked at her! I am glad that Neil didn't notice it.
So, even if we had a great day, Neil and I were both bummed about a handful of people. Its so hard to "turn off" at night, and not let the Church problems just overwhelm your family life.
So today, I am just bumming around. Blogging, slooowwww housework. No makeup, no doorbells. Maybe a a little laundry, hopefully a nap!
Since the Preacher will not be here this week, I'll be able to blog more.

By the way, I have note been writing very much, but I have been reading. I love you all!! And I am so thrilled to see God working in your lives.
Does anyone know anything about Janet? I can't find her blog.

Rhonda

The very simple life

One of my jobs here is that of counselor. I'm not a very good counselor, because I don't really enjoy hearing people whine, and believe me, we hear a lot of whining.

I find counseling to be difficult because the Christian life is actually very simple. The root sins that cause problems are really very simple. Pride, greed, lack of faith, disobedience, among other things. Most people want to think that their problems are unfixably complicated. Often, they don't even want to find out what they can do, they just want a shoulder to cry on.
God doesn't just sympathize with our problems, He wants us to find peace.


The problems that sin creates are very complex, but the roots are relatively easy to diagnose and fix (theoretically speaking) Being the choleric that I am, I like this. I like the fact that I can let God fix me. I can learn exactly what I need to do. Its simple!
1. Find out what God says about your problem. Go to Church and listen. Read your Bible daily, and pay attention. Pray and ask God for His help. God really wants to help you. And when He sends help, thank him, and again, pay atttention! God will often send someone either through a letter, a phone call or a sermon or lesson online. I like to recognize when God is sending me a message! Sometimes I tell the same people the same things over and over. They don't listen, they'd rather suffer and whine. They's rather just take the prozac. They'd rather just keep on living with their abusive boyfriend.

I pray that the Lord would fill me with compassion, and give me a tender heart.

R

Sins and Snares

There are some things that are out and out sinful. It should be easy to see those things and avoid them. Then there are things that may or may not be actual "sins" but they are snares. They can cause you or someone you love to sin.
One issue that has come up lately here at our Church is women working outside the home. Now, usually this is where I would say that its not necessarily sinful for a woman to work outside the home. But I will say this. Its a snare. You might make it out OK, but then you might just get trapped in one of the many trappings of working outside your home.

Why do I say this? Because of the case of infidelity that I told you about a few months ago. This dear lady has been working outside her home since the beginning. She and her husband had a plan. She would work, he would go to college to become a vet. That started over 6 years ago, and he is no where near being a vet. They truly seemed to love each other, and their kids. Yet, when the husband had to work far from home for a few months, he fell into temptation and commited grievous adultery.

Now, lets talk about "red flags" Red flags are the warning signs that speak of impending doom. Adultery is awful and you'll never know how much until you are a victim, either as a wife, or a child, seeing your parent commit adultery.
Red Flag: An untidy, unkempt house. The house of the family in question is a spooky place. Dark, messy, dirty. Unadorned. Why? Mama has no energy to take care of it!!!

Red Flag. Unkempt , messy children. 'nuff said!

Red Flag: Wife becomes a "mother figure". If you ask me, so often, a working wife becomes a mother figure to her husband. Why? Because she is providing for him. Of course he seems to like this very much. But somewhere deep inside he knows that this is not how things should be. And, women who provide tend to become motherly in their advice and admonishment. "Honey, you need to help me with the dishes, I've had a hard day at work too" I really don't know any real men that like it when their wives become their mamas. It seems that a man with a mama for a wife is ready to fall for the womanly allure of the Strange Woman.

Is his adultery her fault? Not at all. He knew better. But the snares were there.

Why do I write all this? To make some poor working wife feel bad? No! But as I watch this family reeling from the heart-wrenching consequences of adultery, I feel the need to cry out and warn others of the snares.

Where are you?

It is so wonderful to see people come to the Lord. Even nicer is when you see them grow and start serving the Lord. Its wonderful to see the Lord's work and our own effort come to fruition.

One of the saddest and most dissapointing things is to see someone through whom God has worked, start to fade. We can see the warning signs. You try to warn them, you pray, but finally, the choice is theirs. Sad.

So, where are you today? Newly saved? Praise the Lord! What a precious time. Are you serving? Great! There is no place of great blessing.
Have you faded? Did you serve at one time, but now are on the sidelines?
Let me tell you, the sidelines stink. There is no action, no struggle, no growth. No chance to see the Glory of God in your life. Seems that most people who are on the sidelines eventually just fade away. They may still come to church, but there is no joy. We were meant for the battle, not the sidelines.

When I see people move on to the sidelines, my heart aches for them. So does God's.

Blogging crisis and a Funny

I have been in a blogging crisis. I don't want my blog just to be about my day to day activities because that would be just plain BORING! I blog to express my opinions, and for the moment, I'm all out of opinions! How can that be?

Anyway, I found this Funny about The Rules.

The Guys' Rules­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­
At last a guy has taken the time to write this all down
Finally , the guys' side of the story. ( I must admit, it's pretty good.) We always hear " the rules " From the female side. Now here are the rules from the male side. These are OUR rules! Please note.. these are all numbered "1" ON PURPOSE!
1. Men are NOT mind readers.

1. Learn to work the toilet seat. You're a big girl. If it's up, put it down. We need it up, you need it down. You don't hear us complaining about you leaving it down.

1. Sunday sports. It's like the full moon or the changing of the tides. Let it be.

1. Shopping is NOT a sport. And no, we are never going to think of it that way.

1. Crying is blackmail.

1. Ask for what you want Let us be clear on this one: Subtle hints do not work! Strong
hints do not work! Obvious hints do not work! Just say it!

1. Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.

1. Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That's what we do.
Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.

1. Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. In fact, all comments become null and void after 7 Days.

1. If you think you're fat, you probably are. Don't ask us.

1. If something we said can be interpreted in two ways and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant THE OTHER ONE .

1. You can either ask us to do something Or tell us how you want it done. Not both. If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.

1. Whenever possible, Please say whatever you have to say during commercials.

1. Christopher Columbus did NOT need directions and neither do we.

1. ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings. Peach, for example, is a fruit, not A color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no idea what mauve is.

1. If it itches, it will be scratched. We do that.

1. If we ask what is wrong and you say "nothing," We will act like nothing's wrong. We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle.

1. If you ask a question you don't want an answer to, Expect an answer you don't want to hear.

1. When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine... Really .....

1. Don't ask us what we're thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss such topics as rugby , cars, or golf.

1. You have enough clothes.

1. You have too many shoes.

1. I am in shape. Round IS a shape!

Thank you for reading this. Yes, I know, I have to sleep on the couch tonight; But did you know men really don't mind that? It's like camping. Pass this to as many men as you can - and Please Pass this to as many women as you can -