Category Archives: Proven Path Ministries

Devotional Studies Through the Bible, Proven Path Ministries

Expect Expectations

Behold, I am going to send an angel before you…
Exodus 23:20

 

We are here, still at the base of the mountain. The Lord has declared His commands and the people cried out to Moses to be their mediator between them and God because they feared Him. Now Moses has stepped closer to the thick cloud of God’s presence that covers the mountain and He listens as God declares the ordinances that the people are to live by as they represent their God in the land He is giving them. God is making sure the people understand what is expected of them before they even enter the promised land.

God expects righteousness, holiness, justice, and obedience from those who carry His name. He has made what He declares to be good and right very clear and we have seen that God has been with the children of Israel every step of the way. He lets them know here at the base of the mountain that He will continue to go before them and be with them. God expects a lot from His children, but He has never expected them to meet His expectations all on their own.

 

Behold, I am going to send an angel before you to guard you along the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. Be on your guard before him and obey his voice, do not be rebellious toward him, for he will not pardon your transgression, since my name is in him. But if you truly obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.
Exodus 23:20-22

 

Yes, God would send an angel with them to go before them and He would already have the place prepared for them… but they would have to listen and obey his voice, truly obey. They would have to do all that God said. This was what was expected of the people of God then… and it is what is expected of the people of God still.

However, in and through the shed blood, death, and resurrection of Christ, we have more than an angel that goes before us. Today, on this side of the cross, we have the indwelling of the Spirit of God, Himself. This is why the writer of the book of Hebrews declares,

 

For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?

Hebrews 2:2-3

 

At the base of that mountain God commanded that the word spoken through the angel was to be obeyed and those who rebelled would not go unpunished… how dare we think that any less be expected of us who stand not at the base of Mt Sinai, but at the base of a hill called Calvary. We stand not at the bottom of a mountain that is covered in thick darkness, but we stand at the base of Golgotha that is covered with the shed blood of the Light of the world.

Israel stood at the base of a mountain that a loud voice cried out “Do not touch!“, but we stand at the base of a hill and the still small voice cries “Come!” Come, to the cross. Come to Mount Zion and be saved. Come and receive grace and find mercy in your time of need.

However, when you have come, pay close attention to what you hear, and unite it with faith, and obey it in faith (Hebrews 4:1-13). Our God did not play games with the children of Israel and the shed blood of innocent lambs and goats; and He certainly will not play games with the church and the shed blood of His innocent Son, the Lamb of God.

For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. Anyone who set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?
Hebrews 10:26-29

 

Oh friend, let us not be found guilty of insulting the Spirit of grace. Let us be diligent to enter the place that has been prepared for us (John 14:3, Hebrews 4:11, Revelation 22:14-17). The place prepared is for those who obey, truly obey (John 14:23). The abode is only for those who abide (John 15:4-10).

Be on your guard, obey him and his voice, do not be rebellious toward him, for he will not pardon your transgression, since My name is in him (Exodus 23:21). This was spoken of an angel to the children of Israel. This was spoken of the one who simply carried the name of God with him. This was spoken of a created being that merely carried the authority given him by his Creator.

Precious one, with this in mind, what rises up within your spirit when you read,

 

And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.
Revelation 19:11-13

 

As we continue our journey through the pages of the Old Testament Scriptures we will see that God was very serious about the children of Israel’s obedience to this one who went before them, and to these ordinances He had given them.

We, if indeed the church, are the very body of Christ. The One who the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form has promised to abide in us (Colossians 2:9). The Holy Spirit of God, our Comforter, our Helper, our Convictor, the Spirit of Christ, indwells us. The Law of God is written on our hearts… and yet many of those professing this to be true declare themselves powerless to obey Him. When they do so, they insult the Spirit of grace.

Let us stop making excuses, justifying our disobedience with lies straight from the pit of hell, and let us simply obey, truly obey. Having counted the cost. Knowing full well what our God expects from us; and knowing full well that He never expected us to meet His expectations alone.

 

Oh Father,

You deserve nothing less than one hundred percent obedience from me. I have not an excuse good enough… and every excuse I offer up to You is an insult to the Spirit of grace and the blood of Your Son. He did not die this death for me to live in defeat. Forgive me Father for the lies I have believed, for the cost I have refused to count, and for the times I have taken lightly the amazing gift of strength and might and knowledge and hope that is mine in Christ. I am qualified in Christ, how dare I attempt to disqualify myself simply because I refuse to try to live in obedience. I desire to be presented complete in Christ. I desire to enter that place that You have prepared for me and I desire to live in such a way that You are able to use this vessel to bring others into Your kingdom.

My Jesus it is in Your name I pray,
Amen

Confessions of a Christian Wife, Proven Path Ministries

Bi-Polar Spring

We have had what I have decided to deem a bi-polar spring. In the first of March everything seemed to be going smooth… God was opening doors for speaking engagements, my husband was in line for a promotion at work, our youngest that had struggled with illness since birth due to an immune deficiency had not been sick for over a year, a lady drove up in our driveway to pay us cash for the house we had taken off the market because in a year we never even received a second time looker, we had found our “dream house”, put in an offer and it was accepted, and I was allowed the honor of becoming the Children’s Ministry Director at our church, an area of ministry that I am very passionate about (well I am not sure if there is an area of ministry that I am not passionate about, lol, I just think serving God and His people is just flat out a passionate thing).

So here in the Vaughn household we were having what I decided to call a “Facing the Giants” moment with God. Life on this earth was good.

Now it’s the end of May.

As far as I know I haven’t even been considered for a speaking engagement, the promotion didn’t happen, we were at the hospital with our youngest this week about to be rushed into surgery for an appendix, that ended up not being her appendix, but her white blood cell count has bottomed out and we are now back on the blood test roller-coaster (this breaks my heart), the lady that was going to write us a check for our house has no money, so our dream house is slipping away as also did the money we were going to use to make some changes in our current home before she drove up in the driveway, and well so far I haven’t been fired as Children’s Ministry Director… so that’s the only bright side thus far.

As I have walked… no, moped around, this past couple of months I have doubted my ability to hear God, to follow God, to experience God… how crazy.

I realized the depth of my doubt when I had a little, what is it called… a “Freudian slip”. I was about to send our realtor a text that was supposed to say, “Well we will have to wait and see if **** will come through” but what I began to text was, “Well we will have to wait and see if God will come through”… cold chills went down my back at the moment I realized what I had done…

Me?

Did I just almost text that?

How could I even think such a thing?

I couldn’t deny that I had… there it was staring at me in the face… talk about an about face with the Heavenly Father… after all that He has done from me… and here I am saying such “Israelites and the rabble out in the wilderness” kind of stuff.

I realize that God is constantly in a process of adjusting my attitude… how thankful I am that He only lets me get so far before He jerks a knot in me.

Now I sit out here in my sacred spot… that I had forsaken for the spring… knowing now it was my pouting against my God and I read Revelation 5 and I think who in the world do I think I am to play this silly game with the One who is worthy to hold the scroll?

Who am I to treat the One that that every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea cries,

To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb,

be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.

Revelation 5:13

 

Who in the world am I to sit here and complain while the myriads of angels, the twenty-four elders, and the four living creatures fall down and worship Him…

I think I shall join them

and fall down on my face before Him

and worship…

 

Confessions of a Christian Wife, Proven Path Ministries

Crazy Brain

 

Of course, this side of heaven we will not do perfectly. Harsh words will be spoken, patience will wear thin. Frazzled mothers will act frazzled. And when this happens, our own sinfulness does not detract from the power of the gospel, it illustrates why we need it. Do not use your own mistakes as an excuse to wallow about what a bad mother you are. Repent, seek forgiveness, get it right, and move on. Believe. Be forgiven. Extend that forgiveness, that belief, that joy, to your children.

As you go about your daily transformations, set your heart on the truth. Mimic the gospel in what you do. Bring peace, bring order, bring joy, bring laughter. Bring it because it was brought to you. Give, because it was given to you. The gospel is not too big to fit into little situations. It is too big not to.

~ Rachel Jankovic

 

Yesterday… or well probably the last many days I have had to fight the thoughts that driving into a concrete wall head first at 140 miles per hour would make a wonderful solution to having to deal with getting so consumed and irritated and frustrated with the things of life. I mean after all I wouldn’t have to worry about my husband and children feeling the failure of my attempts to be a wife and mother and I wouldn’t have to deal with the thoughts of all the opportunities I missed to be a friend… the phone calls I forgot to make, the cards I forgot to mail, the emails I forgot to send. I could just go home…

But sadly isn’t those thoughts my greatest moments of rebellion toward my God.

“Yeh God, so You won’t fix me? You won’t fix this feelings of failure, and You keep refusing to either remove them or remove me from this earth and just bring me home to You… well I will show You who is boss… I will come home on my terms… watch this!”

Then the utter feeling of despair in my sinful flesh and mind come crashing down around me and I just want to ball up in a corner somewhere and cry until it all goes away… loving is hard. It so very hard. Especially when no amount of love ever seems to be enough and one moment can seem to destroy years of investment…

How easily I can allow the wait to discourage my hope and destroy my joy.

I think of how grateful I am that God is love. I think of how grateful I am that although I so many times doubt His love, His will, His ways… He still faithfully loves me. He doesn’t forsake me. He also will not allow me to forsake my purpose. He refuses to allow me to throw my hands up in the air and say that I am done with life.

Please know that I have no doubt that if I had not my Christ… I would have been dead long ago. The torments that my mind can play on me are just to much for me to bare apart from Him. My mind is my enemy. That is why I must renew it constantly with the Word of God. I must fill it with truth to counteract and fight against the lies that the enemy of soul bombs me with almost constantly.

That is why I love my quiet time, my study time, my worship time so… the enemy can’t touch me here. I am only HIS when I am here. It’s when I have to walk away… step out in life… the part of life that I find absolutely silly and repulsive and a waste of time. I watch us on tv. America, with all our excess… shoving food in our face, whoring our bodies, and then acting as though we care for the least of these so we can give a chunk of change to an organization and not have to change our lifestyle… and this is what we pat ourselves on the back for.

There are moments that I want to throw all caution to the wind and just go out and spend my day fighting to save eternal lives… because I feel the time is so short and I get so frustrated because my life is not mine to do that. I belong to everyone else… I don’t belong to me. I don’t know if I ever will again.

The choices I make, the places I go, the things I do, are always to make someone else happy to meet someone else’s needs, to not hurt someone’s feelings… yet every effort I make to be all things to all people never is enough. I feel as though I am so very often condemned for just being me.

You need to take what you believe and apply it to these difficult moments. Does the Bible teach us that God is disgusted by our frailty? That he doesn’t want to carry our burdens? That he doesn’t have the energy to deal with us?

~ Rachel Jankovic 

I pour this out in this post, all the craziness that is bouncing around in the Christ-loving brain of mine. I so often look for His return. For His rescue. For His explanation…

How often I self condemn myself for these thoughts… really expecting God to explain His wait to me. To explain His patience, purpose, plan, and position. Asking one more sign of proof that He even really loves me… When really I am just a spoiled child who likes my moments of confirmation and conviction much more than my moments of simply walking by faith in what I already know of Him and His love and purpose for me and my life.

How thankful I am that God is not disgusted with my frailty. He likes me, really likes me. He loves me. He doesn’t get irritated or frustrated with the things that make me, me. He created me to be me. He doesn’t condemn me for being me. He takes me and weeds out what sin and Satan are attempting to contaminate and He conforms me more and more into the image of His Son… my Jesus.

I am a work in progress. Always a work in progress. I have not obtained perfection… yet still I seek it. I press on. I fight the good fight. I refuse to allow any hurt, any pain, to be in vain. God will use it to mold me, shape me, prepare me…

Well I have spent this morning wallowing in my self… and now it is time to get up and shake off this muck of fleshliness, because some how in the midst of this confession… He has restored my soul and I am ready for today.

 

 

 

Names of God Series, Proven Path Ministries

Names of God: Elohim Shamayim

 

 

The name of God we will be digging into today is Elohim Shamayim… God of Heaven. This name of God is used only about twenty times in Scripture. It has it’s root in the book of Daniel…

In that the king saw an angelic watcher, a holy one, descending from heaven and saying, “ Chop down the tree and destroy it; yet leave the stump with its roots in the ground, but with a band of iron and bronze around it in the new grass of the field, and let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him share with the beasts of the field until seven periods of time pass over him,” this is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king: that you be driven away from mankind and your dwelling place be with the beasts of the field, and you be given grass to eat like cattle and be drenched with the dew of heaven; and seven periods of time will pass over you, until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes. And in that it was commanded to leave the stump with the roots of the tree, your kingdom will be assured to you after you recognize that it is Heaven that rules.

Daniel 4:23-26

 

…but it is mentioned at least eight times in the book of Ezra. As a matter of fact the book of Ezra begins with the mention of this name of God.

Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying:

“Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.

Ezra 1:1-2

The last name of God we looked at was Lord Of All The Earth. So how is God of Heaven different from Lord of All the Earth?

When we look at the context of the Scripture passages that use Lord of All the Earth we see that these are all referring to a future day. They all refer to the day when Christ will return and physically rule this earth with a rod of iron. I look forward to that day…

However God of Heaven is the name that even those who refuse to bow down and give their allegiance to the Creator God in this life will use. This name of God shows us how although our God is in heaven He still rules over the affairs of man and over this earth. He rules from heaven. God does not have to be standing before us in all His glory to see that His will is accomplished. He simply speaks His will from heaven and all the earth obeys.

We see this beautifully in the book of Esther. The name of God is not even mentioned in this book but His presence and His purpose and His hand on this recorded event in history is unmistakable.

We also clearly see God ruling from heaven in the book of Ezra. The book of Ezra takes place during the reign of King Artaxerxes and King Darius. This is after Nebuchadnezzar, after Belteshazzar and the writing on the wall, this is after Cyrus, king of Persia.

Let us remember that it was Cyrus that God moved to write and record the decree that allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple (Isaiah 45:1-5, Ezra 1:1-4, Nehemiah 2:3-8), exactly seventy years after their Babylonian captivity that was purposed by God (Jeremiah 25:11, Daniel 9:2).

Ezra is there in Jerusalem and the rebuilding of the temple is at work and the people of the land, those not Jews want to help build the temple, but the head fathers of the children of Israel say no. These people worshiped God as a god, just one of many, they were not Jews and they would not be a part of the hands on of the rebuilding of His temple. Well these people get a little ticked because Zerubbabel and Jeshua have told them “no” (Ezra 4:3), so they concoct a lie and send it in a letter to King Artaxerxes.

This King sends orders to stop the rebuilding of the temple. It stopped until the second year of King Darius. The people began to rebuild and when they were questioned they sent their own letter to King Darius.

Thus they answered us, saying, ‘We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth and are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and finished. But because our fathers had provoked the God of heaven to wrath, He gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon. However, in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus issued a decree to rebuild this house of God.

Ezra 5:11-13

So Darius gets up and goes through the record books to check out their story and low and behold there it is… the written decree. Darius immediately sends his reply that the building is to continue and not only that the taxes of the nation would fund it.

Leave this work on the house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild this house of God on its site. Moreover, I issue a decree concerning what you are to do for these elders of Judah in the rebuilding of this house of God: the full cost is to be paid to these people from the royal treasury out of the taxes of the provinces beyond the River, and that without delay.Whatever is needed, both young bulls, rams, and lambs for a burnt offering to the God of heaven, and wheat, salt, wine and anointing oil, as the priests in Jerusalem request, it is to be given to them daily without fail, that they may offer acceptable sacrifices to the God of heaven and pray for the life of the king and his sons. And I issued a decree that any man who violates this edict, a timber shall be drawn from his house and he shall be impaled on it and his house shall be made a refuse heap on account of this. May the God who has caused His name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who attempts to change it, so as to destroy this house of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have issued this decree, let it be carried out with all diligence!”

Ezra 6:7-12

So if the taxes would fund it guess who would pay for the rebuilding of the temple? Yep, that’s right, those that wrote the lie letter that caused the pause in the rebuilding.

This is our God of Heaven at work.

We may not see Him with our eyes in all His glory… we couldn’t handle it if He did show Himself to us in that way… His holy fire would consume this sin saturated flesh of ours… but His presence and the glory of His majesty is still clearly displayed to all the world. All the way to the very end…

There are only two times that this name of God is used in the New Testament and it’s in the book of Revelation

But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God came into them, and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were watching them. And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “ Come up here.” Then they went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies watched them. And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.

Revelation 11:11-13

 

Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom becamedarkened; and they gnawed their tongues because of pain, and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores; and they did not repent of their deeds.

Revelation 16:10-11

Once again we see how even those who refuse to bow down to Him cannot refute that He is indeed the God of Heaven.

But here’s the thing.

In the gospel of Matthew the term Kingdom of Heaven is used thirty times.

You see here is the day that the God of Heaven came down and He cries out to us all.

From that time Jesus began to preach and say, 

“ Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Matthew 4:17

Jesus still cries out. The God of Heaven came down and He died for the sins of the world. Today, now, still from His throne in Heaven, through His body (the church) on this earth, He stretches out His nail-scared hand to the world and He cries repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

He wants you to know Him as more than this distant God of Heaven… He wants you to be able to call Him Father. He wants you to be able to call Him Redeemer. He wants you to be able to call Him Savior. He wants you to be able to call Him, El Elohe… Jehovahm-shammah… Jehovah-nissi… Jehovah-rapha… Jehovah- raah… Jehovah-mekkodishkem… Jehovah-tsidkenu.

But before you can do that you must first call Him Adonai…

that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord,

and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead,

you will be saved;

Romans 10:9

Confessions of a Christian Wife, Proven Path Ministries

Who Pursues Who

 

Let my soul live that it may praise You,

And let Your ordinances help me.

I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Your servant,

For I do not forget Your commandments.

Psalm 119:175-176

 

This morning I awoke and crawled out of bed, grabbed the laundry basket full of dirty clothes that I had waiting on me at the foot of the bed, and headed to the laundry room to start a load. I then started my coffee and while it was brewing took the dog out. I got distracted with the weeds in the flower bed and began pulling them out and then looked up to realize that our dog had run off… again.

All this and I haven’t even had my first cup of coffee yet…

So I pour my cup of coffee, unwrap my poptart, grab my Bible and notebook and head outside for my prayer and study time… trying to ignore the fact that the dog is no where to be seen. Which doesn’t go to well…

I go back inside get the car keys and drive around the neighborhood in my pj’s searching out this dog that aggravates the snot out of me because if I turn my back on him for a split second he is off somewhere in the unknown. I cruise through once and see him no where.

I go back in the house, fix a fresh cup of coffee, and come back outside to hopefully be still and spend some time with my God and Father… ugh… nope.

I begin my prayer, “Oh Father, how close I can feel with You at times and others how far away. How easily I can become caught up in this world and the next be so ready to leave it all behind. I just want to forever pursue You…” this is as far as I get and I cannot shake my need to get up and go find that dog.

I call him “Dog” everyone else calls him “Amos”

After another slow cruise through the ‘hood I find the distracted sucker coming out of the woods behind a house at the curve end of our road. Guilt all over the dog’s face. So once again I am there in the middle of the road, in my pj’s, yelling at “Dog” to get home. This time at least he comes when I call. I get in the car, roll the window down, and he runs beside the car all the way home, even ignoring the other dogs that usually also distract him and cause him to ignore my “Dog! Get in the house!”

So he goes in his kennel time-out. I fix another cup of coffee, and now I sit still finally… by this time kids are outside waiting on the bus for school and they are loud of course. I begin to get aggravated that the dog has caused me to lose my quiet, still, time. I start to get up, pack up, and head in the house, but instead this time I stop, I choose to pray for the voices I hear. I choose to pray salvation over loud souls and I realize that this was God’s plan all along.

Now as I type this out… my God reminds me how that “Dog” is kind of like me (shhhh don’t tell my husband, he knows how mad this dog makes me most of the time). I head out to take care of the business at hand and so easily get distracted by the things of the world… not necessarily sinful things… just things. House payments, house sales, mortgage loans, gas prices, other people’s lack of responsibility, ball practice, pre-teen drama, internet disconnection, weeds in the garden, dirty dishes, pretty projects… just worldly distractions.

I wonder how many times my God has had to chase me down after I have wandered off somewhere in the unknown and has shook His head in holy aggravation at me and instead of calling me Nicole… calls out “Woman! Get back in focus!”

How thankful I am that although I pray and speak my desire to forever pursue my God… the truth of the matter is that I am safe only because He chooses to get up and go out and forever pursue me.

So He told them this parable, saying, 

“ What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them,

does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture

and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? 

When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

Luke 15:3-5

 

 

Devotional Studies Through the Bible, Proven Path Ministries

Mass Destruction

You shall not follow the masses in doing evil, nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after a multitude in order to pervert justice; nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his dispute.

Exodus 23:2-3

I read this verse this morning and my mind couldn’t help but go to our current day… the health care plan, the occupy movement, the gay marriage, the political movements as a whole…

Have we in America not watched our politicians, the supposed leaders of our country do this exact thing that God so clearly says is wrong in His Word?

Have we not in our American churches not done this very same thing… choosing to make concessions, compromises, in order to meet the cry of the masses. So we would get the masses in our doors…

Christ never bowed down to the masses… He never followed the masses… nor should  we  who claim to follow Him. Jesus stepped into the boat and separated from the masses. Yes, He went to the masses but then He stepped back and said come and follow Me. He didn’t chase after the crowd or attempt to appease them… He simply spoke truth and who followed was who followed.

It didn’t matter to Jesus if you were rich or poor, righteous or wicked, loved or hated, right or wrong, religious or heathen, sick or healthy, holy or worldly… He didn’t change who He was and He didn’t adjust His words to fit who ever was listening at the time. He always spoke with love. He always spoke with purpose. He always spoke with authority. He always spoke with compassion. He always spoke with kindness. He always spoke with self-control. His life nor the masses ever counteracted or had the ability to change His words.

In our day today we have churches and government submitting to evil, we have laws being passed to pervert justice in order to appease the masses… we use the “poor man” as an excuse to form laws and regulations that are flat out wrong.

My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives? Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court? Do they not blaspheme the fair name by which you have been called?

James 2:1-7

We all cheer this verse. “Woo-hoo that’s right rich man you are no better than me!” However where is the one who is willing to say “Just because you are a poor man does not make you right in your dispute nor give excuse to the perversion of justice.”

The fact that the poor are poor does not give anyone the right to steal from the rich man. What a man has earned he has earned. What is right is right… for the rich and the poor. Justice is justice… that is if we all have an even absolute truth that we will stand on.

Our nation was founded on Biblical truth and Biblical justice. The lines and law were clearly defined. The Bible was taught in the schools. The children of our nation learned to read through the pages of the Scriptures… and our nation was great. It was a nation of honor. It was a nation of principle. It was a nation of hope. It was a nation of strength, dignity, and integrity. It was a nation that was not perfect… but still always gave the individual the vision that they could make the nation better by putting their stamp on the pages of it’s history.

How sad it is to hear that the majority of the leaders of our country cannot even pin point a Biblical reference to support any of their stances. The news anchor, the journalist, the columnist spew the views and condemn those who hold to morality and they have not even taken the time to reference why these people hold to their stance so strongly.

The only good thing about the course our nation is beginning to take is the fact that the blurred lines of those who follow Christ and those who claim to follow Him, but really don’t, are beginning to become less blurred.

Those who obey Him, love Him. It’s as plain and simple as that.

You will either join the masses or you will step out and follow Him… you can talk all you want… profess all you want… but your life shows who you are following. If you can unashamedly mock His cross and His grace, ignoring the conforming to His Word… how can you claim to love Him?

Believe me, I understand growing in the LORD, I am growing as well… but growing requires… well growth. Standing with Christ requires taking a stand… taking up your own cross.

If our nation continues on this downward spiral away from who she was created to be will you be one who goes down with the masses or will you be one who steps in the boat with Christ and weather’s the storms to get to the other side with Him… and that being in every area of your life: business, political, and personal?

Oh Father,

Let me not be deceived or washed away in the masses. Let me always keep my eyes on Christ. The lies of Satan and this world are always directed to appeal to our flesh. We as people are too easily swayed when masses begin to cry out. Those who walk in accordance to darkness know this and they use it to their advantage. I often wonder how many that cried “Hosanna!” also cried “Crucify!” as my Savior stood beaten before them? How many just simply went with the crowd? Oh Father, strengthen me that I might always stand with You, even if it means I stand alone. Teach me how to teach others to do the same. Let them see it lived out in my words and my actions. My Jesus I remember now Your words to Peter when he asked you about the purpose and direction of someone else, You simply turned to him and said, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!” (John 21:22). I am not to focus on others. I am not to focus on the crowds. I am to focus only on You and follow only You.

My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,

Amen

Names of God Series, Proven Path Ministries

Names of God: Adonai Kol Erets

The name of God we discussed in our last weeks chapel was Adonai Kol Erets, Lord of All the Earth. I am taking a little liberty with the Hebrew translation as I just looked up the Hebrew words for Lord, all, earth from the verse we will be using to introduce this name of God.

Arise and thresh, daughter of Zion,

For your horn I will make iron

And your hoofs I will make bronze,

That you may pulverize many peoples,

That you may devote to the Lord their unjust gain

And their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.

Micah 4:13

And their wealth to the Adonai of kol the erets…

Now as always for us to grasp the  meaning of this name of God we must put this verse in the context of the whole chapter and the chapter in the context of the whole book, and the book in the context of the entire Word of God. Now I can’t put the entire Bible in the post… but I will put all of Micah 4 in here… trust me it is well worth the read.

And it will come about in the last days that the mountain of the house of the Lord  will be established as the chief of the mountains. It will be raised above the hills, and the peoples will stream to it. Many nations will come and say,

“ Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may teach us about His ways and that we may walk in His paths.”

For from Zion will go forth the law, even the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And He will judge between many peoples and render decisions for mighty, distant nations. Then they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they train for war.

Each of them will sit under his vine and under his fig tree, with no one to make them afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.

Though all the peoples walk each in the name of his god, as for us, we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever.

“In that day,” declares the Lord, “I will assemble the lame and gather the outcasts, even those whom I have afflicted. I will make the lame a remnant and the outcasts a strong nation, and the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion from now on and forever. As for you, tower of the flock, Hill of the daughter of Zion, to you it will come even the former dominion will come, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem. Now, why do you cry out loudly? Is there no king among you, or has your counselor perished, that agony has gripped you like a woman in childbirth?

“ Writhe and labor to give birth, Daughter of Zion, like a woman in childbirth; for now you will go out of the city, dwell in the field, and go to Babylon. There you will be rescued; there the Lord will redeem you from the hand of your enemies.

“And now many nations have been assembled against you who say, ‘Let her be polluted, and let our eyes gloat over Zion.’

“But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord, and they do not understand His purpose; for He has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.

“Arise and thresh, daughter of Zion, for your horn I will make iron and your hoofs I will make bronze, that you may pulverize many peoples, that you may devote to the Lord their unjust gain and their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.

As I read Micah 4:1-13 I can’t help but let verses 12-13 resonate and rest on my heart and mind. It’s just one of those verses that I can grab hold of and stand on through what ever life throws at me.
I read this verse and I thought of my great grandfather sitting on his front porch with his fly swat in hand.  I remembered the way he just patiently sat there… waiting. He didn’t swat wildly at every fly that zoomed by his head. He didn’t have mad flailing arms just trying to whack what ever fly got close. He sat and waited for the flies to get comfortable, waited for them to think he had no clue what what was going on, He sat still and waited until they forgot he was there… and then when several had gathered together in front of him… he quickly, with lightening speed, nailed all of them with one deathly swat.
Our God will destroy His enemies in just this way. I believe that is what God is telling us by this particular name of His, Lord of All the Earth. The leaders of the nations get a big head and actually think they are in control of the world. Nebuchadnezzar thought so at one time as well. He forgot that the power that he had came only because God allowed it to work out His greater purpose and plan.
In Daniel 2 God let Nebuchadnezzar in on a sneak peek of the future of the kingdoms of the world. He gave him a dream and allowed Daniel to interpret to that dream. The dream was of a statue. Here’s a little video that illustrates the dream.

In the dream Nebuchadnezzar learned that he was the head of gold. He learned that after him another nation would come represented by the chest of silver. After this kingdom another would come represented by the belly and thighs of bronze. The legs of iron represented a fourth kingdom and the feet of iron and clay represented a scattering of this fourth kingdom, but then the mountain, formed not of human hands would come and knock this statues feet out from under it and destroy all other kingdoms and this mountain would fill the entire earth never to be destroyed.
If you look through the history books you see that everything described to Nebuchadnezzar by Daniel happened just as God said it would up to the feet of iron and clay. If all that is true then I would bet that big mountain is coming too!
Now Nebuchadnezzar was given this heads up by God and this dream was recorded in the Scriptures. He knew that his kingdom would end… but still he could not get his mind off that head of gold. He grew and grew in arrogance until he actually convinced himself he alone had accomplished his own greatness. God sent old Nebbie a warning in a dream and Daniel interpreted it and begged him to humble himself as he told the king the warning from God… but Nebuchadnezzar could not see past his own glory.
So God put him on his hands and knees in the woods eating grass like an ox for seven years. If the king would not humble himself, then God would do it for him.
After seven years of this Nebuchadnezzar  declared:

“But at the end of that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven

and my reason returned to me,

and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever;

For His dominion is an everlasting dominion,

And His kingdom endures from generation to generation.

All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing,

But He does according to His will in the host of heaven

And among the inhabitants of earth;

And no one can ward off His hand

Or say to Him, ‘ What have You done?’

At that time my reason returned to me. And my majesty and splendor were restored to me

for the glory of my kingdom, and my counselors and my nobles began seeking me out;

so I was reestablished in my sovereignty, and surpassing greatness was added to me.  

Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt and honor the King of heaven,

for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride.

Daniel 4:34-37

Our God is Lord Of All The Earth always… even when it may not look like it to our human eyes. It may appear at times that the world is winning. It may appear that evil rules the day. The kings of the earth may laugh at the Word of God. They might scoff at those who trust in Him. they might try to kill and destroy all that represents His name. They may actually believe He is a myth, a lie, a fable, or just a little god like all the other gods. They may think He is dead, asleep, or just simply doesn’t care anymore… but our God says

“But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord,

And they do not understand His purpose;

Micah 4:12

Proven Path Ministries

Marriage A Joke

 

Feel free to ignore the thirty second ad and then fast forward to the 3min 30 second point of the video.

 

The enemy of our God has made marriage a joke. He has made it a punchline. It began in the sitcoms and stand-up comedy routines. We laughed it right into our homes, minds, and hearts.

The enemy of our God made marriage a joke and then he enticed the world to make divorce easy and acceptable.

America bought it… and the church accepted it.

Now those who don’t want lumped in with the divorce for “incompatibility” or “inconvenience” or “I’m just not in love with them anymore” suffer shame, abuse, and condemnation to hold together a dangerous life-threatening marriage or suffer these because they finally did choose divorce.

And all those who bought the lie, that divorce was a quick, easy, harmless solution to a rough patch in life have now given the enemy his perfect tool to justify in the minds and to entice the world to believe another lie. The lie that there is nothing wrong with homosexual relationships.

America has bought it… and the “church” is accepting it.

The enemy of our God now uses the divorce rate of one-man-one-woman marriage to condone and promote homosexual relationships.

From lie to lie… the enemy of God has taken his time, spun his web, laid down his crumbs, and those who walk not by faith have followed their flesh and fell right into the miry clay pit of death.

To condone and accept homosexual marriage is to condone and accept a person’s eternal condemnation. Christ did not come to this earth and die for the sins of the world to send people to hell… He came to offer them truth and life. He did not condemn the sinner, but He did not walk away and tell them that it was okay either.

He spoke truth… then they had to chose to accept it or ignore it. He remained kind. He maintained compassion. He still offered salvation but He did not bow down to the lie. He willingly suffered the shame of the cross, the cursings of the masses, the plottings of society’s powerful, the betrayal of friends in order to stand on truth and not be moved or swayed… no matter the cost. Our eternal souls were worth it to Him.

Marriage belongs to God.

He created it.

Not the state. Not the federal government.

It was not until the last century that the state got involved in any marriage. Their was no state tax to pay, no legal paper to sign and put on file at the courthouse, no blood test required. It was two people going before God and standing publicly before the witness of their families, that they would become one flesh… until death did them part.

No law had to be passed to make it binding.

God put it together and no man or court could separate it. Personally I think the church needs to separate and return to the covenant. The states and federal government might put together whatever unions their sad little laws can concoct but those who carry the name of Christ need to remember their union is one created by God, not man, it is one man and one woman for one life, it is a covenant not a contract.

Divorce was acceptable in the Old Testament because of the hardness of our hearts. There was no indwelling of the Holy Spirit… there was only the looking forward to the cross. Divorce was allowed as a picture to illustrate God’s divorce from Israel when the hardness of their heart led them to be unfaithful, uncommitted, unloving, and adulterous to their God.

When you look at the saints of God, how many of those recorded in Scripture were divorced? There was only one estranged marriage and that was Hosea… and God had Hosea return to his unfaithful wife and draw her back into faithfulness with his forgiveness toward her, his grace for her, with his unconditional love for her.

Just as God will do with His Israel.

If you carry the name of Christ, you fully possess Him and the power of God dwells within you and your heart is no longer hard… if you indeed belong to Him. You have the power to love, the strength to forgive, the faith to trust, the wisdom to be sure of a commitment before a covenant is formed… counting the cost before you say “I do” and continuing to count that cost as you live out your covenant in faith.

Yet fully desiring to say “I do” because in the bonds of marriage the image of Christ can be clearly displayed to a dying world.
Church… those who carry the name of Christ… you paint a picture with your life. You lead with your life… where are you leading those who watch you?

Do you claim to be a Christian yet have sex outside of the bonds of marriage? Where are you leading that one you are choosing to have sex with? Can you really claim to love them… can you really claim to love God… while grabbing hold of a hand and dancing them straight towards the pit of eternal death for an orgasm?

Especially if that one you are with claims not to be a Christian… is this how you think you can actually lead them to Christ and life… when you are the one who is supposed to know that sin leads to death… and only death?

Come on people, its quite simple.

Either God’s Word is God’s Word or it is not… if you believe Him then obey Him. Your eternity depends on it and the eternity of all those watching you.

 

Confessions of a Christian Wife, Proven Path Ministries

Facebook Party :-)

 

A couple of months ago Eternal Encouragement had a “Facebook Party”. In case you don’t know what a “Facebook Party” is (cause I shore didn’t), it is pretty much an open forum with Eternal Encouragements founder and editor.

Spend this Mother’s Day with your family and then Monday, May 14th between 3pm and 5pm click on over to Eternal Encouragements Facebook page and join in on the party.

I can guarantee that you will receive encouragement. It will be a time of enlightenment and fellowship with other like-minded mom’s that are trying to raise their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Click on over!

Trust me, it will be well worth the time and a perfect way to end your Monday  🙂

 

Children's Ministry, Proven Path Ministries

What Will Be Your Story

 

A good name is better than a good ointment,

and the day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth.

Ecclesiastes 7:1

 

I read this today… this morning in my “quiet time”… and as I read, the power of this verse hit me in a special way.

As I was walking through Hobby Lobby this past weekend I saw a wall art sign that said “Every child is a story yet to be told”. I loved this quote, so I purchased the wall-art and placed it on the children’s information desk wall so that everyone who walked in would see it… and think about it.

I was raised fully aware that I was only as good as my name. My name was my word. My name carried with it my character… whether I liked it or not. I grew up proud to say that I was a Halbrooks, because my father’s name was good. It still is good. I also had a desire to keep that name good. I always knew and carried the weight of the times that I failed to do so… even when I didn’t realize that it mattered.

I have learned in life that there is no drug, no pill, no drink, no pleasure that can take away the pain or shame of a ruined or tarnished name. I truly believe, that deep down that could be the root cause of a lot of addictions and depressions… a ruined name. A name that when uttered by the givers of that name, brings disappointment to them. There are people in this world that when you hear their name you can think of nothing good… and there is no ointment to change that fact.

When that child who carried that name was born, their parents most likely named them with hope that they would be good-hearted, loving, kind individuals. They planned on them growing up, possibly had dreams for this bundle of joy in their arms to change the world one day. I can’t imagine any parent holding their child and looking in their innocent face and dreaming that they would become a meth addict, a rapist, a murderer, a drug dealer, an embezzler, a child sex trafficker, or a man that would have over 11 million people killed just because he could.

As the Children’s Ministry Director at our church I have the joy of being a part of a lot of bundles of joy. I no longer have just my own girls, but I have fifty other stories that I am now privileged to be a part of.

We celebrate the birth of these babies. Then every year after that we celebrate the day of that birth… yet God tells us that the day of our death is the greatest.

Here’s the thing I see…

The day of our death is the tell-tale. The story ends. The day of our birth is a story yet to be told. We are given a name. That name may come with bad connotations already attached to it because of our parents… or that name may come with high standards also because of our parents.

As we carry that name given at our birth, we carry all the things that come with it.

But here’s the offer that God gives us.

Death.

Death to this name that is given at our birth and an offer to carry His name in this new life in Him. Then when we leave this world we get a new name that is given by our Heavenly Father.

Maybe you have tarnished a name that was good when you got it or maybe you have lived under the condemnation of a name that was already tarnished. There is only One who can fix it. He offers His name in exchange for yours.

He wants to add you to His story.

And by adding you to His story, He changes your story. When He changes your story then you can end well. No matter how your story began, no matter how many twists and turns and chapters have been written, no matter how many horrors are recorded in your book… His book will pull it all together in the end. The day of your death will be better than the day of your birth and when the last chapter of your story is read and the book is closed… those left to read it will only be able to say “wow… what a story.”