Category Archives: Proven Path Ministries

Proven Path Ministries

Various Trials

In this you greatly rejoice,

even though now for a little while, if necessary,

you have been distressed by various trials, 

so that the proof of your faith, 

being more precious than gold which is perishable, 

even though tested by fire, 

may be found to result in praise and glory and honor

at the revelation of Jesus Christ 

1 Peter 1:6-7

Trials come in various forms. 

The word various comes from an interesting Greek term, poikolos, which means “variegated” or “many colored.” We also get the term “polka dot” from it. 

Trials come in a variety of forms and colors. They are different, just as we are different. Something that would hardly affect you might knock the slats out from under me—and vice versa. But God offers special grace to match every shade of sorrow. . . .

This variety of trials is like different temperature settings on God’s furnace. The settings are adjusted to burn off our dross, to temper us or soften us according to what meets our highest need. 

It is in God’s refining fire that the authenticity of our faith is revealed. And the purpose of these fiery ordeals is that we may come forth as purified gold, a shining likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.

~ Swindoll

 

I read this and immediately my mind went to Joseph. Joseph received a coat from his father…

 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons,

because he was the son of his old age;

and he made him a varicolored tunic.

Genesis 37:3

This coat was a coat of various colors… I have always been taught and heard others teach about this coat was so special because it was like no one else’s… it was a coat for the rich, the special, the royal…

Maybe we are teaching and being taught all wrong.

Maybe this coat given to Joseph by his father was to point to the various trials that Joseph would endure to refine him. Maybe this coat was a message from his Heavenly Father to say, Joseph I love you… and I have great plans for you… but first you must face many trials that I might get you ready to accomplish My purpose. You must learn to trust Me and live by the faith in the promises that I have given you even though you do not see Me or hear from Me.

Joseph received the coat of many colors before he received the visions from God that revealed his brothers bowing down to him. I don’t believe this was an accident… everything is in order of God’s sovereignty.

First know that I love you. You are my child.

Second know that various trials will come, but every trial has a purpose.

Third if you trust Me, if you persevere through the trials, remembering that I love you, then you will obtain the promise.

and though you have not seen Him, you love Him,

and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him,

you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 

obtaining as the outcome of your faith

the salvation of your souls.

1 Peter 1:8-9

Precious one… I don’t know what you are going through. I don’t know what sufferings you have faced, are facing, or will face in the future… but I do know that God loves you… is and will be with you… and He alone is big enough to carry you. No matter how great the hurt, His grace is greater. No matter how raw the pain, His balm is soothing. No matter how deep the degradation, His justice will redeem it. No matter how often the injury returns to haunt, His authority will override it. No matter how great the damage to the mind, body, and soul, His touch will restore it. No matter the reason behind it, His mercy can handle it.

Names of God Series, Proven Path Ministries

Names of God: Xulon Zoe

So far in our study of the names of Christ we have looked at Huios and Eschatos Adam. Today we are going to look at a few names of Christ . Our main focus will be on one name, but there are two names that we will look at that relate to our focus name.

We find our name of Christ today in the book of Revelation…

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. 

To him who overcomes,

I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God

Revelation 2:7

Now last week as we looked at Eschatos Adam I used the illustration of the family tree… and here’s the thing our Jesus is indeed the Tree of Life, the Xulon Zoe. We will dig a little deeper into Xulon Zoe later in this post.

Now there are two things that help make a tree a tree.  For one a tree has branches…

  In that day the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth will be the pride and the adornment of the survivors of Israel. It will come about that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy—everyone who is recorded for life in Jerusalem. (Isaiah 4:2-3)

Then say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold, a man whose name is Branch, for He will branch out from where He is; and He will build the temple of the Lord. (Zechariah 6:12)

Jesus is our Xulon Zoe and  He is our Tsemach, our Branch, He is the One who reaches out from where He is and builds the temple of the Lord.

Now another thing that makes a tree a tree is that it has roots. You see not only is He our Xulon Zoe and our Tsemach, He is also our Rhiza.

and one of the elders said to me, “Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.” (Revelation 5:5) 

“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” Revelation 22:16

Here’s the awesome thing about our Jesus,: He is the whole tree! He is the Branch and He is the Root. He is not just the descendant of David, He is also the root of him. He is the Tree of Life. He is the One who builds the temple of the Lord.

Now there was a descendant of David who built a temple to the Lord long ago. His name was Solomon. We read in 1 Kings 6 how Solomon also used branches and trees to build this temple. These were trees from this earth. These were trees that gave their life to build the temple. They were cut down and used to lay the foundations and build the walls and all the furniture and the altars and all else that was in the temple. These trees were strong, but they were not eternal. They were of this earth and this temple was destroyed.

The temple built by the Branch from the Tree of Life however will never be destroyed…

With this in mind lets dig a little deeper into Xulon Zoe…

Xulon  is Greek for tree, but this tree is not just any tree, this word xulon in Revelation 2:7 means: wood, that which is made of wood, as a beam from which any one is suspended, a gibbet, a cross, a log or timber with holes in which the feet, hands, neck of prisoners were inserted and fastened with thongs, a fetter, or shackle for the feet

Zoe is Greek for life, and this word zoe in Revelation 2:7 means: life, the state of one who is possessed of vitality or is animate, every living soul, of the absolute fullness of life

You see my friend the Tree of Life is the Cross of Christ…

You see this son of David, the Root of David, this Branch, this Tree of Life, our Christ also gave His life to build a temple of the Lord. He however did not cut another down, but He Himself was cut down. This Tree of Life was cut down and laid, but He has risen… and the Branch of this Tree just keeps going out from where He is and building the temple of the Lord. And where is this temple? Who is this temple?

Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
(1 Corinthians 3:16)

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?
(1 Corinthians 6:20)

The temple that is built from Xulon Zoe can never be destroyed… not even the gates of hell can prevail against it.

 

Proven Path Ministries

October Heart

Today is October 4th and so today I will focus on Psalm 101:4…

 

A perverse heart shall depart from me;

I will know no evil.

Psalm 101:4

A perverse heart shall depart from me… now for something to depart from you it had to first be with you.

And He was saying, “That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.” (Mark 7:20-23)

Perverse in this verse is `iqqesh and it means twisted, distorted, crooked, perverse, perverted. 

A perverse heart takes God’s truth and twists it and distorts it and makes it crooked.

But Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze on him, and said, “You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord? Acts 13:9-10

This has been the problem since the beginning…

Satan was the first to pervert it and he has been helping man do it since the fall. If we look at the bottom line there is always only one reason to pervert the truth of God… selfish gain. It was the reason Satan did it… it’s the reason man does it. It’s the reason men do it from the pulpit, it’s the reason politicians do it from the podium… to get their own way, to be their own god, to get people to follow them and do their will… not God’s.

‘Come now and hear what the message is which comes forth from the Lord.’ They come to you as people come, and sit before you as My people and hear your words, but they do not do them, for they do the lustful desires expressed by their mouth, and their heart goes after their gain. (Ezekiel 33:30-31)

Our God calls out to us to be saved from this perverse generation… He desperately wants us to walk in His truth.

For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!” So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. (Acts 2:39-41)

I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears. (Acts 20:29-31)

God has called out to us through His law, through His prophets, and through His Son to give us the truth, so that this perverse heart of ours might depart from us. He had made the way for a new heart to be given us… a heart that desires to walk the straight and clear path to our God.

Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. (Ezekiel 36:26-27)

In the NASB the phrase “know that I am the LORD” is used seventy-seven times. The phrase “know Me” is used sixteen times. The phrase “the name of the LORD” is used one hundred and four times.

Do you think God wants you to know Him?

God wants you to know HIM. He wants you to know Him with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul. He wants your spirit to be one with His Spirit. He want you to know Him and all that He is. All His majesty. All His glory. All His grace. All His love. All His ways.

He does not want you to know evil.

The word know in this verse is yada and it means to know, to learn to know, to know by experience, to be acquainted with, to be skillful in, to be or become known, to make known…

The perverse heart gets to know evil. The perverse heart makes evil known. The perverse heart knows evil by experience and it is well acquainted with it.

God wants you to be well acquainted with Him. He wants you to make Him known. He wants you to know Him by experience. He wants you to learn to know Him more. He wants you to grow in knowledge of Him every minute of every day…

He wants you to prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain. (Philippians 2:14-16)

We live in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation… but it does not have to live in us.

Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them. For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting. For the report of your obedience has reached to all; therefore I am rejoicing over you, but I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.

The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. (Romans 16:17-20)

Proven Path Ministries

October Worth

 

October 3rd brings me to the third verse of Psalm 101…

I will set no worthless thing before my eyes;
I hate the work of those who fall away;
It shall not fasten its grip on me.

Psalm 101:3

What causes us to fall away?

When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes,… Genesis 3:6

“The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! Matthew 6:22-23

What do you choose to put before your eyes?

The word eyes here in Psalm 101:3 is more than just the two eyes in the front of your face.. this word includes your spiritual and mental faculties. What do you pump into your mind and your spirit? Have you really stopped and been honest with yourself and examined the connection with what you choose to watch and hear with your thoughts and actions?

Jesus came to open blind eyes so that we might see sin for what it is… and turn from it, not park our butts down in front of it and be entertained with it and say “well I know it is wrong and am aware of it and I won’t do that so it’s okay for me to be a sideline participant.”

Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away. Luke 8:13

But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons… 1 Timothy 4:1

I find it sad when we spend more time paying attention to deceitful spirits and the doctrines of demons than we do the Word of God and then we wonder why we can’t crucify our flesh and live holy lives pleasing to God… My friend what temptation are you struggling with today? What do you put before your eyes and what do you pour into your ears daily?

Do you even care that you sin?

The word fall in Psalm 101:3 means swerver, rebel, revolter, deeds that swerve…

When I was sixteen I had a few vehicle accidents… the majority of those wrecks came as I was rebelling against the posted law and then swerved…  I knew the law… but ignored it… and I crashed. Our ignoring and rebelling against the Law of God and the Grace and Truth revealed to us in His Son will have the same results. Eventually our rebellion will become evident we will attempt to swerve to miss the consequences of it and we will crash and our lives will be wrecked.

How thankful I am for the jaws of life that are in the hands my Christ…

When I wholly surrendered to my Savior in December 2001 there were things I just could not physically stomach to pass through my eyes and ears… it physically made me sick and ripped at my heart and grieved my spirit. Those same things still do today… my heart has grown more tender as I walk closer to my Christ and go deeper in His Word.

Sin separates me from Him… and I like being as close to Him as I possibly can.

Psalm 101:3  goes on to say “I hate the work of those who fall away…”. Notice he says I hate the work…  he does not say he hates the those.

My husband laughs at me because he has caught my “head shake“. Apparently every time I see the work of those who fall away, or see the deceitful spirits and the doctrines of demons and the things that this world just throws before our eyes and shoves in our ears before we even have an opportunity to run away I frustratedly shake my head. I have to close my lips tight and breathe deep because the holy rage is building up within me and I want to erupt at what I see and hear… but I shake my head and breath.

Here is what my head shake says… “It shall not fasten its grip on me“

I am shaking it off like the dust from my feet…

I will take no part in it…

I will not knowingly support it or encourage it. I will not eat at Hardees because of their ads. I will not go to certain movies or listen to certain groups because of their content. I will not shop at certain stores because of the trash they want my children to wear. I will not get sucked into certain books because of the files they will take up in my mind that belong to the Spirit for the storage of God’s Word.

There is much in this world that I can not control… but what I can I will… for the glory of my God and for the love of my Jesus.

My Jesus said I was worth His death… so my Jesus is worth my life.

Proven Path Ministries

October Waltz

I still am singing my October song.

I still am praising Him for His lovingkindness and justice. Today I continue my song with a waltz added in as I sing…

I will give heed to the blameless way.
When will You come to me?
I will walk within my house in the integrity of my heart.

Psalm 101:2

Our October song begins with praise but our praise songs to God are empty and void of any meaning if we ignore the walk, if we ignore the waltz.

We sit at the feet of our Instructor and we listen as He teaches us the steps… 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1…2…3 and we watch His waltz and we see that it is flawless, beautiful, it is blameless.

Blameless in Psalm 101:2 is tamiym and it means complete, whole, entire, sound, unimpaired, having integrity, entirely in accord with truth and fact.

If we are to dance with this Instructor then we must take heed of His steps and follow His feet, for His steps are the truth and fact of the dance… He leads, we are led.

So we sit and listen to Him teach and watch His flowing movements of grace and like a young lady at her first party we sit quietly and watch the One who has caught our eye and our heart yearns for Him to come to us and ask us to join Him in the dance. We smile shyly and look away when His eyes catch ours because we fear rejection because we feel so unworthy to dance with Him,  yet we want to stand up like a kindergarten girl with our arm flailing in the air “PICK ME!”

Everyone wants to dance with the Instructor… with the One who knows exactly what to do and when to do it… but will you be so bold as to run into His arms when He looks your way… The waltz must have one with strong and sure arms to command the dance and there are no arms stronger or surer.

But there is more to the waltz with the Instructor… when He picks you and He takes you in His embrace and then you go out in His knowledge of the dance into your own house… into the world… will you practice by heeding His blameless steps? When you have danced with the Instructor, when you have learned from His steps… He expects you to continue in His teachings, to dance the way He taught you to dance. To take to heart His lessons with integrity.

Will you practice your waltz within your house in the integrity of your heart?

Will you take your son, your daughter, your husband, your wife in your unsteady embrace and practice the steps with them? Will you today extend your arms and ready your feet and take a waltz through your house? Will you sing your October song and sing of His lovingkindness and justice and praise Him as you dance this waltz in the life you have been given…

Did you know the…

Waltz is a smooth progressive dance characterized by long, flowing movements, continuous turns, and rise & fall. Graceful and elegant, Waltz dancers glide around the floor almost effortlessly. When first introduced into the English ballrooms in the early 1800’s, the Waltz was denounced by both church and state for its vulgarity and immorality… this was, after all, the first time society had seen this outrageous dance position, with the man holding the lady so close to his body. ~BallroomDancers.com 

Our October song of praise must be given as we are surrendered into the arms of the One who who holds us close to His body and we must let Him lead our October waltz and guide our steps. When we are held close in His body then the continuous turns and rise and falls of our dance are seen by those watching to be taken with steps of grace and elegance and they will appear effortless as we glide in the strong knowing arms of our God.

Dear one let us never forget that God has made it quite clear that His body is the church…

so that He might sanctify her,

having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 

that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory,

having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing;

but that she would be holy and blameless

Ephesians 5:26-27

 

Proven Path Ministries

October Song

 

I will sing of lovingkindness and justice,
To You, O Lord, I will sing praises.
I will give heed to the blameless way.
When will You come to me?
I will walk within my house in the integrity of my heart.
I will set no worthless thing before my eyes;
I hate the work of those who fall away;
It shall not fasten its grip on me.
A perverse heart shall depart from me;
I will know no evil.
Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him I will destroy;
No one who has a haughty look and an arrogant heart will I endure.

My eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me;
He who walks in a blameless way is the one who will minister to me.
He who practices deceit shall not dwell within my house;
He who speaks falsehood shall not maintain his position before me.
Every morning I will destroy all the wicked of the land,
So as to cut off from the city of the Lord all those who do iniquity.

Psalm 101

Today is October 1st. The 10th month, the 1st day. So I turned to Psalm 101 this morning…

My family closed out the month of September in a blur… church Sunday morning with a lesson on Job and Rev 16:1-11, then a birthday party, a church picnic, and a funeral visitation. In one day we celebrated God’s sovereignty in the midst of suffering and the midst of judgment and the midst of life and death… I am thankful that I know that He is sovereign and that I am learning little by little exactly what that means… because it really is hard to grasp a true hold on most of the time. It’s one of those things like eternity… to think on it overwhelms every part of you and you just have to shake your head in surrender and bow your knee in trust.

So this morning, this month, Psalm 101 is my song. My October song. There are eight verses in this Psalm… on the eighth day Abraham was commanded to circumcise his Isaac… the eighth day the sign of the covenant was to be administered. On the seventh day God rested… and at the seventh bowl God says He is finished… It is done. So the eighth is the day when all that is flesh and unclean is cut away… and all that remains is the promise of His coming.

So these first eight days of October… I am focusing on one verse a day of my October song… join me?

 I will sing of lovingkindness and justice,
To You, O Lord, I will sing praises.

Psalm 101:1

Today let us praise Him…

Names of God Series, Proven Path Ministries

Names of God: Eschatos Adam

 

 

The name of God the Son that we looked at our first day in co-op chapel was Huios. We saw how Jesus was the Son, not because He was formed in Mary’s womb, but because He always was the Son. He was the Son of God who was sent to earth by the Father.

The next name we looked at next was Eschatos Adam. 

We find this name of Jesus in 1 Corinthians 15…

So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul.”

The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 

However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural;

then the spiritual. 

The first man is from the earth, earthy;

the second man is from heaven.

1 Corinthians 15:45-47

Jesus is the Last Adam.

The word last in this verse is Eschatos and it means extreme last, last in time or in place, last in a series of places, last in temporal succession, last referring to time, of space, the uttermost part, the end, the end of the earth, of rank, of worth,… the extreme last   

In other words Jesus is IT.

I am going to pull from a study I wrote titled “Between the Trees”  to help illustrate…

Now we are all, every one of us on this earth, born in the family tree of the first Adam. This family tree is dysfunctional to say the least. This family tree is full of adulterers, liars, murderers, fornicators, hypocrites, idolaters, pagans, homosexuals, prostitutes, thieves, rebels without causes of any worth. This family tree is infected with a deep rooted sin disease that manifests itself in horrible ways with grave consequences and this tree is dead and is dying and eventually will be completely destroyed…

Now there is another tree… God’s family tree. The only way to have access to this family tree is through holiness, righteousness, justice, love, and obedience.

God offered those in the family tree of the first Adam a way to get to His tree. He laid down stepping stones. He laid down The Law. Walking in the Law leads us to the tree… but there’s a catch… if we ever miss a stone or break a stone… we plummet to our death… because there is a huge chasm between the trees.

You see no one in the family tree of the first Adam could ever make it all the across the chasm… eventually they would miss a stone and missing one stone is as bad as missing all the stones, because just one leads to our death. So those in this family tree of the first Adam called out on the name of the Lord… and the Lord heard their cry.

God took His own Huios from His family tree and sent Him to the family tree of the first Adam… and He became the Eschatos Adam.

For the first time in history someone in the tree of the first Adam could make it across the chasm… He could walk every stone and He laid the bridge, He made the way for all who follow His path, to the Father’s family tree. He alone can give us the right to this family tree… He is the One who set up the adoption agency and paid all the fees to give us the right to become children of God.

He is the Eschatos, the last, there is no other Adam to come, and no other from the first Adam’s family tree who can deliver us. He is IT.

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned— for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.

But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many. The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification. For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 5:12-21

Gabby Mom Posts, Proven Path Ministries

Never Gonna Happen

 

I received this Eternal Encouragement product with rolling eyes as I read the title of the product I was to review. I really had no desire to read the piece. The topic of this months review is also the topic of one of my and my husband’s most repeated place of conflict. We have two big topics of conflict that all of our disagreements seem to center around… communication skills and today’s review topic… time management.

 

I so look forward to eternity because time will no longer be an issue. I mean really, 24 hours in one day just is not a lot of time… especially when this body of mine thinks it has to sleep… I liked it much better when I was younger and could function magnificently on just a couple of hours of sleep… now for some reason both my mind and body rebel against me if I ever get under 5 hours.

So reluctantly I opened the file and began to read… with all my excuses and reasons for knowing that whatever Lorrie had to share would be completely irrelevant to our family and especially to me… because she has no clue what our life is like. A schedule, a routine, well it’s never gonna happen in this house.

Ah yes, my rebellious spirit at work!

So I began to read (while in the midst of my latest marital disagreement on time and my husband’s concern of my mismanagement and over-commitments) and… well… ugh.

Would you believe that Lorrie had the audacity to address every single excuse I had… I mean really, the nerve of the woman!

So attention moms this is probably well worth the read… It was for me.

I am well aware that each day the Lord gives me is a gift and it is meant to be lived purposefully and for His glory. These hours are His… I am simply a steward of them. I must come each day before Him and sit at His feet to see what He would have me do with each day… but I also should come and sit at His feet and ask Him to help me to direct each week, each month, each year…

  The mind of man plans his way,
But the Lord directs his steps.

Proverbs 16:9

Did you know that the word “time” is used at least 726 times in the Word of God? At least 726 Scriptures refer to time… that’s crazy… crazy and I am guessing that makes it important as well. So my first time management mission will be to manage the time to put together a time management schedule under the advice that Lorrie shares…  and well we will see. I know that I am tired of being tired, and tired of being late because it took me at least three trips back into the house to actually get everything in the car so that I could even leave to meet one of my commitments, and I am tired of time just getting away from me…

   There is an appointed time for everything.

And there is a time for every event under heaven—

Ecclesiastes 3:1

God assures us that we have plenty of time for everything that He has purposed and for every event under heaven… If He said it I believe it so I guess I better get a little more serious and purposeful about this time thing.

*** I received this product from Eternal Encouragement for an honest review.

 

 

 

Children's Ministry, Names of God Series, Proven Path Ministries

Names of God: Huios

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Homeschool Co-op has begun again… 🙂

My girls love co-op. And well so do I. With the beginning of co-op also comes chapel. This year in chapel I have chosen to continue the Names of God series.

 

Let them praise the name of the Lord,
For His name alone is exalted;
His glory is above earth and heaven.

Psalm 148:13

 

It is the names of God that represent His identity. He has given us His names that we might know Him. This year in chapel our focus will be on the names of Christ.

 

And there is salvation in no one else;

for there is no other name under heaven

that has been given among men by which we must be saved.

Acts 4:12

 

Knowing who Jesus is and who we profess Him to be His crucial…

 

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi,

He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 

And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah;

but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” 

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 

And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona,

because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you,

but My Father who is in heaven. 

I also say to you that you are Peter,

and upon this rock I will build My church;

and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.

Matthew 16:13-18

 

So our focus this season will be to get to know our Savior a little more and a little deeper.

The name of Christ that we will look at first is Huios… this name is Greek for Son.

Knowing and believing that Jesus is indeed the Huios of God is huge. As we read in Matthew 16 we see that knowing this and believing this and confessing this only comes through the revelation of God Himself. You just don’t “come up” with this truth. Not only that, it is upon this truth that the Church of God stands and not even the gates of hell will prevail against this very confession.

Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.

Here’s the kicker.

Jesus did not become the Son when He was conceived in Mary’s womb.

And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,

and you shall name Him Jesus

Luke 1:31

The word conceive in Luke 1:31 is sullambano and it comes from the word lambano and it means to take up a thing to be carried, to take upon one’s self, to take possession of, to receive what is offered, to receive a person, to give him access to one’s self.

In Galatians 4:4 we read

 But when the fullness of the time came,

God sent forth His Son, 

born of a woman, born under the Law,  

You see the Son was sent…

Jesus did not become the Son of God in Mary’s womb, He always was the Son of God and Mary simply received Him and carried Him. He left the glory of heaven and became the prisoner of Mary’s womb in order to become the prisoner of this flesh of ours in order to set not just Himself free but all who would believe and receive Him unto themselves… this Christ, this Huios of the Living God.

  By this the love of God was manifested in us,

that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world

so that we might live through Him. 

In this is love, not that we loved God,

but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

1 John 4:9-10

I shared in Chapel about how when I read in the Old Testament all the focus on the firstborn son I always wondered what the big deal was. Why such focus on this firstborn son? I mean over and over it again the scriptures would talk about how the life and strength and dignity and power of a man was in His firstborn son… and then it hit me… it should have done so long ago… but I think God gets parental joy by giving us gifts of His revealed truth in spurts just so He can see us smile at His greatness and the simple fact that in His awesomeness He still has such amazing love for us…

You see everything has always pointed to Christ, to the Son.

God wants us to see that His power, His life, His strength, His dignity, His might, His authority is in His Son. It always was and it always will be…

   For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven. 

Colossians 1:16-20

 

 

So precious one… the question is who do you say that He is?

 

Proven Path Ministries

SHEPHERD’S HEART

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