Advent Study, Proven Path Ministries

The Beginning of Hope

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The first time the word hope is used in the Scriptures is in the book of Ruth, but where is the picture of hope first seen in the Scriptures?

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day. 

Genesis 1:1-5

In my book Devotions from Genesis I shared how I thought the fall of Satan occurred between Genesis 2 and Genesis 3. Somewhere between God saying, it was very good and reading now the serpent was more crafty… 

I still believe his fall to the earth could have happened at that time… but as I have grown in my knowledge of the Word I believe the rebellion in the heavens occurred right here in the beginning.

I also believe here in the beginning is our first picture of hope.

Satan sets himself up as an equal of God, a created being demanding to be worshipped as the Creator. He gathers followers as he stands in this rebellion. This one who thought he himself could ascend above the throne of the Most High and could set himself above the stars of God…

God creates the heavens and the earth.

The word and in Genesis 1:1 is eth.

In the Hebrew this word and is in the accusative case. 

The accusative case (abbreviated acc) of a noun is the grammatical case used to mark the direct object of a transitive verb. The same case is used in many languages for the objects of (some or all)prepositions. It is a noun that is having something done to it, usually joined (such as in Latin) with the nominative case. The syntactical functions of the accusative consist of designating the immediate object of an action, the intended result, the goal of a motion, and the extent of an action. (information from wikipedia)

This Hebrew word eth is apparent contracted from ‘owth in the demonstrative sense of entity; properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)

The Hebrew word owth means sign, mark, miracle and it probably comes from ‘uwth (in the sense of appearing); a signal (literally or figuratively), as a flag, beacon, monument, omen, prodigy, evidence, etc. — mark, miracle, (en)sign, token.

Now why on earth did I just take you down this path of definitions… just hang with me… and know that I am not a scholar, this is just the thoughts of a small town girl living in love with the Word.

Let us just suppose that the great rebellion occurred in the highest heavens and in this rebellion came darkness… the separation of God from His rebelling creation. In this God forms this heaven and this earth. This heaven and earth created as a sign, a monument, a mark, evidence of the rebellion.

Now the Spirit of God hovers over the formless and void and dark earth… the surface of the deep darkness… and God says no. No it will not remain in formless, void, darkness… Let there be light.

Let there be hope!

Can you see it precious one? Can you see the glory of our God, in His omnipotent power, the beautiful workings of His hands of mercy and grace and life and light as He works the wonders of the universe? I am convinced that there is so much more to this story of creation and darkness and light and good and evil than will ever be revealed to us here in this mortality… but something in the depths of my being knows that it is an epic tale of the utmost proportions. One that our finite minds cannot even begin to comprehend and into the ages of the ages we will sit at the feet of our Elohim and hang on His every word as He tells us of the story behind The Story.

God separated the light from the darkness… the word separated here is bayin and it means between, an interval, a space between. 

Darkness might be here. This rebellion has occurred, but there would always be a space between the light and the darkness… a chasm so great that the two would never be able to dwell together. The earth would be a sign, a mark, a monument to this separation. This creation, would be an interval of time between the rebellion in the heavens and the complete destruction of the rebels, but the effects of their rebellion would be carried out to completion as would the redemption of the light of all creation.

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 

Romans 8:18-21

Here lies the beautiful picture of hope… let there be light.

We reside here in this interval, this space between. We dwell here today on this earth, this monument, this object of the action of the verb created, the intended result, the goal of a motion, and the extent of an action. The action that the Spirit of God hovers upon calling out for us, those created in His image, to come to the light.

 This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.

John 3:19-20

Here lies the hope…

Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

John 8:12

 

Wait there’s more… The Beginning of Hope Part 2

 

Advent Study, Proven Path Ministries

Candle of Hope

The first Sunday in the month of December begins Advent. Just in case you are wondering what this whole advent thing is, let’s go to wikipedia.

Advent is a season observed in many Western Christian churches as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus atChristmas. The term is an anglicized version of the Latin word adventus, meaning “coming”.

Latin adventus is the translation of the Greek word parousia, commonly used to refer to the Second Coming of Christ. For Christians, the season of Advent anticipates the coming of Christ from two different perspectives. The season offers the opportunity to share in the ancient longing for the coming of the Messiah, and to be alert for his Second Coming.

One tradition accompanying Advent is the Advent wreath.

Adventskranz 1. Advent

Four or five candles depending on how many Sundays is used and each candle has a specific meaning.

The readings for the first Sunday in Advent relate to the old testament patriarchs who were Christ’s ancestors, so some call the first advent candle that of hope.

I have looked up a few advent readings for 2013, but they all began in the New Testament so I am going for the challenge of putting together my own readings this week to share with you. They will all come from the Old Testament. They will all also come from those who are revealed to us as the lineage of Christ according the flesh.

When I looked up the word hope in the Scriptures, I discovered that the first occurrence of this word, according to the NASB, is in the book of Ruth. Ruth is the great-grandmother of King David who is in the lineage of Christ. How fitting that the first occurrence of the word hope would be concerning a woman who would bear a child, who would one day bear a child, who would bear The Child.

Return, my daughters! Go, for I am too old to have a husband. If I said I have hope, if I should even have a husband tonight and also bear sons, would you therefore wait until they were grown? 

Ruth 1:12-13

The word for hope here in the Hebrew is tiqvah and it means cord. Figuratively it means expectation, hope, live, thing that I long for. In this verse Naomi is speaking to Ruth and to her other daughter-in-law as well. Naomi has decided that her situation is hopeless, and that these two young women need to return to their parents house and go on about their lives.

However, Ruth will not hear of it.

But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may the Lord do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me.”

Ruth 1:16-17

Ruth did not know what the future held, but Ruth held on to Naomi. She refused to walk away from this woman and leave her all alone. She would go with her, husband or no husband. Naomi had lost hope, but Ruth had not. I often wonder what kind of life Ruth had before she met Naomi’s family. What had this Moabite woman been rescued from as she became the bride of this Israelite man?

The Moabites worshiped a god named Chemosh. Chemosh had a taste for blood.  In 2 Kings 3:27 we find that human sacrifice was a part of the rites of Chemosh. What would it have been like to be the child in a home that sacrificed their children into the arms of a fired filled false deity? I can’t even imagine being raised in that type of culture.

Can you just imagine this woman who has known child sacrifice as normal, meeting this family who serves the One True God who forbids such rites and values life? What would it have been like to learn about a God that commanded His people to love Him and to love their neighbor? What would it have been like for Ruth to meet a God who had revealed Himself as a God of compassion, mercy, and kindness?

Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished…

Exodus 34:6-7

I can almost hear the inner thoughts of Ruth. Leave Naomi? Leave their God? Leave this Hope?

No, leave Ruth would not.

She did not know what the future held as she walked into Bethlehem with this woman she now claimed as her own mother, but she knew she would keep walking forward into the unknown before she even considered turning back to the past.

Hope is found in the future. Hope is found pressing forward. Hope is trusting in something yet to come, but walking in full assurance that it is indeed to come.

And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.

Romans 8:23-25

Ruth had been given a first fruit of God when she entered into this family. She received her first taste of something so beautiful and tender that even though she groaned in this present loss of her husband, her brother-in-law, and her father-in-law facing, this groaning was worth the hope that she had found in this family.

She could not see what was coming next, but she was learning about this God of her deceased husband. She was learning about this God of her mother-in-law Naomi, and she wanted this God to be her God. She wanted this family to be her family.

She wanted this Hope to be her hope. She had grabbed hold of the cord of Christ. She grabbed hold of the scarlet thread of redemption that has woven its way all through history. She grabbed hold of Hope and she was not letting go.

As we close out this year we are one year closer to the return of our Lord. As you consider His advent, His coming, are there things that you have placed your hope in other than Him? What or who are you clinging to? Have you said goodbye to the past and grabbed hold of the redemptive cord of Christ? With perseverance are you eagerly watching for Him?

Confessions of a Christian Wife, Proven Path Ministries

Have You Tried It?

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For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes

Romans 1:16

Last night I finally got the opportunity to watch this “I am Second” video.

I love how this video begins… a reminder that we all are going to die. This is the bottom line of us all. So I ask you… what are your struggling against and struggling for? What is your focus in this world? What is your goal to achieve… and why is it your goal?

As I watched… I loved also the blessing of seeing the  heart of Mrs Kay. In the show they make her appear a little “cookey” as we might say here in the South… but make no bones about it… she is one of the strongest women you will probably ever meet. In a day where the thought of standing by your man appears to be an ancient concept. In a day where the thought of a marriage not being worth it, if it is hard… we see a different story in her.

Where in the Word does it say if it is hard it is not worth it? Where is it written that a relationship that requires the actual use of the fruits of the Spirit is not working? Where is it written that it will take anything less than humble submission to the Word of God and submission to the will of the Spirit of God to walk in love and live out love (that is God’s definition of love, not the world’s) in our families?

Where is that written?

What relationships are you walking out on because you can’t take it?

What relationships are you not handling the way God commands us to in His Word because you can’t take doing it God’s way?

Have you even tried doing it God’s way? Not the way a pastor advised you, or a Sunday School teacher, or a person at work, but the way the Word of God said… you just might find He was right all along.

 

Have you missed the gospel?

Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

1 Corinthians 15:1-5

Children's Ministry, Confessions of a Christian Wife, Proven Path Ministries

Media Manipulations

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There is a commercial on the television circuit right now that makes mine and my husband’s blood boil and our neck do that twitching thing… well there are actually many that put this red head in a fired up let-me-tell-you-what tizzy of emotion. However the one in particular today is this one…

 

 

My husband and I saw this commercial, and our 12 year old and 9 year old girls were sitting in the room with us when we saw it the first time, my husband just looked at our 12 year old and said, “Yeh. Go ahead and try that. See how far it gets you.”

Guess what family doesn’t buy Yoplait anymore. That’s right. This one.

I was reminded of this day in our family after I read this quote in a post about teaching strong-willed children.

When a parent refuses to accept his child’s defiant challenge, something changes in their relationship. The youngster begins to look at his mother and father with disrespect; they are unworthy of her allegiance. More important, she wonders why they would let her do such harmful things if they really loved her. The ultimate paradox of childhood is that boys and girls want to be led by their parents but insist that their mothers and fathers earn the right to lead them.

~ Dr James Dobson

The look on this teenage girl’s face as she speaks about her mother and her mother’s authority stirs something up in my spirit that makes me want to come through that tv and adjust her attitude myself. The fact that our media plays this rebellion up and then has the audacity to act shocked over the bully trend that is raging through our schools… the defiance of the students in the classroom… the lack of respect for authority…

Why would the children raised on constant media and music that teaches them that parents are idiots or completely absent and that teachers and principals are fools or downright tyrannical power trippers looking for kids to control because they have not enough backbone to stand up to their peers… why on earth would these children respect authority or other weaker students?

We are where we are in this day because of what we have allowed.

Watch over your heart with all diligence,
For from it flow the springs of life.
Put away from you a deceitful mouth
And put devious speech far from you.

Proverbs 4:22-24

The girl in that Yoplait commercial has a deceitful mouth and devious speech… When was the last time you sat down and watched what your kids were watching… I don’t mean with them. I mean when they have gone to bed, when they are not in the room… sit down and analytically watched what they watch to see what is being poured into their hearts and minds in your home, under the safety of your roof, within the fortress of your home? What outside influences are you willingly allowing on your watch?

Just imagine if you are walking in the woods with your children, if you are on a nature hike searching out for flowers and different types of leaves… your kids are looking for the pretty things but what are you on the look out for?

Snakes, spiders, bobcats, bears, mountain lions, poison oak, poison ivy, bees, wasps, hornets, and any other predators or poisons…

It is no different in our homes. Our homes are not the place to put our guard down and our feet up. We have to be on the look out for predators and it is not time to rest until the area has been searched out and declared safe. We have to guard our children’s hearts and we have to teach them how to guard their own in the process.

As the mouth reveals what is the heart, the ear determines what goes into it.

~ Bruce K. Waltke

My challenge to you as a parent… sit down watch and listen to what is going into your child’s ears on a regular basis… and as you listen evaluate whether of not these are things you want coming out of your child’s mouth and determining their actions…

NO it is not just a tv show, it is not just a movie, and it is not just a song.

Listen, O my people, to my instruction;
Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.

Psalm 78

We live in an era where there is this crazy thought that we as parents have to give our children “privacy” and we are not to question them in certain areas of their life… that we are supposed to let them storm out the door and say they don’t want to talk about it and give them their “space” and allow them to “express” themselves…

We live in an era that tells us it’s healthy to pull our kids off our legs screaming for us for dear life when they are only two, three, four years old and know that they are fixing to be separated, for over eight hours-five days a week, from the ones that have sustained their life and been their place of safety and provision. Craziness. Absolute Insanity.

Hey, but don’t take my word for it… just look around you and see the results of putting “space” between parent and child.

Let’s put it in perspective…

How much “space” does God want between HIM and His children. Especially His young still growing into maturity children? Now I ask you… who is it that wants that space?

 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said…

Genesis 3:1

This is not about whether or not you are a working mom or a stay at home mom… whether you homeschool or do public school… whether you do daycare or grandparents care… This is about what goes on in your home on your watch. When you come home, do you still go one direction and your kids another? Do you tune out their shows, their music, or are you on the alert? Are you WITH THEM when you are with them? It’s okay to question them especially when you are willing to really listen to them.

Proven Path Ministries

Judged By A Six Year Old

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My husband and I served together in college and career ministry before the Lord moved me into children’s ministry. This group of young men and women were at our house often during the week and on weekends, and of course we were with them on Sunday’s and Wednesdays. Our girls grew up around this group of young men and women.

I am not sure if this group knew how much and how closely our girls were watching them. Through our involvement in youth and college ministry, we had some of these kids in our lives from the time they were in Jr High all the way through College. So our girls knew their names, their faces, and they were watching them… they still are watching them.

When our middle child went up into the youth program we allowed her to get a twitter so that she could keep up with our youth minister’s promotions and shout outs… we explained the warnings and what she needed to watch for and be careful concerning and the big rule was to know “in the real world” who she allowed to follow her. She so far has showed us a maturity that we are very thankful for. She is quick delete those who consistently post things that do not line up with Philippians 4:8

 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

Granted there were some bumps and lessons along the way early to remind her of this… but since those she truly appears to have learned. She is a very engineer minded child. There is wrong and there is right. There is black and there is a white. There is good and there is bad. She just doesn’t sway much in the gray area or live on the fence… it’s one side or the other. It’s the reason her favorite subject is math.

Yesterday on the way to church we had this conversation:

Shelby: I had to quit following — on twitter because they kept cussing. Did you and Daddy have them in your college class?

Me: No, I had already moved to children’s ministry by the time they graduated

Shelby: I knew I didn’t think they could have been in my momma and daddy’s class! 

This conversation with my child warmed my heart…

My daughter shared this with me and I realized how thankful I am for this group of kids that God allowed us to have in our lives. Our girls remember them and the truth is my husband and I still keep tabs on them and we talk about them often. So when my twelve year old was allowed to get a Twitter and needed people to follow and tweet… who do you think were on her list of names to send and receive follow request… yes, all those college kids she grew up surrounded by.

What she discovered from this group of then “kids” is that most of them, now young adults, carry themselves well in life and especially on social media. She compares all others to this group that she grew up with. They have set the standard by which she judges the integrity of others in that age group. Whether they like it or not, know it or not, they have become the unchanging factor by which she measures all other variables by in her scientific mind.

They were judged by a six year old… and are still being watched by a twelve year old. (No pressure guys!)

Now granted my husband and I knew these kids were not perfect… we knew they had made, were making, and would make many mistakes… but we saw them consistently drawn back to the grace of God and our girls got to see and hear us minister to them in their joys and in their failures… Today many of them are now leaders in our church or another church. Some are married and having children that they bring to our church… I can’t believe that I am now teaching the kids of the kids I taught! Some are serving others in their community and being examples of Christ in their jobs and careers. We are so very proud of them!

These “kids” were judged by a six year old and are still being used as a standard by which to judge others… so for all of those who think that your actions don’t matter and no one has a right to judge you… it doesn’t really matter whether you think anyone has a right to or not… eyes see, and ears hear, and hearts understand… you are being judged and you will be judged… get used to it… and instead of stomping and pouting and screaming about it… get on your face before God… come to the grace of God… be wrapped in the arms of Christ and clothed in His righteousness so that you can stand acquitted in the face of it.

 

 

 

Audio/ Video Teaching, Proven Path Ministries

Money Matters

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In our homeschool co-op this year I am teaching through the book of Proverbs… Next week we will be digging into Proverbs 3:9-10.

Honor the Lord from your wealth
And from the first of all your produce;
So your barns will be filled with plenty
And your vats will overflow with new wine.
(Proverbs 3:9-10)

As I sat here praying over this lesson and pondering these verses I realized that to grasp the full impact of these two verses of Scripture we have to first look to the verses preceding them. The verses that command us to trust in the Lord, to not lean on our own understanding, and to not be wise in our own eyes- and are directly followed by, it will be healing to your body and refreshment to your bones.

How many of us today are physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually sick due to the stress and worry of money concerns? Are you one of them? Do you constantly worry about financial issues?

In this message I share a little of my family’s testimony and the journey of faith that the Lord took us through… I can recall many times in this journey when I looked at the checkbook and did the calculating and just new that if we tithed we would not be able to make the house payment or electric bill, etc. I recall many times telling God, okay, I am going to trust You to pull through for us… and I am going to write this tithe check. Let me assure you… God has always pulled through.

Granted we said no to lots of other things in order to say yes to Him, but our bills were somehow always paid and our family always had food and we got along just fine on whatever God supplied. He is good.

Maybe this message will encourage you… and inspire you to look at your income and outcome in a different way.

Here’s the message I shared with our co-op on these verse: A Message from Proverbs 3:9-10

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Book Reviews, Proven Path Ministries

$50 Toys”R”Us Giveaway!

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It’s almost Christmas!

That’s right there are only 35 days until Christmas!

Beginning today, November 19th through midnight on November 25th you will have an opportunity to win either $50 gift card to Toys”R”Us or a $15 iTunes gift card.

Christmas giveaway

The winner’s should receive the gift cards by Cyber Monday!

Why am I offering this giveaway?

I need your help. That’s why.

I am in the process of writing a devotional series called Devotions From The Torah. The first book, Devotions From Genesis, It’s Not Just Ancient History was published in 2010. The second book in the series, Devotions From Exodus Part One, Learning to Live in Freedom was just released this October! So you see I need your help to spread the word about these books because I truly believe they can help anyone and everyone learn more about our Savior.

Our God did not

 

But please don’t my word for it… please check out the Amazon reviews and the comments shared by others on my author site. Hopefully there will even be some comments added by others in this blog post.

Now how do you win?

Just simply enter to win through the rafflecopter  below!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Please share with others and if you haven’t began reading through this devotional series, please consider doing so!

Dev from Torah

WINNERS!

Heather LaVine winner of the $50 Toys R Us Gift Card

Misty Folwell winner of the $15 iTunes Gift Card

Proven Path Ministries

What Is In Your Midst

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The Unless series continues…. I haven’t forgot about it. We have many more “unless” Scripture passages to dig into!

Therefore the sons of Israel cannot stand before their enemies; they turn their backs before their enemies, for they have become accursed. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy the things under the ban from your midst.

Joshua 7:12

Did you let that verse sink in as you read it?

Read it again.

God point blank tells Israel, I will not be with you anymore unless…

Unless what?

…unless you destroy the things under the ban from your midst.

So what does it mean for something to be under the ban? In the Hebrew text the phrase under the ban is actually cherem which is cursed and it’s definition is accursed dedicated thing, appointed to utter destruction, extermination. When you look at the context of this verse by reading the rest of the chapter and the chapters before it, we see that God told Joshua that everything in the city belonged to Him, everything in it was appointed to utter destruction, except Rahab and her family. She and her family were to be the only people or possessions to exit the city.

When Israel left Egypt, God allowed them to take with them whatever treasures, livestock, or people who wanted to exit with them… but facing Jericho was different… God knew why and Israel as simply to obey.

However, one man did not obey. One man saw the gold and silver and treasures of Jericho… and he could not turn away from it. He snuck it out the city and he buried it under his tent. Joshua might not have seen it… but God certainly did.

I am sure this man thought… there is nothing evil about these treasures, surely God didn’t mean these things, look at how they will benefit my family, nobody will ever know, I will keep them buried here until enough time has passed…

The Lord did see. God did care. God let the whole nation know that He knew…

Israel was about to face a people much smaller than Jericho. They spied it out and thought, Oh we got this. Joshua just send a few of us, this is gonna be a cinch! 

However, they ran away with their tails between their legs, beaten by this small people.

Joshua was baffled, so he sought the Lord.

Someone had taken what they were not to take. Someone had stole from God. Someone had brought a curse into the camp by their own disobedience and rebellion to the Word of God. The choice of one affected the whole nation. We never sin to ourselves… even if we think nobody saw, even if we think it’s not really that big of a deal.

How does this relate to us today… as an individual before our God?

First who is our enemy? I believe the Word of God teaches us that we have three- the world, Satan, and our flesh.

So let me ask you, are you having a hard time standing before the world, or standing before Satan, or standing before the desires of your own flesh? Do you feel as though the Lord has left you?

Know first of all that if you are child of God in Christ… He has promised that He will never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5) but He has also said that if you claim to have fellowship with Him but walk in darkness, you lie (1 John 1:6).

Sometimes God is silent and He steps back and allows us to experience the consequences of our choices to wake us up, to call us to the carpet, so that we might be able to come to realize that we have taken accursed things willingly into our midst.

What is in your midst? What things of the world, of even Satan himself, what of the desires of your flesh are in your midst and you know that these are things that God has said should not be there. What are you hiding under your tent, convincing yourself no one knows. What actions and choices do you find yourself constantly justifying…

God loves us too much too allow us to hold on to accursed things… He sent His Son to become the accursed so that we could be free. How could He say He loved us if He allowed us to still cling to things that are appointed to utter destruction, to extermination. How could allow us to disrespect and dishonor the sacrifice of His Son by allowing us to hold on to the things that He died to remove us from…

Think about it.

“…: the Lord is with you when you are with Him. And if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you. For many days Israel was without the true God and without a teaching priest and without law. But in their distress they turned to the Lord God of Israel, and they sought Him, and He let them find Him.
2 Chronicles 15:2-4

Book Reviews, Devotional Studies Through the Bible, Proven Path Ministries

It’s A Giveaway

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The Giveaway has begun! I am excited to have bloggers from around the world, from Australia to Canada, to be a part of  launch team to help promote my book series, Devotions From The Torah.  Some great authors have also offered some of their books to prizes in the giveaway.

Devotions from the Torah is a series of Devotionals that are and will be written from the first five books of the Old Testament, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The Lord put it on my heart to write  these books to help today’s church, especially the American church, see how relevant these books still are today and how much they can teach us about our Saviour.

I was burdened by the thought process I seen in believers as I would here them say, “well we are in the New Testament, the Old Testament doesn’t really matter” .

Let me tell you, I just thought I knew God until I began to read the Old Testament. I made it to the book of Chronicles and I realized then that I knew about God, but I did not Him at all. I learned that without the Old Testament the New Testament loses so much authority and understanding. Jesus quoted often from the Old Testament Scriptures and if we don’t know the context in which He quotes, then we will not grasp the full impact of His Words. Moses is the writer of the Torah and this is what our Lord had to say about the words written by Moses…

For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me.

But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”

John 5:46-47

I believe my Devotions from the Torah series will be a great tool in the hands of anyone who wants to know more about God… even if you don’t quite believe in Him yet, but are willing to check Him out for yourself… I encourage anyone at any time to open these devotionals up and use them as a guide and a help through the pages of the Torah, the Books of the Law… Genesis and the first 20 chapters of Exodus are ready for you know!

You can find them on Amazon, Barnes & Nobles, Christianbooks, and directly from my publishers at Tate,

And you can also enter to win a free copy below through my Launch Team!

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The Devotions from the Torah Launch Team is excited to help Nicole celebrate the release of the first 2 books in this series — Devotions from Genesis and Devotions from Exodus Part One — with a special giveaway of incredible books, several of which will enhance your study of the Torah! This giveaway is a $160 value!

We would like to thank the following companies for their generous sponsorship of this giveaway! Be sure to stop by their websites to say thank you!

Home School Adventure Co.

Knowledge Quest

Great Waters Press

PhyllisSather.com

To enter the giveaway, use the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post. One winner will be selected and announced by noon ET on December 5, 2013. U.S. residents age 18 and older only please. Other Terms and Conditions can be found in the Rafflecopter.

Here’s what you could win!



Devotions from Genesis by Nicole Halbrooks Vaughn

See for yourself how Genesis, the book of beginnings, is not just ancient history and that the Word of God is still alive and timeless. Nicole Vaughn’s Devotions from Genesis will take you on a journey from the garden of Eden to the courts of Pharaoh in Egypt, allowing you to see your own hurts, struggles, and joys through the lives of patriarchs from Adam to Joseph. You will gain insight into your heart and more importantly, insight into the very heart of God. One day at a time, you will be reminded that you are not alone with these Devotions from Genesis.

Devotions from Exodus Part One by Nicole Halbrooks Vaughn

Devotions From Exodus Part One will take you from the bondage of the children of Israel to their freedom. The children of Israel were set free from their bondage in Egypt, and they had to learn how to live in this new freedom. As you study through these first twenty chapters of Exodus, you will see that after God delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt, he still had to get Egypt out of them. Our deliverance in Christ is no different. God delivers us from the world, but he still has to get the world out of us. We, like the Israelites, are learning to live in this freedom.

Philosophy Adventure: Pre-Socratics (digital download) by Stacy Farrell

Philosophy Adventure™ is designed to help students 6th-12th grade cultivate and defend a biblical worldview by teaching them how to write skillfully, think critically, and speak articulately as they explore the history of ideas.



Philippians in 28 Weeks (digital download) by Stacy Farrell

The Bible is banned in many countries. Countless believers have sacrificed their freedom—and many, their lives—to spread the message of God’s love and salvation contained within its pages. Are we exercising our freedom responsibly. Memorize the entire book of Philippians in 28 weeks!

A Child’s Geography: Explore the Holy Land by Ann VoskampIraq, Jordan, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Turkey…your family probably hears or reads about these names frequently. In an increasingly complex world, it is vitally important that children learn to see the world through their Creator’s eyes. As we explore the Holy Land you and your family will delight in incredible, mysterious landscapes, hidden wonders and beautiful peoples – all created in God’s image.
A Cry from Egypt by Hope Auer

Have you ever wondered what life was like in ancient Egypt? As an Israelite? And a slave? Want your children to understand the Bible is history? Adventure, excitement, love, and faith come together when Jarah and her family fi nd themselves at the culmination of four hundred years of history.



Purposeful Planning eBook by Phyllis Sather

Do you need a plan to keep your family moving in the direction the Lord is leading you? Perhaps you don’t know where the Lord is leading you. Phyllis takes you step-by-step through the process of planning a time together for your family to help determine the path the Lord is choosing for each area of your life. Her family has followed this format for over 12 years and has found that it provides the compass they’ve needed to plan and stay on course.





a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Thank you!

 

Proven Path Ministries, The Romans Study For Kids

Romans Study For Kids (Romans 9:19-29)

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The Romans study continues with Romans 9:19-29…

Romans 9:19-29

19 You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?”

20 On the contrary, who are you,O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it?

21 Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use?

22 What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?

23 And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory,

24 even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles.

25 As He says also in Hosea, “I will call those who were not My people, ‘My people,’ And her who was not beloved, ‘beloved.’”

26  “And it shall be that in the place where it was said to them, ‘you are not My people,’ There they shall be called sons of the living God.”

27 Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, “Though the number of the sons of Israel be like the sand of the sea, it is the remnant that will be saved;

28 for the Lord will execute His word on the earth, thoroughly and quickly.”

29 And just as Isaiah foretold, “Unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left to us a posterity, We would have become like Sodom, and would have resembled Gomorrah.”

 

Read Romans 9:19. Can you put this question in your own words? Write it out below.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

This question basically asks, “How can it be my fault if my heart is hard and I am not saved if it all depends on God?” It’s really a question that comes from a heart that says, “It’s not my fault, it’s God’s”

Look up and read Genesis 3:12. Who did Adam blame for his sin? (hint: he blamed 2 people)

the __ __ __ __ __    and   __ __ __

Whose fault was it really? Who was the one who knew the truth, love, and care of God but chose to listen to someone else? Circle your answer.

Adam        Eve         Serpent         God       The tree

 

Read Romans 9:20-21. How does the Spirit of God through the writings of Paul answer this question?  Fill in the blanks.

On the contrary,  __ __ __     __ __ __      __ __ __ , O man, who answers back  __ __     __ __ __ ?

Look up and read Genesis 1:1. Who created who? Answer True or False below (T or F)

______   God created man        _____   man created God

Look up and read Job 38:1-18 and Job 40:6-8. This is some of  God’s answer to the complaining that Job had done about God. As read these verse who do you discover is the only one who has a right to complain about anything, Job or God?

__ __ __

 

Read Romans 9:22-24. Answer the questions below.

Who does God endure with much patience?

vessels of  __ __ __ __ __

What are these vessels of wrath prepared for?

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

Why does God endure them?

to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of

__ __ __ __ __

When were the vessels of mercy prepared?

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

Who are the vessels of mercy?

even us, whom He  __ __ __ __ __ __ , not from among Jews only, but also from among __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

The word “prepared” in Romans 9:22 is katartizó and it means to complete thoroughly. The verb tense of this word teaches us that these “vessels of wrath” already existed this way and are just left that way.  

Look up and read Romans 3:10-23. What is the condition of all of us?

there is none  __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

__ __ __  have  __ __ __ __ __ __

Look up and read Romans 1:6, Romans 1:16, and 1 Corinthians 21-25. Who are “the called” or the “vessels of mercy”? Circle your answer.

those who do good things

those who are Jews

those who believe the gospel  

 

Read Romans 9:25-26. 

These verses are quotes from the Old Testament. Paul uses these quotes to show us that becoming a child of God has always been through believing God. He also shows us that from the beginning God always planned to offer His salvation to both Jew and Gentile. 

Look up and read Romans 8:9-17. How do we know if we are a child of God? 

we have the __ __ __ __ __ __ of God

Look up and read Ephesians 1:13. How do we get the Spirit of God?

We believe the  __ __ __ __ __ __  of salvation

 

Read Romans 9:27-29. 

These verses are also quotes from the Old Testament. Paul uses these verses to show the Jewish believers that God’s Word has not failed. God has fulfilled it and is still fulfilling it.

Look up and read Genesis 22:15-18. Did God keep this promise to Abraham? 

Yes               No 

Look up and read John 8:37-42. Is being a physical child (or descendant) of Abraham the same thing as being a child of God?

Yes               No

 

Read Romans 9:29 again. If God did not have mercy on us, Jew and Gentile alike, if He did not leave a remnant on this earth that loved Him, what would happen to every nation and people on this earth?

become like __ __ __ __ __,

and would resemble __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

 

THINK ABOUT IT…

You can read about Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 18-19, Deuteronomy 32, Isaiah 3, Jeremiah 23, Lamentations 4, all the way to Revelation 11. 

In Genesis, God utterly destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah because their sin was so great. 

Our sin is so great that if God did not have mercy on us, none of us could be saved. He has every right to destroy all of us, but He doesn’t. 

He offers us grace. He keeps a remnant here on the earth to share the gospel with others. He also has not given up on the children of Israel. We will learn more about this as we continue in this section of our Romans study.

 

That’s enough for today! 

The writing and teachings of Nicole Love Halbrooks Vaughn