Proven Path Ministries

Why Yesu Asobola

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If you notice my blog has a new tab at the top… Yesu Asobola. If you go to that tab you will find the ministry  info and website that will tell you all about the visions and goals of this ministry. Right now I want to share with you why my family has chosen to partner with Yesu Asobola.

A couple of months ago our homeschool co-op was having registration for our 2013-2014 school year… and in walked this lively woman with a beautiful array of eight children  to register at our co-op from all different nationalities and backgrounds. I love diversity and open minds and open hearts and from the moment I saw this woman I knew I would like her…

As I showed her around the co-op and we talked about her children she shared with me that there were even more! She has two children by birth and she and her husband have adopted nine. Then she shared with me how one of her daughters, who had just recently graduated high school, yes high school people, high school. This daughter graduated high school with intentions of attending college to become a human rights lawyer… she went on a mission trip to Uganda… and  through God’s beautiful weaving of relationships she and two other young girls founded Yesu Asobola. Three girls with a heart for God and a willingness to dream big and submit to His will were given a dream to start an orphanage and help the women and children in this village and God has moved on their behalf.

For where two or three have gathered together in My name, 

I am there in their midst.

Matthew 18:20

I fell in love with this ministry because it embodies everything I have taught my own girls and those in my past college classes and now those in my children’s classes… God wants to do amazing things through us, if we are willing to listen and obey.There is not an age limit,  geographical limit, or financial limit to our God.

I adore this mother for embracing her daughters dream with willing support instead of telling her how crazy she was and how she needed to go to college first and get her degree. I adore this mother for embracing her daughters dream and saying, Uganda? Really? Uganda? Amazing! I am so excited for you! This will be a beautiful journey of faith! (I don’t know if she really said those exact words, I just imagine that she would have). When most mothers would have said, Absolutely NOT! Over my dead body!

I believe God brings all people into our life for a reason… the people you meet are there to help you learn more about yourself and more about God… I believe He brought this family into my family’s life for a purpose and I intend to find out what that purpose is… so we are joining the dream and the journey.

This is why Yesu Asobola…

I encourage you to check it out.

I encourage you also as mothers and fathers of the children who are the body of Christ, would you be willing to let your children dream outside the box of college degree… and allow them the freedom to be as the wind?

The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it,

but do not know where it comes from and where it is going;

so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.

John 3:8

Here is Kristianna’s latest blog post update on the progress of Yesu Asobola:

waterforsoroti

We set out to raise $2,000-, that would almost bring us to the amount needed to drill a well for Onyerai village.

I’ll be honest, when we started I didn’t think it could be done and I was a bit hopeless.  In the first 6 days, we had absolutely no donations.

Well, God taught me two things these last couple weeks:

1. Trust Him.

2. When you trust Him all heaven breaks loose and the blessings fall.

In the last 8 days we raised $4,275.

With our donor agreeing to match up to $2,000 it brought our total up to$6,275.

Do you know what that means?! 

That means, along with money previously raised, Onyerai village is going to have a well!

God is so good, friends!

We have seen Him continually bless us through unexpected gifts, and have seen the body of Christ stand up for Onyerai village.  God is doing something big through us.

We are so overjoyed at your love and so thankful to every.single.person. who has donated, prayed or hosted an event for us in the last couple of weeks.

So, what’s next?

Next, we are hoping to raise $7-10,000 for a van to drive to and from the village, and provide transport to the hospital- or to school if needed.

~Kristianna

“Faith sees the invisible, believes the unbelievable, and receives the impossible.”

-Corrie Ten Boom

Confessions of a Christian Wife, Proven Path Ministries

Where Does It Say That

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I sit here this morning as I always do… half awake, but beginning prayer and study in what of the Word I can see, while I wait for the coffee to get my eyes to focus clearly enough that I  can justify one more day to not spend the money or the time on a visit to the eye doctor (which by the way I have finally made an appointment for, lol).

As I sit here I begin to go over in my mind all the little things I have read about “taking care of me”. The guilt wave begins… “you really should go upstairs now and change into some clothes and exercise, you really need to get more sleep, you really need to not be eating that pop tart and drinking that coffee, you need to take better care of this body, it’ the only one you got, etc” 

I see all the pictures rolling down my news feed to get fit, get wrapped, get ripped, eat this, drink that, look like this but wanna look like that… ugh.

Please hold a moment while I shutter and cringe.

The last thing I wanna do is calculate calories… when I am supposed to be calculating the cost.

Now large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.

Luke 14:25-33

This body is also just a possession…

I am sorry, but I don’t see any where in Scripture where Paul looked at anyone and said, “I really would like to share  Jesus with you tonight, but it is imperative that I consider this temple that the Lord resides in… therefore it is time for my massage, my body wrap, my pedicure, my one hour work-out, and I must mix my smoothy… and I am just a wreck without a good solid seven  to eight hours of sleep…”

So as I read, and even repost, all these articles of the things I must do to keep this sinful shell in shape… I now ask, where in the Word does it say that?

As I think of the men and women in Scripture, as I think about Paul, I believe what I read about him said this…

…in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death. Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches.

2 Corinthian 11:23-28

Have you ever noticed how many people in Christendom now a days gripe about how much time and money has been invested into the church buildings instead of the people inside it?

How many of those same gripping people invest more time and money in the outside of their own body than on the spirit within it?

Last week I had someone ask me how I found so much time to spend in the Word… this is the same type of question that has always tripped me up… the other is “so what are you doing now?“

“so what are you doing now?…” I have had a many a woman ask me this… and I always get this blank stare and have no clue what to say… so I have always said, Oh I am a stay-at-home mom. 

Until recently, which I now reply, I am the Children’s Ministry Director at Shiloh Baptist Church. {To which my favorite reply was, “Oh (with tilted head and sad face), but that’s just part time isn’t it“, but that’s another blog post in itself.}

I hate talking about myself. I do. So when someone asks me these two questions it means telling them what I really do… and as I tell them I see the guilt sweep over their face and that kills me… and so to the question, how do you spend so much time in the Word… I usually reply, I don’t know.

So in case you truly are curious and you want to know… after pondering on it for a few days, here it is.

I have read through the whole Bible multiple times, from Genesis to Revelation. I began reading it through the first time as a seeker, the next times to remember it and apply it and know it.

My hearts desire every morning is to talk to Jesus before I open my mouth to talk to anyone else.

If I don’t go to bed until 2am, I still make sure to be up at least 30 minutes early enough to spend time in the Word… even if it is just to read one Psalm, but I don’t read it just to read it… I never open my Bible that I don’t ask God to teach me… I always have something to learn and something that I need to work on in my spirit and every Word in the Word…

is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the [wo]man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work

2 Timothy 3:15-17

I don’t have a clue any longer who drives all the numbers on the cars going around the track of Daytona. I don’t have a clue anymore who pitches for the Braves. I don’t have a clue anymore who is the quarterback for Auburn. I don’t have a clue anymore who has a new movie out. I don’t have a clue who is on the bachelor. I don’t have a clue what book is on the latest best-sellers list.

I do still watch Nascar some, baseball some, college football some, even go to the movies some, and watch television and read books other than the Bible… but it is only some.

I have a Bible with me everywhere I go. If I am going to the dentist, the doctor, the park, my kids ball practice, anywhere where there will be any amount of waiting time, I take whatever Bible study I am in and work on it… and I am never not in a Bible study.

That is key

Don’t think for one minute that you will ever grow in the Word from flippant casual reading of it for your own personal entertainment.

Always, always, always, always pick up the Word of God with purpose.

Take what you read and see with it. Look for it. If you do, you will see that the Word of God is every where in every situation… there is not an inapplicable word in it. Every if, and, but, then, therefore, however, yet, whosoever is important.

I listen to the Word. I try with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength to live the Word.

I trust the Word. I go to the Word for every question, every decision, even supposed no-brainers, I go to the Word of my God for confirmation and direction.

I use the Word to explain things to my children. There is not a question they have asked me that I don’t point them to the answer in Scripture… even if I have to stop and hit the Strong’s, biblegateway.com, or call someone who knows more than me to help me find the answer.

The fact is I want to be used for God and I want to use all of God that He has given me. It doesn’t matter what of me must be forsaken in order to do it… whether it be sleep, my figure, my health. I just want to leave this earth fully used up for the glory of God… completely spent.

What good is a corpse with a six pack anyway?

My focus should always be holiness, it should always be with obedience to righteousness and not sin… and I believe with all my heart that if I truly am pursuing righteousness and holiness… then all else will take care of itself out of the overflow of obedience to my God… I don’t have to calculate calories if I am calculating the cost of following Christ. Jesus was a mover and a shaker… and He is hard to keep up with… so if I simply pursue Him… really and truly pursue Him in every area of my life… all else will be taken care of.

The bottom line is, we always manage to have time for the things that are important to us. You just have to stop and look at your heart and ask yourself… how does the way I spend my time and money show me about what is truly important to me… and now that I clearly see, what am I going to do about it.

I worry sometimes if I am sacrificing too much and spending too much time in the Word… and investing too much effort and time in doing all I can to share the gospel in the ways that are available to me where I am in this life and world, and I wonder if my kids are going to think I am a fuddy duddy who is competely clueless about life in the “real world” and will look at my efforts and think less of God instead of more… but if I leave this earth tomorrow… I would rather their lasting memory of me be… well, we know Momma loved the Word of God and His church,  and not, well we know Momma loved the gym, loved the movies, loved running, loved scrapbooking, etc. None of these are bad things in themselves, but are they what you want others to remember you by?

If you left this earth tomorrow… how would others define you?

These are the things I think about. If today is my last day… would I go upstairs and change clothes and workout for an hour… or would I write this blog post?

But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith… 

Philippians 3:7-9

 

Proven Path Ministries

Unless…

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And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 18:2-4

Unless you are converted and become like children… as I am preparing to speak at a ladies retreat and working on my power point and searching confirming Scriptures the Lord led me into a word search on the word “unless” while there I read the above Scripture… and I thought what exactly does it mean to “become like children“?

To become like children we must first be born…

Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3

As I continued to ponder what it means to “become like children” I read this article about babies being carried. In this article it shared the importance of a child being carried close to its parents and not always being put away in a “container” to be laid down horizontally. The article shared the importance of the baby being held vertically in close contact with its parents.

Lying horizontally is not only a poor option for your baby’s spine, hips, and cranium, it can also be a major contributing factor inner ear infections in infants.

When infants are held upright, however, they are allowed to practice compensatory movements, enhancing muscular strength and allowing for more control over their fine motor skills. When the mother walks, stops, or turns an infant’s body naturally works against the pull of gravity to maintain his position.

This baby is moving with his mother like a perfect dance partner.

The more time that babies spend vertical, the more time that they are alert and calm. Even newborns that spend most of their time sleeping, stop crying and perk up when picked up and placed on our shoulder. Interestingly, how alert a newborn is relates to where he is. Upright in an infant seat, he is less alert than when upright in arms… Vertical positioning as optimal in infants makes perfect sense. Think of how much time our infants spend horizontal- flat on their back in a crib or a buggy. Might this affect their alertness? There’s a good chance… Researchers found that infants too young to sit independently learn more when placed in a vertical position.”

As I thought on this horizontal verse vertical and Jesus’s word to us  “unless you are converted and become like children” I thought of the cross… the cross is a symbol that is both vertical and horizontal… the vertical representing our relationship with God and the horizontal representing our relation with mankind, however the greatest height of it is in its vertical.

If we like the babies talked about the article above live our lives in the horizontal, focused only on what we can see from their, we too will find ourselves suffering from a weak spine, weak hips, weak cranium, and messed up inner ears… but when we, born into the family of God, are picked up and held vertically up close and tight in Him, and as we turn our face towards His face…

When You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You,
“Your face, O Lord, I shall seek.”

Psalm 27:8

We lean into our Father God and look Him in the face of His Word, and we begin to walk when He walks, stop when He stops, move when He moves. We grow as we are in the process of learning what it means to live in this world as a born again child of God, as we become conformed into the image of Christ Himself…

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:17-18

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For those whom He foreknew, He alsopredestined to become conformed to the image of His Son

Romans 8:29

How glad I am that God does keep me put away in a “container” out of his way as He takes care of His own business… for he wants me all up in His business.

As I pondered this further… what it means when Jesus says “unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” I wonder how many in our current culture have no clue what He means… because they have no desire to be any where around children.

How can you know what He means as an adult if you keep yourself away from children? If Jesus said “unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven” wouldn’t you think that as an adult one of the most important things you could do would be to spend some time with children so that you might have a clue what He is talking about?

Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven… 

How many adults are not willing to humble themselves as a child even far enough to care for a child or invest in the life of a child even for one hour, a week,  or even a couple of times a year.

Even before I was a children’s ministry director I was puzzled by this. Why in every church in America is the hardest postions to fill that in the children’s wing. Why do people decide that serving children is really not an important commitment and they only have to show up if they feel like it.Why is it that in our culture, even in those churches with thousands of members, many can’t get enough volunteers for more than a one day VBS? Why is it that a person can say that if they don’t have kids in the ministry they shouldn’t have to serve in it…

The last time I checked every single one of us was once a child.

At some point and time every single one of us had to have someone else feed us, clothe us, change our diapers, teach us, hold us, clean up after us… and guess what as grown adults who does all this for us still?

Yes, that’s right… GOD.

God provided us with our food, our clothing, and yes he cleans up our crap and goes behind our mess and picks up after us… if He didn’t forgive us and cleanse us, we would all be in a world of hurt.

He teaches us and guides us and He holds us when we are scared.

He kisses our boo-boos and tells us that everything will be all right.

He monitors our fights with others and teaches us to say “sorry”

He answers our thousands of questions, our millions of “are we there yet”, “how much longer”, “can I have’s”

How would we feel if God felt about and acted toward us the way many feel and act toward children today…

Its easy to forget isn’t it?

It’s easy to forget how dependent we are upon Him… as you remember this… the next time you walk down the children’s hall of your church try and remember how dependent these children are upon you… even the one’s that are not “yours”.

Maybe it just might be that we get caught up spending too much time in our containers, in that horizontal position, focused only on our own little world, and maybe, just maybe, we need to sit up and get vertical and get face to face with our Father… and maybe just maybe the best way to do that is by getting face to face with a child.

And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 18:2-4

Confessions of a Christian Wife, Proven Path Ministries

The Mirror of Marriage

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According to today’s polls I married young. A mere 22 year old girl. Supposedly, according to the media, the reason for our high divorce rate is because of people marrying before they are 30 years old.

Funny.

Because the historical facts show that when people were marrying younger the marriages were lasting longer. You know… like a whole life time!

My mother married my father at 16 years old. They are still crazy in love.

My daddy’s momma married my daddy’s daddy when she was 15 years old. They died still crazy in love.

Could it possibly be that the high divorce rate really has to do with self-entitlement, self-sufficiency, and selfishness.

Could it be that maybe just maybe looking in the mirror of marriage gets just a little too uncomfortable for us and its just seems easier to break the mirror and walk away?

One thing marriage and children will do is make you really see you through the eyes of someone else. Marriage provides a true mirror image of your own reflection.

For a while its very easy to point the finger at the other one, you know the one holding the mirror. We see their faults way before we see our own.  I mean really, they are right their in front of us. We experience the hurt they cause us. We see every little irritating thing they do. And we record it down, so that when we finally have had it “up to here”, we have our list of justifications.

But the thing is… the truth is… many times what is really happening is that we are beginning to see ourselves through the eyes of someone else. We begin to have pointed out to us things that we need to work on… things that hurt them and others. Yet we don’t understand why, so instead of working on ourselves we often stand stubborn and strong and expect them to be the one to do the changing or else we call it quits and go out looking for someone we don’t think we have to change for…

…you know the perfect soul mate.

What I have learned through marriage is that soul mates are not found they are made.

Soul mates are when two people intertwine, body, mind, and soul. Two people that are intertwined body, mind, and soul and bound by spirit and held by the Spirit of God.

Marriage is not about another making you whole, but is more about another tearing you apart so that day by day, year by year, you can see your own heart and see your need for redemption, forgiveness, mercy, and grace. Through that you begin to see that you need to freely give what you know you so desperately need yourself… love.

Real love.

Not hollywood, magazine, Taylor Swift song love.

Jesus love.

Death to self, lay down your life for others love.

You know what happens when you marry young… you grow up together… and you grow old together. You change jobs, diapers, and houses  together. You learn to depend on and cling to each other. You make memories and babies together. You laugh, cry, fight, dance, rise, and fall together.

The mirror of marriage can get ugly because the truth is we are indeed an ugly lot. Sin has its way in us and there is nothing pretty about us. But the thing about a mirror, if we have it, then we can clearly see the smudge on our face, the broccoli in our teeth, the cowlick in our hair. And what we can see, we can do something about… if we choose to anyway.

In marriage we always have a choice. We can choose to let sin reign or we can choose to stay under the convicting work of the Spirit of God and go through the refiner’s fire of grace. We can sit back and say, okay God, have Thine Own way. Create in me a clean and pure heart. Teach me to love the way You love. Give me eyes to see as You see.

“This is another thing you do: you cover the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping and with groaning, because He no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. Yet you say, ‘For what reason?’ Because the Lord has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. But not one has done so who has a remnant of the Spirit. And what did that one do while he was seeking a godly offspring? Take heed then to your spirit, and let no one deal treacherously against the wife of your youth. For I hate divorce,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “and him who covers his garment with wrong,” says the Lord of hosts. “So take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.” 

Malachi 2:13-16 (NASB)

The refiner’s fire is not a pleasant experience. It is not usually a pleasurable thing to have all your faults laid open and bare before someone and the natural response in this weak human flesh of ours is to make it someone else’s fault. If we can point the finger at someone else then we don’t have to address ourselves… or take responsibility for our part.

The mirror of marriage can give us a reflection of ourselves we don’t like… just as the mirror of God’s Word does. I can tell you the first ten years  of my marriage I was convinced that every fight was 100% my husbands fault. I saw my actions as only reactions to him, thus my actions were valid and warranted. Thankfully God has been doing a work on my arrogant heart and through many moments of humility (or rather humiliation) I am learning to see more clearly.

If our heart’s desire truly is holiness and if we truly belong to God then He has clearly stated that His heart’s desire is for our transformation into His glory and our conforming into the image of His Son. And He will not stop until that is completed in us.

So I can fight the process or I can stand and look myself in the mirror. And when I have chosen to trust in the holiness and sanctity and safety of the covenant of my marriage, and He shows me things about me that needs some refining, I can say yes Lord… Have Your way in me and in this moment teach me to honor You by honoring others.

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I am currently watching a series by RC Sproul Jr and it reminded me of this post. I highly recommend this series: Bound for Glory

The Importance of the Family

The Function of the Family

Husbands Part 1

Husbands Part 2

Wives Part 1

Wives Part 2

Proven Path Ministries

To Die Is Gain

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I read an article today. It was written by a grieving mother. A grieving mother who professes to be a Christian. This grieving mother shared the story of her son… her son who struggled with homosexuality.

A son who has now passed from this life into eternity.

I struggle with her response to his death. She shares her story and says “so we pray that God can somehow use our story to help other parents learn to truly love their children. Just because they breathe.”

Although I understand her grief… and her guilt… I struggle with her response and her cry to the Christian community because I believe her perspective is wrong. All wrong.

I read her heart wrenching words here that read “Basically, we told our son that he had to choose between Jesus and his sexuality. We forced him to make a choice between God and being a sexual person. Choosing God, practically, meant living a lifetime condemned to being alone.”

And what I want to say to her is… If your son indeed had Christ, and it appeared that he did, then He was never alone. Choosing God never leaves a person condemned to be alone. It leaves a person forever not alone, never forsaken, never forgotten, never left, never abandoned. 

Struggling with homosexuality is indeed a struggle and it is made worse today by the immorality of our nation and culture. We have empowered the spiritual forces of darkness by our choosing the pleasures of sin and choosing to believe the lies of hell as opposed to the truth of the Word.

I would cry out to this woman to not demean or dismiss the fight that her son fought to try and choose to honor God and His Word over the desires of his flesh. He struggled, but he was fighting the good fight of faith. He faltered, but he appeared that he was still crawling toward grace. Don’t destroy that in his death. I don’t know what demons he fought, but from what she shared about him, he did indeed appear to fight.

She then writes, Now, when I think back on the fear that governed all my reactions during those first six years after Ryan told us he was gay, I cringe as I realize how foolish I was. I was afraid of all the wrong things. And I grieve, not only for my oldest son, whom I will miss every day for the rest of my life, but for the mistakes I made. I grieve for what could have been, had we been walking by faith instead of by fear. Now, whenever Rob and I join our gay friends for an evening, I think about how much I would love to be visiting with Ryan and his partner over dinner. But instead, we visit Ryan’s gravestone.

I would make my plea here again… to live is Christ, to die is gain. Why would we choose to have our child with us for a few earthly years and yet be separated from them for all eternity? Is it not selfish of us to desire their earthly bodies present even though it would mean their soul would burn in hell?

Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (NLT)

Did you notice that the Scripture says, those who practice homosexuality. It doesn’t say those who struggle with homosexual desires, it says those who practice it.

Yes, I agree that she needed not fear and instead walk by faith. She herself needed to trust that God held her son and loved him even more than she did. After all He gave His Son’s life for him.

Would we not better now rejoice that he has shed this wretched flesh and no longer has to suffer under the struggles of the sin it craved? Could it possibly be that he fought the good fight… and his Father said he had finished the race. Could it possibly be that in the mercy and grace of his God, he chose to bring him home, to give him rest for his weary soul.

Could it be that he is free. Completely free of his chains.

I would cry out to this mother and say… Please trust God. Trust His Word.

Perspective matters… oh how it matters.

Even in grief, let us trust the Word and stand on the Word. I too believe that God can remove desires if He so wills, but He does not always will. If He does not it is indeed for greater glory. His greater glory.

Yes, let us love our children, let us love them just because they breathe. Let us love them even before they take a breath and after they have breathed their last. Let us love them through their struggles and uphold them, but let us not forget that we are to put their relationship with Christ before their relationship with us.

I have said this before and I will say it again. I do not know what the future holds for my children, but I would rather spend an eternity with them in heaven than a breath with them here on earth.

To live is Christ, to die is gain. I believe this with all that is within me.

Sin is what leads to death… always.

Christ is life and death for those in Him is life. Sin might attempt to take its wage, but its grave will not be able to hold us for our debt has already been paid. Therefore, we are redeemed. We will be receiving our life refund in full!

Every believer will struggle with sin. Every single one of us. Yet we fight the good fight. We may be crawling on our face through the muck and mire… but we keep crawling to Christ. Then when we can finally cast off this shell of flesh we will never crawl again.

Children's Ministry, Proven Path Ministries

Teaching Children Discernment

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This morning during my time with the Lord, I was pouring out before Him my desire to be fully whole. I do long for the day of my resurrection. I long for the day that I can forget sin; not just be freed from its power, but freed from its presence and free from its memory.

As I poured this out before my Lord He took me to Romans 6 – 8 in my heart and reminded me that it was coming. Then I responded with yes, I know Lord, but why did You allow me to be surrounded with so much regret? And in my heart He reminded me, that it was not without a purpose. My past regrets fuel the desire to teach the children He has placed in my life to discern. Hindsight is 20/20 and I indeed see clearly now.

As I began to ponder teaching the children my mind returned to our Day One VBS lesson. During this lesson I shared several photos and asked the children who was good and who was evil…

As I placed up on the power point pictures of Batman and the Joker, Superman and Lex Luther, Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker, Dr. Doofenshmirtz and Perry, I asked who is evil and who is good. The kids all shouted out loudly and confidently who was evil and who was good.

Then I placed up a picture of these two…

tom-jerry-2

I asked who was evil and who was good… and the kids just sat there. Some quietly chose a side, but no one shouted loudly or confidently. They simply were not sure.

I used this as an opportunity to share how sometimes it is easy to discern what is evil and what is good… but many times it is not.

We moved on after this, as I then began the lesson of teaching about the two kingdoms on this earth, and who rules them.

Today I want to go back to Tom and Jerry. One of my jobs as a parent is not simply to encourage my children to read the Bible, but to teach them how to wield the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, the Bible. One of the best and easiest places to do this is with using the Word to discern what they put before their eyes and in their ears.

Don’t just tell them they can’t watch something… show them in the Word why you take that stand. Don’t just tell them this is good and this is evil. Show them in the Word of God. This teaches them to use the Word of God to define their standard.

Use God’s Word, not just yours… because one day you will not be there. One day you will mess up. One day they might doubt you… but God’s Word never changes.

So let’s use Tom and Jerry as an example.

How do we discern who is good and who is evil as we look at the two cartoon enemies.

Let’s go to the Word…

I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber! But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.”

Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn’t understand what he meant, so he explained it to them: “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep.”

John 10:1-11

Now let’s the discern the facts of Tom and Jerry.

Both Tom and Jerry live in a house.

Neither Tom nor Jerry own the house nor did they build the house.

They are in someone else’s house. Now of Tom and Jerry which one enters in the door of the house as a guest of the owner? Yes, Tom. Which one sneaks in another way? Yep, Jerry.

Which one is there to protect and honor the owner of the house? Yep, that’s right… Tom. Which one is there to steal from the owner of the house? Yep, right again… Jerry.

Which one is allowed to freely move about within the house with the full knowledge of the owner of the house and is there to help protect the owner and the house? Yep, Tom. Which one hides in the walls of the house and only comes out when the owner of the house is away? Yep, Jerry.

So according to the facts and the truth of the Word of God… who is evil and who is good?

Now as we watch the cartoon which one does the cartoon attempt to convince you is evil?

Do you see what I am getting at?

Do you see how important it is that your child can wield the Sword… not just look at it?

We live in an upside down world… and it is only going to get worse as the end of the age draws closer. It is imperative that our children can discern what is true and what is a lie, what is real and what is deception, what is right and what is wrong, what is good and what is evil… for the line is getting more and more blurred in the world around us.

 

My child, don’t lose sight of common sense and discernment.
    Hang on to them,
for they will refresh your soul.

Proverbs 3:21-22

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Let those who are wise understand these things. Let those with discernment listen carefully. The paths of theLord are true and right, and righteous people live by walking in them. But in those paths sinners stumble and fall.

Hosea 14:9

 

 

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

Lost Island Review

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Genesis Devotion by Nicole Halbrooks Vaughn

reviewed by Sara at Lost Island of Book Reviews

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Over the years I have read many different devotion books, from the standard short paragraph ones with a question and verse at the end, to the in depth ones where you are searching the Bible in detail.

What I found with this devotion is a fresh new perspective. This devotion is different from other ones I have read. There are no questions to answer, but a lot of verses throughout and wonderfully worded prayers at the end of sections. They are great reminders to always be in prayer.

Each section is filled with worded illustrations of the stories in a way that makes it easy to relate to. They show how the stories in Genesis are still relevant today. I loved the personal touch the author added which gives the material a relatable aspect.

We learn the great stories of the beginning, with the reminder that God will never leave us. The rainbow after the flood shows his love for us. Another important thing I came away with was the fact that our salvation is personal. We can’t save anyone else. It takes a personal obedience to Christ for it to be real. We can put our faith and trust in God for everything.

With the authors honest writing and ability to weave all the great truths into a book that is easy to read and understand, I look forward to reading more devotions on other books!

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Sara is a wife and homeschool mom who resides in Orlando Fl with her family. Check out her blog Lost Island of Book Reviews for more information on authors and their writing.
To experience Devotions From Genesis, It’s Not Just Ancient History for yourself go here to get a paperback or ebook edition! Purchase on Amazon and leave a review.
Devotions From Exodus Part One, Learning to Live in Freedom is also now available for pre-order here: Pre-Order Devotions From Exodus.
The official release date is October 1, 2013
Devotions from Exodus Cover
Children's Ministry, Confessions of a Christian Wife, Proven Path Ministries

When Your Child Questions Their Salvation

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Our church used Answers in Genesis’ Kingdom Chronicles for our VBS this year.

I loved this curriculum.

It may be the “2013 VBS”  curriculum, but I would still recommend it for your church next year or maybe choose to use it as a Wednesday or Sunday night class as we are doing with the GoFish Guys Gotta Move VBS curriculum. Just adapt it to fit.

Kingdom Chronicles began in Genesis. It began with the introduction of two kingdoms. Then it began to explain how the two kingdoms came to be and it explained who the rulers were of these two kingdoms. Next it explained that everyone is in one of these two kingdoms. On Day Two it asks us to examine ourselves and see which kingdom we are in.

I challenged all the kids during the Bible lesson on the first day to ask God one question. I challenged them to ask it when they got home that night… to pray about it through the next day… I asked them to ask “God, whose kingdom am I in?”

The next day, VBS Day Two, God put it on my heart to offer an invitation.

I reminded the children of the question I challenged them to ask… and then I asked the children to raise their hand if they did not know whose kingdom they were in… hands went up all over the sanctuary.

At least seventeen children were transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of Light right then… God chose to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me (Jesus).’ (Acts 26:18)

It was at least 10pm that night before I had things cleaned up enough to leave for the night and head home… as I was walking through the church cutting out lights, my nine year old was walking with me… as I cut the light out in our preschool hall I looked back to grab her hand as we walked down the hall in the almost dark and I saw that she was on the edge of tears.

I asked her what was wrong..

She began to cry and said she was afraid that she was in the bad kingdom and that the prayer that she prayed when she was 4 years old was not real…

We stopped right there in the hall and I knelt down in the floor and pulled her into my lap… and I prayed silently for wisdom.

You see I learned a long time ago that I was not to tell someone they were saved when God just might be telling them they are not. I had rather err on leading someone to seek God further and harder and pray for salvation again as opposed to giving someone a false assurance…

 “So My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations. They will have no place in the council of My people, nor will they be written down in the register of the house of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel, that you may know that I am the Lord God. It is definitely because they have misled My people by saying, ‘Peace!’ when there is no peace.”

Ezekiel 13:9-10

I prayed for wisdom and I pulled my little girl close to me and I told her that God has a whole book in the Bible that was written and recorded just so we could know that we were indeed saved or not… and I told her when we got home her Daddy and I would sit down with her and we would read it and we would see if what she prayed when she was 4 years old was indeed real. God would let her know.

So as we rode home I could see she rode home in concern… her heart broken… her mind searching her heart. My heart still aching as I prayed… God give us truth.

My husband had already came home with our twelve year old and he was out in the backyard watering our garden. I walked outside to tell him what was going on and he came in the door with me… and there was our Bekah sitting on the couch, her Bible open and turned to the book that I had told her about, waiting for us…

We began with…

What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life— and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us— what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.

1 John 1:1-4

We began reading through the entire book of 1 John. Stopping at every “If we…” and asking her to address “if” as a question…

If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. (1 John 1:8)

Do you know that you sin and do you recognize it as sin?

 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

When you know that you have sinned do you confess it and ask for forgiveness from God and from the one you sinned against?

 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. (1 John 1:10)

Do you admit that you are a sinner?

By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. (1 John 2:3)

Do you believe that the commandments of God are good and do you try to keep them?

By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked. (1 John 2:5-6)

Do you try to walk like Jesus walked? 

I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name’s sake. (1 John 2:12)

Do you know and believe that it is only through Jesus that you can be saved? Do you believe that when God said “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) He meant it? 

As our Bekah answered these questions… we looked at her and said, well according to the Word of God and your own confession, the truth is in you, and who is the Truth? She answered “Jesus”.

You have admitted that you are sinner, you are not lying about that, so according to the Word of God and your own confession, the word is in you, and who is the Word? She answered “Jesus”.

You have admitted that you try to keep the commandments of God and your father and I can testify on your behalf that this is true, because we see it in you every day… so according to the Word of God and your own confession, you know Him.

We then asked her if she believed God kept His Word. She answered “Yes”.

So we encouraged her to take a minute and talk to Jesus herself… and she closed her eyes and silently prayed…

And well me being the nosy mother wanted to know what she prayed… so I asked her. She said, “I just told Jesus that I loved Him, and I thanked Him for loving me”

We hugged her and sent her upstairs to change into pj’s and get in the bed… then God being God and so very good to us as I tucked her in and we read our bedtime devo… it ended with “real alive faith is about loving Jesus with all we got”

The final assurance to this precious heart that just wanted to be sure that she was with Jesus for the rest of her life and all eternity.

Proven Path Ministries

When Do We Get It

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Now the men of Sodom were wicked exceedingly

and sinners against the Lord.

Genesis 13:13

Yesterday I read an article… a heart breaking article. The act, the reactions, the reality of it all is gut wrenching to me. It makes me want to stand up in the middle of our nation and shout “WHEN DO WE GET IT!” 

If it happens in a small town in Colorado… men… grown men who have abdicated their position of manhood by leading the family, the nation, by defending the weak and helpless… WHERE ARE YOU? Where are your sons? Do you even know? Right now. Do you know? Do you know where they are physically, spiritually, emotionally, mentally? Do you know?

High school boys are trying to prove their masculinity to each other by humiliating younger boys because that’s what they think manliness is all about, said William Pollack, associate professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School.

“We keep saying to the boy: ‘Be a man,’ and a boy is not a man, so that’s not possible,” said Pollack, who is also director of the Centers for Men and Young Men at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass.

In at least four cases of sodomy hazing last year, the coach or supervising teacher was alleged to have known about it, ordered it, witnessed it or laughed about it, according to police reports and court filings. 

(Denver Post)

This is not manhood. Nothing about it. This is the spirit of Sodom… Genesis 13, plain and simple, yet add in Ezekiel 16…  However, America is indeed worse. Much. Much. Much worse.

As I live,” declares the Lord God, “Sodom, your sister and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done. Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy. Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before Me.

Ezekiel 16:48-50

America is worse… much worse… much worse because our witness has been great. Had Sodom had what we have… had Judah had what we have… a church on every corner… at least one Bible in every home and hotel room… the Word of God proclaimed over the airwaves in every city and state… yes America… the more we hear… the more we reject… the deeper our rejection goes because we have rejected so much.

I read this and my heart no longer cries restore our nation. My heart cries judge this nation. Oh God judge this nation for the sake of the poor and the helpless and the needy and the weak, for the sake of the souls of the children, judge this nation before we fall deeper into the depths of our depravity and all be lost and destroyed.

When small town America mocks the rape of young boys. When in small town America young men rape the weak to prove their manhood and old men approve… When the men in the cities of our nations are the largest buyers and supporters of young children being kidnapped and sold into sex trafficking because instead of rescuing they destroy…

WHEN DO WE GET IT?

When do we get that the sexualization of our culture is destroying our souls? When do we get that the perversion of the holy and sacred leads only to destruction. When do we get that what we put in our minds feeds our heart and controls our hands and feet and mouth.

Women when do we stop trying to wear the pants and step back and let men be men? Women when do we teach our sons to embrace manhood by respecting the men in our own lives. By letting good men teach our boys to be men instead of keeping them spoiled momma’s boys? When was the last time your son opened the door for you, carried your bags, protected you from any coming disaster even if it be a spider in the house… does he only see you as the woman who meets his own selfish needs or as he grows into a young man are you teaching him to honor you and protect you and others?

Women, when do we say no to Hefner, Hollywood, Hardees, and even to the eyes of our own hometown… when do we say no, the heart of my son and the respect of my daughter is more important than your money, its more important than your idol worship of this body on your screen, in your pages, at the beach, even at this local pool…

I know the lost cannot see. I know those that do not know God cannot understand. I am not speaking to them.

Christian men and women, American church. I am speaking to us… is it not time to wake up? What are we promoting and supporting by what we put before our eyes and in our ears and in our mouth…

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.

Psalm 100:2-4

Christian men and women, American church. I am speaking to us… What do we have knowledge of yet we have chosen to hide, to cover, to ignore, to not get involved…

Like a cage full of birds,
So their houses are full of deceit;
Therefore they have become great and rich.
‘They are fat, they are sleek,
They also excel in deeds of wickedness;
They do not plead the cause,
The cause of the orphan, that they may prosper;
And they do not defend the rights of the poor.
‘Shall I not punish these people?’ declares the Lord,
‘On a nation such as this
Shall I not avenge Myself?’

Jeremiah 5:27-29

Christian men and women, American church. I am speaking to us…

Children's Ministry, Proven Path Ministries

Hands in the Air Now

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For the material they had was sufficient

and more than enough for all the work, to perform it.

Exodus 36:7

I am in recovery from VBS 2013. VBS concluded for me around 3:30pm on Saturday and before 6pm I was home and packed and back in the car with husband and children headed toward South Carolina. My husband said I was asleep before we hit the interstate and I just woke up today around 8:30am.

The chaos of VBS never ceases to hit, no matter how prepared you think you are, no matter how early you get there, there is never enough time…

I carry such a weight concerning the presenting of the Word of God that I prefer to go over a lesson at least a hundred times and especially right before it’s time to teach it… the thought of misteaching the Word of my God and taking His Word out of context and teaching it wrong to ears that are there to hear terrifies me.

So alas, I had great plans to get all VBS prep accomplished and then sneak off to my office, freshen up, and go over my lesson on my face in prayer… but that didn’t happen… not once that whole week as a matter of fact.

That first night of VBS I began my panic attack and my husband saw it coming and just grabbed me and pulled me into himself and held me tight and reminded me that everything would be fine.

Then I made it into the sanctuary to begin our introduction and get the worship music started and then the songs began and as I sang with the children I sang…

“there’s a verse for every season, hide ’em in your heart, put ’em in your brain, pick a verse, learn the words, that’s the way you train… hands in the air now… better be prepared now… the battle is the Lord’s now…”

Right then is when I heard my God say, “Breathe Nicole, my Word is hidden in your heart, you are prepared. Now hands in the air, this is My battle. Either you trust Me or you don’t… did I not say that I would bring to remembrance all that you needed when you needed it?“

So that’s what I did.

I breathed.

I chose to trust.

Then this morning my first verse from the Lord for the day was Exodus 36:7, “For the material they had was sufficient and more than enough for all the work, to perform it.”

We worry about the wrong things so many times. We worry if we have the right crafts, if we picked the right games, if we have enough t-shirts, if the decorations are sufficient, if we will have enough volunteers. We stress when the flagstone bulletin board paper didn’t make it in this shipment after you spent 10 minutes sitting in the parking lot waiting on the doors to open so you could make sure it didn’t get gone on you. We worry if the water-slide is going to work in the parking lot because the water spickets at the grass are all clogged, and good-grief you forgot to make sure there were water hoses…

We worry, we stress, but God promises that the material we have is sufficient and more than enough for all the work, to perform it. It is always sufficient because He is always sufficient.

He is the One who takes five loaves and two fishes and feeds thousands with baskets left over. He is the One says “Peter, I know you have fished all night and caught nothing, but trust Me, just throw your net over to the other side…“

He takes what we have, He takes what we know, He takes where we are, and He performs miracles. That is our God.

So I don’t know if your church has done VBS yet, but if you are still in the prep works, remember to keep the Main Thing the main thing. Remember that Jesus is just flat out amazing all by Himself . And like I said to the poor man at the store who felt so terribly bad that the flagstone bulletin board paper didn’t come, even after digging through all the inventory three times and offering anything else I thought could work for free… the gospel was preached before there was bulletin board paper. Jesus didn’t need it to teach the children to come unto Him… and well we don’t either. 

It’s nice to have and all, but Jesus in all His awesomeness is always quite enough.

So breathe… and hands in the air now… the battle is the Lord’s.

The writing and teachings of Nicole Love Halbrooks Vaughn