Something that I have been thinking about doing recently is listing the blessings that the Lord has given me. Everybody knows the old song, "Count your many blessings, name them one by one." Well, I have decided that I am going to start naming my blessings. Who knows how high I will go. My plan is to take at least five minutes every Friday to write about a new blessing. We'll see how well this goes!
So, here it goes. Blessing #1:
My Bible. I am so thankful to live where I can freely own a Bible. If you read my post, "Taking life for granted", I talked about how we tend to take the small things in life, like our Bible, for granted. I am so thankful that God worked through the lives of 40+ men, over a span of 1500 years, so He could perfectly and completely give us His inspired Word. I find something new in my Bible every time I read it, and as I am growing more into an adult, I find more and more things to apply to my life. I also find a new way that God loves me whenever I read His Word. Just think how precious your Bible is. It is the very words of God Himself!
Have a wonderful week! Stay strong in Jesus! He's got you! His death covers everything!
Because of Jesus' blood,
Faith Christine
Galatians 2:20; 1 Corinthians 15:10
Friday, June 22, 2012
An Angel to Watch over me?
I am getting rid of one of my blogs, but there are a couple of posts from that blog that I would like to save, so I am going to post them here. If they are tagged "archives" then they are from the previous blog.
This post dates February 24, 2011:
In FBI (Faith Bible Institute [taught by Pastor John Yates]), Pastor Yates was teaching in the book of Psalms, and he was talking about how we each have angels to watch over us. He told a story of how he was at his job (he did not say what the job was) and that a couple of tons of equipment fell his direction, and everybody saw him fly back 40 feet. Everybody was afraid that he was hit, and that is what caused him to fly back. They were sure that he was dead. Pastor Yates did not get touched by the equipment, but somehow from a squatting position, he was able to do a 40-foot back-flip, and thus avoid being crushed. Amazing, huh? He said that he had never done a back-flip before, nonetheless a 40-foot back-flip. He is positive that he had an angel watching over him. But this is not the whole story. There was a man on the other side of the equipment that fell, but he was trapped in his space, with not much room to move. Why did the equipment not fall his direction, and fall the direction where there was a 40-foot space? An angel was watching over him too. God really does take care of his own children.
Just within the last week, I have had three near-accidents while driving, where in all cases, it would not have been my fault if it happened. The first two times, a driver tried to merge into my lane right as I was passing them. Both times, I was going 60 miles an hour, and I was driving a 15-passenger van. There was no way that I could have stopped! Thankfully, I knew exactly where the horn was located on my steering wheel. The third time, I was exiting onto I-20 W, and started to slow down to take the exit, and this truck cuts across the median, right pass me. Thankfully I saw him, and managed to slow down so there was no collision. (Why can't drivers learn to be a little more patient with people who like to abide by the law?) After ranting and raving about the little incident, my mother said, "Well, I guess that we just had an angel watching out for us". Do you realize how many safe car trips you have? It is because God is faithful to watch over His children that you have all of those safe car trips. In FBI last night, Pastor Yates was talking about counting your blessings. Maybe it could be hard for you, but did you realize that every time that you take a breath, that is a blessing? So, every time that you have a safe car ride, be sure to thank God for it, and to add it to your blessings. Especially with the way that people are driving today...
Have a blessed day! Stay strong in Jesus!!
Because of Jesus' Blood,
Faith Christine
Galatians 2:20; 1 Corinthians 15:10
This post dates February 24, 2011:
In FBI (Faith Bible Institute [taught by Pastor John Yates]), Pastor Yates was teaching in the book of Psalms, and he was talking about how we each have angels to watch over us. He told a story of how he was at his job (he did not say what the job was) and that a couple of tons of equipment fell his direction, and everybody saw him fly back 40 feet. Everybody was afraid that he was hit, and that is what caused him to fly back. They were sure that he was dead. Pastor Yates did not get touched by the equipment, but somehow from a squatting position, he was able to do a 40-foot back-flip, and thus avoid being crushed. Amazing, huh? He said that he had never done a back-flip before, nonetheless a 40-foot back-flip. He is positive that he had an angel watching over him. But this is not the whole story. There was a man on the other side of the equipment that fell, but he was trapped in his space, with not much room to move. Why did the equipment not fall his direction, and fall the direction where there was a 40-foot space? An angel was watching over him too. God really does take care of his own children.
Just within the last week, I have had three near-accidents while driving, where in all cases, it would not have been my fault if it happened. The first two times, a driver tried to merge into my lane right as I was passing them. Both times, I was going 60 miles an hour, and I was driving a 15-passenger van. There was no way that I could have stopped! Thankfully, I knew exactly where the horn was located on my steering wheel. The third time, I was exiting onto I-20 W, and started to slow down to take the exit, and this truck cuts across the median, right pass me. Thankfully I saw him, and managed to slow down so there was no collision. (Why can't drivers learn to be a little more patient with people who like to abide by the law?) After ranting and raving about the little incident, my mother said, "Well, I guess that we just had an angel watching out for us". Do you realize how many safe car trips you have? It is because God is faithful to watch over His children that you have all of those safe car trips. In FBI last night, Pastor Yates was talking about counting your blessings. Maybe it could be hard for you, but did you realize that every time that you take a breath, that is a blessing? So, every time that you have a safe car ride, be sure to thank God for it, and to add it to your blessings. Especially with the way that people are driving today...
Have a blessed day! Stay strong in Jesus!!
Because of Jesus' Blood,
Faith Christine
Galatians 2:20; 1 Corinthians 15:10
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Purity 101
As I am asking myself these questions, God continues to bring Scripture to my attention that helps to place my conviction on a solid foundation, rather than just saying "I don't do that" or "I do this"..."just because". "Just because" does not seem to be a good enough answer for some people. What ground do you have to stand on to support what you do? That is something I have been doing lately. Re-evaluating every single one of my convictions, and seeing what the Bible has to say about them.
I am going to do a couple of blog posts about what I do to keep myself completely pure, and the Scriptures that God has shown me to strengthen my conviction. I know that most people who read this will probably not agree with what I have to say, and that is fine. Each and every person needs to come to their own personal conviction about any subject. I just want to share what the Lord has shown me, in hopes to get you to also re-evaluate your convictions and standards.
#1: Physical Touch
This has been quite a big discussion among my single girlfriends and I. What is okay between yourself and a guy friend (not someone that you intend to marry)? Is it okay to give them a casual side hug? Is it okay to put your arm around their waist for pictures? What is okay?As for me, I refrain from any physical contact with a young man. I don't want to give a young man (especially a young man who is not going to be my husband) any wrong thoughts about me. And yes, even a side hug sometimes could cause a guy to have a wrong thought for a split-second. So as for me, I don't hug guys, hold hands with them, anything of the sort. Yes, I have shaken hands with a young man when first introduced, but that is as far as it ever goes. The first young man I ever intend on a hugging is my husband.
I was reading 1 Corinthians 7 this last week, and God gave me a few verses to help strengthen my convictions.
v. 1 "Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman."
I looked up the words "to touch" in the Greek, and it refers to such handling of an object as to exert a modifying influence upon it or upon oneself. Could also mean touching for the purpose of manipulating.So to me, if I were to hug or touch a young man in such a way that would cause him to have a wrong thought, or that would cause me to have a feeling I'm not supposed to have about that young man, this is not right. I do not want to be the cause of my brother in Christ stumbling.
v. 4 "The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife."
A main reason to remain completely pure is because I don't have power over my own body. It belongs to my future husband. And until I know who that man is, and that man is my husband, I have to save it completely for him. Just think about it. Would you want your future spouse going around and hugging people of the opposite gender? Girls, would you want your future husband to be having wrong thoughts about another girl? Then don't do that to other girls' future husbands. If you want your future spouse to save themselves completely for you, then you need to save yourselves completely for them.Here is another passage to consider from 1 Thessalonians 4:3-7.
"For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness."
We are to treat our bodies as vessels of honor. We are to be separate, pure, consecrated. Girls, you are like a beautiful rose. You are precious, and you are worth waiting for, and it is completely worth saving all of your body. We are not to treat our bodies like those who do not know God. We are not to defraud our brothers/sisters in Christ, because the Lord will avenge them. God has called us to be different from the world. He has called us to be holy.I think the rest of it comes down to these two verses.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."
Our body is not our own. Christ shed His blood to purchase us. Our body is the temple of the Holy Ghost! Examine your actions towards your brother/sister in Christ, and think about if your motives are completely pure, your thoughts are pure when doing that thing, and if it is something that the temple of Christ should do. If they do cause your brother/sister in Christ to have a wrong thought, or cause you to have a feeling you should not have, then you should refrain from those actions.I am not by any means trying to shove any of my beliefs on anyone, but I just wanted to give you something to consider. Ultimately, whatever you do, you have to do it out of love for your brothers/sisters in Christ, and because you love Jesus. That is most important thing. Remaining pure because you love Jesus, and want to honor Him! For me, since I do not know what a young man is going to think, I just will refrain from giving a guy a hug. Period. I want to save all that I am completely for my future husband. And if I never get married, then I have left my body completely pure, un-scarred, holy, sacred, all for Jesus Christ, which should be our ultimate goal.
Well, there was my first, and rather lengthy post on purity. I'd love hear any of your thoughts on what the Lord has shown you. Have a blessed week! Stay strong in Jesus! He's got you! His death covers everything!
Because of His blood,
Faith Christine
Galatians 2:20; 1 Corinthians 15:10
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Five months of journaling!!
At the beginning of the year, I had the goal to journal every single day this year. Well, I am happy to announce that I have journaled every single day for the last five months!! Yep! I'm super excited about it! Not only that, but I have completed four journals, just this year!
Several people ask me, "What on earth do you journal that much about?" So I will tell you. I did do a video blog post on journaling. But I will tell you what I have been journaling about for the last five months. Whenever I sit down to read my Bible, I sit down with my journal. I record the chapter of Scripture that I am reading that day, and then as the Lord shows me a new insight, I write down the verse number, and the specific insight God has given me. Sometimes a verse that I read leads me into a specific prayer, so I will write the prayer down. I write a lot of prayers in my journals. Most of my journal entries are prayers. If something significant happens that day, I will also record it.
It has been super amazing to see how God has answered very specific prayer requests! God has been so faithful to me the last five months, and it is amazing to be able to go back and read about God's faithfulness to me! I also take sermon notes in my journals. It's neat to go back and see the different sermons that I've heard this last year.
I think journaling is definitely something that everybody should do! I think it is important to record the things that God does for us, so when we are in the rough times of life, we remember God's faithfulness to us. I know it has been a tremendous blessing to me this year!! And I can't wait to see what the next seven months of this year hold! So all that to say, I definitely encourage each one of you to start journaling. Even if it's just a small prayer to Jesus, thanking Him for something He did for you that day, or just to write down how much you love Jesus.
Here's a thought. What if you were to be martyred someday? What kind of legacy would you leave? Jim Elliot comes to my mind. He journaled very faithfully, and now we know what kind of things the Lord was doing in his life, and it was amazing to see God's hand at work in his life. Do you want to leave a legacy for your children? I certainly do!
So there is my challenge to you all! Start journaling, so that you can leave a legacy for your children, and your grandchildren to read someday! God bless you all! Stay strong in Jesus! He's got you! His death covers everything!!
Because of His blood,
Faith Christine
Galatians 2:20; 1 Corinthians 15:10
Here is five months of journaling every single day. I'm a crazy journaler. I journal about 4-5 pages every day. Sometimes 6....or 7. My record for one day is 15 pages.
Several people ask me, "What on earth do you journal that much about?" So I will tell you. I did do a video blog post on journaling. But I will tell you what I have been journaling about for the last five months. Whenever I sit down to read my Bible, I sit down with my journal. I record the chapter of Scripture that I am reading that day, and then as the Lord shows me a new insight, I write down the verse number, and the specific insight God has given me. Sometimes a verse that I read leads me into a specific prayer, so I will write the prayer down. I write a lot of prayers in my journals. Most of my journal entries are prayers. If something significant happens that day, I will also record it.
It has been super amazing to see how God has answered very specific prayer requests! God has been so faithful to me the last five months, and it is amazing to be able to go back and read about God's faithfulness to me! I also take sermon notes in my journals. It's neat to go back and see the different sermons that I've heard this last year.
I think journaling is definitely something that everybody should do! I think it is important to record the things that God does for us, so when we are in the rough times of life, we remember God's faithfulness to us. I know it has been a tremendous blessing to me this year!! And I can't wait to see what the next seven months of this year hold! So all that to say, I definitely encourage each one of you to start journaling. Even if it's just a small prayer to Jesus, thanking Him for something He did for you that day, or just to write down how much you love Jesus.
Here's a thought. What if you were to be martyred someday? What kind of legacy would you leave? Jim Elliot comes to my mind. He journaled very faithfully, and now we know what kind of things the Lord was doing in his life, and it was amazing to see God's hand at work in his life. Do you want to leave a legacy for your children? I certainly do!
So there is my challenge to you all! Start journaling, so that you can leave a legacy for your children, and your grandchildren to read someday! God bless you all! Stay strong in Jesus! He's got you! His death covers everything!!
Because of His blood,
Faith Christine
Galatians 2:20; 1 Corinthians 15:10
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Marriage...Worth Waiting For
I read this quote from Matt Chandler today:
"Can I say something to young ladies here? I'm trying to pick my words carefully here. Your husband, whoever he is, single ladies, will have an unbelievable amount of influence over your sons and daughters in regards to spiritual things. If you want your children to love Jesus deeply, hold out for a man that is godly. And let me tell you this: I am well aware that Godly men are rare. Lots of neat Christian boys, not a lot of Godly men. And we're working our tails off for you to try to develop some into that. But don't settle, because it's better that you be lonely now than you be married and lonely later. Are you tracking with me? It is better that you be lonely now than for you to get married to a man that will teach your kids everything but the way of Jesus."
This post is mostly aimed towards my single young lady readers. However, I do have a few words to say to the men reading this post.
This stood out to me, being a single young lady myself. Sometimes as girls we can be so anxious to start a relationship, or to be loved by a man, that we throw ourselves at the first "good Christian guy" that comes along. Can I tell you girls, that the term "good Christian guy" is so easy for a guy to obtain? Basically, if he is a Christian, and goes to church, possibly doesn't smoke, drink, or have tattoos, we think that this automatically qualifies him as a "good Christian guy". I'm sorry girls, but if those are the only good things you have to say about a guy, is he really worth it? Is he worth losing pieces of your heart over if the relationship doesn't work out? Is that the kind of man that you want to have an influence on your children's spiritual life?
For me, I want a man who is going to be a strong Spiritual leader. Someone who loves the Lord with all his heart. Someone who loves to spend time talking to the Lord. Someone who loves to spend time reading the Word. Someone who loves to talk about the Lord, and starts up Spiritual conversations. Someone who has a heart for leading others to the Lord. That is the kind of man that you should want to be the father of your children. A man who demonstrates the fruit of the Spirit in his life: love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, meekness, faith, and self-control. Girls, don't throw yourself at the first guy that shows any interest in you. Wait out patiently, and examine the character and the Spiritual life of this young man before even thinking about entering a relationship. And another word of caution: watch for signs of anger in the man. Usually anger and lust are connected. If a man is angry, he probably has problems with lust. If he is a lustful man, he probably has problems with anger.
It is most definitely worth waiting for the right guy to come along. This decision will affect the rest of your life. So this is my word of exhortation to you single young ladies: start praying for your future husband. He's out there. God knows who he is. I think that sometimes men stay in the "good Christian guy" category because we are not doing our job of praying for them to rise up to be a Godly man, and a spiritual leader. And don't just pray for your future husband, but pray for all the Christian guys that you know, because they will also be apart of the next generation of fathers. Proverbs 31:12 says "She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life." She will do her husband good all the days of HER life. Wait a minute, we are obviously not married all the days of our life. So how do we do him good now? By praying for him! I could say much more about how we can do him good, but I'll leave it at that. Pray for him to grow to love the Lord more each day. Pray for him to have discernment between the things of the world, and the things of God. Pray for him to be refined as fine silver. Pray that he will set his eyes on Jesus. Pray that the fruit of the Spirit will be evident in his life. Pray that he will be bold for Jesus, and that God will use him to bring many souls to Jesus. This is our duty.
Guys, if you are reading this, rise up to be a Godly man that will stand in the gap. Set your eyes on Jesus. Run the race that is set before you. Read your Bible. Love your Bible. Delight in the Lord. Go out and win souls for Jesus! He will lead you to just the right woman in His timing. I plead with you, rise up to be Godly men! Oh how few there are now! Let this generation of men be the generation that turns the world upside down for the Gospel of Jesus Christ!!
To those of you young ladies who are waiting, and keeping yourself pure, and praying for your future husband: Well done! Go out and teach other girls to do likewise!
To those of you young men who are pursuing Christ, and seeking to love Him with your whole heart, and waiting for Him to show you just the right woman: Well done! Go out and teach and disciple other young men to do likewise!!
Well, that's all I have to say today! Stay strong in Jesus! He's got you! His death covers everything!!
Because of His blood,
Faith Christine
Galatians 2:20; 1 Corinthians 15:10
"Can I say something to young ladies here? I'm trying to pick my words carefully here. Your husband, whoever he is, single ladies, will have an unbelievable amount of influence over your sons and daughters in regards to spiritual things. If you want your children to love Jesus deeply, hold out for a man that is godly. And let me tell you this: I am well aware that Godly men are rare. Lots of neat Christian boys, not a lot of Godly men. And we're working our tails off for you to try to develop some into that. But don't settle, because it's better that you be lonely now than you be married and lonely later. Are you tracking with me? It is better that you be lonely now than for you to get married to a man that will teach your kids everything but the way of Jesus."
This post is mostly aimed towards my single young lady readers. However, I do have a few words to say to the men reading this post.
This stood out to me, being a single young lady myself. Sometimes as girls we can be so anxious to start a relationship, or to be loved by a man, that we throw ourselves at the first "good Christian guy" that comes along. Can I tell you girls, that the term "good Christian guy" is so easy for a guy to obtain? Basically, if he is a Christian, and goes to church, possibly doesn't smoke, drink, or have tattoos, we think that this automatically qualifies him as a "good Christian guy". I'm sorry girls, but if those are the only good things you have to say about a guy, is he really worth it? Is he worth losing pieces of your heart over if the relationship doesn't work out? Is that the kind of man that you want to have an influence on your children's spiritual life?
For me, I want a man who is going to be a strong Spiritual leader. Someone who loves the Lord with all his heart. Someone who loves to spend time talking to the Lord. Someone who loves to spend time reading the Word. Someone who loves to talk about the Lord, and starts up Spiritual conversations. Someone who has a heart for leading others to the Lord. That is the kind of man that you should want to be the father of your children. A man who demonstrates the fruit of the Spirit in his life: love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, meekness, faith, and self-control. Girls, don't throw yourself at the first guy that shows any interest in you. Wait out patiently, and examine the character and the Spiritual life of this young man before even thinking about entering a relationship. And another word of caution: watch for signs of anger in the man. Usually anger and lust are connected. If a man is angry, he probably has problems with lust. If he is a lustful man, he probably has problems with anger.
It is most definitely worth waiting for the right guy to come along. This decision will affect the rest of your life. So this is my word of exhortation to you single young ladies: start praying for your future husband. He's out there. God knows who he is. I think that sometimes men stay in the "good Christian guy" category because we are not doing our job of praying for them to rise up to be a Godly man, and a spiritual leader. And don't just pray for your future husband, but pray for all the Christian guys that you know, because they will also be apart of the next generation of fathers. Proverbs 31:12 says "She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life." She will do her husband good all the days of HER life. Wait a minute, we are obviously not married all the days of our life. So how do we do him good now? By praying for him! I could say much more about how we can do him good, but I'll leave it at that. Pray for him to grow to love the Lord more each day. Pray for him to have discernment between the things of the world, and the things of God. Pray for him to be refined as fine silver. Pray that he will set his eyes on Jesus. Pray that the fruit of the Spirit will be evident in his life. Pray that he will be bold for Jesus, and that God will use him to bring many souls to Jesus. This is our duty.
Guys, if you are reading this, rise up to be a Godly man that will stand in the gap. Set your eyes on Jesus. Run the race that is set before you. Read your Bible. Love your Bible. Delight in the Lord. Go out and win souls for Jesus! He will lead you to just the right woman in His timing. I plead with you, rise up to be Godly men! Oh how few there are now! Let this generation of men be the generation that turns the world upside down for the Gospel of Jesus Christ!!
To those of you young ladies who are waiting, and keeping yourself pure, and praying for your future husband: Well done! Go out and teach other girls to do likewise!
To those of you young men who are pursuing Christ, and seeking to love Him with your whole heart, and waiting for Him to show you just the right woman: Well done! Go out and teach and disciple other young men to do likewise!!
Well, that's all I have to say today! Stay strong in Jesus! He's got you! His death covers everything!!
Because of His blood,
Faith Christine
Galatians 2:20; 1 Corinthians 15:10
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