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| Trusting For Direction |
| 28.9.05 |
STRESS!!!!! I thought we were going to move to Alabama, but I was apparently WRONG! We have been praying about it- we were sure that was our call for a while- and after some serious prayer we began to feel that God was not leading us there. As soon as we began talking about it to each other, we received calls from a few people who have been praying with us and for us about our future. They all felt ill-at-ease with our planned move after praying about it. I called my close friend, and former pastor "Chip" and he told me he did not think we belonged in Alabama.
So what do we do now?! We are still selling our house, we have no doubts about that. We need to figure out where to go next. Should we go to Tampa, Orlando, Arizona, Georgia, Canada (not really Rand!) or maybe even begin our work in Brazil NOW?! We do not yet know, but we are praying for God's direction. He does know as evidenced by Psalm 139:
O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O LORD, You know it altogether.
You have hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it.
Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, "Surely the darkness shall fall on me,"
Even the night shall be light about me;
Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.
For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother's womb.
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.
How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
When I awake, I am still with You. (PSALM 139.1-8 NKJV)
Whatever, we do, we will trust in Jesus. He alone is faithful and true (Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. Revelation 19.11 NKJV) and we will seek to go where He leads!
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Proverbs 3.5-6 KJV) |
posted by pregador27 @ 11:56   |
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| Temptation and a Focus on Jesus |
| 26.9.05 |
Temptations come in all forms. It's not just the "cute blonde with blue eyes" walking down the street in skimpy clothes that can tempt a man to stumble and fall. Lately I have struggled in other ways, but today the temptation came in a financial form.
We are selling our house and have a contract set to close on September 30, 2005. The buyers have had to work hard to get a mortgage company that will work with them because they are from South Africa and are on work visas. However, they have been working hard to buy our house at a very fair price. The problem is that we have no guarantee that they will be able to close the deal because of the mortgage company.
Today a man came and looked at our house. His agent called our agent with a cash offer close to our current offer, but guaranteed. They want to close in a week and want to be first in line, jumping ahead of our current buyers. Our agent said it is possible to do, but she didn't think it was right and said it could cause some problems.
For me, praise God, it was no problem. We have a contract with people who are trying their hardest to buy the house. There is no room for closing this deal to pursue another one. That would be wrong. Any counsel to the contrary would be nothing less than ungodly. God warmed my heart with the following verse:
Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.
The ungodly are not so,
But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the ungodly shall perish. (Psalm 1 NKJV)
I need no guarantee of a sale. I have the guarantee of my God. Not for the sale of my house, but that He is able to do anything (Matthew 19.26) and that He guarantees me of my inheritance:
In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. (Ephesians 1.13-14 NKJV)
I do not need a guarantee of a sale of my house. That is not His promise to me. His promise to me is an eternal one. This house is temporary. When I focus on Jesus and His counsel, the mere sale of a house being guaranteed is no temptation at all- whether thousands of dollars hang in the balance or not.
JESUS IS FAITHFUL!! |
| posted by pregador27 @ 13:21 |
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| Live Life God's Way |
| 25.9.05 |
Yesterday's post had to do with a friend who decide to live God's way despite the difficulties. Today's Sunday School lesson was very similar. Here is the text we worked from: Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.
For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.
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.
He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit. (I Thessalonians 4.1-8 KJV)
Some of the points were that we should live in a manner that means to please God. We should forsake sinful living because as my pastor said, "you know better." We should be living lives of exemplary character.
My favorite part is "He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God...". My friend Rand gets despised almost every Friday night when he goes out to the streets of his city with his pastor and preaches to the people seeking a sinful, selfish lifestyle- this verse fits his situations well. They do not despise Rand, they despise the God whom Rand serves. And if anyone depises my friend Sarah, they are likewise despising God (or as the NKJV says "rejecting" God).
May we who claim the right to be called the children of God (John 1.11-12) live lives that glorify and honor God. |
| posted by pregador27 @ 21:05 |
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| A Friend's Choice... |
| 24.9.05 |
My dear friend Sarah has been struggling with an issue recently. We spoke and I pointed out what Scripture says. It would prove to be a difficult thing for her to conform to God's Word.
I will love You, O LORD, my strength.
The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies. (Psalm 18.1-3 NKJV)
We discussed Scripture about the situation and she told me she would pray about it.
Well, today we spoke and before I could offer more than, "hey," she told me that she was fixing the problem and that she knew she was going to line up with God's Word on the subject. She even quoted me several Scriptures to demonstrate why my advice was good counsel. She devotes herself to prayer and Bible study. It is evident in her language and outlook. I was encouraged by her choice and told her so.
I called back about two hours later and found that she did take care of the situation. She was true to her word. Better yet, she was true to God's Word. Before we hung up she gave me a Scripture, one that encourages her:
Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this:
He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. (Psalm 37.4-6 NIV)
Praise God for people who shun the world and what is easy to pursue God! |
| posted by pregador27 @ 14:38 |
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| Christians are always Happy! |
| 23.9.05 |
Well, no. I think the only one who is always Happy is one of the seven dwarfs. (The other six are Dopey, Doc, Sneezy, Sleepy, Grumpy and Bashful)
The Psalm below reflects my current state in some ways.
As a deer pants for flowing streams,
so pants my soul for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?
My tears have been my food
day and night,
while they say to me continually,
"Where is your God?"
These things I remember,
as I pour out my soul:
how I would go with the throng
and lead them in procession to the house of God
with glad shouts and songs of praise,
a multitude keeping festival.
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.
My soul is cast down within me;
therefore I remember you
from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,
from Mount Mizar.
Deep calls to deep
at the roar of your waterfalls;
all your breakers and your waves
have gone over me.
By day the LORD commands his steadfast love,
and at night his song is with me,
a prayer to the God of my life.
I say to God, my rock:
"Why have you forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning
because of the oppression of the enemy?"
As with a deadly wound in my bones,
my adversaries taunt me,
while they say to me continually,
"Where is your God?"
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God. (Psalm 42 ESV)
Stress is high when trying to sell a house and all the uncertainty surrounding the move. But I know God is in control. Eu sei, Deus esta no controle.
Deus esta no controle. |
| posted by pregador27 @ 12:08 |
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| My Romanist Catholic Friends |
| 18.9.05 |
A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. (Proverbs 18.24 KJV)
Often I post against Romanism. I have major issues with Rome's anti-Biblical/anti-Christ doctrines. However, I do have some very close friendships with "Roman Catholics." At least four of whom I am convinced are Christians in truth and not in name only. They are at odds with RC doctrines about Mary, Purgatory, Papal infallibility, Papal substitution for Christ, Transubstantiation, etc., but still identify themselves as "Roman Catholic."
They remind me of hard-core Southern Baptists in the South who are pro-life, against pornography, gambling, alcohol, homosexuality and prostitution but are die-hard DemocRATS or equally as bad- Masons. I even know very Conservative Baptist and Pentecostal pastors who are in the Masonic Lodge. They may be Christians, but they miss the issues with these organizations.
Similarly with my friends who are RC. I have had friends who were RC, but when we studied Scripture together, they left RC and joined Bible-believing churches. I still have a great love for several friends who are tied to Romanism. It is a balance to show why I disagree with the Romanist church and not alienate them at the same time. My love for my friends makes me try so hard to hold the balance.
For better detail on the problems with Romanism (the "Roman Catholic Church") see my friend Rand's Weblog (he is much more articulate than I am). |
| posted by pregador27 @ 09:11 |
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| WorldNetDaily: Pastor faces hearing over 'anti-gay' letter |
| 10.9.05 |
WorldNetDaily: Pastor faces hearing over 'anti-gay' letter
My friend Rand has his work cut out for him. He lives somewhere in Canada and sticks to the Bible. I guess that can cost you money and freedom in our neighbor to the north. (Or would Rand say "neighbour?")
Anyway, it is a sad state of affairs today in Canada. Do not take this as my feeling the USA is so much better, because we are on the same road. They are just blazing the path.
Here's something for the Human Rights Commission (and I'd post it even if I was in Canada):
There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel. (Deuteronomy 23.17 KJV)
And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before the children of Israel. (1 Kings 14.24 KJV)
For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. (Romans 1.26-27 KJV)
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11 NKJV)
But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust. (1 Timothy 1:8-11 NKJV)
God does not approve of homosexuality and I am on his side along with real Canadian Christians. STAND FOR PURITY! |
| posted by pregador27 @ 09:08 |
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