What's So Good About Good Friday?

But he was pierced for our trangressions



he was crushed for our iniquities

the punishment that brought us peace was upon him

and by his wounds we are healed

 

Isaiah 53:5

He did not want to die.  He prayed in the garden for this cup, his destiny, to be taken from him, but then he submitted fully to the will of God, "not my will but yours be done".

He did not want to die, but he allowed it.  Why?  Because were one man's choice brought sin into this world, another man's choice provided the fee [death] to cover all sins.

Can you really say his sacrafice means nothing to you?

Hello! My name is Rhiannon and I am a ...

Hello! My name is Rhiannon and I am a ...

WORRIER!

Not your everyday run of the mill worrier.  I am your intense worrier. I worrier about what might happen, or what might not happen.  I run through every single worst case scenario and sometimes on things that really are not that big of a deal.  And yet I worry.

I'm not sure I can every fully quench my nature, but I am allowing God to work in me, and help me with my worry problem...

Psalm 55:22
Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.

1 Peter 5:7
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

And so I pray, and I try to relax and I try to be less of a spaz...

Why Doesn't God Work For Me?

Ever go to pray and ask God for a list of things you need to deal with?  Ever sit back and wonder why God isn't answering a prayer?

Here is the thing... God answers every prayer.  Just not always in the way we want it answered.  The not seeing the big pictures we miss the fact that it has been answered.

Maybe what we want isn't in our best interest. Maybe God has another plan, a better plan, and if he gave us what we wanted then what he had in mind could never come to be.

I am guilty of this.  I am guilty of pleading with God... "if you do ____ for me, then I'll ----(fill in promise of more feverent spiritual activity)---".

We don't need to beg and plead with God.  We merely need to come to Him in faith (Hebrews 11:1), and trust that whatever answer God gives is the best.

God is not mr. fix it in the sky.  We are to go to him with our problems, and we are to expect him and trust him to see us through whatever the situation may be.  But he is not in heaven saying "yes mame, yes sir, as you wish..."

He is the creator, the author and perfector of life.  He doesn't work for us, we were created for HIM.

Prayer is necessary. Prayer is effective.  But when we stop expecting God to work for us, stop expecting everything to be our way and trust that God's way is best, then prayer has a meaningful impact on our lives.

Light the Fire!!

I am active at my church.  I teach children's church, I teach women's bible study group, I help with the music ministry, and I head up the maintaince on the church's website.

I do all the things i'm suppose to spiritually, but i've been really questioning if my passion is there.  It makes me wonder am I doing what  I am suppose to do merely because I am suppose to be doing it and not because of an unquenchable desire to please my LORD and savior.

Where is the passion I use to have?  Where is the fire for my LORD?  I love serving God in any ways he calls me to, but i don't want to just serve him.  I want to know him.  I want to be able to feel his presence even when life is at it's most hectic.  I want prayer to be so comfortable again that it feels like a conversation.  I want to be so excited about what God is doing in my life and in the lives of those around me that I can't stop myself from talking about it with EVERYONE not just those I see at church.

I don't want to need to approach people about God, I want my life to shine so brightly for him that others can't help but ask what is different in my life.

I remember when I had that.  I remember in highschool being asked to leave a conversation because they wanted to tell a joke they knew the "church girl" wouldn't like.  Many would consider that rude.  I loved it. One, they respected my boundries and my beliefs and they worked around it to accomidate theirs.  Two, they saw something different in me that made them think twice about what they were doing.

I'm not sure I'm that same person, but that's someone I want to be.

I think over the rest of this month that is something I will focus on in my prayer and study times asking God to reignite my passion, to set my faith on fire!

 

Letting Go of Fears

I fear so many things, and I never realized just how much, until I reflect on what is causing my stress.

I fear for my daughter's health and safety to the point of struggling to leave her with others.  It's not that I don't trust others, it's that I feel I'm responsible no matter what and HAVE to be present.

I fear the balancing of my finances, that I will be able to provide adaquately for my daughter.

I fear not being an adaquate mother for her.

I fear not being able to be there for her because I don't always take care of myself the way I should.

I fear being a failure.

And then i saw just how much my fears hold me back.  I see just how little good my fears bring into my life.  I chose to leave all my fears and struggles at the feet of God.

Heavenly Father;

LORD, you are creator of everything and over all.  You have complete control and I thank you for your care and protection in my life.

LORD, forgive me for my doubt and fear.  Forgive me for holding back from what you want from me out of fear.  Why should I fear anything?  If you are for me, who can stand against me?

LORD, take my fears, get rid of them. Give me the peace of knowing that you are in control and that you are protecting and caring for Alayna even more than I am.  Guide me in my finances and help me to trust that you will provide all that we need.

LORD, create in me the kind of mother you wish for me to be.  Guide me in how i raise Alayna, help me to raise her prepared for what your will for her is.  Aide me in my journey to a healthier me.  Guide my decicions in what I eat and when I exercise.  Help me to crave you before food and sustain me and satisfy me in the foods that I eat.

I know that I can not fail if I am in your will.  Guide me where you want me.  I will go without question.

In Jesus' name I pray
AMEN

Are You Hiding Your Light?

Matthew 5:13-16

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

     “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

God calls us to tell others about Him.  This can be a very scary challenge for many of us.  But our faith shouldn't merely be something that is spoken from our mouths.   It should be obvious in our lives.

That doesn't mean we will be perfect.  We will never be perfect until we have our new bodies promised to us by God when we enter heaven.  Until then there is an expectation that we strive to live our lives as closely to the will of God as we can.

What does this mean for us?  This means we need to know the will of God!!!

"But God hasn't shown me his will", you might retort.  But he has, it's written in his word.  Open your Bible, read, see and learn the character and will of God and then LIVE.  Live for the God who Died  so that you could have life.

In the shadow of our Independence Celebrations I want everyone to realize that our greatest freedom comes when we fully submit ourselves to God and He releases the chains our sins have put on our lives.

Do you want true freedom?  Then know God, follow his will the best you can, and allow him to set you free, and be His light to the world, allowing others to find his freedom as well!



I Am Not My Own

I recieve InTouch Magazine.  It is a month Christian publication that has some very good articles, but my favorite are the 6 day a week devotionals (i gues you could read the weekend one once on saturday and once on sunday if you wanted to).

Today Wednesday July 6th.       1 Corintians 6:19-20

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

 In the devotional it talks about how, we as christians are appalled any time there is vandalism at a church.  We're shocked that anyone could desecrate a temple of God in such an ugly fashion.

But we've missed the mark.  The Church Building is merely that, a building.  The church is the body of believers that meets with in the building.  And the God's holy temple is each one of us.  The place where his spirit dwells.  Any one who has ever attended church knows that when we choose to love the LORD with all our hearts and with all our soul, and with all our strength, and with all our minds, then the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of us.

And yet we give no thought to how we abuse our bodies.  We daily desecrate the temple of our LORD without a single thought because "it's my body, i can do with it what i please".

We honor God with our words and actions.  Part of those "actions" are honoring God with our bodies.  By treating our bodies well.

I know i'm guilty of this or i wouldn't be almost 100lbs overweight.  I put aside the wonderful food God has given me to nurish and strengthen and create growth, and I ate junk.  The only growth i saw was on my waist line.  I topped the junk off with, laziness, because I was too tired to exercise (and excuse I'd use to justify sitting on my butt and eating over getting up and moving the way God designed my body too).

How can God use us when we've destroyed our bodies outside of how God created them.   I use to justify my weight saying "God made me this way, i should be happy with it".  The truth is, God didn't make me this way.  He didn't make m in a way that brought me guilt and shame everytime I  enjoyed a candy bar.  He didn't create me a way that makes me feel less of myself.  He created me in a way for so much more than this, and I changed me through the sin in my life, through the vandalism i caused upon HIS temple.

So if anyone else struggles with what i struggle with; remember....

You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

I know for me, it has put everything into perspective.