Who is Peter?

I like people watching. Watching people and see them go about their daily lives fascinates me. I also like to imagine how the people I read about would look and behave. I recently acquired this new perspective of Simon Peter. You know, he was the one that denied Jesus three time, the one who had the guts to say that Jesus was the Christ, the one who rebuked Christ for speaking of His death, and the one that Jesus built His church upon.

Peter certainly had to put his foot in his mouth a lot. He did some really stupid things and some not so very wise ones. But he was the one who Christ built His church on. Peter may have made mistakes, but God was able to work through Peter despite of them and because of them.

I have recently learned to view Peter as the most annoying person I can think of. Why? When I am trying to deal with this person, it helps me to think that this could be another Peter. God can use this person for His glory and even though I can't see it right now, this person may be the next spiritual giant of our time. It takes a quirky, driven, and enthusiastic person to be like Peter. So don't write someone off just because they are annoying. Pray for them and ask God that He would use them in the furtherance of His kingdom.

Lord, help my unbelief

James 1:5
5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

I don't know about you but I certainly lack a whole lot of wisdom.( Just ask my sisters, they'll fill you in.) However if you look at what James says next it also applys to me.

James 1:6-8
6But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

This is me. I am a doubting Thomas to the core. I have a hard time trusting God, which is probably why I write about it so much. But I find omfort in this passage.

Mark 9:24
24Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"

Father, today I cry out to You to help my unbelief. May I recieve Your wisdom and may I not doubt Your promises. Amen.

My Pastor was in WORLD magazine! Isn't that too cool! My pastor's blog site is the JollyBlogger and he went to GodBlogCon. While there, I guess he got interviewed by WORLD magazine. Whoot for the JollyBlogger!!

Bad Days

I'm having a bad day. I had a bad day yesterday and because of that I didn't get good sleep, so lack of sleep is really killing this day too.

But I know I can't stay in a sour mood. My dad recently preached about this very thing. When we are faced with trial and bad days, it becomes an opportunity to trust and rely on God. Pretty cool thought, huh. My dad said it during his sermon and it made me look at trials in a new way. As an opportunity.

James 1:2-4
2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

So even though today hasn't been the best of days so far, I'm going to try and be joyful and give thanks to God through my circumstances.

So my brethren, keep the faith and today try and find a way to count it all and I mean ALL joy.

Dear Pastor

Dear Pastor,

Thank you for being our pastor. I have really enjoyed the sermons you have preached. You are interesting to listen too and have a clear point that you want to get across. You have addressed many issues that I had questions about or just need to hear again.

When you taught about the rapture and second coming it really helped me understand that there is more than one view. Your sermon "My girl or Hey Baby where have you been all my life" I found funny and insightful. A little more recently I have learned more about Melchizedek and how he is a image of Christ.

Thank you for being my pastor.

In Christ,
--Rie


What if no one ever said," You did a great job today, pastor," or if no one ever encouraged each others faith? How long do you think Christianity would be around? If Christianity relied just on mere men, not long. But we have a gracious, wise, and powerful God who died that we may have fellowship with God.

Hebrews 12:3 ³Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Nice Christian Girls

This article describes me to the t. Except that I don't have the privilege of sleeping in till two. And I'm not as blunt as I should be. In fact I often avoid getting into fights to much, but that's another lesson for another day... anyway read this:

The Difference Between Girls and Girls

by Denise Morris

Here I am a poor creature made of earth
This life has brought me down
Stripped me of all myself worth
So I kneel before You scared and ashamed
Naked of everything I thought good
But Your the same Holy Father
Your ever the same
Here's my worries and my wishes
Here I place my hope in You
Here I put my treasures in You

"A Christian is not a man who never goes wrong, but a man who is enabled to repent and pick himself up and begin over again after wach stumble- because the Christ-life is inside of him." C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

C.S. Lewis is one of my favorite authors of all time. He had a whole lot of wisdom and God was and is able to do great things through Lewis's works. I would strongly suggest that you read Mere Christianity. It is definetly one of the most rewarding books to read besides the Bible.

Consume Me
Worthless, Useless
All because this darkness consumes me
Why am I so swift
To fall into this pit so quickly
Make me clean
Make me pure
Holy Father, make me Yours

Consume me
Drive this darkness from me
Move through me
Shine Your holiness through me
Take my life and make me wholly Yours
Take my sin, change me till I'm pure

Restless, Senseless
I wander from Your blatant goodness
Why am I oblivious
To everything about Your great Kindness
Open my eyes to see
Holy God consume me

You are Proverbs.


Which book of the Bible are you?
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Unclean

Mark 5
The Healing of a Demon-possessed Man 1They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes.[a] 2When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil[b] spirit came from the tombs to meet him. 3This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain. 4For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.
6When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. 7He shouted at the top of his voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won't torture me!" 8For Jesus had said to him, "Come out of this man, you evil spirit!"
9Then Jesus asked him, "What is your name?"
"My name is Legion," he replied, "for we are many." 10And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.
11A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. 12The demons begged Jesus, "Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them." 13He gave them permission, and the evil spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.
14Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. 15When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 16Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well. 17Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.
18As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. 19Jesus did not let him, but said, "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." 20So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis[c]how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.
A Dead Girl and a Sick Woman 21When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. 22Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet 23and pleaded earnestly with him, "My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live." 24So Jesus went with him.
A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." 29Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
30At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?"
31"You see the people crowding against you," his disciples answered, "and yet you can ask, 'Who touched me?' "
32But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering."
35While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. "Your daughter is dead," they said. "Why bother the teacher any more?"
36Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, "Don't be afraid; just believe."
37He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. 38When they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. 39He went in and said to them, "Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep." 40But they laughed at him. After he put them all out, he took the child's father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41He took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum!" (which means, "Little girl, I say to you, get up!" ). 42Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. 43He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.

In this chapter Jesus deals with three different people: a demonpossessedd man, a sick woman, and a dead girl. These are all people who areceremonialy unclean. If you touched these people, you became unclean. Jesus had no fear of becoming unclean. He reached out to these people andactivelyy helped them. The man who was demonpossessedd probably didn't smell or look that good. The woman who had been bleeding fortwelvee years was considered unclean as was any woman during her period. And you were not aloud to touch the dead in those days. By doing these things Jesus showed us that we need to reach out to those who other will not.

Reaching out to others who may not be as clean or nice or popular as us is hard; however, if we are to be "little Christ's" we need to be doing just that.

This action of reaching out to those that are unclean and dirty also shows Jesus's unending, unfailing love for mankind. Jesus sees the sin and filth that has control of our lives and yet he isn'trepulsedd or disgusted. Instead He takes us in His arms and wipes all our ugliness away. He did that for the demon possessed man, the sick woman, and the dead girl. He can do the same for you.

Lord Jesus, thank You for seeing my sin and not being repulsed. Thank Y

Matthew 5:3-12

3"Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

5Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the earth.

6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

7Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

8Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.

9Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called sons of God.

10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

I've got to say that none of these things I would voluntarily under go. I don't like being persecuted and all that. When these things happen to me I can't say I'm jumping up and down with joy saying,"I am blessed."

But God says that He will bless us and grow us and bring us nearer to Him through this. Even through we may not see the purpose know, He will show how His glory and power are made known. Even through the bleakest of circumstances.

Psalm 27:14

14 Wait for the LORD;

be strong and take heart

and wait for the LORD.

Blogging

The Reformation was a time in history when the Christian faith was very strong. It made such an impact on our faith and church today because the christians used or harnessed the leading media tool of their day, the printing press. These days Christians seem to pick up the tail end of techknowledgy and media. A new type of media is making its way and a new chance for christians to use the media to spread the gospel more effectivly. Blogging is an effective, easy, and accesible way to tell the wolrd your views. It is a wonderful oppritunity for Christians to further the name of Christ. Someone who would never walk into a church volentarily will scan the internet for hours. A person who has gone to church all their life can grow in their knowledge of God. This is a tool that GOd has given. May use it to the fullest extent that we can.

Matthew 27:25
25All the people answered, "Let his blood be on us and on our children!"

Every time I read this verse I just want to cry. This is exactly what happens. If we do not except the gift of salvation that Christ offers us, then we are guilty of murdering Him. A sad and scary thought. His blood is on our hands and the hands of all generations after us and before us. Each of us are covered in a blood that no human can wash out. That no person can cover and hide. That no one can do anything with except to bring it before our Lord Jesus Christ and have Him heal and cleanse us.

Isaiah 1:18
18 "Come now, let us reason together,"
says the LORD.
"Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.

Psalm 62:11-12

11 One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong,
12 and that you, O Lord, are loving.

You are a loving God. You are a Holy God. You are a great and gracious God. We stand in awe of Your power and holiness. Amen.

The Danger of Dating in Your Mind

When I went to the League of Reformed Bloggers convention, I met this lady who had written this book called,"Did I Kiss Marriage Goodbye? Trusting God with a Hope Deferred." I didn't think much of it then, but then I read this blog posting by her called The Danger of Dating in Your Mind . I really enjoyed what she had to say here. I constantly struggle with liking guys too much.( What can I say I'm a silly teenage girl) Here she points out that that kind of mind set is harmful and sinful. Ouch! I'm glad I met this woman and I'm glad that God has blessed her with the gift of writing.

A Politics Test

You are a Social Conservative (31% permissive) and an... Economic Liberal (30% permissive) You are best described as a: Totalitarian Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid Also: The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

Beautiful is Better?

I found a new Blog site that I adore and so I will be telling all of you about it. It's called girl talk. I like it because their theme is: conversations on Biblical womanhood and other fun stuff.

One of the blob posting was this one called Beautiful is Better?: "The other night I saw a report about the trend among high school girls to request breast implant surgery as a graduation gift. It got me thinking.

Though we would not choose to walk out of our graduation ceremony and into the plastic surgeon’s office, I don’t think there is a woman alive who hasn’t wished she could change at least one perceived physical flaw. I probably think about it more than I want to admit.

When it comes right down to it, I don’t think these girls—or any of us for that matter—want a different body for it’s own sake. Rather, because of the sin in our hearts, we long to find happiness in the applause (worship) of others. We think beauty is our ticket to bliss.

But it won’t take us anywhere. Beauty doesn’t satisfy....."

Parenting

My dear readers. This will not be a popular blog I'm sorry to say; however, that has not ever stopped me in the past so here it goes.

Proverbs 22:6
6 Train [a] a child in the way he should go,
and when he is old he will not turn from it.

Ephesians 6:4
4Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

All to often children in our society are not being raised by their parents. I'm not talking about nanny or babysitters or even foster care. The children are raising the parents. This isn't right. As a child a baby is continually trying to find out it's limitations. What am I aloud to do? What will mommy say no to and what will she say yes to? The baby is looking for borders in his or hers world. If the parents do not provide limitations to that baby it grows up not knowing the security of a structured household. This will lead to problems later on in the child's life.

Structure is providing a schedule for the child, such as meal times, bedtimes, and activity on a regular bases that the child can adapt to. It is providing discipline. Showing the child what is right and wrong. It is also providing love, hugs and kisses all around. Structure is instilling good principles in your child.

In my first aid class we learned about obesity. The main problem these over weight kids had was lack of structure. If a child does not have structure he starts to have behavioral issues. We have all seen some two year old throw a fit in the store if he doesn't get candy. At two years old he is still finding his boundaries and so it is reasonable to throw a fit at his age. Yet when a child of ten or dare I say fifteen throw a fit, You can see that lack of structure they had growing up.

I know a lot of mothers don't want to discipline their children because they don't want their children to hate them. I can understand that, but if they love their children enough that they are willing to discipline their children when they are young then their children will grow to be good and much happier children then if the parents didn't discipline them.

Raising children is one of the challenges that I'm looking forward to. I hope that all my children will love the Lord with all their heart, soul, and strength.

Bloggers convention ( I really am a geek)

Last night I went to a bloggers convention. I was the youngest person there and probably had the smallest blog of all of the people there, but I got to met La Shawn Barber. I have a link to her blog already. She has some very good( In my opinion) comments on politics with a religious twist. I got my picture taken with her so I'm sure you'll see that later.

I also met this other guy who had written a book. So I have another reading assignment as soon as I get a weekend free. He talked about this one blog he is really impressed with, Uncreative Laura: A Practice in Belief. She had a really cool blog. She sound like a person I would want to meet and become friends with. She has probably read more theology books than I ever will and she has a blog site in Español, Poliglotta: Mi Modo de Vida! I want to learn better Spanish and if I read her blog that will improve my language skills. We seem to have alot of the same interests music, cooking, and theology. She is just probably out of my class in theology, but still she sounds like a cool girl.

There is my first blog meeting in a nut shell. You can also come to the next meeting of The League of Reformed Bloggers. I have to see you there. It will be fun.