Julia here.

After a lifetime in the "church," here's what I'm just now learning:

As believers, we have what we need. By definition, the regenerated Christian has the Spirit (Acts 2:38, Romans 8:9).

We don't have to ask for love, joy, peace, patience, or any other of the fruit of the Spirit, because we were given the Spirit when we were regenerated. We already possess these things through the Spirit who was poured into our hearts (Rom 5:5). The only thing we are told to ask for is wisdom (James 1:5-8).  

I'm just learning these things, and I'm thinking there may be others who have followed a similar path. So I share. I'm learning to walk in the Spirit, to CLAIM these benefits as His adopted child. To live what I say I believe. I have been removed from the category of "condemned sinner" to "new creation."  For years I would whine, bemoaning that fact that I still sin. But now I try to focus on the benefits of being a regenerated child of the Father who gives us, by His power, everything we need for life and godliness. We can, and should, exercise our wills to plug into the power that is ALREADY ours. (1 John 2:1; Colossians 1:9-14, 19-23; Colossians 3:1-4; Galatians 5:16).  It is a choice. I can listen to the lies of the Enemy, who wants to render me ineffective and unfruitful as I wallow in defeat. Or I can tell myself the truth about who YHWH and Christ are, who I am in Christ, and what benefits I possess as an adopted child, and what responsibilities fall to me as Christ's ambassadress. Which do you think glorifies and pleases our Creator?

"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20.                      

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." 2 Corinthians 5:17

We. Don't. Have. To. Sin.                                       

One of the keys to succes in that realm is: to "let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." Colossians 2:20

Only a Week and a Half.....

...Until our apologetics conference! And we are getting really excited. Can you tell?! =)


Dates: Friday-Sunday, September 23-25, 2011
Time: Fri. 7pm, Sat. 5:30 & 7pm, Sun. 10, 11:30am, 6pm 
Where: Northwest Christian Church, McKinney, Texas
Speakers: Dr. James Johnson (ICR), Dr. Jobe Martin (BDM), Joel Kautt (CETM)
Topics:

• How do we know the Bible is true? (the accuracy, authority, reliability and relevance of the Bible) – Dr. James J. S. Johnson

• How Do We Know The Bible is Authentic? – Dr. James J. S. Johnson
• Christianity: Unique Among World Religions – Dr. James J. S. Johnson
• Biblical Discernment in an Age of Falsehood (The Emerging Church, New Age spirituality and the occult) – Dr. Jobe Martin
• Using What You Have Learned: Evangelism and Discipleship – Dr. Jobe Martin
• How we got the Bible: the History of the Battle for the English Bible (the Life of William Tyndale) – Joel Kautt

Schedule:

• Friday, September 23, 7:00pm: How do we know the Bible is true? (the accuracy, authority, reliability and relevance of the Bible) – Dr. James J. S. Johnson
• Saturday, September 24, 5:30pm: How Do We Know The Bible is Authentic? – Dr. James J. S. Johnson
• Saturday, September 24, 7:00pm: Christianity: Unique Among World Religions – Dr. James J. S. Johnson
• Sunday, September 25, 10:00am: Biblical Discernment in an Age of Falsehood (The Emerging Church, New Age spirituality and the occult) – Dr. Jobe Martin
• Sunday, September 25, 11:30am: Using What You Have Learned: Evangelism and Discipleship – Dr. Jobe Martin
• Sunday, September 25, 6:00pm: How we got the Bible: the History of the Battle for the English Bible (the Life of William Tyndale) – Joel Kautt

 You can RSVP for this free event by going here.

Sunday Meditation

³ Let us know,
      Let us pursue the knowledge of the LORD.
      His going forth is established as the morning;
      He will come to us like the rain,
      Like the latter and former rain to the earth.

Hosea 6:3

A Plea From Hosea

     "Come, and let us return to the LORD;
      For He has torn, but He will heal us;
      He has stricken, but He will bind us up.
      Let us know,
      Let us pursue the knowledge of the LORD.
      His going forth is established as the morning;
      He will come to us like the rain,
      Like the latter and former rain to the earth."

Hosea 6:1,3

A Plea from an Echo Boomer

In her article "More Than Teacups...a Plea for Biblical Literacy," Megan Gariss practically begs the older generations to teach the twenty-somethings (and younger?) how to study the Bible.  I wept when I read it.  We have failed these young people, and they know it.  I so appreciated her humble request.  I didn't detect any bitterness on her part, only an almost-desperate plea for us "olders" to do what we should already have been doing.  (I think that's what Jesus would call "making disciples.")  We parents must take seriously our responsibility to disciple...starting first with our own children (and granddies).  I believe the Lord will not ask us how many folks we won to the Lord "out there" before He asks if we made disciples of our own little ones.  Sobering.

Idolatry

The Israelites worshiped a golden calf in the desert, this was a more blatant form of idolatry, with an actual idol to see, feel and bow before.

 

"Idolatry is not the by-product of forgetting God; it is the means by which we forget Him.... All existential forgetfulness [i.e. forgetting God] begins with suppression, builds on the energy of idolatry, and binds us to an illusion that both numbs the heart to what is missing and blinds us even to our forgetfulness." - Allender (emphasis added)

We remember the Ten Commandments, specifically the First and Second commandments, which read:

"Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.  Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:  Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;  And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments." - Exodus 20:3-6

We are to take this grouping of verses as a whole commandment, (consisting of two parts) - Worship only the ONE true and living God, and serve Him in such a manner as to bring blessings upon the future generations.  Sadly, due to the Fall of man (see Gen. 3), our hearts are, in the words of John Calvin, idol factories : “The human heart is a factory of idols…Everyone of us is, from his mother’s womb, expert in inventing idols.”

A convicting related verse is 1 John 5:21: "Dear children, keep yourselves from idols." I know that in my own life I struggle with idolatry.  Realizing that has helped me to consider what I am investing my time, and energy in.  If the activity does not bring Glory to God's name, I should not be engaged in it.  Whatever I am doing must be conducted in such a worshipful manner as to leave no doubt in my mind, and in the minds of those observing my conduct, whom I worship.

My aim, with Christ's aid, is to worship and serve Christ alone!

Our Literary Party

On Saturday we had a literary party with some of our homeschool friends. Below are some photos. Enjoy!

Amy and Abby Y., Camille S. and Allison Y.

Amy dear

Elizabeth W. (photo courtesy of Elisha W.)

Bible study on the Proverbs 31 lady (photo courtesy of Elisha W.)

Deborah W.  (photo courtesy of Elisha W.)

Beth W. (photo courtesy of Elisha W.)

Studying: Beth and Stephen W., Manda D., Abby Y. and Abby K.

Playing four-on-a-couch: yours-truly, Camille S., Manda D. and Allison Y.

L-R: Jaden, Deborah W., Manda and Meleah D., Allison and Amy Y.

 

 

 

 

 

All the Women of the Bible

Today I was studying 5 women from the Bible. I used the book All the Women of the Bible to find out information about these women. I read about: Lot's wife, Jochebed, Abigail, Jezebel and Phebe (or Phoebe).

When I was reading about Lot's wife, I ran across these interesting words:

"She [Lot's wife] still stands as a permanent symbol of the woman who looks back and refuses to move forward, the woman who, faced toward salvation, still turns to look longingly on material things she has left behind."

After I read that sentence I thought, "Would I have been like Lot's wife and looked back". I hope I wouldn't have. But, is that how I am today? The Lord supplies salvation, but I'd rather have the material things over the immeasurable gift of God? May we, whether we are men or women, never choose material things over God's gift of salvation.

Also, when I was reading about Jezebel, I found this interesting:

"Jezebel's name even appears in the dictionary as a term of reproach. Certainly no woman's name in history has become so commonly accepted as a synonym for wickedness."

Jezebel is remembered as an outstanding example of what every women ought not to be. Instead, we women should strive to be like Jochebed, Abigail and Phebe. Holy, committed, humble, faith-filled, courageous, wise, gracious, nobble, pure and gentle.

Jesus our High Priest

I began reading through the wonderful and hard book of Hebrews earlier this week and would like to share some verses that are so very important and meaningful that have caught my eye thus far.

"Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all His house. For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house. For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God. And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end." Heb. 3:1-6

"Seeing then that we have a great Hight Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a Hight Priesst who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Heb. 4:14-16

"So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him

'You are My Son,

Today I have bgotten You.'

As He also says in another place:

'You are a priest forever

According to the order of

Melchizedek;'

Who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, called by God as High Priest 'according to the order of Melchizedek,''' Heb. 5:1-10

Reformation 500

Hey everyone! Some of you might have missed out on going to the Reformation 500, but you can view photos of it here.

Enjoy!

Jo

Article ~

I wrote an article a few weeks ago (it will probably be going into one of the next issues of CET Ministries' newsletter) about death. I had these ideas floating around in my head, and after reading Mark Cahill's book One Heartbeat Away, I decided to write an article about death. So here is a portion of the article.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Death: Where Did It Come From?

by Phoebe Kautt

Death. Something we hate to think about, yet something so common. You turn on the TV, and what do you see? Death, murders, suicides. You listen to the 10 o’clock news, and what will you most definitely hear about? So-and-so committed suicide, at such-and-such a place there was a drive by shooting. Everywhere you look the reality of death is around you: cemeteries, car accidents, funeral homes, and occurrences such as the Columbine High School shooting. Maybe we don’t like to think about it, but death happens to 10 out of 10 people. It’s a fact, 100% of all people ultimately die. All of the most famous, rich & influential people of history have all met their end: death. Caesar, Napoleon, George Washington, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, Adolf Hitler and Babe Ruth are all in the grave. Michael Jordan, Alex Rodriguez, Madonna, David Rockefeller, Bill Gates and even Billy Graham will all eventually die.

But you might be wandering "Why are there deaths, murders, suicides and drive-by-shootings? Where and when did it all begin, and what or who caused it?"1 That’s a great question, and one that needs to be answered. It’s a question that everyone asks at least once.

Well, to understand the origination of death we must start at the beginning. Genesis 1:1 says, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." The rest of Genesis chapter 1 gives the account of creation. As you read it you will see the phrase "and God saw that it was good" five times throughout the entirety of the chapter. Then, at the very end of the chapter, in verse 31 it says, "And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good." (my emphasis) When God says that something is "very good," that means that it’s very good. That means that there was no death, no suffering, no murders, when God created this universe. Evolutionists believe that death has always been, and will always be. Contrary to that belief, when God created Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, they were not standing on top of millions of years of dead things [fossils]. Would God call fossils, thorns, brain tumors and death good? To have death before the creation is essentially to make God a liar. Titus 1:2 says, "God, that cannot lie." So, now we know that there was no death before the creation. The Garden of Eden was a perfect garden, one with no thorns or thistles. But the question still remains, "when did death come about?" and, "who or what caused it?"

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To read the rest, you'll have to wait until it comes out in the newsletter. If you're not signed up for the newsletter, send us an email by clicking here.

A wedding~

Jonathan James Ten Dolle and Elizabeth Grace Serven will be united in marriage on April 18th, 2009. You can read more about it on the Serven Clan's blog: www.servenclan.blogspot.com!

Please continue to pray for them as they prepare for their special day!!!

May God bless you, Jon and Beth!

~Johanna

The Sword of the Spirit ~

Here is a drawing that I did yesterday: