Month: January 2014

Saved from Abortion

On By francesrogersIn GOD'S GLORY, GOD'S GRACE, GOD'S WORD, Uncategorized1 Comment

There are Pro-Life rallies today in cities across our nation.
As I was in prayer for these this morning, I was reminded imagesthat all who are able to attend such rallies might think of their own escape from abortion.
The great abortion that was attempted at the beginning of time by Satan was foiled.
God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to save us from Satan’s ploy of destruction.

I write with appreciation for those who are able to be out on such a cold day for such a time as this.  My greatest appreciation and praise go to our heavenly Father who sees and knows, and hears the cries; cries that do not go unheeded.
Such cries are recorded in God’s word.

From Abel:
“And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?
And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.”   Genesis 4:9-10

From Sodom:
“And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;
I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.” Genesis 18:21

From the Israelites:
“Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.”  Exodus 3:9

“And didst see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heardest their cry by the Red sea;”  Neh. 9:9

From Mordecai:
“If it please the king, let it be written that they may be destroyed: and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver to the hands of those that have the charge of the business, to bring it into the king’s treasuries.
And the king took his ring from his hand, and gave it unto Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews’ enemy.”  Esther 3: 9,10
When Mordecai perceived all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry;”  Esther 4:1

From Isaiah:
“For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee.”  Isaiah 30:19

From Jeremiah: 
“Thus saith the Lord the maker thereof, the Lord that formed it, to establish it; the Lord is his name;
Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”  Jeremiah 33:2-3

Just as the physically unborn cannot cry for themselves, so the generation of the lost cannot cry for themselves unless they can see their destiny without Christ.
We must be diligent and fervent in prayer for both as we live in praise and honor of our Lord Jesus Christ, who came to give His life for our salvation.

What will we give?  If we cannot march in a rally, we must at least acknowledge the Lord of all life, we must give ourselves to live and witness to His “great salvation.”
Those who are against life will be against Christ.  But this does not stop us from trusting, praying and expecting “great and mighty things” which only He can do.

 “We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not;

but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself,
and that wicked one toucheth him not.”
1 John 4:18

If He has saved you, you can live ~ truly live ~ to tell about it.

And for those who have not already signed the petition for the Life at Conception Act you can do that today from your computer.

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An Open Heart (reblog from A Dad’s Journey of Faith)

On By francesrogersIn GOD'S GRACE, GOD'S WORD, HUMILITY, UncategorizedLeave a comment

adoptionOn my way into work today….I had one of those interesting conversations with God.  I guess it was more like me starting to complain and Him giving me the loving reality feedback that He can give.  Many of you know that my wife and I have a huge heart for adoption.  It is a journey that our family has been on for several years now.   We have grown our family by three in this time and have a forth that is destined to join us as well.

Several weeks ago we begin to feel the call to welcome into our home another wonderful child.  If you are counting that would put our grand total at 8 children.  He is a wonderful 11-year-old boy with some significant medical/developmental needs.  Due to these needs there is not a family in the state of Oklahoma willing to take him in.  I can’t imagine being told that no one is willing to give you a home.  Such began the next leg of our journey.

Soon, the enemy being the enemy …  began to plant some negative thoughts in my head.  You all know the thoughts…the ones that if you give them room will quickly take root.  This is what led to my conversation with God this morning.  It was during this conversation that God reminded me of the past several years……

I will never forget when we first started talking about going on this journey….We had three children that were all of the age where they pretty much could take care of themselves. The youngest was seven and the oldest was sixteen.  We knew that adoption was a journey God wanted us to go on.   Our plans were that we would get a little boy around five years old and that would fit nicely into our world.  However, God sometimes has other plans.  As a result we were blessed with a wonderful little 9 month old little girl.   I remember thinking that this was a little different from what I had planned.  I reached out to God and explained that this was going to be real Uncomfortable for my family.    You see, we had reached a point of comfort in our lives and this was not in the plans.  He reminded me that when his Son came to earth…it too was uncomfortable.  He traded in the warm beauty and majesty of heaven for a cold and dirty stable…born into a frail human form.  He left the right hand of God to lead the simple life of a carpenter’s son.  He did not turn from the journey.

Soon after the placement we learned that this amazing little girl had a rare life threatening genetic illness that would require extensive medical visits with an uncertain future.  We were also told that  no one was willing to take her in and her only other option was to go to a shelter and to slowly fade away.  I said “Lord…this is going to be too Hard on my family.  This is a burden that I don’t know if we can bear”  God quietly reminded me how hard it was to send his son into a world that despised him.  The difficulty of a ministry of sharing a simple truth that would turn brother against brother in a fallen world.   No matter how hard the task..He came.

Shortly thereafter, we learned that she had two sisters (age 2 and newborn).  There was never a question that they  would join our family.  We could not imagine the impact of splitting up a sibling group.  As they joined our family it became apparent that there were issues relating to a long history of abuse.  It was painful to see the impact of true evil on these little ones.  There was the emotional impact on one little one and the physical suffering of the other.   I cried out..”Lord…This is too painful of a journey for my family to endure.”  Once again, God reminded me of Jesus in the garden.  He knew His Sons fate at the hands of the wicked.   How difficult to look down at your Son and know what was in store for Him.  That he would bear the punishment for the sins of a fallen world.   However, He stayed.

Finally, over the past months the enemy has done a masterful job of pointing out the world around me.  Look, he would say…at those that no longer walk with your family.  Look…at others your age.  They are on vacations, living a life of ease, no crying babies, long doctor appts…Why would you go on this journey.  The price is way to high to pay for this calling.   I called out to God again.  “Lord…it is too lonely on this journey.  No one understands where we are and the world we are in.”   God gently reminded me of Christ’s loneliness on the cross.  The pain of His separation from the Father at the time of his death on the cross.   The mocking laughter of those who turned their back on their savior.   However, he endured it.

God reminded me this morning that we are all orphans.  That we are all lost and lonely in a fallen world.  However,  I have been adopted into the family of God.  I have been given a new hope in a life that was dark and fallen.  What if God had said:  This is too Uncomfortable, Hard, Painful, and Lonely.  What if he had looked down and said I don’t have time for this lost soul.  Where would I be…where would you be.  No matter what the price…I can never come close to bearing what my savior did for me.  I am thankful for a God that will reveal the truth of my journey and give me the opportunity to make a difference for the kingdom.  I am thankful for a God that loves me even more than the love I feel for these beautiful little girls.  Thank you Lord!

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”   James 1:27

http://dadsjourneyoffaith.com/

A Year for HUMILITY

On By francesrogersIn GOD'S GLORY, GOD'S GRACE, GOD'S WORD, HUMILITY6 Comments

Andrew Murray’s book Humility is a time-honored publication, reprinted throughout the last century and this one.  From his writing we see humility as the least taught and sought, and the most needed virtue of the Christian life; so it is not surprising that God is still leading His children in this area.

Having this book for at least twenty years I have taken it Scan 140020000off my bookshelf occasionally to re-read and pray for God’s working of this virtue in my life.  Not only seeing the need in my own life for this nature of Christ, but studying it, I see how far short I fall of this “cardinal virtue” and how much I need to make it a special request.

This year I plan to do more than just read these twelve short chapters.  By the Lord’s leading and my commitment I have already begun in the Preface to study, meditate and memorize the main points of the truths found here.

Believing that others also struggle in this area, and without it forfeit the blessings that come with it, my review and study will be posted here.  I will be sharing this review only once a month (a chapter a month) so as to keep my other commitments.
This will allow us to become more familiar with the truths of God’s word that He uses to renew our minds and to conform us to the image of Christ, His Son.  I invite you to join me; to see these truths as a reality in your own life.

Unless you want to order your own paperback you can follow the whole text with this PDF, or a copy here from the archives.
The main points for meditation and  memorization in this study will be in bold print.

The stronger points in the Preface  ~

Murray suggests that there are motives –  “three great motives that urge us to humility”  –  which means that it is something that we do not have, and that when we realize the need, will desire it and pray for it.

“The first we see in the heavenly hosts, in unfallen man, in Jesus as the Son of Man.”

“The second motive appeals to us in our fallen state, and points out the only way through which we can return to our right place as men.

“In the third motive, we have the mystery of grace, which teaches us that as we lose ourselves in the overwhelming greatness of redeeming love, humility becomes to us the consummation of everlasting blessedness and adoration.”

This third motive is Murray’s emphasis in his book.  As I have memorized, and continue to meditate on this “mystery of grace” and “the overwhelming greatness of redeeming love”  I see humility as the middle ground between Christ’s initiative (His blessedness) and my response (adoration.)  It seems that this would be the normal Christian life.
Humility is necessary if we are to receive all that God has prepared for us, from the new birth, and throughout our sanctification.  Without it we are ruled by pride, which keeps us from the good things that the Lord has for us.  If Christ truly lives within us, He will give us the desire, and work the nature of humility in and through us.

Murray speaks of the ordinary Christian teaching, that puts “the second aspect of man as sinner in the foreground.”  There seems to be the thinking that “we must keep sinning if we are indeed to remain humble.  Others have thought that the strength of self-condemnation is the secret of humility.  And the Christian life has suffered loss, because believers have not been distinctly guided to see that nothing is more natural and beautiful and blessed than to be nothing, so that God may be all.  It has not been made clear that it is not sin that humbles us most, but grace.”

“It is the soul led through its sinfulness to be occupied with God in His wonderful glory as God, as Creator and Redeemer, that will truly take the lowest place before Him.”

“If humility is to be our joy it must be understood apart from all sin as a covering with the very beauty and blessedness of heaven and of Jesus.”

“When we see that humility is something infinitely deeper than contrition, and accept it as our participation in the life of Jesus, we will begin to learn that it is our true nobility.
We will begin to understand that (even as Jesus was a servant) being servants of all is the highest fulfillment of our destiny, as men created in the image of God.

Humility  should be “sought after as the distinguishing feature of the discipleship of Jesus.”

It should be “esteemed as the cardinal virtue; the only root from which the graces grow; and the one dispensable condition of fellowship with Jesus.”

lamb1-150x150“There is a call to all earnest Christians to prove that meekness and lowliness of heart are the chief marks by which they follow the meek and humble Lamb of God.”

At the back of the book is a prayer suggestion for those who would be a part of this study.

Dear Father, “Of your great goodness, make known to me, and take from my heart, every kind, and form, and degree of pride; and awaken in me the deepest depth and truth of that humility that will make me capable of your light and your Holy Spirit.”

I hope that you will join me, add your comments, and share your own experience of how the Lord is working in your life this year.  You might want to share this with a friend, or   with the book, use it in a small group.  Let me know if you want to be a part of this review  ~  LIKE,  COMMENT, or email, so that I know to whom I am accountable; and for whom I will be praying this year.  Please pray for me.

In Christ  ~  Fran

Lamb photo –  courtesy of Josette Brouwer

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