AG Ministries Bringing Encouraging Words to a Discouraging World.

Need Rescuing

noreply@blogger.com (Sisterlisa) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 07:38:00 +0000

All the kingdom knew, that for anyone to enter King Ahasureus' throne room uninvited meant death, unless he held out the golden scepter. Queen Esther, the new lady of the kingdom, had a need to be brought before her king. She was burdened for her people, since Haman sought to kill them all. Haman was so consumed with hatred for Mordecai because Mordecai refused to bow to Haman. The reason Mordecai wouldn't bow to Haman was not a personal issue, it was because of Mordecai's loyalty to God. It wasn't because Mordecai didn't like Haman or because he was jealous of Haman. Mordecai honestly revered God and that is his reason for not bowing. From this, Haman was wroth with anger and bitterness against Mordecai. But seeking vengance against Mordecai was not Haman's stopping point, he sought to kill all of Mordecai's people, not realizing his decision meant death to the Queen.

Bitterness and self exaltation will do that to a person. They become so blind to what is really before them and they take pleasure in scheming against those who simply follow God. Haman didn't understand Mordecai's love for God. He didn't understand the love he had for our Creator. So he chose to take Mordecai's resistance to bowing as an assault on him personally. Haman's bitterness resulted in making haste decisions that would quickly bring death to millions of people and to the queen in which the king deeply loved.

Queen Esther, being the new lady of the castle, was well aware of the rule regarding the entering in of the king's throne room. She fasted and prayed before going to him. Her maidens fasted also. As Queen Esther entered that throne room, the king took notice of her. I would imagine the throne room occupants must have gasped at her entering uninvited. With wide eyed amazement they probably feared for the life of their new queen. However, Queen Esther willingly entered that room, knowing full well that her life could be over in a split second. But her purpose for coming to the king's throne room was for the freedom of her people.

I would imagine that when the king extended the royal scepter, the palace occupants must have sighed a big sigh of relief. Phew*** This imagery is of our King Jesus and us as His bride. We can boldly come before His throne and know that we will receive the grace of the royal scepter. The king gave grace to his queen because he truly loved her. King Jesus is Majesty Supreme and He reigns over this world and over His bride. We enter the throne room of our King, our Master and he WILL extend his grace toward us. Not because he thinks we deserve it, but because he is madly in love with us. We are His bride and anything we have need of can be requested by us.

I have a prayer request dear brothers and sisters in our Lord. We are in the middle of a tremendous battle that some see as an earthly battle of control. But the battle is in the heavenly places between principalities and wicked forces of the spiritual realm. I have entered the throne room of our Lord many times in the last several weeks and tonight received this imagery of Queen Esther. We are His Body, His Bride and we can come before him with our supplications. Many are coming before our great King Jesus, Almighty Yeshua, to beseech His divine intervention in this battle. There is a much bigger picture here and many don't know what is at the end of this battle, but we are praying for a complete cleansing of the Body. The Body must be reconciled to Christ our Lord, the Head of us all. It all begins with one. If we all seek Christ our Lord then we automatically become one with another. 1 John chapter 1 shows the beauty of this.

Will you enter the throne room of grace with me and seek God's divine intervention in this matter with us? There is no need to know details. We just seek to be reconciled to Christ as a whole Body, and we can only do our part first by coming to him as individuals. But then please ask for His Body, His Bride to be reconciled to Him as a whole Body. The evil spirit that wants to devour all of us is well on his way, but this battle is not about whose 'side are you on', it's about submitting to Christ our Lord and there is nothing we can do in any tangible way to bring this about. It must come by intercession for the Body. Maybe this situation seems like it was personally written for you. Perhaps it was, but from my point of view I have a personal request in this. And at the same time I know of other battles that need this same kind of intervention. So come before His throne room and know that His grace is being extended to all of us, as we enter His throne room seeking reconciliation to our King. He will humble us and as He does so, come willingly to the Light.

God is shaking up the ministries here on earth. We need to intercede on behalf of the whole Body, all of His people. As Queen Esther came before the king's throne for her people, so we must also come before His throne room for all of our people, the Body of Christ. The ministries of His work need rescuing.

Sisterlisa is a homeschooling mom of four children and married to a ministry leader of a Rescue mission. She is the owner of Growing in Grace Magazine and AGMinistries.

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HSBA Nominated

noreply@blogger.com (Sisterlisa) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:54:00 +0000

Some of our readers nominated AGMinistries for best group blog at the HSBAwards! AGMinistries is honored to receive this nomination and we invite you to vote, but we are not asking you to vote for us, we are asking that you vote honestly on how you feel about all the blogs listed on the ballot. Take some time to check out all the blogs listed to see which one you would like to vote for. Have fun watching the polls.

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A Lawyer Isn't Our Savior

noreply@blogger.com (Sisterlisa) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 01:57:00 +0000

by Sisterlisa

So many of our brothers and sisters in Christ are in the middle of heated legal battles, including myself. The really horrible thing, to begin with, is the lack of brethren who are willing to come together in love by Matthew 18 to fully establish a matter. Instead they run and hide, thinking no one will know what they've done, but God sees it all. God sees every wicked device to hurt the brethren instead of facing the battle head on by humbling themselves before Christ our Lord. Pride sets in and instead of bowing to God almighty, they crouch like a lion waiting to devour those who they are in opposition with.

I pity the soul of a man or woman who seeks revenge as their escape from facing sin. As I read Psalm 140 this week, I was sickened by the consequences God has in store for those who are out to bring mischief. I grieve for them, because I love them.

Psalm 140: ¹Deliver me, O LORD, from the evil man: preserve me from the violent man;
²Which imagine mischiefs in their heart; continually are they gathered together for war.

It is very difficult for me to even believe that a person who claims to be a Christian would imagine mischiefs in their heart against their own brethren. They gather together to war after someone without all the facts and without the initial following of Matthew 18 as their remedy for conflict resolution.

³They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; adders' poison is under their lips. Selah.
⁴Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from the violent man; who have purposed to overthrow my goings.
⁵The proud have hid a snare for me, and cords; they have spread a net by the wayside; they have set gins for me. Selah.

Those who hide their sin and unforgiveness sharpen their tongues with cruel words of hate instead of lovingly approaching one another to seek reconciliation. I can testify that I have attempted to meet with those who persecute me, currently and in the past, only to be met with hostile communication. I have been the victim of lies that are laid out to snare me in sins that I have not committed. Why would they purpose to overthrow my goings? If I have done wrong, why not come forward and speak to me about it?

   ⁶I said unto the LORD, Thou art my God: hear the voice of my supplications, O LORD.
   ⁷O GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation, thou hast covered my head in the day of battle.
   ⁸Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked: further not his wicked device; lest they exalt themselves. Selah.

God almighty will not allow their devices to prosper. His words of judgment against those who live this way concern me greatly.

⁹As for the head of those that compass me about, let the mischief of their own lips cover them.
¹⁰Let burning coals fall upon them: let them be cast into the fire; into deep pits, that they rise not up again.
¹¹Let not an evil speaker be established in the earth: evil shall hunt the violent man to overthrow him.

If their own mischief is their judgment then I grieve for them. They dig themselves a pit and the deeper they dig that hole the more likely they are to never be able to throw me in, because they won't be able to get out to do so. The dirt of their mischief will cover them. They won't be able to toss the dirt out of the hole they are digging for me.

Even though we spoke to several lawyers, they are not our Savior. Christ our Lord is. But He does use lawyers to bring about that justice in which He has ordained the laws of this land to have.

1 Peter 2: ¹³Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme;
¹⁴Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.
¹⁵For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men"

Psalm 140 continued;

¹²I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and the right of the poor. ¹³Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name: the upright shall dwell in thy presence.

I step into you Christ my Lord. King Jesus, I worship you and enter into the rest that you, as my Strong Tower, provides for me in the middle of the storm that rages and the tumultuous sea that seeks to overthrow my ship, I am firmly anchored in you my God! I pray for their souls O God. Have mercy when they humble themselves before you. Bring to pass that which you have ordained and that your glory would be shone throughout this land.

Sisterlisa is a homeschooling mom of four children and married to a ministry leader of a Rescue mission. She is the owner of Growing in Grace Magazine and AGMinistries.

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Persecution in the Religious Circles

noreply@blogger.com (Sisterlisa) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 03:57:00 +0000

by Sisterlisa

Most people think of persecution as coming from some anti-God an Anti-Christ religion, but among Christian circles the persecution comes in a different form. It comes as the Pharisees against Christ and His followers. The Pharisees of His time on earth are the modern religious leaders of today.

When Christians who simply love others are condemned because they don't succumb to the Pharisee screaming "Sinner!!!" as they did to the woman taken in adultery. The modern day Disciple will not condemn, they eat with one another and share love. Do I think they hang out at the drug houses while the cooks create their meth? NO of course not! But when they see a tweaker at the store they don't snub them either. A modern day Disciple of Christ will smile and have a warm presence of love within them.

When a religious leaders enters a homosexual community event screaming "SINNER! You MUST repent or burn!" the modern day Disciple stands and says "Christ loves you and says come as you are and Christ will do the cleansing for you."

When a religious leader points out sin in your life, that quite possibly doesn't even exist to begin with, but insists on attacking you until he can find SOMETHING wrong with you, but the modern day Disciple says, "Let establish a matter by living out Matthew 18 in love".

When a religious leader points his finger with condemnation, but calls it conviction and says you MUST receive this 'conviction' in order to respond to God. But the modern day Disciple will say, "Worship Christ in the Spirit of love and truth and He will clean your heart and renew your mind."

When the religious leader says "You are MY people and you MUST stay with ME and THIS group or you won't be protected by God." but the modern day Disciple says, "Christ is our great King and Priest and Holy Spirit is our Teacher. The building does not keep you safe, Christ our Lord does."

Then the people make up their own minds who they will assemble with. If they choose to assemble with the modern day Disciples, then the religious leader persecutes them. This religious leaders harbors bitterness and resentment because he can no longer control the people. Which by the way are NOT "HIS" people, they are GOD's people.

The modern day Disciple does not seek to control or force the people into his fellowship. They are all free to go where they want to go. When the religious leaders persecute, it's in a sophisticated manner. When the religious leaders persecute, it's abuse and you don't have to put up with it.

This gives me a whole new perspective on Matthew 24: 15-16, " ¹⁵When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) ¹⁶Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains"

I used to think this meant, "..when we see the Anti-Christ standing the holy place" as if to say the Anti-Christ will stand in a holy place, but today I saw it as, "when you see the abomination of desolation...stand in the holy place." Meaning that we are to stand in the holy place when we see the abomination of desolation.

The holy place, in my opinion, is in direct worship of Christ our Lord, for that is where we find our protection. (Psalm 91 and Psalm 142) The abomination of desolation being those who 'speak in the name of Christ' really aren't in Christ and it is revealed to us that they are not really sheep, but wolves.

Matthew 24:9-12," ⁹Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
   ¹⁰And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
   ¹¹And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
   ¹²And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold."

This is already happening. Delivered up to be afflicted, hated, reputations in your communities are being slaughtered by slander, 'Christians' are betraying one another to protect themselves, they are hating each other, claiming to be 'leaders of God', deceiving others, their iniquity is abounding, and the love has waxed cold. Where has the beauty of Matthew 18 gone?

While our brethren in China and other countries are suffering physical persecution from anti-God religions, the rest of us here in America are seeing sophisticated persecution from modern day Pharisees on a social, mental, emotional, and spiritual level. It's spiritual abuse and you have the freedom to flee.

Proverbs 4:14-27, "¹⁴Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.
   ¹⁵Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.
   ¹⁶For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.
   ¹⁷For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.
   ¹⁸But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
   ¹⁹The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.
   ²⁰My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.
   ²¹Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.
   ²²For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
   ²³Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
   ²⁴Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.
   ²⁵Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.
   ²⁶Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.
   ²⁷Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil."

There will be times when God has instructed you to flee and there may be times when he asks that you stand and be bold. (coming soon)

Sisterlisa is a homeschooling mom of four children and married to a ministry leader of a Rescue mission. She is the owner of Growing in Grace Magazine and AGMinistries.

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Open Discussion

noreply@blogger.com (Sisterlisa) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:49:00 +0000

by Sisterlisa

We know that God is always on his throne.

King Jehoshaphat humbled himself before God and God smote three armies for him.
Job lost all his children, land, etc. But God stayed with Him.
Hebrews came into slavery in Egypt, but sent a deliverer.
Queen Esther was used by God to save their race.

God opened the jail doors when Paul and Silar praised Him.
Disciples saw Jesus ascend into heaven.
Apostles were martyred for His name's sake.

There is no guarantee for happy endings until all the tears are wiped away after judgment. There is no way to know that you'll see a victory in any given situation, but God is still God. He is still on his throne.

Feel free to answer one or more of the following:

1. How do you walk in Christ with boldness (as we ought to speak) yet not become prideful?

2. How do you walk in faith and not count your chickens before they hatch?

Sisterlisa is a homeschooling mom of four children and married to a ministry leader of a Rescue mission. She is the owner of Growing in Grace Magazine and AGMinistries.

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Holidays

noreply@blogger.com (Sisterlisa) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:00:00 +0000

by Sisterlisa

Someone recently asked me if I celebrate Christmas or not. Over the last few years I have become increasingly weary of the materialistic culture that this holiday has been morphing into. It's nothing like it was when I was a child, although that's probably because I didn't brave the stores with my mom on Black Friday.

But even in my adult years it seems to be getting worse.

After digging into the roots of this Americanized holiday, I became more disturbed about the origin of this day and how Christians applied Jesus to it to make it acceptable. Just as many Christians have applied Reformation Day Celebrations to October 31st, they have applied the 'birth' of Christ our Lord to December 25th, and His resurrection to the Easter holiday which is for Astarte, a pagan goddess.

I'm not going to make this article legalistic.

I simply wish to say that I think these holidays are highly over rated and tends to become divisive as Christians use their personal beliefs about it all to judge one another if they don't take one side or the other. Even back before I ventured into historic discovery of the culture of holidays, I already knew they were pagan.

I have nothing against candy, scented candles, gifts, family gatherings, or caroling about our Lord.

http://www.sxc.hu/photo/375728

(I am especially partial to liking turkey and cranberry sauce too. Please don't bash me for eating Tom the turkey. He tastes really good.)

There's a lot about these seasons that draw the family back together and family gathering together is a good thing. How they choose to do so is their business.

Last year I wrote about Christmas in a dogmatic, historic way and although I retain the conviction to abstain from as much materialism and paganism as possible, I'm not going to shake my finger at everyone else if they celebrate differently. That's not my place. And it's very difficult to take a stand against Christmas when you're the Toys for Tots Coordinator. :P And if I'm going to drop Christmas, I better drop every single aspect about it.

For those who think you must stand for Christ our Lord and enforce all Christians to stop all Christmas, Easter, Halloween, or any other holiday for that matter, then be sure to stop drinking soda pop, painting your nails, and overeating. While we all have the same grace to grow closer to Christ in these areas, we must not allow legalism to hurt one another. Shall we abstain from being friends with people because they have a wreath on their front door, scarecrow doll on the porch, or bunny rabbit in the window? Then we'd better not be on the internet or own a television either.

Yes, I'm being sarcastic, but I promise I'm not doing so with animosity or rebellion. :)

Also keep in mind that celebrating any holiday or special day observances is not mandatory, it is not sacrilegious to avoid them. I'm not saying to NOT stand for what you believe in, but your stand doesn't have to be on your neighbors front porch (or blog). Be kind and allow each other to grow in grace.

Sisterlisa is a homeschooling mom of four children and married to a ministry leader of a Rescue mission. She is the owner of Growing in Grace Magazine and AGMinistries.

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Matthew 18 "Merciful and Just"

noreply@blogger.com (Sisterlisa) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 08:00:00 +0000

This passage of scripture has been heavy on my heart for quite a while. I have seen Matthew 18 abused, so called Christians hurt others instead of reconcile them to Christ, and take His name in vain for their own agendas. All while abusing His message found in Matthew 18. Now I end this series with the latter portion of Matthew 18 and tie it all in together to share the beauty I see in Jesus' message to us about conflict resolution.

Now after Peter heard all these things from the very lips of Christ our Lord, he had this question,

" ²¹Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?"

Can you sense the sarcasm in that? Or perhaps he is simply unsure about just how many times we attempt to reconcile with someone who keeps hurting them. I would image it could be either both. Afterall, they were in the midst of persecution and the Pharisees breathing down their neck. The disciples must have wondered if Jesus meant to keep forgiving 'them' or if this teaching was for the average Believer who is willing to humble themselves and submit to Christ. However, Jesus' answer was firm,

"²²Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven"

Now does this mean seventy times seven in one offense or overall? Should we keep trying to be particular as Peter was, or can we simply see the heart of Christ in His desire to keep attempting reconciliation?

We know he mentioned to us that "..if thy hand offend thee cut it off..." But keep in mind that chapter 18 is not the only place Jesus taught about reconciling us to the Father. If we continue in the Light and those around us continue to be offensive we certainly are free to walk away, but not rudely or through abusive words or actions. Those who refuse to walk in the Light will eventually walk away themselves or be brought to submission through Christ in a series of consequences that are just for their sins. He shows us this through the story of the king and his servant.

"²³Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.
²⁴And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.
²⁵But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
²⁶The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
²⁷Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt."

The king was taking account of his servants. He was looking out for what they were doing or not doing. Keeping them accountable. He recalled that one servant owed him talents. The just consequence of an unpaid debt was to sell the servant and his family to pay for the debt. The servant showed an interest in remaining with his master by humbling himself and seeking forgiveness. There obviously must have been a good relationship between them for this servant to desire to stay with the master. Keep this in mind as we continue on; the relationship had importance to him.

As the servant fell down and worshiped the master, asking for patience and his declaration that he would indeed still pay the debt, the master forgave him and let him go free. This must have been a very good relationship, that the master would so quickly forgive.

Now after all this that same servant went out to one of his fellow servants, one of the kings other servants.

"²⁸But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.
²⁹And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
³⁰And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt"

I grieve over the fact that this servant who was just forgiven went out and did not show the same forgiveness toward others. Not only was he not forgiving, but he behaved with evil toward his brethren. He was harsh and bitter, insisting on such a harsh, unjust, punishment is not the way of Christ our Lord. The other servants saw what was taking place and they had every right to report the incident to the king,

^"31So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.
³²Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:
³³Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
³⁴And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him"

This kind of act is called 'wicked' by the king and this message was told by Christ our Lord. He said that the actions of the servant were wicked. An unforgiving heart and unjust actions are called wicked, in the eyes of Christ. The king had hoped that his servant would have shown the same forgiveness toward others that the king had shown him. Now Jesus sums the whole chapter up with these words,

" ³⁵So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses."

The king, in this story, gave the wicked servant over to the tormentors. This was a servant in the king's court and he likens this story to us and our relationships with one another. He has given us so much forgiveness and grace and we dare come against his little lambs with wicked intents! We should take this as a serious warning. If any leader is going to teach anything blunt about the teaching in Matthew 18, I believe it should be this part.

So our Lord answered Peter's question with a serious illustration. We are to keep forgiving. Are we to continue to put ourselves in harm's way? I don't think so. If God allows you to escape from a tormentors grip, then flee. Only you will know if God is calling you to remain for His name's sake. There may be times in your past that you can recall God telling you to flee and times when he asks you to stay. But the condition of our heart should remain consistent with our Lord's heart; to be reconciled to the Father through submission to Christ our Lord. In doing so we can be reconciled to one another.

Sisterlisa is a homeschooling mom of four children and married to a ministry leader of a Rescue mission. She is the owner of Growing in Grace Magazine and AGMinistries.

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Finding Organic Church

noreply@blogger.com (Sisterlisa) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:50:00 +0000

I've been on a journey of discovering what many call Organic Church for several months now. I have attended different home fellowships and 'church' gatherings all while reading Frank Viola's newest book, 'Finding Organic Church'. After coming out of legalism, I have been very skeptical of any 'church'. I have come to a very different perspective on what church really is and means. The true 'church' is really called Ekklesia, which actually means 'assembly' in English. After many years of watching organized religion I don't feel comfortable with what the world views as 'the church'. After reading Frank's book and keeping up with his blog, 'Reimagining Church', I can see that he feels the same way. I personally prefer to say Ekklesia (on the largest scale) or Assembly, at times possibly Congregation, for those who are meeting locally.

In 'Finding Organic Church', I learned that there are things to look for when seeking an organic expression of the local Ekklesia. Frank shares his insight, from personal experience over 21 years on what he has seen, what he feels is uplifting, and what he has seen that has not been. While reading this book I did not feel as though he was being negative at all, just informative on what positive things to look for, while at the same time sharing what could potentially be destructive. He shares what he has discerned over the years and I have seen a lot of that, already, in the last few months.

As a book reviewer I want to let you know that I read this book while being on this very journey. Some reviewers might be reading and reviewing this book while remaining in the organized religion of man and find it either refreshing or offensive. I share my feelings about this book as one who is optimistic and on this same road. After coming out of organized religion, coupled with a strict form of legalism, I have more good, than objectionable, to say about 'Finding Organic Church'. My review is candid and honest.

Frank presents his experience in four parts consisting of 24 different sections. Parts one and two are very refreshing to my soul. He guides you through what seemed to be the original expression of the local assemblies and how to look for those same characteristics in this modern world of religion. I echo him in saying, from my own words inspired from his writing, that when Christ lives in you and you are in him, he will manifest naturally in your life and in the local assembly. This Organic Church is a place where you should not see fake Christianity or any form of churchianity. However, no assembly is perfect. But Frank gives a clear representation of what it should look like. Even though he shares what characteristics to look for, always rely upon God's Holy Spirit to give you the discernment you need in finding a local assembly to gather with for worship, prayer, study, and fellowship.

I want to be honest with you about section three. Frank shares practical helps in keeping your assembly organized and since I recently came out of an organized legalistic church I cringed through the entire section. The effects of the organized religion I was in has left me still feeling rather battered. His ideas in this section seem to be coming from a heart that intends to share and give tips, but I personally feel that your local assembly needs to decide whether or not you want to apply them. I would imagine Frank would say the same thing, hopefully he'll read this and clarify that part. I believe that as the assembly grows up together in Christ, that they will naturally follow the Lord's leading in coming together with ideas for singing, child care, etc. So I think Frank is simply sharing tips based on what he has seen work and not work. (Frank, please forgive me for not being able to say much more about this section.)

The last section shares valuable information that I personally feel is vital that everyone, who seeks Organic Church, must read. I think it's essential to guard yourselves and others from wolves and cult like leaders. After coming out of a cult I would never want to become involved in another one. I feel section four is of the utmost importance to read. I saw some pitfalls in that section that I have been guilty of when I first came out of organized religion. OUCH! (Frank, I received the correction) ;O)

Anyone who thinks they can get an organic church started without being in another established organic assembly for quiet some time first, must have a hole in their head. When you are looking for an assembly, be cautious! Don't allow yourselves to get caught up in a situation where there is a 'master of the meeting' who calls all the shots. Humility and meekness should be an obvious and consistent characteristic of a healthy local Ekklesia.

I highly recommend Frank's new book 'Finding Organic Church', even though he tells me 'From Eternity to Here' is his best yet. (It's on my wish list, by the way) I enjoy Frank's books and his blog, but I'm sure he would agree with me that it's not about the man, but the messages of keeping Christ in the center, that matters.

If you just can't wait for the giveaway, you can purchase the book here.

I have two copies of Frank's book to give away. I am offering several ways to put your name in the hat.

1: Simply comment that you want it, leave your contact info please.
For extra chances to win:
2:Blog about it.
3:Facebook about it and add me as your friend so I can verify your entry
4:Tweet about it!
5: Stumble it! (link below)

Be sure to leave your evidence for entry in the comment section below. Deadline is November 15th!

Heart of Christ in Matthew 18

noreply@blogger.com (Sisterlisa) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 07:00:00 +0000

So just what is the main idea of Matthew 18? We looked at the first several verses last week, about how people abuse their spiritual authority, and then we looked at the use of verses 15-17. But I wanted to take a little rewind back to verses 11-14 before we look at Peter's question.

Matthew 18: 11-14,
"¹¹For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.
¹²How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?
¹³And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.
¹⁴Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish."

He is clearly talking about finding lost sheep, not converting wolves into sheep. His heart is reaching out for the lost little lambs. He wants them to come back and be reconciled. Is his main objective to bring these lambs back to be in subjection to man or to God? Is this passage of scripture all about bringing people into unity among themselves or in unity to Christ our Lord?

I think about the story of the Prodigal Son. After he took his inheritance and spent it all on riotous living, he came back home. If you read the passage you will see that when the father saw him 'afar off' he immediately began the celebration preparations. All before he heard any apology and he never made him jump through any hoops to be received into the Father's arms. Such grace! It's the power of the love of Christ our Lord that brings about this kind of reconciliation.

If the arm is seeking to make the knee submit and be in unison with itself, then that is out of balance. As a Body we are all subject to Christ our Lord. This is the thing that really grieves me is to see the members of the Body seeking to make people submit to them instead of to our Lord. If we all humble ourselves to Him, then we automatically become at peace with one another. So how do you know if someone truly has come into submission to Christ? The love of Christ will permeate through them. Real genuine forgiveness is not one that brings back past sins that were already established and forgiven.

Jesus speaks of a relationship in Matthew 18. The most prominent relationship he speaks of is us with the Father, through the Son. Now let's look at the verses following 17.

In Matthew 18:18-2o he says,
"¹⁸Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
¹⁹Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
²⁰For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them"

When we come into that spiritual realm of prayer we are entering his throne room in the spirit. We were told in Psalms to "enter his courts with praise." What we speak to him in the heavenlies, we bring into the earthly. When he explained to us in verses 15-17 he was saying that by two or three witnesses. These witnesses are to have the heart and mind of Christ in this endeavor. The focus of these witnesses is to bring glory to God, not a person. Their goal should be to enter His courtroom with praise, seeking reconciliation among the brethren to be in subjection to Christ our Lord. There are many people who say they are doing things and praying in the name of Jesus, but it must not be in vain. We need to be sure, absolutely sure that we are acting in His true and genuine name and with is genuine heart. If we don't he will have serious words for us one day,

Matthew 7:22-23, " ²²Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? ²³And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

In applying Matthew 18 we must be sure we have the mind and heart of Christ our Lord. We need to be absolutely positive that we are seeking reconciliation with our Lord and to be united in Body to the Head, which is Christ our Lord. Be warned not to use God's name in vain, we are not to misuse His name for our own agendas.

Sisterlisa is a homeschooling mom of four children and married to a ministry leader of a Rescue mission. She is the owner of Growing in Grace Magazine and AGMinistries.

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Halloween or Reformation Day

noreply@blogger.com (Sisterlisa) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 17:47:00 +0000

Over the last week I have seen many people, believers and non believers, begin the argument of whether or not to celebrate Halloween or Reformation Day.

I have spent several years looking into this as well and my family walked away from all Halloween activities several years ago. I do not feel that it is my place to 'tell' others not to celebrate it, but rather take some time to research the matter on your own and pray for God to guide you. (The above link is to a hearty discussion from last year between our authors and readers, in which we shared why we stopped celebrating it. My mind set of enforcing my views on others have changed considerably, as many of you may have noticed over the last year.)

Just as Halloween has deep roots that are not in accordance with our worship of God, so does Reformation Day.

I'm also not going to 'tell' people not to partake in Reformation Day. I am not going to argue that at all. But just encourage you to take a deeper look at that as well.

The most popular explanation of Reformation is when the different groups of people who worship God broke off from the Catholic Church and began their own practices of faith. The thing that makes me dig deeper is that if they felt the need to have the freedom of religion, then why after all these years have those 'reformed' churches held onto a majority of the Catholic practices?

Time and time again we see churches demanding ordinances to 'be right with God' or 'be right with the church'. Both of these demands are not even in the scriptures. The ONLY righteousness we have is in Christ our Lord.

So whatever you decide to do with your day, just keep Jesus your focus and try to avoid bringing arguments that further divide the brethren. "Keep your eyes on Jesus and right living happens." (CD Baker '101 Cups of Water')

Allow each other to grow in grace and do not allow Halloween or Reformation Day enslave you in the trap of Legalism.

Sisterlisa is a homeschooling mom of four children and married to a ministry leader of a Rescue mission. She is the owner of Growing in Grace Magazine and AGMinistries.

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Legalism Can Be Cult-Like

noreply@blogger.com (Sisterlisa) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 07:00:00 +0000

by Jenny

It is easy, as a Christian, to become over zealous and fall into legalism. If we are truly saved, we want to do good, that is part of our wanting to please the Lord. We are not saved by works. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:Not of works, lest any man should boast."

So, what is legalism? It is the strict adherence to the law, that is the letter of the law rather than the spirit of the law. The Jews were required to follow the law and to strictly adhere to it, but now we have Jesus Christ and he died in our place and became our priest. The former in the Old Testament was just a shadow of what was to come. Now salvation is for everyone who accepts and it is free, we don't have to work to get it. As Christians we no longer follow the ceremonies and judicial law laid out in the Torah, rather we follow the moral law as a guide. If we love the Lord we will do it willingly, we do it to grow more like God and we do it through Christ. The moral law doesn't save, it sanctifies. The moral law is our guidance, as what to aspire to and the main point is to worship God as creator.

Exodus 20:3 'Thou shalt have no other Gods before me.'

The moral law requires obedience, but does not give strenth. It shows the standard we are to live by. (not to take the Lord's name in vain, commit adultry, and murder, e.t.c.)

Galations 3:24 'Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.'

Regarding justification, or being justified, the moral law is abolished. We are only saved through Christ's righteousness. We are free from the curse and condemnatory power of the moral law. We are not under the condemning now, rather the commanding

Gal 3:13'Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law.'

That doesn't give us free licence to do whatever we like though.

Romans 3:31 'Do we not make void the law through faith'.

Legalism is when we overstep that line and think that somehow it counts towards our salvation, or we insist on following the old ceremonial and judicial traditions we are stepping into a cult like situation. Any religion that bases salvation on works, is a cult, but it can also be considered cult like if we try to insist on certain other things, or to be contentious.

Colosians 2:16 'Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: 17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.'

We are now permitted to eat pork and do not hold to the Jewish customs and practices. Acts 11:7' And I heard a voice saying unto me, Arise, Peter; slay and eat. 8 But I said, Not so, Lord: for nothing common or unclean hath at any time entered into my mouth. 9 But the voice answered me again from heaven, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.'

Some people may think they are better Christians because they follow this law and maybe they don't have TV, or they don't listen to a certain music.We need to be extremely careful that our faith is not overtaken by a religious formalism, having an unhealthy fear and being robbed of our joy. It doesn't stop there, as once it has overtaken us we start to judge others, maybe on their dress, what commands they obey e.t.c. this is what the Bible means when it says to judge not. We are to recognise false teachings and try people's statements against scripture, but not to judge in a critical selfish way.

Let us not be robbed of our joy and follow the Lord with joy and remember Titus 3:7 'That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.'

Jenny is a Christian home educating Mum of 9 blessings, living in the flat plains of England's green and pleasant land. She blogs at Be Fruitful.

Jenny

noreply@blogger.com (Sisterlisa) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:56:00 +0000

Christian home educating mum of 9 blessings and counting. I live in Eastern England with my hubby, four boys, five girls, a Labrador and a lovely black moggie. I was saved by grace at about 19 years old and it was my hubby to be who helped me along and helped me understand the truth, after being a nominal Christian for 2 years. I was convicted of my sin and submitted to Christ my saviour. Trying every day to be more like Him, but still got a long way to go! You can visit me at my blog, Be Fruitful.

Matthew 18 Part Two

noreply@blogger.com (Sisterlisa) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:23:00 +0000

by Sisterlisa

Many people believe that the most prominent portion of scripture in Matthew 18 is verses 15-17, yet that is so far from the whole reason Christ spoke these words which were penned by our brother Matthew. The entire chapter must be read as an entire teaching, not just a portion of it. As you read from the beginning all the way through to the end, you can see the heart of Christ our Lord in what He is teaching. In the first part of this series I shared with you how I felt about what Jesus was showing us in regards to his little ones.

The teaching is not simply a teaching about protecting children, but he was using children as an example of who we are to the Father, His little children. As you read through verses 1-14 you see that Jesus was looking for the lost sheep. Keep in mind that the sheep are a flock and when one gets lost He seeks to bring them back to the fold. He wasn't talking about going out to find the wolves and converting them into sheep. Now that we see that His heart is seeking the lost sheep, those members of the fold(family) that have gone astray, he then speaks to us about the one who is in error. Beginning in verse 15 we see him explaining to us how to reconcile with our brethren. He says to go to the person on your own first then, if he doesn't listen to you, take one or two more with you.

Matthew 18:15, "Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother."

Here is where I would like to stop and explain what I have seen over the years. I have seen people in anguish over broken relationships seeking one or two more to go with them, only to be told by those people that the individual is gossiping and they would have no part in that. Where does that leave us if we can't find someone to simply follow these steps instructed to us by Christ our Lord? He is very clear that when two people aren't coming to a sincere reconciliation that they are to seek help. As Christians we are commanded by God to assist them. He says in verse 16 that everything is to be established. We are to seek help in establishing what has occurred and come to a conclusion of reconciliation to Him first, and in doing so we are then reconciled to one another.

Matthew 18:16, "But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established."

Now if after all these things take place and the matter is still not established, he then tells us to go to the assembly of believers. But here is the part that we must understand, Jesus did not give us these steps to bring people into submission to us, to make them 'take our side'. This isn't about taking sides, it's about Christ our Lord. You see, when the individuals come into subjection to Christ, as it says in Ephesians 5:24, then, and only then, will they be at peace with one another. However, if one refuses to come into subjection to Christ, then he shows us verse 17 and how it applies.

Matthew 18:17, "And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican."

I have seen in several situations where Matthew 18 was abused and nothing was accomplished except more hard feelings and more bitterness. Yet I have also seen where it is used properly, guided by His Holy Spirit, and saw humility take shape in the hearts of the people. The thing that is most difficult for people who refuse to allow a proper use of Matthew 18 is that it will reveal their sin and, as a result, they are faced with the fact that they must repent. People who avoid the proper use of Matthew 18 are not seeking reconciliation with Christ our Lord, they are seeking to abuse the teaching in order to further their agenda to make people come into subjection to them. They don't want that rug swept clean, they just want to sweep all the junk under the rug and keep it hidden. They position themselves over the rug and stand firm upon it, refusing to let anyone look under it, and they demand that others simply trust them to handle it alone. Yet they are not handling it properly, that is why the brethren come to seek reconciliation.

Two things may occur from the proper use of Matthew 18. Either the person will humble themselves and come into subjection to Christ, or they will let pride empower them to keep refusing that humility. If they come into the humble place where Christ is calling them, they can receive forgiveness and get help, then reconciliation will take place. Keep in mind however, that there may be consequences which must take place in order for the person to make amends. Those who don't want to suffer consequences for their sin will keep hiding and eventually walk away on their own. I really don't believe the brethren will need to tell the person to leave. If our hearts are supposed to seek reconciliation with Christ our Lord then whoever is opposing Him will walk away because they will be refusing to submit to Christ.

Make sure you understand that this teaching is NOT about forcing man to come into subjection to man. When you abuse this teaching from Christ our Lord to bring about that kind of agenda, you have made yourself into a god. The ultimate purpose is to have us all in subjection to Christ our Lord.

I will give you two examples of what I have seen dealing with Matthew 18. I have seen it abused when a Believer comes to a leader to speak to them about the leader's error. The leader tells them to stay out of it and they refuse to submit to Christ. The Believer loves the person and sees the person continually leading wrongly and they keep trying to show him his error. He continues to refuse. So the Believer tries to find someone to go with them. (verse 16)

It is practically impossible to find someone willing to do that, but if they do manage to find someone who will listen and, together, they try to show the leader his error, he tries to convince them both that it is not their place to confront him and that only God can tell a leader he is wrong and they should just trust him, as the leader, to make the right decisions. He'll then stand before the congregation and teach the people that there are gossipers in the midst causing division with the leadership. He'll tell them that those who do so are cursed and will suffer consequences if they partake in their efforts to "divide leadership". He has now made it next to impossible for them to now follow verse 17 in bringing it to the church, but they must. Christ has told us we must come before the entire assembly.

Here is where Believers would be wise to fast and pray about when to do this. They must stand firm and speak up. They must blow the trumpet and warn the people. If they do not, then they have missed their opportunity to free the sheep. Even if the leader still refuses to repent and submit to Christ, you have at least warned the people. They are then free to make their own choices. Sometimes an entire group can see a miracle take place and the entire fold submit to Christ and everyone repent, but most times you will see church splits over this. If the majority of the church is loyal to a man instead of loyal to Christ then you will need to decide whether you want to remain in that kind of situation or walk away and find safety in Christ. Either way, there are consequences to sin. A person who has been leading God's people astray and teaching them to submit to them rather than to Christ, must be removed from their position of leadership. (I'm not talking about a nation's government, but rather a spiritual assembly)

Just as in a situation where a husband is abusing his wife and children, there must be consequences. Someone needs to remove that man from that home in order for the family to be safe until he gets help. Not all spiritual leaders will be restored to leading God's people. For example, a leader who molests children or cheats on his wife with another lady in the church. It's difficult to list all the reasons why a leader should never be a leader again, but the local assembly needs to make that decision. Even though this shows you the aspect of Matthew 18 in regards to a person in leadership, it is applicable to anyone who is a Believer.

I personally feel that any religious organization that has its assembly set up with one prominent leader is twisted and that's why applying Matthew 18 is so difficult. When we are all equal, as a team, functioning as Christ intended for us to, then applying Matthew 18 will not be so difficult and the strongholds would not be able to grab so tight of those in leadership positions.

The best example of the correct use of Matthew 18 was when I saw it happen in a local ministry. A person was in error and one believer went to the them with their concern. The person said they were sorry, but continued in error. So the one believer got two more to go with her. Through much prayer, they agreed that they needed to see the person in error submit to Christ. They went to her together, but she refused to listen. It was then taken to the larger assembly, where several people showed her love and acceptance of her, but not her sin. She submitted to Christ. The entire group prayed over her and embraced her. It wasn't about getting her to submit to them personally, but all together in Christ. She later came into error again and the group kept applying Matthew 18 each time. Each time she submitted and forgiveness was given. Consequences did accompany discipline, but it was done in love.

The last time she was in error, the group came to her again, seeking for all to be subject to Christ our Lord and she decided on her own that she wanted to depart. She did not want to submit to Christ. She is now in jail. The group did what they could to help her come to Christ, but she refused. No one had to tell her to depart from them, because their ultimate goal was to seek reconciliation to Christ. Christ's way is never to cast away a believer who is in error. It is always to reconcile. He is always interceding on our behalf to bring us unto Himself. In the final day there will be judgment for those who continually rejected Him, but while we are still here on earth, I believe it is always His heart's desire to see reconciliation among His children. But reconciliation must be under Christ our Lord. He is the Head of the Body. He is the Bridegroom for the Bride. It is never about making the Bride submit to the hand, or the arm.

In the next portion of this series we will look at what He teaches us to do if the person continues to sin over and over again. Peter asked, "How many times should we keep forgiving a person?"

Sisterlisa is a homeschooling mom of four children and married to a ministry leader of a Rescue mission. She is the owner of Growing in Grace Magazine and AGMinistries.

Life Goes On

noreply@blogger.com (Sisterlisa) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 03:02:00 +0000

This last week has been super busy, but all good. God is good...all the time! Even in the midst of the storms of life, we can rest in Christ our Lord. He reveals so much to us as we live focused on Him. Crime is becoming more evil and Christ's Light is shining much brighter. The darkness seems to be overwhelming at times, but know this; The darker it becomes, the more obvious His Light becomes as well. In the middle of severe persecution of our earliest brethren, His power was made manifest in their lives. His power is increasing among believers today and we know that 'no weapon formed against us shall prosper'.

Encourage yourselves in the Lord! He IS coming soon!

We have a new contributor joining our team this week and we'll be announcing that very soon. We have an incredible team growing and we are excited about the revelations of His love, truth, and mercy that is shown to us daily and we look forward to sharing it with you. Be sure to get subscribed and don't forget to sign up for a chance to win the Devotion Chevron Car, Milano Cookies, and Peanut M&M's.

Even though we all become busy, especially during this time of year, we need to focus on Christ our Lord. He is our Strong Tower!

Sisterlisa is a homeschooling mom of four children and married to a ministry leader of a Rescue mission. She is the owner of Growing in Grace Magazine and AGMinistries.

Waiting on God

noreply@blogger.com (Sisterlisa) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:42:00 +0000

by Paula

“Just wait...”

Who likes to hear that? None of us like to wait, and frankly, few are very good at it either.

Our society has become one of instant gratification and light-speed results.

We are impatient to the nth degree. Road rage is a testament to that. Hitting a red light or getting stuck behind a slower driver is enough to drive some to lose all civility and sometimes all control as well.

Fewer couples wait until they meet their new child to learn if they are adding a son or daughter to their family. Why wait when the answer is only an ultrasound away? (Especially if the technician tells you that she knows whether you’re having a Max or Mackenzie. What greater temptation could there be?)

Waiting has become a curse instead of the blessing that it was intended to be. And I fully admit that I am one who equates waiting for anything with fingernails raking down a chalkboard. Waiting used to be the kindle to set my anxiety into a full blaze. Sometimes it even paralyzed me. I felt I could do nothing until the waiting was over.

But that was before I began relying on Christ, before I understood that waiting is a huge part of faith and before I was assured that waiting brings rewards.

"The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him." (Lamentations 3:25)

Waiting on God is especially hard because we don’t have the capacity to see things from His perspective. We can only see things from our viewpoint and within our understanding of time, and we expect His timing to follow suit. But what we often forget is that God doesn’t operate under the same conditions, expectations, or limitations as we do. His time is not our time. We aren’t supposed to be able to understand why He makes us wait or the fact that 10 years in our time may be only a nanosecond in God’s time.

“ For My thoughts are not your thoughts, are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. (Isaiah 55:8)

Over five years ago I first really cried out to the Lord for help and guidance. I finally let go of the thought that I could control my life and gave God the wheel and asked him to steer. But I wanted him to do it on my time—which was pretty much now.

“Wait, my child,” He said. “Just wait...”

I tried to wait. I tried to be obedient, but it was just so incredibly hard. Waiting made me worry. Waiting made me doubt. Sometimes I tried to grab the wheel back from God. “I’ll just do it,” I’d tell him. And He’d let me.

And then I’d learn that God’s way is always better. I’d see that God’s way was worth the wait. And I’d hang my head in shame and hand the wheel back to God.

And He’d always take it back, no lectures, no “I told you so's." He’d gently take it back, put His hand on my head, look me in the eyes, and say: “Wait, my child. Just wait...”

"For since the beginning of the world Men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, Nor has the eye seen any God besides You, Who acts for the one who waits for Him." (Isaiah 64:4)

I’m learning to wait, and fortunately God’s grace allows me to mess up now and again, become impatient and try to just make things happen myself. But it always ends up the same: disappointment and discontentment and a longing for more. God’s “more.”

Over five years ago I pleaded with God to show me His path for my life, to allow me to hear His voice and know, without a doubt, that He is speaking to me. And I waited, but I continued to seek Him during this time.

"The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him." (Lamentations 3:25)

Finally, five years later, He answered me in such a way I could’ve never imagined. He spoke to me not during my quiet time or when worshipping at church; He spoke to me instead through a young woman who sat beside me in the Nashville airport.

I never saw that one coming.

After she struck up a conversation about schedules and organizing, we began to discuss her life as a law student in Little Rock, Arkansas. And from out of nowhere she hit me with this:

“People need to realize that God doesn’t talk to everyone in the same way. To some people, he speaks directly and they are able to hear His voice. Others he has to run into a brick wall to make them realize He is speaking to them. And many times he uses other people to deliver his messages.”

That’s when I got goosebumps.

“Wait, I have to tell you something,” I said, wondering if she was going to think I was some kind of freak but not really caring. “I have been praying and praying to hear God speak to me. I just told my friend about it last night. I think that message was for me.”

Without flinching, my new friend said, “Of course it was.”

Now, this was no grandma-type wise woman who had been walking with the Lord for over 60 years. This was a girl more than 15 years my junior, a girl who didn’t look like a person I would expect to be God’s messenger to me.

But she was. In God’s great wisdom he delivered in a way that was entirely unexpected and contrary to anything I had imagined. And it was so much better.

After visiting like old friends for a half hour, the announcement came that passengers could start boarding our plane. We were surprised to find out we were catching the same flight. Then the airport attendant called for our group of rows, and we all stood.

I have to back up here and tell you what happened when we arrived at the airport that morning. My friend who I had traveled with suggested that we change seats so we could sit together on our flight. After checking the computer, we saw that the flight wasn’t full and the back row was empty. “You take 32A, and I’ll take 32C,” my friend said. “Then we’ll have the seat between us free.”

So as we got in line to board the plane, I casually asked our new friend where her seat was. And her response is something that I will never forget, as long as I have breath.

“32B.”

My other friend and I looked at each other, eyes wide, as tears quickly filled mine.

“Did you change your seat once you got to the airport?” we asked. “Because that seat was empty when we checked in.”

“No,” she answered. “This is just the seat I was assigned.”

"I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry." (Psalm 40:1)

Waiting on the Lord can be frustrating and can fill us with doubt as to if he’s even heard our cries. What if we wait—and there’s nothing? we ask ourselves in the darkest hour of the night. What if God doesn’t come through?

But here’s the thing: God will come through. In fact, He’s coming through right now for you. He’s just doing it in His own time. And what may feel like endless waiting to you may be necessary for God to deliver His perfect answer in His perfect way. And unlike our friends and family—God will never let us down. His promise is pure and 100% guaranteed. We will never wait on God in vain. We do not wait for nothing. Instead, we wait for everything.

"Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day."(Psalm 25:5)

After growing up in a family with three girls, Paula found herself raising three boys. Admittedly still perplexed at how the male brain works, she has learned to embrace the boogers and burps that come alongside the kisses and bedtime snuggles. She feels blessed to have been able to take her full-time editor job to a part-time status after her third son was born so she could be home with her boys before and after school, as well as devote more time to helping them develop into the type of Christ-following men she knows this world needs. Paula shares her entertaining look at life with boys at www.boogersandburps.com.

Joy: The Final Result

noreply@blogger.com (Sisterlisa) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 07:00:00 +0000

by Teri Lynne

"My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations. Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." James 1:2 - 4

When our pastor first started at our church, he made a statement that has stuck with me. He said, "I will never tell you something God is calling you to do without also giving you an explanation of HOW to do it." As a Bible study teacher/leader, I have adopted that mindset as well. So, today, we get to the HOW ...

First, a quick recap of what we've already discussed.

* Finding joy in our trials is both a command and a choice. God directs us to "count it all joy" but He does not demand that from us. It is our loving choice to obey.

* "The trying of our faith" comes in two forms: tests of fire (external) and trials of faith (internal).

* We must cooperate with God's work in our lives and seek completion of His plan for us.

Now, on to the burning question ... "HOW is this accomplished?"

I have two simple answers to that question. Actually, there is one answer with two parts. We accomplish this joy in all circumstances through our minds and our faith.

Mind: Choosing joy is not an emotion-based decision. It is a conscious choice of will. We cannot base our determination on how we feel or what we want in the moment. JOY is based entirely on our understanding of and belief in God's faithfulness to us and His good plan for our lives (Jeremiah 29:11).

Faith: We must make the choice to see the hand of God in all of life. Rather than coincidence, fate, or karma, as believers we must acknowledge that Sovereign God has allowed all things and is continually working all things together for the good of those who love Him.

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

Joy ... a noble pursuit but so much more than that.

Joy is expected of believers ... joy that transcends circumstance and feeling.

Joy that comes only from Him.

Will you pursue the joy found only in Christ?

Related Articles:
Joy The Great Choice by Teri Lynne
Joy The Profound Growth by Teri Lynne

Teri Lynne is an avid lover of books, constant drinker of strong coffee (with lots of sugar and creamer), and passionate follower of Christ. Married to Scott since 1996 and mother of Casiday since 2000, Teri Lynne, in her words, is living her own happily ever after ... mostly. Writing and teaching women to live empowered, confident lives in Christ and HIS strength is a dream come true for her. You can find her musings almost daily at "Pleasing to You" where she encourages, challenges and inspires others to pursue lives that are pleasing to God.

Jesus Christ and The Homosexual

noreply@blogger.com (Sisterlisa) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 22:26:00 +0000

God has been working on my heart about something for quite a while and today he finalized it with me. When I share with you what He told me many Christians might call me a heretic and want to hurl rotten tomatoes at me with all their might. This is a highly controversial topic all over the nation and in religious circles in every country. When I drove through my favorite Starbuck's drive through, God spoke to me about the person taking my order. It was a man with a friendly, but feminine voice. Was he a homosexual? I don't know he didn't say, but God spoke to my heart. He was clear on what he wanted me to tell this man when I drove up to the window.

He took my card to pay for the coffee, then as I was waiting for my coffee to come up he asked how I was doing. I replied, "I'm doing great and God spoke to me back there when you took my order. He wants me to tell you something." He smiled and said, "Ok what is it?" I said, "Jesus Christ loves you and just wants you to love Him back." He was astonished and said, "That's exactly what my mom keeps telling me!"

I felt in my spirit that he is a homosexual and regardless of whether or not I have discerned wrongly, the message is the same to all homosexuals. Jesus Christ does love you and He seeks for you to love Him back. When you're ready, he is waiting. He stands at the door and knocks. He doesn't ask you to clean your life up before you come to Him. He simply says "Come".

The notion that we must repent BEFORE coming to Christ indicates that we can somehow get all cleaned up on our own.

Ephesians 2:9, "Not of works lest any man should boast" Titus 3:5, "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;"

You see it's Jesus Christ who washes us, He regenerates us, according to His mercy. The renewing is of His Holy Ghost. We can't clean up our lives in order to have Christ, we have Him simply because He offered himself up for us. I have been grieving about the condemning spirit that seems to drive 'Christians' into pointing fingers at homosexuals, when the beam of legalism in sticking out of their eyes. Many 'Christians' who claim that they love Christ and condemn a homosexual to hell and demand that they repent of their lifestyle before they can get saved is heresy.

The other thing that grieves me is that these very same 'Christians' are convinced that these men and women are condemned to hell because of that ONE thing. Let me be very clear with you about what I believe. We are in judgment until we choose Christ. Plain and simple. The greatest thing that I believe keeps us in judgment is that we think we can somehow manage to "Do" something to clean our selves up to be able to have the 'ability' to trust Christ. We do NOT possess anything in or of ourselves to trust Christ. We are to simply choose Him. We must repent of self will and allow Him to humble us. We are the Alabaster box that the woman brought to the meal where Jesus sat.The box of self will that must be broken in order for His Holy Spirit to flow from within. She used her hair, which is quite humbling for a woman to do, to anoint His feet with the precious oil. Our self will, trying to clean ourselves up with self righteousness, is not going to save us.

Dear homosexual, your relationship with Christ our Lord is not dependent upon whether or not you 'do' anything or 'don't' do something. Whether you think you are right or wrong about your sexual preference, that has no bearing. Jesus Christ simply said to call upon His name and repent from 'self'. We need to realize that we do not have anything of ourselves, no ability to get clean before we can receive Christ. If that were so none of us would enter into His rest, because NO ONE can get cleaned up enough for God.(Romans 3)

I wish to humbly apologize to all those who are hurting because of the self-righteous spirit that controls those who claim to be God's children. They are mislead and misinformed of who Christ really is. Even I am guilty of speaking about lifestyles that I believe are unlawful. I have done so with condemnation, but God has shown me my errors. I do value the holy life that Christ offers us, but we can only have that if we have truly trusted Christ in His Righteousness to be our righteousness. When I trusted Christ, I was a loathsome sinner. I didn't have to 'do' anything to have Him as my Lord. Over time, as my relationship with Him grew in his grace, He changed me. I could not change myself. There will no doubt be other things in my life that don't get changed before my physical body leaves this world. I will not be perfect until I see Him face to face. Until then I am clay in the potter's hand.

I firmly believe in walking in the Spirit of God and allowing Him to change us. I do not condone behavior that is not healthy spiritually nor physically. Yet if I am going to speak judgment and repentance to a homosexual just because of that lifestyle, then I must also speak the message to myself about me being overweight. I have many beams in my own eye to deal with. I have no place to preach condemnation to anyone else, no matter what other religious people say about 'lifestyles'.

Rejoice for the kingdom of God has come, and that Kingdom is Christ our Lord. He loves you and asks you to simply love Him back. Walk in the Spirit, and grow in grace.

Romans 8:1, "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. ²For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.³For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: ⁴That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."

*Should you hurl those rotten tomatoes at me for publishing this article, than I glady stand in the way so the homosexual can come to Christ without your condemantion hitting their souls and smacking them down into hell. We should not be stumbling blocks that hinder people from coming to Christ.

Sisterlisa is a homeschooling mom of four children and married to a ministry leader of a Rescue mission. She is the owner of Growing in Grace Magazine and AGMinistries.

Joy: The Profound Growth

noreply@blogger.com (Sisterlisa) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 15:18:00 +0000

by Teri Lynne

"Not everyone who grow old, grows up. There is a vast difference between age and maturity. There is too much impatience in difficulties. James appeals to us to recognize that every test, every trial, every tribulation with all the accompanying sorrow and disappointment, is a God-given opportunity for growth and development in the Christian life." ~ Dr. Johnny Hunt, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Woodstock, GA

Life's difficulties are often overwhelming ... and there are times when I find myself like the Psalmist crying out,

"Unto thee will I cry, O LORD my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit. Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle." Psalm 28:1-2

Lord, do You hear me? Can You see what is happening? I'm calling out to You ... are You there?

Gently, always gently, the sweet Father reminds me that it is necessary for me to experience these sufferings, these difficulties, even these sorrows. The dark nights are necessary so that I can learn the true beauty of His presence, the magnificence of His provision, the unchanging nature of joy found only in Him.

Again, I'm drawn back to the words of James, the half-brother of Christ,

"My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations." James 1:2.

I wonder how that is possible ... what that means. So I continue reading ...

"Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." James 1:3 - 4

Through these verses we find that as we pursue joy, as we choose joy, we are rewarded by God with growth.

Life generally brings two kind of "trying."

1. Tests of fire. These are those experiences and situations that are external ... difficult relationships, financial hardships, loss of loved ones and the like. In these circumstances we have the choice ... to be consumed by the fires or to be refined by them. We must remember that God is in control, even in the fires we face.

2. Trials of faith. These are those battles inside us ... accepting the fullness of Christ's love for us, living in the truth of our identity in Christ, etc. Often we lose this battle ... for it is in minds and hearts. We hide these struggles from others, choosing a mask of religion over a countenance the reflects the relationship we have with Christ. We must learn to confront these trials with the truth of God's Word and thus keeping them from becoming external fires that can destroy us.

Believers will face both of these types of "trying" ... for God uses them to accomplish His goals in us. Our growth depends on them.

As we learn to "count it all joy" we find that we are changed from the inside. God's Word assures us that the "trying of your faith worketh patience." This word for "patience" is transliterated hypomone which refers to patience as a quality of mind, the bearing of evils and suffering with a tranquil mind.

Our mind is changed! We become tranquil and at peace within ourselves.

How does this happen?

First, we must cooperate with God! Note in verse 4 "let patience have her perfect work." We must let the test run its course ... trusting in the work God is doing.

Second, we must long for completion! James ends verse 4 by saying, "that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." What a wonderful epitath for our lives. That God will have so worked in us that we are wanting (lacking) nothing.

Testing, trials and troubles are God's pruning shears, His purging fire, His carpenter's bench. He uses them to make what we need to be.

I long for this growth in my life. I pray for a cooperative spirit and seek a completed life. Daily I face the trials and difficulties ... and daily I choose joy.

What about you? Do you grasp the need for joy in suffering? How have you experienced these truths in your life?

Related Articles:
Joy The Great Choice by Teri Lynne

Matthew 18 Abuse of Spiritual Authority

noreply@blogger.com (Sisterlisa) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 16:12:00 +0000

This is just one of a series of articles, stay tuned for more.

For many years I have seen Matthew 18 abused and the flock spread far and wide and wondered, “What’s wrong with this system?” God isn’t wrong, but how His Word is being twisted certainly is. I have spent an incredible amount of time searching out this matter.

What I have seen in systems and friendships today is an abuse of the scriptures. Condemning Christians misuse it to justify their unforgiving hearts. They abuse other believers with their controlling spirit in hopes to bring them into submission to THEM and not to Christ. This is a Jezebel spirit. This is a spirit that only seeks to be in control of believers, what they do, who they fellowship with, and who they submit to. This is the kind of ‘leadership’ that we see in cults today. This article, as you may have noticed, is quite frank and it is meant to be. God has given me this understanding for a purpose and I pray His purpose will be made known to those He allows to really hear this. (a small note that I will write about later is that a true teacher of God's word speaks to them in humility and love, seeking for the soul of the other to surrender to Christ in love, not condemnation.)

Let it be known right away that our submission is to Christ our Lord. He is the Head of the Body, not man. Everything about Matthew 18 is about submission to Christ our Lord. When we submit to Christ our Lord even our enemies are made to be at peace with you.

Proverbs 16:7, “When a man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.”

This is a lengthy portion of scripture, but it must be looked at in context. Far too many ‘believers’ take only verse 17 and use it against Christians, rather than to love them and win them back to Christ. To walking in the Spirit. These controlling spirits seek only to expose sin and then once they prove their sin exists they use it to cut them off. However, if the victim of such abuse comes under their submission, rather than to Christ, the ‘leader’ in the situation will gladly receive them back, so long as they submit to them. They do this for various reasons, the most prominent one is to silence them from speaking about what God has shown them. They do this through bullying and intimidation. This is idolatry and is abusive to the people and to God’s Word! We must NOT seek to be in the place of our Savior by seeking others to succumb to us. We must not be seeking to bring others into our own realm of submission and power, this is abuse.

In this first of this series on Matthew 18, I would like to invite you to explore with me the first eleven verses. The disciples wanted to know who would be the greatest in heaven. Do you see the hierarchy Jezebel spirit in that? They were seeking who would be greatest and Jesus clearly expressed to them that it is not about who would be greatest, but about who is to be last. He showed them that we all need to be like small children. Young children are humble little people who know that for them to survive in this world they need someone to care for them, guide them, and teach them. That person is Jesus Christ. He wants us to rely upon him in a spirit of humility. Humility is not one that seeks to be in charge. It is not one who seeks to be the leader of the pack. He goes on to say in

verse 5, “And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.”

These are not literal children he is speaking of. He used the illustration of the children to speak to us about who we are to the Father and how we are to behave among one another. When a person is subject to Christ as our Head we are to receive them.

In the next verse (v.6) he then cautions all of us,

“But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.”

So what would be considered offending a person who is subject to Christ?

He says in verse 7, “Woe unto the world because of offences! For it must needs be that offences come: but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!”

We know that offences are here in this world. But he’s talking about offences to those who are subject to Christ. A person in a humble position under our Head and Savior, Christ our Lord. Not a person who claims to be a child of God that seeks to be in charge. A true follower of Christ is not one who seeks to be in charge and rule over God’s people.

He then goes on to advise those in a humble position under Christ our Lord.

Verse 8 says, “Wherefore if they hand or foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. 9 and if they eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.”

Again, this is not to be abused and used against a brother or sister in Christ in an effort to cut them off just because you have a disagreement about something. (that portion will come in a future lesson in this series regarding verses 15-17) This has to do with our submission to Christ our Lord. For those who seek to diminish our submission to Christ and take you into bondage to themselves rather than to Christ are those we cut off. This is where the teaching of false prophets come into play. The leaders propelled by the Jezebel spirit, who seeks to bring you into submission to them, to their agenda, even covering up their own sins by trying to silence you from speaking truth. These are who offends those little children in Christ’s kingdom. It is HIS kingdom, not mans kingdom.

Several leaders have built up their own kingdoms in their own circles and ministries and if God’s child who seeks submission to Christ, brings exposure by the Light that is within them, they will seek to control you. The Light within you exposes the sins of the leader, who will attempt to squash the Light within you by making you submit to them rather than to Christ our Lord, but God is warning them.

He says in verse 10 and 11, “Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. 11, For the son of man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

He tells those who are trying to hide the Light within God’s people, to not despise them. They do despise them because the Light within them is exposing their sins to them. The children of God are not outwardly pointing out their sins like a Pharisee, they are simply walking in the Light and thus those ‘leaders’ despise that. They despise them for the Light that is within them. They despise how sweet and kind they are, how genuine their faith is and how they seek for others to be in submission to Christ. These leaders don't want to submit to Christ, for if they did they would not be seeking to make God's people submit to them and their agenda.

It is evident to many people that this chapter of the Bible is misused. Many Christians are leaving organized religion and religious circles of fellowship, because thy have been tremendously hurt by these abusive authoritative leaders. Dear child of God you are not alone. Jesus was clear that if an offense come to you as a person who seeks to be in submission to Christ our Lord, that we are to cut them off. But first we must examine the rest of the chapter, because God has a clear explanation of how to come to this conclusion. He is not giving us clear direction to simply cut others off simply because they seem to be offensive. He told us offences will come, but what kind of offense is what is in question. Stay tuned for more.

Sisterlisa is a homeschooling mom of four children and married to a ministry leader of a Rescue mission. She is the owner of Growing in Grace Magazine and AGMinistries.

Breast Cancer Awareness Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Sisterlisa) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 05:40:00 +0000

October is a special month for several awareness campaigns, but for now

I would like to focus on Breast Cancer. Breast Cancer is an illness that women suffer from all over the world, and even some men can become victims. Many organizations are out to help Cancer patients and even Locks of Love aids in helping to make hair pieces for patients who have lost their hair in chemo. Some may think it's boastful to openly admit they donated their hair for a cancer patient, but had my friend Heather, in Finland, not told me that she had done so, my daughter Moni would not have thought to donate as well. You can shop for the cure for cancer as well, by purchasing products from companies who are packaging their products to help fight the war. In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month and in our effort to bring more awareness and contribute to the cause, we have a prize package for you to enter for. A donor has graciously donated the new Chevron Cancer Car, "Devotion". What a great name for a Cancer Awareness car! in addition to that we also have a package of Milano Cookies by Pepperidge Farm and a bag of Pink Peanut M&M's. (beautifully brought to you by Suzie Survivor, created at MMS.com/us.

Now we know most of you like chocolate and maybe the car is cute too, but these cookies are absolutely delicious, I tell ya! So to bring awareness, get entered for this giveaway. You can keep it for yourself or give it away to a patient or survivor that you know. You can enter in one or more of the following ways, for each way you enter your name goes in an extra time.

-Blog about this giveaway, include a short description of this post including the link.
-Tweet about this giveaway using hashtag #AGMCancer.
-Post it on your FaceBook page by adding the link to your status.

Be sure to bring your link back so we can enter you.

Sisterlisa is a homeschooling mom of four children and married to a ministry leader of a Rescue mission. She is the owner of Growing in Grace Magazine and AGMinistries.

Seasons of Friendship

noreply@blogger.com (Sisterlisa) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:55:00 +0000

If you missed the seminar Sisterlisa spoke at, it's not too late. You can get the audio package of the entire seminar series by clicking on the button to the left. Along with your discounted investment you'll also get my two books Deception Behind the Candy Coat and Seasons of Friendship (based on my session). The price will go up on Nov 1st so get your package today!

Back to the Basics of Life Seminar Series will help refresh you on all of “life’s little lessons” and maybe even give you some new tools in your toolbox with which to teach them to your daughter.

Our First Back to the Basics of Life Seminar Series will cover the following “life lessons”:

~~Teaching Your Daughter Manners and Etiquette~~
**~~TONIGHT~~**Teaching Your Daughter about Friendship
Tuesday October 20th Teaching Your Daughter Simple Tips for Healthy Skin & Radiant Beauty
Teaching Your Daughter Character

This Seminar series will be held live for 2 more weeks, Oct 20th, and running consecutive Tuesdays through October 27th, all at 8 pm CST / 9 pm EST / 6 pm PST in an online conference room.

This event is free on the night of the conference, but you can pre-order this seminar event on MP3 and a printed transcription of the seminar by clicking on the button above. I spoke about 'The Seasons of Friendship' and am giving away 2 free Ebooks, one that sheds light on the lies the enemy tries to feed 'good Christian girls' and the other on friendships, to all of the seminar attendees. Also, Alyssa is giving away a digital book as well titled, A Mother – Daughter True Love Waits Guide
So get signed up today!

Sisterlisa is a homeschooling mom of four children and married to a ministry leader of a Rescue mission. She is the owner of Growing in Grace Magazine and AGMinistries.

Blessings to Charlene

noreply@blogger.com (Sisterlisa) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:08:00 +0000

Friendships have different seasons and I have been blessed with the friendship God gave me with Charlene, through many different seasons. We have gone through a lot together and God brought us through storms, by His light, as we sought Him in prayer for many things. It has been a pleasure and a true joy to be a part of Charlene's life and to have her as a part of mine. I can truly say that Charlene has been an angel to my family and now she gets to be an angel in the life of her sweet husband, Mike. We rejoice with them in their new marriage and send them with blessings for their future together as husband and wife.

Charlene has been writing for AGMinistries for over a year now and has been the recipient of a genuine blessing! God blessed Charlene and her two boys with a man to lead them and is getting settled into their new home and has begun homeschooling her little ones.

AGMinistries sends Charlene, Mike, and the boys off with our blessings and prayers. Please pray for their future together as husband and wife. You can read her previous articles here. You can also find her on Facebook at Charlene Dallo.

Bless you all and Charlene, we thank you for your dedication to AGM and the readers here. You have been such an encouragement! I adore you sister, and will miss you greatly!

Joy The Great Choice

noreply@blogger.com (Sisterlisa) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 07:00:00 +0000

by Teri Lynne

"Life need not be easy to be joyful. Joy is not the absence of trouble but the presence of God." ~ William Van Der Hoven

"My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations." James 1:2

"Count it all joy" ... all of it.

So often we fail in this endeavor as believers ... counting it all joy.

Life overwhelms us. We face trials, temptations, and testing. We get caught up in the circumstances and situations that seem to be overtaking us.

The Greek word used here is hegeomai and means "to govern, rule; to think, consider."

We should be governed, ruled, by the joy we have in Christ. Instead we are guilty, far too often, of being defined by cynicism or complaint.

In studying this verse, I notice two important truths.

1. Joy is a command.

James is not suggesting that we consider the difficulties and struggles in our life as joy nor is saying we might want to think about life this way.

NO! He is clear ... "Count it all joy..."

As believers, JOY is not optional. We are expected to live in joy. Paul writes to us in Galatians about the fruit of the Spirit and joy is listed second only to love in the list of what must be evident in our lives.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law." ~ Galatians 5:22 - 23.

Joy, as Paul and James define it, is rejoicing, gladness. We live in gladness, a deep-seated awareness of the grace of Christ in our lives that is unrelated to and independent of any circumstance or trial we may face.

2. Joy is a choice.

As with all things, our sweet Heavenly Father does not impose His will on us. We are commanded to live in joy; but, we are given the privilege of choosing obedience in this area as with all others.

We have the ability to choose to view life's difficulties in light of the cross. And when I consider the suffering Christ faced on Calvary, nothing in my life seems so overwhelming or significant that I can choose anything other than joy.

I have heard these two truths stated by several pastors:

Outlook determines outcome.
Attitude determines action.

I believe these two statements are absolutely true and when applied to this Scripture leave us with a clear picture of what JOY should look like in our lives.

A joyful outlook understand that obedience to God's commands will result in an outcome that brings honor and glory to Him.

A joyful attitude is a choice we make daily to focus on Christ and His grace toward us which leads to actions that point others to Him.

So, I wonder, today will you be obedient to our Lord's command for joyful living? Will you make the choice to focus on Him in all things and trust in the joy that He offers?

Next Article:
Joy: Profound Growth by Teri Lynne

Sisterlisa is Speaking Tonight

noreply@blogger.com (Sisterlisa) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 07:38:00 +0000

Sisterlisa is speaking tonight at the Back to Basics Seminar Series. This is an online conference for moms and their daughters.

Back to the Basics of Life Seminar Series will help refresh you on all of “life’s little lessons” and maybe even give you some new tools in your toolbox with which to teach them to your daughter.

Our First Back to the Basics of Life Seminar Series will cover the following “life lessons”:

~~Teaching Your Daughter Manners and Etiquette~~
**TONIGHT**Teaching Your Daughter about Friendship
Teaching Your Daughter Simple Tips for Healthy Skin & Radiant Beauty
Teaching Your Daughter Character

This Seminar series will be held live for 3 more weeks, Tonight Oct 13th, and running consecutive Tuesdays through October 27th, all at 8 pm CST / 9 pm EST / 6 pm PST in an online conference room.

This event is free on the night of the conference, but you can pre-order this seminar event on MP3 and a printed transcription of the seminar by clicking on the button above. I'll be speaking about 'The Seasons of Friendship' and am giving away 2 free Ebooks, one that sheds light on the lies the enemy tries to feed 'good Christian girls' and the other on friendships, to all of the seminar attendees. So get signed up today!

Sisterlisa is a homeschooling mom of four children and married to a ministry leader of a Rescue mission. She is the owner of Growing in Grace Magazine and AGMinistries.

Amazing Grace

noreply@blogger.com (Sisterlisa) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 07:00:00 +0000

by Paula

When I was a baby, my favorite song was “Amazing Grace.” When I was old enough to talk, it became evident what about the song fascinated me. My mom tells of how she’d be singing the hymn while rocking me to sleep, and inevitably whenever she’d get to my favorite word, I’d pick up my head off her shoulder, arch my back, and proudly belt out—“wretch!”

The song has held a special place in my heart since those early days, but it wasn’t until my thirties that I came to understand what it really meant. Until that point, “amazing grace” was a concept that sounded nice but in a disconnected, surreal kind of way. The melody resonated with me personally, but the meaning behind that melody did not.

Since accepting Christ as my savior as an adult, I think I finally understand why the word “wretch” fascinated me so much as an infant. It was the cacophony of the hard, ugly “wretch” against the euphony of the light, whisperlike “amazing grace.” Saying them out loud only intensifies the differences in sound and meaning. I’m sure it’s no coincidence that the word to describe the sinner is so harsh, while the word that saves the sinner is so pleasing to the ear. Like a breath of fresh air. Literally.

So while I focused on the “wretch” as a child, I didn’t fully understand what it meant to have God’s “amazing grace.” I went to church and Bible school. I attended youth retreats and tried to understand what being a Christian was all about. Except I didn’t.

Because no one explained the “grace” part to me.

I knew God sent his son to die on the cross for our sins. I just didn’t know what that meant. I didn’t see how that applied to my life—and my eternity.

I thought of Christianity in terms of what John MacArthur, author of The Jesus You Can’t Ignore, has called “legalism lite.” If I’m a good person and do good things, I’ll just kind of get into heaven by default. As long as I was “acting Christian” then I was “being a Christian,” right?

This is precisely where so many today go wrong. It wasn’t until I understood God’s “amazing grace” that I got that being a good person doesn’t get me into heaven. My good works can’t get me into heaven because I can’t get myself into heaven. I can only get into heaven through Christ.

"And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace." (Romans 11:6)

That’s not to say that I shouldn’t be a good person. If I accept Christ and God’s grace, then I will actually have Christ living inside me. And if Christ is living inside me, then I will do good things and be a good person—but not because I’m looking for the prize at the end of the race.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:8–10)

If we’re walking in Christ, we are walking away from sin. However, that doesn’t mean that we become slaves to rules and doctrines either. Because once I cross the line into legalism, my eyes are no longer on Christ but are instead on myself. My focus is on how moral I am, how well I can follow the rules, and how sinful others are who aren’t as disciplined as me.

I think being a “wretch” doesn’t just mean living in sin before we accepted Christ. I think it can also mean living with pride after we’ve been saved. It can mean getting cocky and thinking that maybe we have something to do with our salvation. Like maybe our rule-following and scripture-memorizing and ministry-volunteering is somehow affecting our status with God.

As humans, we like to have control, and stepping out in faith—living in grace—means relinquishing control. That’s not something too popular in our society right now. It’s not cool or trendy like, say, controlling the universe by the magnetic power of our own thoughts is.

But it’s truth.

And truth equals freedom . . . freedom from sin, freedom from legalism, freedom from this world.

And once we’re free through Christ, we are able to see what all God has in store for us. And it is truly amazing.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,

That saved a wretch like me . . .

I once was lost but now am found

Was blind, but now, I see.

AG Ministries Bringing Encouraging Words to a Discouraging World.

Need Rescuing

HSBA Nominated

A Lawyer Isn't Our Savior

Persecution in the Religious Circles

Open Discussion

Holidays

Matthew 18 "Merciful and Just"

Finding Organic Church

Heart of Christ in Matthew 18

Halloween or Reformation Day

Legalism Can Be Cult-Like

Jenny

Matthew 18 Part Two

Life Goes On

Waiting on God

Joy: The Final Result

Jesus Christ and The Homosexual

Joy: The Profound Growth

Matthew 18 Abuse of Spiritual Authority

Breast Cancer Awareness Giveaway

Seasons of Friendship

Back to the Basics of Life Seminar Series will help refresh you on all of “life’s little lessons” and maybe even give you some new tools in your toolbox with which to teach them to your daughter.

Our First Back to the Basics of Life Seminar Series will cover the following “life lessons”:

Teaching Your Daughter Manners and Etiquette

TONIGHTTeaching Your Daughter about Friendship

Tuesday October 20th Teaching Your Daughter Simple Tips for Healthy Skin & Radiant Beauty

Teaching Your Daughter Character

This Seminar series will be held live for 2 more weeks, Oct 20th, and running consecutive Tuesdays through October 27th, all at 8 pm CST / 9 pm EST / 6 pm PST in an online conference room.

Blessings to Charlene

Joy The Great Choice

Sisterlisa is Speaking Tonight

Back to the Basics of Life Seminar Series will help refresh you on all of “life’s little lessons” and maybe even give you some new tools in your toolbox with which to teach them to your daughter.

Our First Back to the Basics of Life Seminar Series will cover the following “life lessons”:

Teaching Your Daughter Manners and Etiquette

TONIGHTTeaching Your Daughter about Friendship

Teaching Your Daughter Simple Tips for Healthy Skin & Radiant Beauty

Teaching Your Daughter Character

This Seminar series will be held live for 3 more weeks, Tonight Oct 13th, and running consecutive Tuesdays through October 27th, all at 8 pm CST / 9 pm EST / 6 pm PST in an online conference room.

Amazing Grace

AG Ministries Bringing Encouraging Words to a Discouraging World.

Need Rescuing

HSBA Nominated

A Lawyer Isn't Our Savior

Persecution in the Religious Circles

Open Discussion

Holidays

Matthew 18 "Merciful and Just"

Finding Organic Church

Heart of Christ in Matthew 18

Halloween or Reformation Day

Legalism Can Be Cult-Like

Jenny

Matthew 18 Part Two

Life Goes On

Waiting on God

Joy: The Final Result

Jesus Christ and The Homosexual

Joy: The Profound Growth

Matthew 18 Abuse of Spiritual Authority

Breast Cancer Awareness Giveaway

Seasons of Friendship

Back to the Basics of Life Seminar Series will help refresh you on all of “life’s little lessons” and maybe even give you some new tools in your toolbox with which to teach them to your daughter.

Our First Back to the Basics of Life Seminar Series will cover the following “life lessons”:

Teaching Your Daughter Manners and Etiquette

**TONIGHT**Teaching Your Daughter about Friendship

Tuesday October 20th Teaching Your Daughter Simple Tips for Healthy Skin & Radiant Beauty

Teaching Your Daughter Character

This Seminar series will be held live for 2 more weeks, Oct 20th, and running consecutive Tuesdays through October 27th, all at 8 pm CST / 9 pm EST / 6 pm PST in an online conference room.

Blessings to Charlene

Joy The Great Choice

Sisterlisa is Speaking Tonight

Back to the Basics of Life Seminar Series will help refresh you on all of “life’s little lessons” and maybe even give you some new tools in your toolbox with which to teach them to your daughter.

Our First Back to the Basics of Life Seminar Series will cover the following “life lessons”:

Teaching Your Daughter Manners and Etiquette

**TONIGHT**Teaching Your Daughter about Friendship

Teaching Your Daughter Simple Tips for Healthy Skin & Radiant Beauty

Teaching Your Daughter Character

This Seminar series will be held live for 3 more weeks, Tonight Oct 13th, and running consecutive Tuesdays through October 27th, all at 8 pm CST / 9 pm EST / 6 pm PST in an online conference room.

Amazing Grace

TONIGHTTeaching Your Daughter about Friendship

TONIGHTTeaching Your Daughter about Friendship