How Many Kings?

David - the Liar; A man after God's own heart.

I have an enemy that likes to whisper truths into my mind. Things like, "You're a failure." (I am, definitely. I fail to make my bed most days, for instance. Add a million things to the list and it chalks up to the truth. I AM a failure.)

This enemy then sneers, "You're not much of a Christian, either." (I'm not. I read my Bible most days, but sometimes I don't. I promise to pray for people and forget to do it. I fall into patterns of thinking that are definitely not Christlike. I AM NOT much of a Christian.)

He goes on to announce, "You could be a better wife and mother." (I could be. At this very moment Rick has no socks in his drawer. At this very moment I could be baking muffins for the kids when they wake up, but I am not baking a thing. Again, those are only two examples of my lack of wifely expertise and lack of motherly love out of many, many examples.)

No wonder the creep can say to me, "How can God love YOU? How can He accept you? And what makes you think you will be welcomed into heaven? You are no Jonathan Edwards! You are no Charles Spurgeon! YOU are a SINNER!"

And he is a liar.

See, the truths he insinuates into my mind are only half-truths. While I am a failure, my failures teach me to run to HIM - the One Who Never Fails. When I am a poor Christian, I rest in the fact that Jesus is rich in grace and mercy. As the days whirl past and I realize how little I have accomplished, I remind myself that the truth is that Jesus accomplished it all!!

David is known in the Bible as a man after God's own heart. Yet, after Jonathan told him that King Saul was indeed seeking to kill him, he did not react in faith. He fled for his life, and the first thing he did was to lie to Ahimelech, pretending to be on a secret mission from Saul. The next thing he did was to pretend to be insane so Achish the king of Gath would spare his life.

David lied. David lacked faith. David did not trust God, nor did he wait on Him.

David is an encouragement to me. I make foolish choices, too. I live with the consequences of my decisions, and I suffer hardship because of them. Yet my Father still loves me.

Luke 5:31 And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

Jesus called ME - a sinner, a failure in every way. He saved me. He substituted His righteousness for my sinfulness.

Romans 8:1There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

Do you see that? No condemnation. I am set free. Jesus' righteousness is mine! And Satan can go to hell.

Acupuncture

I have been having acupuncture done on my neck. The worst thing about it is not having needles over an inch long stuck into my person at 6 or 7 different locations. The worst thing is that I have to STAY STILL the whole time said needles are in place.

This is not an easy task for me. I like to move.

Today, not only was I not supposed to move, but to add to the difficulty of the situation, my nose started to itch. I sat there, head on my hands on a pillow in front of me, breathing into the pillow, wondering if they'd changed the pillowcase or if I was breathing in someone else's germs, and all the while trying to ignore the itch.

I finally heard the timer go off, and was inwardly rejoicing at the prospect of being able to scratch my nose. Imagine my disappointment when the physio lady came in and began TWISTING all of the needles. "I'm just stimulating the acupuncture sites," she said cheerily. "I'll be back in about ten minutes."

Off she went, and I sat there, feeling itchy and uncomfortable. My head hurt from being on my hand, and my nose was still itchy, and now all of the little needles were sending messages to my brain. It wasn't painful... just bothersome.

Ten minutes passed v e r Y S L O W L Y.

In came Craig, the physiotherapist, and out came the needles.

Free at last!

Until the next time.

Colossal Frauds

John MacArthur has written a hard-hitting post that exposes the "health and prosperity" TV 'preachers' for who they really are. He writes,

Someone needs to say this plainly: The faith healers and health-and-wealth preachers who dominate religious television are shameless frauds.

I like people who tell it like it is. John MacArthur isn't afraid to say that these people who prattle on and on, duping vulnerable ones out of their money by promising to get rid of their cancer, to heal up those cavities, or to get rid of their diabetes (if they just send a little cash in the envelope provided) are outright charlatans.

Stacy from Louisville has a quote that I love on her blog:

I'm a committed follower of Jesus Christ who is "...unable to commit to any messiah who doesn't knock over tables." - Garret Keizer

If Jesus sat for a minute (as I did early one morning recently) and listened to Benny Hinn 'praying' with his eyes opened, putting on a show for those watching, he'd not only knock over tables... I think He'd knock over Benny. I know I wanted to knock him upside the head and ask him, "What were you thinkin'?"

Obviously, he wasn't.

Because, it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. We are HIS treasured possessions, and He doesn't take kindly to anyone who touches one of His anointed.

I'm cheering Pastor John MacArthur on. Praise God for men who tell the truth!

4 out of nearly 19

Cutie-patooties, aren't they? I swiped this from Heather's amazing adventures.

My Baby is leaving....

Oh, she's all grown up and everything. But she's still my little brown-haired girl. And she's leaving the country, going on a plane, landing in a country that doesn't speak English as its native language.

I'm okay with all of this. It's wonderful that she has this chance to go and relax in the sun with a good friend, who has been there more than fifteen times. My baby's in good hands.

Not only that, but because she's a Christian, God will be with her every step of the way. He promised never to leave or forsake His own.

So I rejoice.

She's gonna have a great time. And I can't wait to hear all about it.

Preaching the Gospel to yourself

I keep telling people (including myself) that it is of utmost importance to preach the gospel. This is a never-ending task - we need to be preaching the gospel every single day, in season and out of season, to anyone who will listen, by our words and by our lives. But don't forget to start by preaching the gospel to yourself.

Great Quote from the Irish Calvinist:

Usually sometime between brushing my teeth and washing my face I am looking eye to eye with the guy who needs to hear the gospel most. And I preach it to him. I remind him of his wicked sin, God’s forbearing mercy, indescribable grace, perfect Savior, the brutality and success of the cross, and the truth of the empty grave. By the end of the sermon my soul is more refreshed than my freshly brushed mouth. And the truth of the matter is, I need it. My sinful self-absorption characterized by a forgetfulness of the gospel is far more repugnant than morning breath.