I came away from our church services so encouraged today.

Pastor Mike (http://www.xanga.com/jehovahraah83) is teaching verse by verse through the book of Luke on Sunday’s. Today he was teaching about Zacharias and Elizabeth in Luke 1. I was so blessed at the way he was able, by God’s grace, to apply the trials of Zacharias to our personal lives.

Here is what Pastor shared…

You know the story… Zacharias is a priest and his wife’s name is Elizabeth. Both are righteous before God and walk in His commandments. But, Elisabeth is barren and old in years. Zacharias goes to the temple to perform his priestly duties. While he is in the temple an angel appears and proclaims that his prayers have been heard and his wife will give birth to a son and his name will be called John. After the angel tells him more wonderful things that will result because of the birth of his son, Zacharias says, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years?” Because Zacharias did not believe the words sent by God he was told he would be silent and unable to speak until the day these things took place.

Zacharias was given an opportunity …  in THAT present moment …. to bring God glory ….by believing His Words (given by Gabriel) and he blew it. The moment passed and he would never have that exact, ordained opportunity to glorify God, again! 

This spoke directly to my heart because I could apply it to what my husband and I are personally going through. I have this one window of opportunity in the midst of these present  trials to bring glory to God by believing His Word. If I blow it, I will never have this exact situation again to bring Him glory. The opportunity will have passed.

Will I bring Him glory by trusting Him in the hard places? Will I live as if He is my all-consuming desire and nothing on earth will compare?

 I pray, by God’s grace alone, that I will.

I covet your prayers….

We left bright and early this morning before the sun came up to drive my father and mother-in-love back to the airport. We were blessed to have them for a week long visit, except for the 2 days and one night that they spent at their older son’s home. It was a nice relaxing week full of lots of chatting and lots of food!

Grandpa was a butcher for years. He bought a lamb and had it butchered while he was here.  (He has a hard time finding lamb in Missouri). We packed it in dry ice so he could take it home on the plane.We were able to have leg of lamb with mint jelly for one of our meals. Yum! Here Grandpa is taking a vein out that could cause the meat to taste bad. He left 6 packages of lamb in our freezer. Yeah!

We spent an afternoon watching the movie that came out this year called “Esther” (very disappointing because they didn’t stick to scripture) and Luther. Hubbins and I have seen Luther before and really liked it. We had lots of talks around the dinner table about the end times and Jesus return. Grandpa was a preacher at one time so we always enjoy hearing his viewpoint. One afternoon we drove to town so they could visit their great-grandchildren.

Other than that, I had a lot of time to visit with my mother-in-love which I always enjoy. Geneva has lived a fascinating life. She was raised on a river in Arkansas as a child. She came from a large family.  They lived off the land and fished for huge turtles in the river for meat. Everything they ate was either grown or caught. Her mother was a devout Christian but her father did not come to know the Lord until he was close to death. Geneva can remember, as a small child, watching her mother pray and interceed for her husband after he left for work each morning. Geneva helped to lead him to the Lord before he died. I could go on and on with the stories she has shared but the most delightful thing about Geneva is that she is a true example of a Titus 2 older woman.

Geneva and I had a lot of time to visit while we prepared our daily meals in the kitchen. One day she was talking about her husband and said, “I do whatever he tells me to”. I knew that she didn’t mean she would follow him into sin. I’ve known her long enough to know that.  I thought about her words a lot in the days that followed and what a godly example of an older Titus 2 woman she has always been to me. I’ve heard Geneva give suggestions to her husband and offer her advice if she feels she can offer some help in his decisions but in the end she does what he asks her to do in a respectful manner. She brings glory to God because of her submission.

I asked her where she first learned that God’s Word taught she was to submit to her husband.  She said that submission was taught from their pulpit when she was younger and that she was thankful for it. Not many churches teach on submission today. I’m grately to attend a church that does not back down from this truth even though it’s not a popular teaching in the church today. (http://www.xanga.com/jehovahraah83/)

I’ve never heard Geneva raise her voice at her husband but she always responds to him with respect. (Eph. 5:33)  She has always been a living example of each of the things an older woman is told to teach the younger women. .. not in words only but  by her actions, too.

Titus 2:3-5
Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good,  and so train the young women to love their husbands and children,  to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.

I’m grateful God has given me a godly mother-in-love in Geneva.

Heb 11:13-16 – All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.  For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own.  And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.

I received a phone call the other day and my initial response was one of fear.  The fear had to do with the ‘possibilities’ of what may happen as a result of this news. As I got in my car and drove around the corner to pick up my granddaughter I began to think about the Lord and heaven and the joy in knowing that we will never have another trial to face when we are finally there. As I was thinking about heaven, the most amazing thing happened in my heart and thoughts. I suddenly, for possibly the first time in my Christian walk, experienced (for lack of a better word) what a ‘pilgrim’ feels like. Suddenly, it felt as if HEAVEN WERE MY HOME and I was just visiting HERE. There arose such a strong, strong desire and anticipation to be THERE more than HERE. My whole heart was filled with peace and joy.

Now I don’t believe this was a ‘supernatural’ religious experience that ‘just happened’. I believe that what I experienced was exactly a result of practicing what Isa 26:3 teaches. That if I keep my mind stayed on the Lord then I will be kept in perfect peace.

Isa 26:3 – You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.

God’s Word teaches that I am a pilgrim, a stranger, an exile, an ambassador but honestly I find that I do not really live as if I am.  How much time do I spend thinking about things above, my real home, instead of the things on this earth? How much time do I spend thinking about the Lord and His attributes? How much do I even KNOW about God and His attributes?  I hope, by Gods’ grace, to practice keeping my mind on heavenly things more in the days and months to come. I know it’s not impossible to live this way or God would not command it.

 Col 3:1-2 – If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.

* Oh, be sure to check out Kim and her family’s website. They had a GREAT post called ”A Word-Filled Home”.  I LOVED it and hope to put some of their ideas into practice. (I especially liked the idea of putting a new Scripture daily on a white board.) Be sure to pay them a visit.

http://givengrace.com