Eternally Minded

Proverbs 3:13-15: Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. It stood out to me recently that there are few things in the Bible mentioned as being worth more than gold, silver, or rubies. Wisdom, the Law of the Lord, and good words are some of them.  "The price of wisdom is above rubies." Job 28:18 What is wisdom?  Wisdom, according to the internet, is "the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment; the quality of being wise." The Bible says something else:  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. (Proverbs 9:10)  Wisdom’s instruction is to fear the Lord, and humility comes before honor. (Proverbs 15:33) What is 'the fear of the Lord'? [God] said, ‘Behold, the fear of the ...

"And when they saw Him they were amazed: and his mother said unto Him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. And He said unto them, How is it that ye sought Me? wist ye not that I must be about My Father's business." Luke 2:48-49 This week I have been about my to-do list. Christmas is coming, school is getting to be a lot more work, applying for secondary schooling is around the corner, keeping on top of chores is always a struggle, and on and on it goes. I am known to not know my limit and to say 'yes' to everything. Almost everyday this week I've come home overwhelmed to the point of tears. I wake up to a huge pile of work and am too exhausted to think of trying to get it done. Is this how Christ wants us to live? NO! I've always struggled with being too busy. Not that business is always wrong, but what is the point of being busy? At the end of the day what does it profit? One more thing off t...

I for one am very guilty of thinking I and my puny faith can be of no use to God. I have the feeling I'm not alone. Today the world is breeding our generation to be self-centered and introverted, yet we wonder why suicide rates and depression stats are sky high: Could it be that young people feel void of purpose? We are God's created treasures: nothing else is made in God's image the way we are. God doesn't look like us, but He has given us a will, emotions, and a mind-- the ability to create. Elephants don't have these gifts, neither do apes, plankton, or beetles. That because we are made in God's image, special-- PRECIOUS-- in His sight. "So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them." Genesis 1:27 "Sure, I'm made in God's image. Big deal. Nothing I've never heard before." How could God ever use me? I want to propose to you the importance of individual...

"And God said, Let there be light: and there was light." Genesis 1:3 I started reading Genesis this week and a thought popped into my head, why did God speak things into existence? God didn't need words to create things. Why did He use words? There wasn't anyone to hear them. God wanted us to know that all things exist by God's word. The Word is powerful, true, brings light, brings order, creates good, is supreme and authoritative, takes the formless and brings form, and takes the empty to fill it. This Word is Jesus. In the creation story we see the Trinity at work. We read that the Holy Sprit hovered over the face of the waters to prepare the earth (1:2), that God the Father was orchestrating and creating everything (1:1), and the Word of God spoke the world into existence, which was Jesus Christ (John 1:1-3). God used words to create the world, so that we would know Jesus Christ is the creator. God the Father didn't create the world on His own, we ...

Election is a touchy subject in many churches and denominations, but it is something Brooke and I strongly believe. I was going to attempt to write a post about it, but honestly, Shai Linne nailed it in his song, Election : Peep it son, no need to run from the truth. We need to come to understand Ephesians 1: We see in love the Father predestined, We seem to have a problem with the doctrine of election. We keep stressing and leave guessing leading to depression, Because it’s God’s love we question. Well sit back and take a deep breath in And exhale, let’s set sail, the word of God is refreshing. Let’s be real with it, the Bible obviously talks About predestination, so we gotta deal with it. I’ll be a fake attorney by His grace and mercy And present my case so let’s take a journey for the sake of learning. First turn to Romans 8:28-30: Zooming in on verse 29, read the first line “Those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of ...

I was reading in Exodus and was reminded of the beautiful picture of Christ and His bride. In Exodus 21:7-11, you find a peculiar law about maidservants: 1) She does not bide by the same laws as the menservants, which can leave their master after six years. 2) If her master who has betrothed her to himself is not pleased  with her, he cannot sell her to the gentiles, but must let her be redeemed; because he has dealt unfaithfully and deceitfully with her. 3) If her master has betrothed her to his son, he must treat her like his daughter. 4) His son must provide for her food, clothes, and duty of marriage and cannot diminish them if he takes another wife. If he does, the maidservant can leave for free. Weird? Kind 'a, but it makes sense. Then God popped a thought into my head about Hosea. Hosea was a prophet who was told by God to marry a harlot to illustrate God's love for Israel. Now at one point Gomer, Hosea's wife, left him for another man and ended up getti...

John 12:43: "They loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God."  This verse has been running through my head for a few weeks now. I included it in my last post, but honestly, it just boggles my mind. Well, not actually. I completely understand how the people this verse is talking about were deceived enough to believe that man's glory was more valuable than God's. Probably the reason it sticks with me is for fear that the same thing may be said about me some day. This summer, I was privileged to be in the girls' dorm at camp for two weeks. I always love being in the dorm because of the amazing opportunity it brings to study the Word of God and encourage one another. We usually read through a couple of the New Testament letters together in the evenings, (James being one of our favourites) but this year, we decided to read 1 Peter.  Some things stood out to me... "Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of h...

Are you being deceived? How would you know, you’re deceived! Our enemy, the devil prowls like a lion seeking us out to devour us. He is the father of lies, and if it were possible he would deceive the very elect. God has been making me aware of the deception of Satan and the world that I have been buying into. And to be honest the more I see the way of sin and darkness around me, and the more I see myself stumble towards it in my fleshly desires, the more I feel trapped. I’m taking all the right steps into the wrong directions. It scares me. I read descriptions in the Bible of the wicked and their folly, and it mirrors my own thought life. Friends would you pray for me! I had such an encouraging time Sunday and Thursday to come together with the body of Christ and be reminded of God’s character, but I spend nine hours a day, five days a week trapped in the fog of the world. It is so hard to stay burning for Christ when everything around you is trying to snuff it out. Going to pub...

People die every day. Every day a vibrant life becomes a legacy... Something that people will remember. It's been running around in my mind for a while: How will people remember me when I'm gone? Will they recollect a kind, selfless person who loved her Saviour? Or will her sour moods and grumpy features be remembered more? In the Bible, I've recognized many legacies. I'd like to share a few with you: Enoch: "Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him." (Genesis 5:24)  Scholars believe that Enoch didn't die. God miraculously took him from the earth into His glorious heaven. When Christians are asked about Enoch, in many cases this is the first thing that comes to mind. Noah: "Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God." (Genesis 6:9)  Righteous... Blameless... Like Enoch, Noah had close communion with his Maker. But what is also said about him is that he was righteous and blameless. I...

Dear God, It's Thanksgiving weekend and I feel dry. I know You are worthy of my adoration and You are such an awesome God. You've given me so much material blessings. You have always provided my needs and the needs of my family. Thank you for my family! Even though we can't be with our extended family, I'm thankful to be with my immediate family. Thank you for always leading and guiding me. For never leaving me to figure life out on my own. For keeping me running and fighting the fight of faith. For bringing me though hard times and sanctifying me. For revealing yourself to me in uncountable ways. Yet, even as I say this, I don't feel thankful. My knowledge isn't changing my emotions. I want to be moved by You! Lord, would you show me my sin so I can see Christ's goodness and sacrificial love towards me even greater? Would you bring me through trials, so I can come out closer to you. I'm sorry for not worshiping and loving you with all my heart, mind, s...

Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink...” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.  (Romans 12:17-21) Conflict is a method used to hinder the furtherance of the gospel, unity, brotherly love, and kindness. In the experiences of my short life, it has had the most devastating effect.  At Bible camp, where I spend the majority of my summers, I have seen firsthand it's devastating effects on the atmosphere and oneness of the staff. I could almost hear the Devil laughing as he all too easily succeeded at destroying the main focus of our week at camp. And I hated it.  From then on, it became a goal f...

Anger is not sin. You can " be angry and sin not. (Eph 4:31)" Sin comes when that anger stems from pride, self-righteousness, self-centeredness, ungratefulness, hate towards your fellow neighbor, or envy, and provokes an ungodly reaction. How can God be angry? He says He loves the whole world (John 3:16)! But it also says He's angry with the wicked every day, is not the whole world fallen in sin? (Psalm 7:11) Perhaps you might resolve this conflict by saying "He hates the sin, but loves the sinner." While I agree that God has a general love for His creation, He cannot draw near to us in love, unless Jesus takes our place. We are enemies of God, not His beloved children. (Romans 5:10) "They that are of a forward heart are  abomination to the Lord: but such as are upright in their way are his delight." (Proverbs 11:20) It's not "a forward heart" that is an abomination to the Lord, but those who posses a forward heart. Perhaps it st...

Ecclesiastes 3:14: I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that the people fear before Him. I love that... "Whatever God does endures forever." Why do you suppose that is? I petition to you that it is because God is omnipotent. What does omnipotent mean? Purely, all powerful. When we imagine how much power and might God has, enough to create the universe with His voice, gloriously bring millions of people to Himself by His blood, and sustain life on earth since creation (which is no sweat for Him), He must have a lot of power. More than the human mind could ever comprehend. "This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ..." (Ephesians 5:32) There is so much about God that we will never understand, but it is humbling to try. "To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of...

Berea was relating to me how empty and hopeless the gospel is without God. "Well obviously," you might say. What she was getting at was when we only talk about certain attributes of God and not others we actually change the gospel into something it isn't. That's serious. And after a week of hearing this type of preaching, I could see the anger in my friend's face. Friends, if we pick and choose God's attributes and modify the gospel to make it more"acceptable", we are in danger of the wrath of God. Look at how Paul addresses the Galatians when they tried to modify the gospel to incorporate the traditions of men and in turn make a legalistic gospel. "I marvel that ye are soon removed from Him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you , and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we h...

Exodus 34:14: You shall worship no other god, for the L ORD , whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. Something that has become increasingly obvious to me in the passed few months is the importance of God's attributes. Once you separate God from even one of them, there is a great likelihood that we're no longer talking about the same God. Commonly, people shy away from talking about His divine jealousy, wrath, omnipotence [all powerful], and omnipresence [everywhere at all times]. Truthfully, God is all these things, equally and righteously so. God is holy and cannot sin. We are unholy with a sin nature. When our finite minds consider jealousy, we immediately associate it with sin, because, apart from God, it is almost always sin. You might ask how God can be jealous without sinning. In the Old Testament, God's jealousy is often focused on when talking about idolatry. "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in h...

Proverbs 10:29: The way of the L ORD is a strong hold to the blameless, but destruction to evildoers. It struck me when I was reading this verse in my devotions, that, indeed, this verse is so true. As Christians, the Christ who saved us is the same Christ who will punish the wicked and doom them to an eternity in Hell. But why? The truth is, God is holy [perfect/separate: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory! Isaiah 6:3 ].  Omnipotent [all powerful: For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes... Romans 1:16 ]. Omniscient [all knowing: Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God ! Romans 11:33 ] Just [judge: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just? Genesis 18:25 ] He truly is all those things; He hates sin. He can't be near sin, He is separate from it. Because we are sinners, He can't be near us. And sin must be punished. Something has becom...

"Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine evil: but to the councilors of peace is joy." Proverbs 12:20 Deceit is in the heart: You can never trust your heart. It is deceitful above every other device and it is desperately wicked. Who is able to understand it (Jeremiah 17:9)? We possess something so corrupt, and even more fearfully, we don't even realize it. We all have deceptive hearts, motives, priorities, affections, passions, and values. No one is excluded (Romans 3:10-12). A forward heart is an abomination to the Lord (Proverbs 11:20). God, who searches our hearts, will judge us one day soon (Jeremiah 17:10). of them that imagine evil: We all have deceptive hearts, therefore we all imagine evil. If something doesn't come to mind of the evil you have thought over the past week, you are being deceived. According to 1 Corinthians 13:5, to love is not to think evil towards someone. Are our thoughts towards others revengeful, jealous, critical, judgm...

Proverbs 4:25 - Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. I recently read The Hiding Place  by Corrie Ten Boom. I must confess, going into it I didn't want to read it. I was only doing it because I told my friend I would. (It was a huge encouragement and is now at the top of my recommendations list.) Something from it that stood out to me was Betsie Ten Boom and her resolute faith. In one instance, when she had been beaten in the prison camp, Corrie was trying to help her. But she joyfully pushed her away and said, "Don't look at [my wounds], Corrie. Look only at Jesus."  Let me tell you, that rocked my world. I got to thinking, "How many of my troubles are a reality because I've taken my focus off Jesus and have been distracted with myself?" The answer hurt. Too many.  Throughout scripture, the idea is given that we must look to Christ to be delivered. In the Old Testament, because the People of Israel spoke again...

This summer I learned something precious from my 14 year old son. We were working at a camp and my son, Silas, was one of the maintenance boys. The staff boys seemed to be divided into two distinct groups: the popular guys and Silas and another boy. This boy was a little different, mainly naive and a little uncomfortable in his own skin. Probably what people think of when they they think of typical homeschoolers. I noticed that at meals the two groups didn't sit together. They didn't clean together. I asked Silas is everyone was getting along okay and he said everything was fine. In my heart, wicked and vile thing it is, I was thinking that my son should be hanging with the popular boys and not the odd boy. But Silas seemed oblivious to the emotional distance from the other boys. He seemed content. He was enjoying his friendship with this boy. And here is the lesson I learned...again. God wasn't impressed with the other boys and their popularity. He wasn't impressed...

Ask that question to everyone in North America and you will find that most of the population are Christians. According to Statistics Canada over two-thirds claim to be affiliated with a Christian religion. Great news, right? After studying the book of 1 John , I've come to a different conclusion. "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith." (2 Corinthians 13:5) "So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire .   Thus you will recognize them by their fruits." (Mathew 7:17-19) Based on the evidence of the fruit of the Spirit, does the Holy Spirit live within you? "Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father Who is in heaven." (Matthew 7:21) Jesus did the will of His Father, are ...