Eternally Minded

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With...

...His wives turned away his heart. For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the L ORD his God... For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the L ORD and did not wholly follow the L ORD , as David his father had done. Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem. And so he did for all his foreign wives, who made offerings and sacrificed to their gods.  And the L ORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the L ORD , the God of Israel...   1 Kings 11:3-9 Take careful note of this passage. What did Solomon do to make God angry? What was his great sin? Idolatry.  I didn't totally realize the concept of this sin until recently. Sure, I ...

Now the word of the Lord came to Solomon saying, “Concerning this house which you are building, if you will walk in My statutes and execute My ordinances and keep all My commandments by walking in them, then I will carry out My word with you which I spoke to David your father. I will dwell among the sons of Israel, and will not forsake My people Israel.” 1 Kings 6:11-13 This is a promise from the L ORD to His chosen people, Israel, while Solomon is building the temple. Intentionally, in chapter 5, we see God fulfilling a promise He made to Solomon,  "The L ORD gave wisdom to Solomon, just as He promised him..." (1 Kings 5:12) But there is a contingency linked to this particular promise in chapter 6: That His people would obey His statutes, rules, and commandments, and to walk in them.  Maybe, if you're like me, this sounds like a lot of what is modernly called 'works religion'.   But the phrase 'walk in them' points to a devotion. ** D...

Loneliness can be a heavy cross. Someone doesn't even need to be alone to be lonely; sometimes a lonely soul can hurt the most when physically surrounded by people. There may not always be a solution to acute loneliness, as it may have been brought upon by many different sources: physical abandonment, someone moving away - maybe you yourself has moved away, or the ending of a relationship. There isn't a lot of comfort to be found sometimes. God alone understands our pain - the ache, the longing, the sorrow - as you uniquely feel it and deal with it. If you're like me, then you bury your hurts. But God sees where I bury it, He knows - and can define my feelings better than I can. I have to remind myself to turn to Christ, because it's what we were made to do: As the loincloth clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to Me, declares the Lord, that they might be for Me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory...

Therefore I still contend with you, declares the L ORD , and with your children's children I will contend. For cross to the coasts of Cyprus and see, or send to Kedar and examine with care; see if there has been such a thing. Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods? But My people have changed their glory for that which does not profit. Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the L ORD , for My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters , and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.    (Jeremiah 2:9-13) Jeremiah (more specifically, God, through Jeremiah) is warning the people of Judah about their great sin: IDOLATRY. Idolatry is anything of higher importance in your life than God Himself. It's crazy in our age today, just as it was rampant in ancient Judah.  (1)  Therefore I still contend with you, declares the L ORD , and w...

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 ...

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 ...

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...

Moses said to the L ORD , "Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither in the past or since you have spoken to Your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue." Then the L ORD said to him, "Who made man's mouth? Who made him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the L ORD ? Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak." But he said, "Oh, my Lord, please send someone else..." (Exodus 4:10-13) Moses, a courageous hero of the faith, doubted the L ORD . He doubted His supreme control - that He actually knew what He was doing. When the L ORD planned to bring the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt, He chose Moses. For His own glory, He chose to use a man who had a speech hindrance to speak to Pharaoh and be the means of God's deliverance to His people. The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph... And the virgin...

There's nothing like having a friend who you can be real with; someone who can practically read your thoughts and expressions. Some friendships don't need words, and those are truly amazing. Great friends are people you can fart with, snort with, and dig through their fridges and eat anything your heart desires without having second thoughts. Great friends will laugh together until 3am and text you everyday just to let you know that they appreciate you. Fake friends can be your best pal when it's just you and them, but ditch you when there's someone cooler to hang out with. Fake friends may gossip about you behind your back, make no effort to build your friendship, or constantly talk about themselves. They will never move beyond the 'awkward acquaintance' stage in your life. Unfortunately, fake friends are all too common. But what is a Godly friend? I hope a Godly friend is something you are blessed with. A Godly friend starts with a Godly person. A Godl...

Hello! I thought I would start out with a deep topic, and it will kind of give you an overview of what we will be writing about and why. (For clarity’s sake, when I say eternity, I don’t mean a mathematical concept of infinity usually represented by a sideways 8. I mean infinite life after death.) I pray that God uses this to edify you. God has used it to encourage and correct me! Why do we care about eternity? Picture this, you’re going to spend a whole week at a party held by a King or Queen to honour your accomplishment in representing them well, but you only found out a day before you had to leave. What would your thoughts be? Option #1: Hmm, I have one day to relax and do whatever I want before I leave. Maybe I’ll do this or that. Option #2: Sticky Peanut butter! I only have one day to make an impact for the King or Queen on the people around me before I have to go! I had better get ready! I’m guessing, if you’re thinking rationally, you would pick option two. You’re going to...