Today I received a postcard in the mail to come visit one of those "new" churches. You know, the kind where they stress how friendly and open they are with no walls and no one is any different from anyone else? One of the local churches advertises on the radio how "even the pastor wears jeans!".
These churches have become more popular in the last few years with the message everyone's welcome and you'll all leave with warm fuzzies!
Now, I am in no way saying that casual, open churches are bad but I realized that the continual message of "God views us all the same!" is wrong.
A visiting evangalist at our church last week put it well. He said, "I don't consider myself better than non-Christians or seeker sensitive Christians; I do consider myself on another level!"
What did he mean? Well, yes, God does LOVE everyone, but not everyone is in his family!
I have learned that a huge part of Romans 10:9, "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.", is JESUS IS LORD!
How many "Christians" do I know who confess to believe and yet live a lifestyle so contradictory to God's Word that one wonders if they have ever bothered to read it!
Am I perfect? NO! But, I am repenting (to change one's thought process) daily. I am striving to be not just a "believer" ("even the demons believe" James 2:19) but a disciple (follower; student).
But, I wondered how to adequately explain that God does not view us all the same to someone with the very open-minded attitude that would angrily view this as "small-minded" and prejudice.
An example came to me: Say your grandfather has an amazing and valuable collections of rare coins. Do you expect him to hand them out to a random stranger on the street or keep them in the family? Your grandfather might even be a very open, loving person towards any and every person he meets yet you would still be hurt and surprised if that collection were casually given to a first-time aquaintance and not to someone in the family.
It's the same with God; He loves everyone equally and prepared equal opportunity for everyone to be His child. But not everyone takes that for themselves and many that do "believe" do not live righteously (in right-standing) and therefore disqualify themselves as sons. Hebrews 12:14 tells us "without holiness no one will see the Lord".
This does put those living righteously on a different level, "seated in heavenly places"! (Ephesians 2:6)
And as sons we have access to all the Father desires to give us!
Monday, April 25, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Best Laid Plans...
Life never seems to go the way you plan it. Never mind the "plans" you make for the distant future, today is itself an unknown until it is ended.
"In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps. " Proverbs 16:9
Today I "planned" to clean house and have Ronan help me make bunny cookies. Grandma Mullane sent us a cute set of cookie cutters last year and he was too young to participate so I decided this year we would do it. And today was the day.
Or not... Poor little guy came down with the stomach flu that has been the bane of many mothers in the last week. With loss of fluids from top and bottom baking was definitely out of the question!
I realized this evening that although it had been a somewhat difficult day my spirits had remained high. I wondered to myself why I could take this truly unpleasant situation (I had to take three showers people!) in stride and yet some days that are filled with very little stress seem to be so difficult?
Truly, this past week and a half has been spent with God! Last night's praise and worship was both exhilerating and overwhelming as we focused on our King and Who He is!
The more time I spend with my King the more peace I feel. The less I let emotions and difficulty bring me down.
I am currently missing tonight's service to be home with my little man but I know that tomorrow can still be a good day as long as I stay focused on my assignment in the Kingdom!
"In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps. " Proverbs 16:9
Today I "planned" to clean house and have Ronan help me make bunny cookies. Grandma Mullane sent us a cute set of cookie cutters last year and he was too young to participate so I decided this year we would do it. And today was the day.
Or not... Poor little guy came down with the stomach flu that has been the bane of many mothers in the last week. With loss of fluids from top and bottom baking was definitely out of the question!
I realized this evening that although it had been a somewhat difficult day my spirits had remained high. I wondered to myself why I could take this truly unpleasant situation (I had to take three showers people!) in stride and yet some days that are filled with very little stress seem to be so difficult?
Truly, this past week and a half has been spent with God! Last night's praise and worship was both exhilerating and overwhelming as we focused on our King and Who He is!
The more time I spend with my King the more peace I feel. The less I let emotions and difficulty bring me down.
I am currently missing tonight's service to be home with my little man but I know that tomorrow can still be a good day as long as I stay focused on my assignment in the Kingdom!
Friday, March 11, 2011
Learning What It Means to Love
Liam and I have been enrolled in Kingdom Institute for the past seven months. It is a Bible School program designed to train us in Kingdom principles and help us learn what it truly means to be a disciple of Christ.
It is a two year program and already we have learned so much! Classes like "Spirit, Soul and Body", "How to be Led by the Spirit", "Kingdom Mind Renewal" have been amazing foundations. But this past semester was the most challenging of all so far. The two courses were "Kingdom Concept of Faith", and "Kingdom Concept of Love".
Both of these have stretched and strengthened me in my spiritual walk. For "Kingdom Concept of Love", one of our tests was to learn 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 by heart and be able to write it, word for word, from memory.
I chose what I believe is the longest available version of this passage because it is also the most in depth. It is the Expanded Interpretive Translation by Rick Renner; he took all the original Greek words and expanded upon what was truly meant by the author at the time.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
"Love patiently and passionately bears with others for as long as patience is needed; Love doesn't demand others to be like itself; rather, it is so focused on the needs of others that it bends over backwards to become what others need it to be; Love is not ambitious, self-centered, or so consumed with itself that it never considers the needs or desires that others possess; Love doesn't go around talking about itself all the time, constantly exaggerating and embellishing the facts to make it seem more important in the sight of others; Love does not behave in a prideful, arrogant, haughty, superior, snooty, snobbish or clannish manner;Love is not rude and discourteous- it is not careless or thoughtless, nor does it carry on in a fashion that would be considered insensitive to others; Love does not manipulate situations, or scheme and devise methods that will twist situations to its own advantage; Love does not deliberately engage in actions or speak words that are so sharp, they cause an ugly or violent response; Love does not deliberately keep records of wrongs or past mistakes; Love does not feel overjoyed when it sees an injustice done to someone else, but is elated, thrilled, ecstatic, and overjoyed with the truth; Love protects, shields, guards, covers, conceals, and safeguards people from exposure; Love strains forward with all its might to believe the very best in every situation; Love always expects and anticipates the best in others and the best for others, Love never quits, never surrenders, and never gives up; Love never disappoints, never fails, and never lets anyone down."
Oh how far we have fallen from the original intent of the King!
It is a two year program and already we have learned so much! Classes like "Spirit, Soul and Body", "How to be Led by the Spirit", "Kingdom Mind Renewal" have been amazing foundations. But this past semester was the most challenging of all so far. The two courses were "Kingdom Concept of Faith", and "Kingdom Concept of Love".
Both of these have stretched and strengthened me in my spiritual walk. For "Kingdom Concept of Love", one of our tests was to learn 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 by heart and be able to write it, word for word, from memory.
I chose what I believe is the longest available version of this passage because it is also the most in depth. It is the Expanded Interpretive Translation by Rick Renner; he took all the original Greek words and expanded upon what was truly meant by the author at the time.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
"Love patiently and passionately bears with others for as long as patience is needed; Love doesn't demand others to be like itself; rather, it is so focused on the needs of others that it bends over backwards to become what others need it to be; Love is not ambitious, self-centered, or so consumed with itself that it never considers the needs or desires that others possess; Love doesn't go around talking about itself all the time, constantly exaggerating and embellishing the facts to make it seem more important in the sight of others; Love does not behave in a prideful, arrogant, haughty, superior, snooty, snobbish or clannish manner;Love is not rude and discourteous- it is not careless or thoughtless, nor does it carry on in a fashion that would be considered insensitive to others; Love does not manipulate situations, or scheme and devise methods that will twist situations to its own advantage; Love does not deliberately engage in actions or speak words that are so sharp, they cause an ugly or violent response; Love does not deliberately keep records of wrongs or past mistakes; Love does not feel overjoyed when it sees an injustice done to someone else, but is elated, thrilled, ecstatic, and overjoyed with the truth; Love protects, shields, guards, covers, conceals, and safeguards people from exposure; Love strains forward with all its might to believe the very best in every situation; Love always expects and anticipates the best in others and the best for others, Love never quits, never surrenders, and never gives up; Love never disappoints, never fails, and never lets anyone down."
Oh how far we have fallen from the original intent of the King!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
The Mother Load
After a much needed chat with my sister-in-law Sherrie this weekend we both agreed on one fact of motherhood; when you have children you know they will be work but you don't know that they will be that much work!
And there's no getting around the fact that no matter how wonderful a dad their father may be, a child relies most on their mother. Yes, in today's society there are stay-at-home dad's that fulfill this role, but usually it is the mother who knows the little signs and nuances that make up a child's day.
My husband is a wonderful father but he doesn't know the routine that is inevitably set in the child's mind whether you have one established or not. I have discovered to my surprise that I have a routine even though I lack a great deal of time management. Nothing fantastic in my mind but it greatly matters to my son and the dog. A fact that I have found out after a few Saturdays of my husband kindly offering to let me sleep in and he would take care of things for me. This is wonderful in theory; but inevitably the dog comes running in a half hour later to wake me because "Daddy" isn't used to letting him out and he knows "Mommy" will know what he needs. When that is taken care of I hear Ronan howling. After about five minutes (I'm not real patient I admit) I will go out to see what the fuss is. Liam will be trying hard to keep him quiet but somehow I usually know what he wants (it varies) and Liam will look at me and say, "that's it?" and I will have to agree that it is a seemingly small need but one that is usually something that we do in our day without thinking about it.
As this is my first child I often feel very inadequate as a mother. I never really spent much time with children before having my own and so have very little to rely on. My mother and mother-in-law are both in another state and my closer girlfriends are not in this time of life yet. Many days after Ronan is put to bed (sometimes with a bath sometimes without) I will reflect on the day and feel guilty because it seemed to consist mostly of "no's" and temper tantrums. And then I think, "did I snuggle him enough? Did he feeled loved and cherished today?"
When all is said and done, one of my greatest purposes in life will be to mold him and love him in a way that he knows God's love and that he was put on earth for a reason.
Tomorrow is another day and can be filled with tears and tantrums or giggles and grins; it's up to me to set the standard.
And there's no getting around the fact that no matter how wonderful a dad their father may be, a child relies most on their mother. Yes, in today's society there are stay-at-home dad's that fulfill this role, but usually it is the mother who knows the little signs and nuances that make up a child's day.
My husband is a wonderful father but he doesn't know the routine that is inevitably set in the child's mind whether you have one established or not. I have discovered to my surprise that I have a routine even though I lack a great deal of time management. Nothing fantastic in my mind but it greatly matters to my son and the dog. A fact that I have found out after a few Saturdays of my husband kindly offering to let me sleep in and he would take care of things for me. This is wonderful in theory; but inevitably the dog comes running in a half hour later to wake me because "Daddy" isn't used to letting him out and he knows "Mommy" will know what he needs. When that is taken care of I hear Ronan howling. After about five minutes (I'm not real patient I admit) I will go out to see what the fuss is. Liam will be trying hard to keep him quiet but somehow I usually know what he wants (it varies) and Liam will look at me and say, "that's it?" and I will have to agree that it is a seemingly small need but one that is usually something that we do in our day without thinking about it.
As this is my first child I often feel very inadequate as a mother. I never really spent much time with children before having my own and so have very little to rely on. My mother and mother-in-law are both in another state and my closer girlfriends are not in this time of life yet. Many days after Ronan is put to bed (sometimes with a bath sometimes without) I will reflect on the day and feel guilty because it seemed to consist mostly of "no's" and temper tantrums. And then I think, "did I snuggle him enough? Did he feeled loved and cherished today?"
When all is said and done, one of my greatest purposes in life will be to mold him and love him in a way that he knows God's love and that he was put on earth for a reason.
Tomorrow is another day and can be filled with tears and tantrums or giggles and grins; it's up to me to set the standard.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Blessed Beyond Measure
This year has been one of great change and extreme blessings for us. Just over a year ago, on September 19th, we welcomed a beautiful baby boy into our family! God is sooo good! Ronan Patrick Mullane is healthy and happy!
His first year on earth has brought joy and laughter to our home along with the ever more frequent "no" as he explores and pushes boundaries.
This year also included the purchase of our first home in beautiful St Augustine Florida. It sits on almost two acres and is about five minutes from church and the grocery store giving us a "country" feel with all the accessibility of city living. Not to mention we are now only about ten minutes from the beach! Property like this is very hard to come by in St Augustine and we are so thankful that God provided it for us. His hand was there every step of the way and we could not have done it without HIM!
It has not been a year without trials or stresses, but we are reminded every week to "seek the Kingdom of God above all else and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need." Matthew 6:33 NLT. And not a single trial or stress has come that, when handed to The King, has not been taken care of!
As we transition into fall and the time of harvest, it is always a time to reflect on the blessings from above. Truly, life in the Kingdom is the greatest life of all!
His first year on earth has brought joy and laughter to our home along with the ever more frequent "no" as he explores and pushes boundaries.
This year also included the purchase of our first home in beautiful St Augustine Florida. It sits on almost two acres and is about five minutes from church and the grocery store giving us a "country" feel with all the accessibility of city living. Not to mention we are now only about ten minutes from the beach! Property like this is very hard to come by in St Augustine and we are so thankful that God provided it for us. His hand was there every step of the way and we could not have done it without HIM!
It has not been a year without trials or stresses, but we are reminded every week to "seek the Kingdom of God above all else and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need." Matthew 6:33 NLT. And not a single trial or stress has come that, when handed to The King, has not been taken care of!
As we transition into fall and the time of harvest, it is always a time to reflect on the blessings from above. Truly, life in the Kingdom is the greatest life of all!
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