When a cement wall needs to be demolished, it doesn't take a couple hits of a workman's hammer to knock it down. It requires someone with knowledge of the tools needed to knock the wall down. That person would come to the job came with three tools -- a sledge hammer and a regular workman’s hammer and chisel. First, with the sledge hammer, he began striking the wall with blow after blow. To a casual bystander, it appeared he was wasting his time. Ten, twenty, thirty blows, and not so much as a crack. But, on the thirty-sixth blow, a horizontal crack appeared in the wall. On the thirty-seventh, several cracks appeared in a spiderweb pattern. On the thirty-eighth, the whole wall was covered with cracks. Then, the contractor laid his sledge hammer down and with a workman’s hammer and chisel proceeded to bring the wall down one piece at a time.
I want to use this story to demonstrate persistence in using God's Word through prayer to demolish spiritual strongholds. In 2 Corinthians 10:4-5, Paul defines strongholds as arguments, pretensions, or thoughts that set themselves against the knowledge of God. Any beliefs that have made their ways into our thinking that are contrary to truth as revealed in Scripture are strongholds of the Enemy that stand in the way of our knowing God and making Him known. For this reason, they hinder us in our walk with the Lord and in our prayer lives. Edgardo Silvoso’s definition sums it up very well- "A spiritual stronghold is a mind-set impregnated with hopelessness that causes us to accept as unchangeable, situations that we know are contrary to the will of God." The basis for strongholds is that we doubt (James 1:6-8) How do we deal this this doubt and the stongholds in our lives? That is where prayer comes in...
It's not just one prayer here and there as we are being pounded by the stronghold. It is praying without ceasing (I Thes 5:17). James 5:13-18 says "Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? Let him sing Psalms. Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he hath committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain; and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit." It goes on to say in verse 19-20 "Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins." I believe that God has called us to be praying on behalf of others. He wants us to call on the victory that He has given us through His Son Jesus Christ. It is only by His grace that we are able to offer up prayers for others. And while praying for others, Satan is sure to be there casting doubt as God's answer may be "not yet, I haven't accomplished all that I have set out to accomplish in this situation". Satan will be pounding at your door hurling flaming arrows...but it is our responsibility to be "Submitting ourselves to God, Resisting the devil, and drawing night unto God" (James 4:7-8)Ephesians 6:16 says that it is our shield of faith that will quench those fiery darts of the wicked.
What does my faith look like in times of trouble? Am I a double minded man (James 1:8) or am I am man grounded in God's word, hoping for those things which I do not see the evidence for at this time? (Hebrews 11:1) Remember, one only needs the faith of a mustard seed. Matthew 17:20 says "And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you." If you are filled with unbelief, do not let Satan bind you in that. Agree quickly with him and run to Jesus for help~! It is better to ask for help now than let Satan cripple one our men in the army of God. A man brought his son who was filled with a spirit to the disciples to be healed. They were unable to heal him, but when Jesus came to them...by the time Jesus came, this father had little faith. Infact, he told Jesus, if you can't do anything with him - please have compassion on us and help us. Jesus responded to him in Mark 9:23 "If you can believe, all things are possible to him that believes." At that point the man in verse 24 says "Lord, I believe; help me in my unbelief." Jesus then cast the demon out of the boy. My point here is that the father asked Jesus to help him with his unbelief. I think at times, we may need to be more vulnerable to God and tell him what is going on inside and ask Him to help us through it.
Psalm 145:13- "The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made" The degree of our faithfulness is the direct result of our regard for God's faithfulness. God's faithfulness (Aman) in the Old Testament can be translated firm, steady, sure, trust honesty safety and certainty. So what does faithfulness mean when applied to God? The faithfulness of God is His believability! What does faithfulness mean when it is applied to us? The faithfulness of a believer is his belief in God's believability~! Faithfulness is resting in His certainty, being persuaded by His honesty, trusting in His reality, being won over by his veracity....being sure that He's sure and believing He's worth believing. Deuteronomy 32:4 reminds us that God is the Rock, his work is perfect; for all his ways are judgment; He is a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he. Even when it doesn't look like God is paying attention or things are just going way wrong, we must remember that His ways are perfect. Psalm 115:11 says "Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord; he is their help and their shield." God expressed His faithfulness to us in Christ, and Christ expressed His faithfulness to us in the Holy Spirit. Only through the Holy Spirit can we express our faithfulness to Him . Faithfulness is a fruit of the spirit. It is by God's grace that we are filled with faithfulness during the hard times.
The only weapon we have against Satan is truth. In John 17:17 - Jesus is interceding to His father and he says "Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth." When reading through the whole armour of God (Ephesians 6:13-18) the only weapon that is mentioned is the sword of the spirit which is the word of God. It is through the Word of God that we expose the lies of the devil - Hebrews 4:12 says that "the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing assunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the heart." We must look for the promises that God has given us and pray according to His will. Jesus gave us an example of using the Word of God when he was tempted by the devil in the wilderness. (Luke 4:4,8,&12)It is also by the word of God that our faith is increased which will give us the strength to persevere. (Rom 10:17)This faith according to I John 4:5 is what will give born again Christians victory over the world. How exciting is that? When you feel defeated, come back to this verse and remember that the victory is ours through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Spiritual strongholds are human reasonings that exalt themselves over the revelation of God’s will for our lives as revealed in Scripture. They are Satan's schemes to trip us up in our walk with the Lord. They breed hopelessness that paralyzes the faith we have in God’s promises and cloud our mind from being able to see God’s purposes for our lives and the lives of those for whom we pray. If we do not seek God for His wisdom and look to His Word for guidance we are in danger of giving into these strongholds when we are faced with life's challenges. Strongholds weaken our lives and make our prayers ineffective by causing us to become double-minded. We try to balance our own plans with God’s rather than dying to ourselves with a whole-hearted commitment to follow Him. In doing so, we build our lives on a shaky foundation and find ourselves praying prayers that waver through indecisiveness and unbelief. We must realize that we overcome strongholds in our lives by allowing God’s Word to be final authority in our lives. We allow the light of Scripture to expose our hearts, to bring us to repentance, to lead us to worship, and to recognize and resist Satan’s schemes against us. When we are persistent in using the sword of God’s Word against the strongholds of the Enemy, God will draw near to us, Satan will flee from us, the clouds of deception and blindness with dispel, and the walls of Satan’s strongholds will come down. What’s holding us back from a deepening intimacy with the Lord, greater victory over the Enemy, and a fruitful ministry and prayer life? It is our duty before God to allow the Lord to expose any strongholds that we have tolerated and to put the Sword to them. It is only after we are able to do this in our own life that we will be able to intercede on others behalf.
Remember, "With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
2 cans chickpeas
1/2 cup roasted red bell pepper
3 green onions, sliced
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 Tablespoon tahini
3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup bean cooking liquid or vegetable broth
1. Place the chickpeas, red peppers, green onions, lemon juice, tahini, garlic, cumin, and pepper in a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Add bean cooking liquid as needed to facilitate processing and achieve a smoother consistency.
2. Stored in a covered container in the refrigerator, leftover Roasted Red Pepper Hummus will keep for up to 3 days.
1/2 cup roasted red bell pepper
3 green onions, sliced
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 Tablespoon tahini
3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup bean cooking liquid or vegetable broth
1. Place the chickpeas, red peppers, green onions, lemon juice, tahini, garlic, cumin, and pepper in a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Add bean cooking liquid as needed to facilitate processing and achieve a smoother consistency.
2. Stored in a covered container in the refrigerator, leftover Roasted Red Pepper Hummus will keep for up to 3 days.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE~!
1. broken tooth
2. broken phone
3. broken dryer
4. broken insurance coverage
5. broken iPhoto
6. broken truck mirror (almost)
7. broken AT&T
- shipped phone to wrong address
- disconnected after talking with them & waiting for 30 minutes!
It just so happens that during the time that all of these things are braking...I'm doing a bible study from Beth Moore called "Living Beyond Yourself" and this week the topic is Patience. I want to share with you what I learned from her study this week. While the fruit of the spirit "Patience - is responding to people with mercy" I'm learning patience almost at every turn regarding my circumstances. The 1st 2 things on that list happened on Thursday last week and the last 5 happened on Monday this week. A feeling of being overwhelmed swooshed over me this Monday.
Well, I just wanted to share with you what I learned about patience. There are 2 types of patience in the Bible. The first one is hupomone - to persevere, remain under...bearing up under...it refers to that quality of character which does not allow one to surrender to circumstances or succumb under trial. James 5:11 uses hupomone "Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy" Job had lost his family, livestock, health, and he had negative friends feeding him the lies of the devil and yet he had patience and endured the hardships. Job had hope - a positive outlook toward an expected end. Do I have that type of hope? Job 23:10 says "But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold." Do I believe that good is going to come from the trials that are in my life? Here are some verses to encourage us to "hope" in God and wait "patiently" for Him.
Hebrews 10:35&36 - "So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.
You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised."
Hebrews 12:1&2 - "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
James 1:2-4 - "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."
2 Timothy 2:10-12 - "Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. [It is] a faithful saying: For if we be dead with [him], we shall also live with [him]: If we suffer, we shall also reign with [him]: if we deny [him], he also will deny us:
Without hope, there is no patience; without patience there is no maturity; without maturity there is no reflection; and with out reflection, there is no glory.
Colossians 1:27b - "Christ in you is the hope of glory"
The 2nd word for patience is "Makrothumia" - forbearance....self-restraint before proceeding to action. It is a patience in respect to people, inspired by mercy. This is to be longsuffering. I believe that patience in circumstances is much easier than being patient with people. I often become frustrated when I am trying to do things on my own. This patience must be an overflow of the Holy Spirit...it is Him working through us.
Patience is Void Of Judgment
When I look at the patience that God has for us...I find it amazing that He does put up with us. 2 Peter 3:9 says "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." and 2 Peter 3:15a goes on to say "Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation". Romans 2:4 says "Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?" We are saved because the Lord has chosen in His mercy to have patience with us by delaying judgement on us. He has shown us love and it is because of his goodness that we turn to Him. We love Him because He first loved us. When I think of the patience that He has shown me, how can I not be patient toward others and pray that God will work through me to lead others to Him.
Judgement and Patience do not go together~!
Romans 2:1-5 gives us 6 reasons why we must not judge others.
1. When we judge others, we cause God to be harder on us. (vs 1)
2. We do many of the same things we condemn in others. (vs 1)
3. We do not know the whole truth. (vs 2)
4. We are just human~! (vs3)
5. When we judge others, we are judging God. (vs 4)
6. God's judgment is always righteous. Ours in tainted by the flesh. (vs 5)
Matthew 7:1-5 gives us more reasons not to judge others
1. We will be judged with the same judgment that we are judging others with (vs 1&2)
2. We cannot judge the speck of sawdust in another's eye because of the plank in our own. (vs 3&4)
James 4:11-12
1. There is only one lawgiver and judge (James 4:12
2. Only God has noble purpose in His judgment
We judge to make ourselves fell righteous in comparison. God's judgment is not based on His ego.
John 8:14-18
1. Just like Christ's, our judgment would have to be completely consistent with God's. He must agree with us four our judgment to be valid.
-We judge by human standards (vs 15)
While God is the judge, He has chosen to show patience to each one of us and to delay the proceedings that would have meant our death. If He is patient with us and He has no sin, how patient must we be toward others with whom we share the same sin. Judgment strangles patience and grieves the Holy Spirit.
Patience involves Forgiveness
Matthew 18:15-35 talks about forgiveness and answers the question "how many times should we forgive?". Jesus taught them the answer with a parable about a merciless servant. Patience is the vessel through which God pours out His mercy. Mercy is fueld by forgiveness.
What is Biblical Forgiveness?
The Greek word is "aphiemi" which means "to let go from one's power, possession, to let go free, let escape". In other words...to cut one loose from judgment, bitterness, reaction.
Who & What must we forgive?
Luke 11:4 - "And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one"
Mark 11:25 - "And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins"
Why Must we forgive?
1. We must forgive because of the very word forgiveness (apheimi). We are unable to be walking free in the Spirit of God if we are bogged down by the load of unforgiveness.
2.We must forgive because God's Word calls us to forgive.
Luke 6:37, and Matthew 6:14-15 shows us that God links His forgiveness of us to our forgiveness of others. Also, when we condemn others, we are condemning ourselves.
3. We must forgive for our own sakes
Look at Matthew 18:21-35, the first servant was delivered to the tormentors, while the second servant was cast into prison. A truth we can see here is that the one who will not forgive always suffers more than the one that is not forgiven. Unforgiveness tortures the person who harbors it.
4. We must forgive so that we do not provide Satan with the opportunity to take advantage of us.
2 Corinthians 2:10 & 11 - Paul says that he has forgiven whatever need to to be forgiven and whoever needed to be forgiven. He did this to keep Satan from getting the better of them. He says that we all know what goes on in the mind. Things like...anger, bitterness, guilt It is impossible to be filled with the Spirit and filled with unforgivenss. Only Satan wins in the war of unforgiveness.
5. We must forgive because we are not the only ones bound bu the rope of unforgiveness.
Remember what is bound on earth is bound in Heaven. Christ has a purpose in the pain that we suffer or He would never have allowed it~! (Romans 8:28)
6. Unforgiveness grieves the Holy Spirit (Eph 4:30-32)
How do we forgive?
Colossians 3:13 tells us the answer "bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you."
How does God forgive us?
Psalms 85:2 says "You have forgiven the guilt of your people-- yes, you have covered all their sins." He has forgiven us 100%~!
IJohn 1:9 -"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Psalms 103:12 - He removes our sins from us as far as the east is from the west
Jeremiah 31:34 -"And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." He remembers our sins no more
I am so thankful for the forgiveness that God has given me, and I pray that He will work in my heart to truly forgive others. Love hardly even knows when it has been wronged. Before doing this study, I didn't realize all the things that go along with patience...mercy, no judgment, and forgiveness. I am not perfect, and I now get to add patience to my list in a new light of areas that I need to work on. I would recommend this Bible Study to everyone...It is going through the Fruits of the Spirit and each week, God is opening my eyes little by little and revealing things to me that I haven't seen before. I am thankful for his Patience with me.
2. broken phone
3. broken dryer
4. broken insurance coverage
5. broken iPhoto
6. broken truck mirror (almost)
7. broken AT&T
- shipped phone to wrong address
- disconnected after talking with them & waiting for 30 minutes!
It just so happens that during the time that all of these things are braking...I'm doing a bible study from Beth Moore called "Living Beyond Yourself" and this week the topic is Patience. I want to share with you what I learned from her study this week. While the fruit of the spirit "Patience - is responding to people with mercy" I'm learning patience almost at every turn regarding my circumstances. The 1st 2 things on that list happened on Thursday last week and the last 5 happened on Monday this week. A feeling of being overwhelmed swooshed over me this Monday.
Well, I just wanted to share with you what I learned about patience. There are 2 types of patience in the Bible. The first one is hupomone - to persevere, remain under...bearing up under...it refers to that quality of character which does not allow one to surrender to circumstances or succumb under trial. James 5:11 uses hupomone "Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy" Job had lost his family, livestock, health, and he had negative friends feeding him the lies of the devil and yet he had patience and endured the hardships. Job had hope - a positive outlook toward an expected end. Do I have that type of hope? Job 23:10 says "But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold." Do I believe that good is going to come from the trials that are in my life? Here are some verses to encourage us to "hope" in God and wait "patiently" for Him.
Hebrews 10:35&36 - "So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.
You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised."
Hebrews 12:1&2 - "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
James 1:2-4 - "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."
2 Timothy 2:10-12 - "Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. [It is] a faithful saying: For if we be dead with [him], we shall also live with [him]: If we suffer, we shall also reign with [him]: if we deny [him], he also will deny us:
Without hope, there is no patience; without patience there is no maturity; without maturity there is no reflection; and with out reflection, there is no glory.
Colossians 1:27b - "Christ in you is the hope of glory"
The 2nd word for patience is "Makrothumia" - forbearance....self-restraint before proceeding to action. It is a patience in respect to people, inspired by mercy. This is to be longsuffering. I believe that patience in circumstances is much easier than being patient with people. I often become frustrated when I am trying to do things on my own. This patience must be an overflow of the Holy Spirit...it is Him working through us.
Patience is Void Of Judgment
When I look at the patience that God has for us...I find it amazing that He does put up with us. 2 Peter 3:9 says "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." and 2 Peter 3:15a goes on to say "Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation". Romans 2:4 says "Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?" We are saved because the Lord has chosen in His mercy to have patience with us by delaying judgement on us. He has shown us love and it is because of his goodness that we turn to Him. We love Him because He first loved us. When I think of the patience that He has shown me, how can I not be patient toward others and pray that God will work through me to lead others to Him.
Judgement and Patience do not go together~!
Romans 2:1-5 gives us 6 reasons why we must not judge others.
1. When we judge others, we cause God to be harder on us. (vs 1)
2. We do many of the same things we condemn in others. (vs 1)
3. We do not know the whole truth. (vs 2)
4. We are just human~! (vs3)
5. When we judge others, we are judging God. (vs 4)
6. God's judgment is always righteous. Ours in tainted by the flesh. (vs 5)
Matthew 7:1-5 gives us more reasons not to judge others
1. We will be judged with the same judgment that we are judging others with (vs 1&2)
2. We cannot judge the speck of sawdust in another's eye because of the plank in our own. (vs 3&4)
James 4:11-12
1. There is only one lawgiver and judge (James 4:12
2. Only God has noble purpose in His judgment
We judge to make ourselves fell righteous in comparison. God's judgment is not based on His ego.
John 8:14-18
1. Just like Christ's, our judgment would have to be completely consistent with God's. He must agree with us four our judgment to be valid.
-We judge by human standards (vs 15)
While God is the judge, He has chosen to show patience to each one of us and to delay the proceedings that would have meant our death. If He is patient with us and He has no sin, how patient must we be toward others with whom we share the same sin. Judgment strangles patience and grieves the Holy Spirit.
Patience involves Forgiveness
Matthew 18:15-35 talks about forgiveness and answers the question "how many times should we forgive?". Jesus taught them the answer with a parable about a merciless servant. Patience is the vessel through which God pours out His mercy. Mercy is fueld by forgiveness.
What is Biblical Forgiveness?
The Greek word is "aphiemi" which means "to let go from one's power, possession, to let go free, let escape". In other words...to cut one loose from judgment, bitterness, reaction.
Who & What must we forgive?
Luke 11:4 - "And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one"
Mark 11:25 - "And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins"
Why Must we forgive?
1. We must forgive because of the very word forgiveness (apheimi). We are unable to be walking free in the Spirit of God if we are bogged down by the load of unforgiveness.
2.We must forgive because God's Word calls us to forgive.
Luke 6:37, and Matthew 6:14-15 shows us that God links His forgiveness of us to our forgiveness of others. Also, when we condemn others, we are condemning ourselves.
3. We must forgive for our own sakes
Look at Matthew 18:21-35, the first servant was delivered to the tormentors, while the second servant was cast into prison. A truth we can see here is that the one who will not forgive always suffers more than the one that is not forgiven. Unforgiveness tortures the person who harbors it.
4. We must forgive so that we do not provide Satan with the opportunity to take advantage of us.
2 Corinthians 2:10 & 11 - Paul says that he has forgiven whatever need to to be forgiven and whoever needed to be forgiven. He did this to keep Satan from getting the better of them. He says that we all know what goes on in the mind. Things like...anger, bitterness, guilt It is impossible to be filled with the Spirit and filled with unforgivenss. Only Satan wins in the war of unforgiveness.
5. We must forgive because we are not the only ones bound bu the rope of unforgiveness.
Remember what is bound on earth is bound in Heaven. Christ has a purpose in the pain that we suffer or He would never have allowed it~! (Romans 8:28)
6. Unforgiveness grieves the Holy Spirit (Eph 4:30-32)
How do we forgive?
Colossians 3:13 tells us the answer "bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you."
How does God forgive us?
Psalms 85:2 says "You have forgiven the guilt of your people-- yes, you have covered all their sins." He has forgiven us 100%~!
IJohn 1:9 -"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Psalms 103:12 - He removes our sins from us as far as the east is from the west
Jeremiah 31:34 -"And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." He remembers our sins no more
I am so thankful for the forgiveness that God has given me, and I pray that He will work in my heart to truly forgive others. Love hardly even knows when it has been wronged. Before doing this study, I didn't realize all the things that go along with patience...mercy, no judgment, and forgiveness. I am not perfect, and I now get to add patience to my list in a new light of areas that I need to work on. I would recommend this Bible Study to everyone...It is going through the Fruits of the Spirit and each week, God is opening my eyes little by little and revealing things to me that I haven't seen before. I am thankful for his Patience with me.
Snowman Cake & Cupcakes
Our neighbor let us use their shovel as we have lived here for almost 3 years, but still do not own a shovel...shows you how often we get a good snow around here. Well, I decided to make them a Snowman cake. I made it out of a 9*13in cake...just cut out the snowman shape and frosted it.
This was the first cake that I've ever tried to decorate artsy. AND as you can tell, I picked a super easy cake to start with. ALL one color~! I use M&M's for the eyes, mouth, and buttons...and a Starburst for the nose. SIDE NOTE - this was the same night that I broke my tooth while eating a Starburst~! I'm looking forward to learning more about decorating cakes. I just found out that Michael's is offering a cake decorating class starting in April...I'm hoping to be able to take that class~!
So after I made this cake, the neighbors were not home. I missed them for 3 days in a row. NOW how crazy is that....so the 3rd night, I decided to give it to my other neighbor before taking the dogs on a walk. I step out of the door with cake in hand, and they were gone to. Needless to say, after that walk, the cake was mine & Tim's. It was super yummy and didn't last long :)
This was the first cake that I've ever tried to decorate artsy. AND as you can tell, I picked a super easy cake to start with. ALL one color~! I use M&M's for the eyes, mouth, and buttons...and a Starburst for the nose. SIDE NOTE - this was the same night that I broke my tooth while eating a Starburst~! I'm looking forward to learning more about decorating cakes. I just found out that Michael's is offering a cake decorating class starting in April...I'm hoping to be able to take that class~!
So after I made this cake, the neighbors were not home. I missed them for 3 days in a row. NOW how crazy is that....so the 3rd night, I decided to give it to my other neighbor before taking the dogs on a walk. I step out of the door with cake in hand, and they were gone to. Needless to say, after that walk, the cake was mine & Tim's. It was super yummy and didn't last long :)
Saturday, March 7, 2009
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