Challenge Accepted (Part 3)

QUESTION 3 (An Unbeatable Challenge)

"...If you'll remember from Genesis 22, God tested Abraham's faith by commanding him to take his baby son Isaac and bring him up to the top of the mountain to sacrifice him to the Lord. Abraham agreed and was about to do it when the Lord stopped him just in time and said that he had passed the test and proven himself to be faithful. Now, here's the question and challenge to all you fundamentalists.
IF you lived in the time of Abraham, and God had asked you to take your newborn child up to the mountain, and slay him with a knife or something, would you have done that? ...

Answer YES or NO!  Do not deviate or change the subject, just answer YES or NO, that's all I want to hear."
Please check out my last two posts (Part 1) and (Part 2) for the context of this challenge.  First off let's get some facts straight.  According to Genesis chapter 21, Isaac has been born and weaned which means Isaac was definitely more than a baby.  At the end of the chapter it states, "And Abraham sojourned in the Philistines' land many days." (Genesis 21:34)  I could be wrong but I am pretty sure Sarah and Isaac were with him.  This would mean that Isaac has grown a bit.  According to chapter 22, Isaac went with his father Abraham.  One of them carried wood, so that implies that he was not carried as a newborn.  There are several mentions of Isaac as a lad which would indicate that he was a young boy possible a teenager.  As they walk on their long at least three day journey, Isaac starts to think about the sacrifice and questions his father in verse 7, "And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" This stands to reason that Isaac is definitely not a newborn baby.  He is of an age where he can think and reason.  Another thing to make note of was Abraham never doubted God's promise. Yes, the request sounds outrageous.  But for a guy who just up and left his hometown not even knowing where he was going except for the fact God said go, this was just another mountain to climb, literally.  Abraham's faith is seen in verse 5, "And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you."  Abraham knew God would provide a way, whether or not he would actually kill his son or not.  God made a promise to Abraham, and Abraham knew God would never break it and that it would be fulfilled through Isaac.

So with all of that being said, and I imagine myself in the time of and situation of Abraham, my answer is YES.  There would be no other choice because my relationship with God is strong, I look back and realize God hasn't failed me yet nor broken any promises.  I am sure there would be questions at first, but the peace of God would override the fear of killing my child.  God's plan is the best plan.

This statement "So if you answer YES that you would slay your own child in cold blood, then you would appear to be the most indecent person in human society.  What kind of a person would want to make himself appear that way?" only takes into account people.  God gave up His Son, Jesus Christ to be crucified on a rugged cross in order to pay the payment for the world's sins, the atrocities of innocent babies lives included.  God the Father killed His Son, Jesus so that we could live eternally with Him if we choose to do so.  Does that make Him indecent or gracious?  I serve a loving, merciful, and just God. I have enjoyed this challenge, and I hold to my answers.  I will always defend my faith at every opportunity.

 For the Glory of God,

Challenge Accepted (Part 1)

I was perusing the great world wide web in search of something that would challenge Christians, help them grow, move from their comfort zone, and perhaps suffer for Christ's sake a bit.  In so doing, I ran across an article entitled "An Unbeatable Challenge to Christians".   The purpose of this article was to back Christians into a corner and get them to pretty much deny their faith in God.  The weapon was the Bible, of course. The book that all Christians should be familiar with and "know" cover to cover.  I do admit, there were verses brought up in this challenge that I was not familiar with and nearly did a double take at the brevity of meaning stated.  But that in no way shook my faith, it only caused me to research further to discover meaning and context for these verses and how they were being used in this "unbeatable" challenge.

Question 1~Do you AGREE with your God that the innocent babies and infants living in the cities that God wants to punish should be dashed against rocks and walls and floors so that they die instantly?
First off, if this question was asked to a random 'average' Christian with no context or frame of reference, then yes, most Christians would DISAGREE that God would want babies to be "dashed against rocks" or murdered in such violence.
But because the author gave several examples from God's Word, I now know the context by which the author has misinterpreted to fit his own ideology about God or His non-existence (pretty much a trap tactic).
Psalm 137:9-This Psalm refers to the Israelites' captivity in Babylon.  The Israelites were praying they would not forget Jerusalem.  This verse in particular refers to the destruction of Babylon.  Babylon was an instrument of God's wrath against the Israelites and ultimately would get destroyed.  God gives everyone and every city the choice to follow Him.  Babylon was not doing this and his judgement would pour forth. The verse says, "Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones."  This simply says in the context of the chapter that "he", a fellow Israelite would be pleased or happy IF the Babylonian little ones or babies were "dashed against the stones."  The inferred meaning could be that young Babylonians would grow up to be big Babylonians who would continue to conquer more of the known world.  The vulgarity of the statement clearly expresses the dislike of the Babylonians.
Hosea 13:16-This chapter states the sin of the Israelites, specifically Ephraim.  Idolatry and molten images were some of their trangressions.  God states His previous deliverance from Egypt and then prophesies the wrath to come for their sinful behavior.  God gave them opportunity after opportunity to repent and turn back to Him.  They failed, so they had to suffer the consequences.  In this particular instance, the consequences were severe.  Their children would be dashed against the rocks, and women with child would suffer the loss of their child and possibly their own life.
Isaiah 13:15-16, 18-This chapter is a prophecy-a foretelling of God-about His judgement on Babylon.  Babylon was a wicked city that did not follow after the God of the Israelites.  This is a very descriptive account of what was to come for the Babylonians.  God gives everyone the opportunity to choose Him or not.  Babylon chose not to follow God, so the consequences for not doing so were severe including dashing children to pieces.

AGREE or DISAGREE?
NEITHER-The question is flawed because it asks my opinion about something God already has done or had a part in doing that would be repulsive to most people with any amount of feeling. The past is the past, God did it, and I stand by Him.  His ways are not my ways.  I do believe in a righteous, just, and loving God.  Sin deserves major consequences (Romans 6:23).  God can't stand sin.  Sin is paid for by death.  It can be through the blood of Christ Jesus or the impending wrath of God for those who don't choose Him which ultimately ends in physical and spiritual death separated from God.

Part 2, Visualize yourself "dashing children against the rocks" will follow shortly.

For the Glory of God,

Laborers of the Harvest

Labor (noun)
1. a. Physical or mental exertion, especially when difficult or exhausting; work.
    b. Something produced by work.
2. A specific task.
3. A particular form of work or method of working: manual labor.
4. Work for wages.

Labor (verb)
1. To work; toil: labored in the fields.
2. To strive painstakingly: labored over the needlepoint.
3.a. To proceed with great effort; plod: labored up the hill.
   b. Nautical To pitch and roll.
4. To suffer from distress or a disadvantage.

God has given me my new Harvest of Kiddos, and I now know what it means to be a laborer. Labor is hard work, exhausting, painful at times, but ultimately rewarding.  My kiddos are a tough group, but I love them.  I am laboring in nearly all of the sense of the word for the glory of God.  I hope and pray that I am sending that message.  I will come up with some daily measureable goals such as reading my Bible each day before work. Journaling and praying daily.  Prayer can happen anywhere; I can pray on my way to work as long as I don't close my eyes while driving.  I can seek God in the moment rather than asking forgiveness after acting in the flesh.

Today in fact, I had to calm myself down with my own advice that I had given to a student earlier this morning.  I was getting emotional over something very little and insignificant in the big grand scheme of things.  God has called me to labor specifically with kids, but as a disciple, I am called to make disciples unto Christ.  Because labor is exhausting, hard, painful, physically and mentally demanding; I don't think many people want to be laborers. 

 Jesus states, "But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest." (Matthew 9:36-38, emphasis added).

The laborers are few 
Few. As in not very many.  A little.  There are few people that want to labor for much of anything.  Of that few, there aren't many that want to labor for Christ by bringing lost souls to a saving knowledge of Christ and a transformed life as a disciple of Christ.

Pray ye therefore...

We can pray for laborers.  We can pray for each other and hold each other accountable as laborers for Christ.  I seek to be a laborer in the harvest for eternity's sake.  As of right now, God has given me a ripe harvest of kiddos with hearts that are breaking with the desire to be loved and understood.  I pray I can be the laborer to till the hearts of these kiddos and plant some positive seeds of love, Christ's love, and acceptance in their hearts.

Are you a laborer?

Are you working for the Lord in the harvest He has prepared for you?  Are you working the land and planting the seed in the hearts of those around you?  God never said it would be easy, but He did promise to be there through it all.

 For the Glory of God,

My New Harvest!

I returned a call to a principal on Friday after chatting with my adopted grandma.  The principal informed me that I got the teaching assistant position.  I was so excited.  I said something like this: "Yay! I would love to have the job."  She informed me the process of which I am no stranger would take some time.  The excitement of knowing I now have a job after over four months without employment was a major answer to prayer and a big blessing.  I was at the point to take any employment outside of ministering to children and even risk working on Sundays.

Children are my heart and calling.  I love the opportunity I am given to love on and teach them life principles as well as reading, math, history, and so on.  I look forward to shine the light of Christ and His love through my life and example.  God is so amazing.  He has blessed me with another harvest of kiddos.  I am looking forward to meeting them, and I hope I will make a difference for eternity's sake.

For the Glory of God,

My Best Effort is NEVER Good Enough

Filling out a job applictation:  "Were you ever terminated or discharged from a previous job?  Why?"
I think long and hard on my answer.  My best effort didn't measure up.  My best effort...
As I ruminate how to answer this question, I hear the lyrics to Matthew West's song "Strong Enough" float around me and my answer hits me like a ton of bricks.  My best effort.  I can't do it on my own.

That is kind of the point...I can't do anything without God.  The days are a little fuzzy now.  I remember the stress.  I remember wanting to do everything well. I neglected God till the stress was overwhelming.  It was a different kind of stress...it wasn't a defensive kind.  It was a balance thing.

The stress of a more than full time job stopped.  The struggle now became what to do with my time. Yes, I have job searched.  Nothing.  I have been able to serve more at my church, go to women's Bible study, help out neighbors, make new friends, and more.  There is a certain flexibility with not having a specific job.

My best effort will never measure up in a job, a fitness and food program, or in church service.  I can't do anything on my own.  I am only good and can only do good through Christ.  Apart from Him, I can do nothing.  It is a daily surrender~a heart, mind, and spirit matter.  This is easier said than done.  I hope and pray that I will surrender each day, each moment, and each breath to my Lord.

For the Glory of God,

"To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:"

~Colossians 1:27

Identity Statements

Identity.  What is it?  Well, I checked out the tried and true Webster's 1828, and that really didn't help.  Something about sameness out of much diversity or something like that...  Anyways, I have been confronted with specific issues of accepting myself for who I am and learning who I am.  Sounds to me a lot like my identity.  Who am I?  What are my strengths? What are my weaknesses? What do I like to do to relax? What pushes my buttons? How do I express emotions? Why do I react the way I do?  These are tough questions, but in reality they need an answer.

In the past few months, particular circumstances have led me down a path of "personal" development (kind of like professional development, but different...haha).  I have been introduced to successful people that now teach others how to be successful.  I have looked at it through my heavily, guarded Christian worldview.  I am not into get rich quick schemes or my way of living.  As I listened and researched, I noticed that everything they were saying made sense.  Saying positive things to yourself outloud long enough, you start to believe them.  So all of the negative self-talk that we say in order to justify our 1behavior can be retrained by inserting the positive things.  

So on this Made to Crave journey. the best thing to know is not just my identity, but my identity in Christ.  When you team up with the Lord and know what His opinion of you is, nothing else matters.  He has some pretty awesome things to say about each one of us.

Personally, my list would begin like this:

Amanda~You are worthy of love (That's what "Amanda" means)~Matthew 6:25-26
God feeds the birds and dresses the flowers; are you not of more worth than these? (my paraphrase)

Amanda~You are loved. (Romans 5:8)

Amanda~You are fearfully and wonderfully made. (Psalm 139)

Amanda~You are a living sacrifice. (Romans 12:1-2)

Amanda~You are a princess or co-heir of the kingdom. (Romans 8:17)

Amanda~You are a new creature. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Amanda~You are praised. (Proverbs 31:30)

Amanda~You have a purpose. (1Corinthians 10:31) Do what you do, eating or drinking, for the glory of God (my paraprase).

I ran across this post Who I am in Christ which lists many more identity statements in Christ.  I plan to print these statements and full verses and say them aloud every morning.  It sounds like one more thing to the "To Do" list, but from what I have heard it is worth it.  We can't be like Him, if we don't know Him.

For the Glory of God, 

The best way to renew your mind and experience inner transformation is by knowing, thinking, and speaking who you are in Christ.  

Choose Your Consequences Carefully

I have noticed some beliefs floating around about God that are FALSE.  The idea that God is a loving God, and everyone should love everyone and accept them for "who they are no matter what they have done or are doing."  This is completely untrue!  You must love the sinner, but NOT the sin.  Yes, God is Love, but God is also just.  Because God is love and just, He can't stand sin.  Sin has to be paid for.  Sin is a debt that each person owes, and it must be paid.  The payment is death. His judgement will pour over all mankind in the near future.

Another thing people don't seem to understand is sin.  Most people have a sense of right and wrong. There are a few that believe everyone is good in the world, which I find nearly laughable in light of the events of this world and the evil reported each night on the evening news.  As for the majority with a knowledge of right and wrong, they know wrong is sin.  Simply put, sin is anything you think, say or do that breaks God's laws.  Yes, we could get into a debate as to what God's laws were and justify ourself out of nearly anything.  

Using the Bible as the source and standard for truth, God's laws are clearly found within its sacred pages.  This definition clearly addresses three areas where we sin.  It begins in our thoughts and moves out toward our speech and how we say things on to action, where we willfully take action against God's laws.  All of this can happen within seconds.  Sin is sin.  There is no sin bigger or smaller than another.  Let me say that again, Sin is sin.  There is no sin BIGGER or smaller than another. Sin is equal; the consequences are different.  Did you catch that?  Sin is equal; the consequences are different.  

Telling a lie and extramarital sex/homosexuality are sins.  One is not better or worse than the other.  The consequences are different.  A lie could result in other sin or if confessed immediately, the consequence is minimal such as parental discipline or such.  Extramarital sex could have a variety of consequences such as parenthood, STDs, emotional damage, strained relationships, and more.  Homosexuality has similar consequences such as STDs, emotional issues, broken relationships, social issues, and more.

There are many other examples of sin and its varying consequences, but there is good news.  The sin payment was paid for us.  God, out of His amazing love (that is where love comes in), sent His only Son, Jesus to die on a cruel cross as our sin payment.  Death was the required payment, so God arranged for us a alternate.  Because Jesus died on the cross, we are now given the choice to identify with Christ's payment or take the payment ourselves and live in separation from God forever in Hell.  It is your choice.  God is waiting.  

Churches are not to condone sin.  Their role in ministry to sinners is to love and assist them in making the neccessary changes from sin and towards Christ.  God is love and just, and so must our churches.

To Write or not to Write?

To write or not to write...that is the question.  I enjoy the written word.  I enjoy words themselves.  I enjoy reading books because they are made up of words.  I like to write or journal.  It is release for me.  What I have noticed recently is that what I write about is a bit repetitive and there is not much measured growth reflected.

My blog posts deal with some very real and very personal struggles and desires that I have.  The words that I type express the emotion in which they are written.  That can be good and bad.  The emotions in which I type right now is of a tinge of loneliness, disappointment in myself for investing time in a pointless romantic comedy, and avoidance of other more pressing priorities.

As I logged into my blog tonight, I was brought to a previous post, I'm Engaged!. This post reminded me that I am spoken for. I am the Beloved of Christ.  This is the best day ever, for that reminder.  I am already taken. The difficult part comes in the waiting process.  Yes, I am loved.  Yes, He is coming.  Yes, I will be His bride.  But I must be prepared.  What does a prepared bride look like?  A prepared bride is one that doesn't focus just on the wedding day, she focuses on the details of the marriage.  This one will be for an eternity, so I need to be prepared.

As I look over my writings, I realize that I have work to do, but I have no plan of action.  I have never been very good at follow through or application.  I am learning now that I need a plan with measurable goals and GO and do them.  I get too caught up in "planning" plans, and that is where I get stuck.

Back to my question...to write or not to write.  I am beginning to realize that my motive for writing and specific conversation is for my validation, and I put way too much value on the feedback I receive.  This can affect my view of my value.  As of right now, I have to sort out my motive and arrange several priorities to their proper status.  Until then, this will be the last post until I can strike that balance. 

I'm Engaged!

I was reminded today in church that I am already engaged to the best person ever.  He is out of this world (literally!).  According to Jewish wedding customs, the father picks the bride for his son, the son asks permission, a price is negotiated, and paid.  Then there is a time of preparation.  The bride readies herself to be a wife and mother while the groom prepares the house for his bride.

Christ has proposed to us all.  God the Father chose the church, saved believers of Christ's message. as the bride for His Son.  Jesus left the glory of heaven and paid the ultimate price of death on the cross of Calvary for our sins, and ascended to heaven to prepare a place for His bride.  He is preparing a place for me!

I am engaged to Christ!  I accepted His proposal of love and forgiveness in March of 2001.  My relationship hasn't been easy but is growing stronger with each new day.  The best part is my bridegroom is coming back for me.  That means I must be ready for Him.  I need to prepare my heart and mind for that holy union and all that it will hold.

This gives me a whole new perspective on earthly romantic love.  I am not putting down earthly marriage at all.  It is a priority thing.  I shouldn't seek the love of a man over the love of Christ.  Christ should be first and foremost in my thoughts and life.  Until Christ is number one, any other relationship on earth will suffer.

With that, I plan to set apart some time to seek God and prepare for my groom's coming.  Christ is coming back for me.  It doesn't get any better than that.