To Examine Yourself

2 Corinthians 13:5 
Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?

So, I have always known that this verse is EXTREMELY important, but I never understood what it meant. How do I examine myself? What do I look for? What shouldn't I find? For me, that would be like a doctor telling me, "Check your arm and see if it's broken."....  0.o  Uuuumm, so..... how do I, who am not a doctor, tell if my arm is broken? 
I would spend quite a bit of time pondering as to how to go about examining myself. Plus, I am such a chicken that I didn't have the guts to ask anyone what I should look for in examining myself. 
Well, at long last, the pastor at my church gave step by step (not really, but for me, that's what it was) instructions as to how to know if you have assurance of salvation.  I heard the bells, and I finally found where they were coming from!!! (My Ukrainian friends should get that joke) 
I know that I'm not the only person who struggles with the assurance of salvation exam, so I'm going to post some of my notes from church.

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Hebrews 5:8-14 Salvation does not occur in a moment. (Say whaat?? 0.o) When you focus on one moment to determine your salvation, you are focusing on the past, feelings (which are always misleading), a single experience, and performance. *True salvation is a lasting change. There should be a progression in spiritual maturity*. Salvation is more than just forgiveness of sins. (Say what?) It is eventually deliverance from sins, becoming perfect as our Heavenly Father is (Matthew 5:48). Of course, we cannot become perfect while on earth, but we should still strive to be an example of Jesus. 
Hebrews 6:1-12
The people being talked about in verses 4-6, 'those who have once 
been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit,  who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age  and who have fallen away', they never had a true revelation of Jesus. They merely dabbled. *Some people just make their choice not to change, but they played the part of a Christian for any number of reasons, but they fell away, because there was nothing holding them in*. 
When you are connected, and truly saved, you cannot help but to persevere. Is His name being made bigger? The present is better than a past moment in determining salvation.

Show Some Respect

Brace yourself for some politics;

Ok, so I've been trying to stay out of the political talk lately, but a lot of people have been hitting a sore spot with me. Regardless of how you feel about President Obama, he is our president.
Whether you like him or not, whether you think he's a liar, alien, cheater, or idiot, he is our president. He was elected by the American people, so he deserves the respect you give a president. His name is Barrack Obama, and his title is President Obama. Not president hussein or osama-obama. That is name calling, and don't pretend like it's ok. When you start name calling, you prove that you are no better than the liberal media. The moment you resort to name calling, you are admitting that you have lost the debate, and your argument is then invalid. As conservatives and christians, can we not show some maturity? When you start name calling, you not only make yourself look like an a total idiot, you are fueling the fire of the liberals in attacking the conservatives as a whole.
And don't pretend like Romney is Mr. Christian Hero in this election. Yes, he may be able to piece our economy together, and have some guts when it comes to standing up for our country, but that's as high as my hopes are for him. He is not pro-life as he claims, and he serves a different god that is not the God of the bible.
In conclusion, I beg of my fellow conservatives to PLEASE, stop lying to yourselves, and stop making yourselves look like fools.
No matter who wins the election, "God sets kings in place, and dethrones them."

A Proverbs 31 Woman

 What Is A Proverbs 31 Woman????

 
So, at least for me, there have been some misconceptions as to what being a Proverbs 31 woman means. I had always heard the term, but never read the passage for myself. Judging from what I heard whenever Proverbs 31 was mentioned, I thought that to be a good wife, I needed to be a quiet and genteel mouse, a shadow to my husband, and a homemaker. Well, if you know me, you know I am loud, I like to talk to anyone who will listen, I like to do things for myself, and I hate, (and I mean HATE) to vacuum, do dishes, clean, cook, etc. Just about the only 'homemakery' thing that I enjoy doing is baking, and I have been told by someone that, "you'll never attract a man with just sweets," (yes, I know homemakery is not a real word, but it's my blog and I can make up words if I want).
I have been beating myself lately about how I will never get a guy to marry me, and even if I did, I would be a lousy wife. I beat myself up even worse when a dear friend of mine got married. This dear friend is what I would consider as close to perfect a a girl could be. I got so depressed, and when my mom sat me down and asked me what was wrong, I spilled my guts about how I was feeling. She told me that if being a Proverbs 31 woman was so important to me, I should read it every day until I didn't say or do ANYTHING without thinking about it's words. So I have been, and I realized, I am not as horrible as I thought. God spoke to me the first time I read it, and basically, He broke it down pretty simply for me to understand.

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¹⁰ Who can find a capable wife? She is far more precious than jewels.
'Noble character', 'intelligent', and 'virtuous' are words used in other translations. Pretty self explanatory.
 
¹¹ The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will not lack anything good.
¹² She rewards him with good, not evil, all the days of her life.

She does not bad-mouth her husband, and she is faithful and submissive to him. AMP says, "The heart of her husband trusts in her confidently and relies on and believes in her securely, so that he has no lack of honest gain or need of dishonest spoil. She comforts, encourages, and does him only good as long as there is life within her." Again, pretty self explanatory.


¹³ She selects wool and flax and works with willing hands.
 She stays pretty busy, and from my understanding, she almost enjoys it.

¹⁴ She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from far away.
¹⁵ She rises while it is still night and provides food for her household and portions for her female servants.
 She makes sure everyone has a good breakfast, and plans ahead for the day's meals.

¹⁶ She evaluates a field and buys it; she plants a vineyard with her earnings.
¹⁷ She draws on her strength and reveals that her arms are strong.
¹⁸ She sees that her profits are good, and her lamp never goes out at night.
 She proves she can be self reliant. She can make good business decisions and draw a profit. She is independent, and I think this is partially so she cannot be accused of laziness or being a burden to her husband.

¹⁹ She extends her hands to the spinning staff, and her hands hold the spindle.
 She again, stays quite busy in the house even if she is trying to run a business.

²⁰ Her hands reach out to the poor, and she extends her hands to the needy.
 She serves God through serving others. Maybe by serving on a team at church, maybe she volunteers at a soup kitchen.

²¹ She is not afraid for her household when it snows, for all in her household are doubly clothed.
²² She makes her own bed coverings; her clothing is fine linen and purple.
 She doesn't just play with her projects. She makes useful things, but she is creative and shows her imagination.

²³ Her husband is known at the city gates, where he sits among the elders of the land.
 A woman should marry a man who also serves God through serving his community.

²⁴ She makes and sells linen garments; she delivers belts to the merchants.
 She is a business woman, and she must have a strong will to a degree.

²⁵ Strength and honor are her clothing, and she can laugh at the time to come.
She is strong in many ways, and has kept herself free of false accusations. She also has prepared herself and her family for the future (warm clothing for winter, extra grain should famine come etc.)

²⁶ She opens her mouth with wisdom and loving instruction is on her tongue.
 She thinks before she speaks, and she does not discipline her children with harsh anger.

²⁷ She watches over the activities of her household and is never idle.
She keeps a close eye on her kids to make sure they stay out of trouble. And once again, she is always busy.

²⁸ Her sons rise up and call her blessed. Her husband also praises her:
²⁹ “Many women are capable, but you surpass them all!”
 She raises her sons to know what kind of a woman is a godly and suitable wife, and when they are grown, they see what an amazing woman their mother is. Her husband knows what a blessing she is. She married a man who is godly and spiritually strong.

³⁰ Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord will be praised.

³¹ Give her the reward of her labor, and let her works praise her at the city gates.
 Even though she does not do what she does to be recognized and rewarded, people do see what a godly woman and hard worker she is.
   

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So, now I know what I have to work on, but I also know that I shouldn't be ashamed of who I am! I have been ashamed of my strong will, and my talkative nature, but how could the woman of Proverbs 31 be a business-woman without being somewhat stubborn? As long as I don't direct it toward God, my parents, or my husband, I don't see it as a problem (as long as wrongs can be admitted to), and as long as I think before I speak (which is a good but hard rule to live by) being talkative can come in handy when evangelizing. 
Maybe, before she got married, or when she was young, she didn't like homemakery things either. Maybe after knowing it had to be done and setting her mind to it for a certain amount of time, she softened her heart to it, or she just liked preparing her house for her husband to come home to everyday when they were first married, and it turned into a habit. 
All I know is that God has opened my eyes to the fact that when we accept Christ, he doesn't want to change us. He wants to make us better. To use what He gave us at physical birth, and improve it with what He gave us at spiritual birth.

 

From Ukraine, with love Part 4

 To Be A Tree (just a thought)

You can feel gravity pull you down. That's how we know it's there. But you can't technically  see the sun's helpful light that the plants break down for food. 

When a young tree falls, if it has good roots, it will simply continue growing, even though it is crooked. It overcomes the obvious gravity, with the help of the 'unseen' sunlight that helps feed it, which in turn helps it's roots grow to get a better grip on the ground.

When it rains, it is cloudy, so you can't see the sun. It's still there, you just can't see it, and as 'depressed' as I'm sure that makes the trees, the rain is sooo good for them, and without it, they would not only stop growing, they would simply die. 

Lord, I want to be a tree :)

From Ukraine, with love Part 3

The Work Of A Sinner

John 5:39-40

'You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life. '

Just reading or knowing the bible and doing good works won't forgive your sins or get you into heaven. To quote a good friend, "Christ did the work of a Savior, now we must do the work of a sinner." And the work of a sinner is to repent of your wrongdoings, and to turn your focus from your selfish desires, to Christ and making His name bigger.

From Ukraine, with love Part 2

Forgiveness & Love.

Luke 15:24

"Was dead, and is alive again; was lost, but now is found..." and then they celebrated. What a moving statement. Our Father rejoices and 'throws a Heaven party' when a lost child is found. He, who has no fault, celebrates when we, fleshly, faulty, and sinful beings that have hurt Him, come to Him with repentant hearts. He could zap us right there; tell us that we went to far and He won't save us.... But He doesn't. He washes us, and calls us His children and His bride. He forgives and forgets our wrongdoings and faults, both big and small. 

Why He loves us so much is a mystery to me; but I love Him, for He first loved me, and He gave His life for me, so that He wouldn't have to live without me, and I, Him. My Father, my Love, my Treasure, my God. 

From Ukraine, with love Part 1

God Breathed

           

2 Timothy 3:15-17 

When Paul says "all scripture is God-breathed," surely it is 100% true, or 100% false. For if it is true, God would have known if future man would come along and 'officially' establish old and new testament.  God commissioned specific men to write the bible, so wouldn't He have commissioned specific men to 'publish' the early bible? (where most of our modern translations such as KJV, NIV, AMP, HCSB, etc. come from) 

Verse 15 is reaffirming that the old testament is still very much about Christ. Verse 16, still similar. 

I personally sum up the old testament by saying, "it is about the law and prophecies about Christ, and it teaches us more about God's character." Without the old testament, we would not appreciate Jesus Christ and the new testament nearly as much (verse 15) 

From Ukraine, with love

So, I went to Ukraine July 13-21 on a mission trip. I found myself taking a lot of notes on the scriptures I was reading. The first few blog posts I will be posting will be a few of my notes, and thoughts I had throughout the trip. I hope you all enjoy :)