Where Grace and Faith Meets- Abraham

Remember faith is two things from Hebrews 11:1,6

1) Having hope in things that are not seen

or having a heavenly perspective

 

and

 

2) Believing that God exists and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him 

 

But through faith, we still have to seek Him every day while waiting on Him. His grace will enable us to have faith to rest in Him with the day-to-day and the long-term. As we continue on, we need to remember these guidelines as we study about Abraham in Hebrews 11 verses 8-10

 

"By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; 10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God."

 

God's covenant with Abraham was established in three separate accounts:
 

1) Genesis 12:1-6- Abraham had to leave his home and go into a direction towards some land God was to give to him.

Abraham was called by God in Genesis 12:1

"Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you."

 



Abraham had to leave the land that he was living in, where his family was at, where he grew up and where everything he knew that was familiar. Talk about faith! The Bible states that he was supposed to go towards this land. No direction. No area. Just go towards this land that I will show you. I don't know about you but that must have taken a lot of faith to make that step but also tons of grace to travel day by day not knowing what direction he was going. He had to trust in the God who says what He will do. It must have been such a long journey but also a stepping stone for Abraham's faith in God   
 

2) Genesis 12:7-9; 13:14-18- God now shows the land in which Abraham and his descendants will get

 

When Abraham gets to the land for the first time, God says in Genesis 12:7

 

"To your descendants I will give this land.”

 

But that's not it, in this land are the Canaanites. Abraham was promised to get this land but there were strange people living there. And he had to live there among them. Scary! Talk about complete dependence on God but Abraham had faith to live day by day through God's grace because God said this was going to be his and his descendants.

 

Because of a famine in the land, Abraham goes to Egypt for a while, freaks out and lies and almost gets killed. He then comes back to "his" land and then there was arguing between Lot's, his brother's son, and his own men. They finally had to make the choice to separate. Lot picks the best and Abraham gets the ok part. So after all these times of trials and failures, God comes to Abraham in chapter 13 verse 14-17 and reminds him of His promise to Abraham

 

"for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever."

 

Talk about grace! Abraham lacks trust in Egypt and goes through a valley with his nephew but God rebuilds his faith and tells him again His promise.

 



3) Genesis 15- Abraham was going to inherit this land and give it to his future heir from his own body

 

Time passes on, Abraham saves his nephew, goes through a raid, and talks to a few kings. But God then approaches Abraham again. God first affirms Abraham telling him that He is his shield and exceedingly great reward. He basically telling Abraham, hey I got your back and you and I have a good relationship. God restated this in a different way in the same chapter in verse 7 where God is the Lord who brought him out of Ur and gave this land to Abraham. Everything that Abraham had was because of God's grace and reassurance  during this time of waiting. 

 

But than Abraham brings up a good point, "I don't have any offspring. I have this guy over here who is my servant." Once again God reaffirms Abraham in verse 4

 

"This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body

shall be your heir."



And the first time since this covenant was made the scripture said that Abraham believed in the Lord and God accounted it to him for righteousness. I think the thing that I enjoy and hold onto with the most for Abraham's story is that God continuously affirmed Abraham over and over with His promise. He does the same with us. He enables us with His grace to have faith to wait on Him through His promises.

 

linkup with Jennifer Dukes Lee

Where Grace and Faith Meets- Noah

Remember faith is two things from Hebrews 11:1,6

1) Having hope in things that are not seen

or having a heavenly perspective

 

and

 

2) Believing that God exists and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him 

 

But through faith, we still have to seek Him every day while waiting on Him. His grace will enable us to have faith to rest in Him with the day-to-day and the long-term. We need to remember these guidelines as we study about Noah in Hebrews 11 verse 7

 

"By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith"

 

 

Noah had FAITH and lived by GRACE as he waited on what was not seen

 



He knew God existed and trusted that God was going to bring rain and save him on this huge ark that he had to build. This of course only happened because Noah found grace in God's eyes (Genesis 6:8). He was different from others. The world was corrupt and only did what came from their evil hearts. It was only through God's grace that Noah was able to live in the world. Even seeing all the evil around him, Noah knew God existed and had faith in Him and walked with Him through grace.

 

In chapter six of Genesis in verses 13-22 God showed grace to Noah to pick him to build the ark. He was not going to be destroyed because he was chosen by God. Noah wasn't perfect. He just diligently sought God and God rewarded him by sparing his life and allowing him to build the ark through grace.

 

In verse 18 God states

 

" But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you."

 

Noah had faith when it concerned the covenant, even though God picked him to build the ark and be saved. What was the covenant? Noah didn't know what it was until after the flood. He had faith that God was going to tell him because God said it. He was rewarded because of his faith. Noah had to have faith in God's promise but also lived by grace motivated by something he didn't know. God gave him grace day by day to build the ark and faith as he waited to see how things were going to unfold.    

 

Every step Noah took was from God.

    God told him to build an ark - Noah did

    God told him to get the proper animals - Noah did

    God tells him to just get into the ark - Noah did

    Once they are in the ark, God shuts the door - not Noah

    Everyone not in the ark died - Noah and his family was alive

 

Noah had complete faith in God. He trusted that God would do everything that He said He would and allowed God to do it all. God rewarded Noah or did what He promised because of Noah's faith.

 

After the flood and Noah and his family gets out of the ark, because of faith and God's faithfulness, Noah makes a sacrifice out of thankfulness and devotion. This is even before God gives what the covenant was. Noah had so much faith in his faithful God that he didn't ask God about it. He trusted God. God rewarded him and all mankind.

 

Where Grace and Faith meets

 

God really has worked on my heart lately. A lot has gone on in life and He keeps drawing me near. Changes are happening. People are sick. Others are sad and discontent. Uncertainties are lingering. It is all heavy on my heart. But God is still faithful.

Ever since listening to the sermon jam from Matt Chandler's sermon, I really have pondered on what is having faith and resting in God's grace, while waiting, looks like. Hebrews 11 verses one and six states,

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen...  But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."

Faith is two things

1) Having hope in things that are not seen

or having a heavenly perspective

 

and

 

2) Believing that God exists and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him 

 

 



Day by day we struggle with doubt and fear. It haunts us when we feel like we are not in control. There are things that we worry about moment by moment every day. But then there are situations or people who in the long-term we really don't know how it will turn out for them and we worry about them. We have to wait. That is where faith and grace comes in. 

 

We need grace to make it minute by minute, hour by hour, night and day. But we have to be still and wait on Him as He gives it to us. We cant worry and fight with our emotions. That is still leaning on our own strength.

 

We need faith to have that long-term hope in those things that just seem like they will never happen. We have to rest that we serve a God who exists and rewards us when we diligently and humbly seek Him. He is a faithful God who keeps His promises.

 

We have to seek Him every day and wait on Him. His grace will enable us to have faith to rest in Him with the day-to-day and the long-term. We just have to humbly wait for Him.

 

I'm excited to say that this is not it. The next few posts I am going to continue on with a few of my favorite stories of Hebrews 11 looking through the truths of what grace and faith means while waiting.      



My Social, Relational, and Spiritual side of 2015

I am always a big fan on reflecting with what the year has brought me to make goals for the next year. I decided to put this post in three categories: what happen to me socially, what happen to me in my relationships, and what happen to me with my relationship with God.

Socially 

My Online World

I have had this blog since 2010. I have always enjoyed writing and decided to share with others what God has taught me. It has been an off and on experience until this past summer. I started listening to podcasts and realized there was a whole other world online. There are women like Heather MacFadyen from the God Centered Mom podcast who is real about her struggles and wants to encourage other moms to be God centered through all walks of motherhood. Then there are women like Lisa Appelo and Jennifer Dukes Lee who I have subscribed to their blogs. But then I was able to take it one step further and joined the Hello Mornings and No More Angry MOB Facebook groups where I get to interact with amazing women of God who wish to challenge and encourage me and others. I began to realize that I wanted to join this community of women through my blog. I found an online course called Christian Bloggers Bootcamp which my mom and dad got me for Christmas. My mission statement is "Challenging and showing women that God's grace and His word can help them through all areas of life". I am excited to see where God takes this next year.

 

Politics and the 2016 Election

If you have followed my blog or even just a friend of mine on Facebook, you can clearly see that I like politics. It started two years ago on my journey of discovering our American Heritage. I am a firm believer that the only thing that will change the direction of this nation is if we go back to the word of God. The founding fathers knew that and we need to realize that ourselves. So this time around I have followed every single republican debate and the candidates that I like. John Adams said once, " Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people". We have to do two things

1) Draw near to God's Word for guidance and direction

2) Research and be aware of current issues or the candidates and what they stand for

If we don't do these things our country will be completely lost. We need to step up as Christians and hold onto God's word.

Owning our own house and Dave Ramsey

As of May, my husband and I are owners of a double side house. But as we lived here, we began to realize that we were not financially ready as much as we thought we were. My husband and I balance each other out. I am a penny pincher and my husband likes to spend money. Luckily we don't live luxurious and buy pretty much everything use but we still like to spend money. We realize that we were going to be in debt for a long time. That is when my husband started to listen to the Dave Ramsey show on podcast. My husband and I began to saw that we really were not good with our money as we thought we were. A few things that I have learned from being a house owner especially of a double is

1) There is always something that needs to be worked on and we have to have the money. In September we had to set up in our envelope system three categories: Christmas, fix our car, and a problem that we have going on at our house. When we took out the chuck of money we needed to save, it was a reality check with what money we had to leftover to distribute to the other envelopes.

2) Not everyone is good as us paying off bills or paying rent. We learned how to show grace but also stick to what was right when it came to the renters on the other side of our house. There are going to be set rules when we get new renters.

3) I can now understand why owners of previous houses we rented from said no animals. They leave such a mess! I don't think I even want an animal unless it is an outside one.

My husband and I are getting use to the "Dave Ramsey way" with the envelope system and realizing even during the times that we think it is hard, it will be worth it in the end.

Relationally

 Being a mom changes things

At the beginning of the year, my husband and I moved back to where we use to live when we first moved to Pa. I was so excited to go back to my old church which I loved so much. But I soon found out that the things I enjoyed at church I couldn't enjoy as much now since I became a mom. For starters, they don't have nursery for the Sunday evening service or Wednesday service. It was a little easier to go when goober was little but now as an almost 18 month old, it is hard to come anymore because she don't sit still. It was kinda disappointing when I couldn't see the girls I use to work with in the youth group. I am not able to spend much time with them as much as I was able to before. Also all the young moms that have kids the same age as mine, all work. So I kinda feel isolated. I am in the middle where the 20 somethings still see me as a peer and the older moms with older kids still see me as a young married person without kids. But what I have learned and going to try to apply this coming year is:

1) Finding a place where I can serve. There is a children church teacher position during the worship service that I am going to serve in. It is important to try to serve in the areas you can serve even if it is just working in the nursery or ministering to someone in the church through prayer and sending out letters.

2) Teaching my 18 month old to sit. I have to confess I wanted to do that before I had kids but reality set in that it is actually harder than I thought. My little one does not sit still at all. Her personality is very bold and sometimes strong-willed. It is going to take tons of unhappy moments of reading a book and holding her as I read to her for her to learn.

3) Older women with older kids are only a phone call away. Sometimes you might just have to settled with a phone call instead of going out for coffee. I have developed a relationship with a woman at church who actually has done this with me. She even invited me to go walking in the park as I pushed my little one in the stroller.

I am definitely anticipating this next year how I will continue to grow in this.

My relationship with my in laws 

As I stated before, we moved back where we use to live in January. But we did not have a house yet. So we chose to live with my in laws. Here are a few things I learned:

1) Communication is the key. No matter how different my point of view is from my in laws, communication had to happen. There were times I had to be straight forward with them which was hard but they were able to hear what I had to say. It made them respect me more as a person.

2) Offer to do things around the house. My in laws are busy people and simple things like vacuuming slipped by. So I did it. I also offered to make dinner a few times. It made it easier to live there.

3) Do things they like to do. My mother in law liked playing games and so do I. So almost every evening we played games. My father in law liked to relax and watch tv. So sometimes I watch his favorite tv show. It was the small things that count.

This next year, I think I need to focus more on my mother in law's mom who now lives by herself who is wearing my mother in law thin.

Spiritually

Learning how to wait on God

I want so much to live a life is grace filled. I want to be able to show it to my love ones. But I always fall short. I am a major people pleaser and I have had enough of it. But I continue on in my strength. It has not been until recently through this Christmas advent season that I have seen Christ as the one who came to deal with my sins. It is through Him that I can do anything. It is through Him that I can make it through the day focusing on the here and the now. But I have to wait on Him. There is going to be more on this in the future on my blog. But here is a video to get you personally thinking

God's word changes people's lives

 

This is something that God keeps bringing up year after year to remind me. I always try to control the situations I am in. Sometimes it leads me to fear. Sometimes it leads me to getting really angry at my little goober. Sometimes it allows me to think things that are not true where I just get so swept up in emotions where it ruins the rest of the day. God has given me a BIG desire to share God's word through writing but why do I seem to skip out on myself? On my iPad I have verses for every emotion I tend to struggle with.

When I feel overwhelm

Psalm 94:19 and Psalm 61:2

or

When I feel like a failure

Psalm 37:23-24 and Psalm 94:18-19 and Micah 7:7-8

 

I also would like better my American Heritage study for kids. I don't know but I do know that this year without the word of God I wouldn't have had learned the things I did.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

LINKING UP WITH EMILY FREEMAN HERE



Praying for 30 days- day 30!

 

Christmas is tomorrow!! But Christmas started for me at the beginning of this month through Advent. Even through the deaths of my Grandpas, life and hope still brought peace. I am learning to just to choose joy. I have come to appreciate more the life Christ has given to me when He came on this earth as a babe. He didn't stay as baby in the manager but grew up as a man to do His Father's will, the will of God that has been there even before the foundation of the world. We have always meant to live life and have it more abundantly. It is only though Christ and what He did on the cross that saved us from the power of darkness and death in our hearts. He took it away completely. In that I can choose joy everyday. In that I can say that He is my God.

During the past 30+ days, I have been praying for certain people, more than others but whoever God laid on my heart. Today's prayer and verse in my book Today I pray by Stonecroft ministries summed up what I hope for, for my love ones.

Isaiah 25:8-9
"He will swallow up death forever,
And the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces;
The rebuke of His people
He will take away from all the earth;
For the Lord has spoken.

⁹ And it will be said in that day:
'Behold, this is our God;
We have waited for Him, and He will save us.
This is the Lord;
We have waited for Him;
We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.'"

Father, thank you for the day ________ will say, "This is my God; I trusted in Him, and He saved me. This is the Lord, I trusted in Him; let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation."

O Holy Night- my thoughts and meditations

 

This Christmas season I have immensely enjoyed doing Advent in my own studies and with my daughter. It has been an amazing experience immersing myself in God's word and constantly focusing on Him as my king and conqueror of my soul. He has certainty been working in my life and the lives of the ones I love. O Holy Night has been such an inspiration to me because it gives a clear message of His gospel. It is a new favorite of mine.

 

O Holy Night

The stars are brightly shining

It is the night of our dear Savior's birth

This night was like no other night. It was a night set apart for God's perfect will: His Son, our Savior was born.

 

Long lay the world in sin and e'er pining

 

When our Savior was born, the world was lost and separated from

God. The sinfulness of this world was clear and needed a Savior. "Pining is one of those older words we don’t hear very often. It does refer to a desperate longing, but it also has a more archaic meaning of discontent and fret. Both reflect what the Bible tells us about the state of the world. In rebellion against God it seeks satisfaction in things that do not satisfy.It is a restless world that will not embrace the one cure that can save it(http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/firstthoughts/2009/12/o-holy-night-2-long-lay-the-world-in-sin)"

 

'Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth

A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices

 

He came to us on that night to bring our burdened and sin laden

souls hope. When we hope, we can rejoice, rejoice in that through Him, we will not be weary no more. He is our Savior. He has overcome all sin!

  

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Through Christ all things are made new. The old has gone away. It is like waking up to a new morning and starting all over again. He gives us a second chance. We mess up but through Him we can do it again every day, every moment. There is hope. There is grace. There is power.

  

Fall on your knees O hear the angels voices.

 

This is by far my favorite part. Christ comes and brings hope, a new start to our fallen hearts. It is only through Him we can do that. So when we fall on our knees, we are humbly falling on our faces recognizing He has saved us. And when we do that, the angels sing in heaven rejoicing that we have seen our need and have chosen Christ.

 

O night divine O night when Christ was born

O night divine, O night, O night divine

 

When Christ was born that night, God Himself set it up.Every single detail from Mary and Joseph being His earthly parents to King Herod wanting to kill Him, divinely directed by God Himself. It could not have gone any other way.

 

Truly He taught us to love one another;

 

Through God sending His only Son to come as a humble baby, being born in a stable and laying in a feeding trough, is only the beginning of showing and teaching us love. Jesus even continues on showing love through out His life and ultimately on the cross.

 

His law is love

 

Jesus commanded us to love the Lord with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind and to love your neighbor as yourself. He also taught us that when one loves Him, they will keep His commandments.

 

and His gospel is peace.

 

The gospel is Jesus Christ coming as a baby, growing up, dying on the cross and rising from the dead defeating death. In that we are saved from our sins which brings peace like no other to our weary and sinful hearts. We can have the faith that what He says and who He is, is true.

 

Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother;

 

The chains are our sin that burdens us which Christ can only break. That is why He came.
"Paul also recognized how he could be free of the chains of sin. 'Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!' (v24-25 of Romans 7) The slave is our brother because we too were once slaves to sin, and we are untied with the Christ in His suffering and resurrection." http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/firstthoughts/2009/12/o-holy-night-10-e28093-the-slave-is-our-brother
 

And in His name all oppression shall cease.

 

Christ gave us freedom. Freedom only comes from His name and His name alone. It isn't Buddha nor the teachings of Joseph Smith. They all came and died. He is the only way. He is the only truth. He is the one who brings life.

 

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,Let all within us praise His holy name.

 

Because through His name oppression cease, we can sing out in a joyful and grateful praise because of His great gift to us. It should just flow out of us because of who He is in us.

 

Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever,

This is a declaration of praise of who He is. He is the Lord of our lives. He made this plan before the earth was even made. That is why He is Lord of all. That is why we have to fall on our knees and praise Him forever. Even times to come, all will fall on their knees and see that He is Lord.

 

His power and glory evermore proclaim.

 

Besides every knee bowing down to His name, we will bow down to His power and glory. We can now see on earth how He has worked and continues to work in our lives and brings glory to His name. In that we should praise His name. In that the world will praise His name.

 

O night divine, O night, O night divine

 

Read more: Christmas Carols - O Holy Night Lyrics | MetroLyrics

 

Praying for 30 days- day 29

In Isaiah 9:6, one of the names of the Messiah that Isaiah mentions is the Prince of Peace. This particular name shows Christ as supreme ruler that has brought peace to all people. As Jesus states in John 16:33, when we experience tribulations, we can have peace because He has overcome the world. Holding to the idea that through Christ coming and dying and rising again and that all who believe on Him will have peace. He has overcome the sin and evilness in this world and our hearts.

Today's scripture from my book Today I pray by Stonecroft ministries is the opposite of having peace.

Isaiah 59:8 but also including the previous seven verses.
 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. ² But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear. ³ For your hands are defiled with blood,and your fingers with iniquity;
your lips have spoken lies, your tongue has muttered perversity.⁴ No one calls for justice, nor does any plead for truth.They trust in empty words and speak lies; they conceive evil and bring forth iniquity.They hatch vipers’ eggs and weave the spider’s web; he who eats of their eggs dies, and from that which is crushed a viper breaks out. ⁶ Their webs will not become garments, nor will they cover themselves with their works; their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands.⁷ Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths.⁸ The way of peace they have not known, and there is no justice in their ways; they have made themselves crooked paths; whoever takes that way shall not know peace.

These verses are describing a person who has no peace with God. They separated because of their sin. Not because God can't save them. Not because He cannot hear them. It is all them. They have chosen to hold onto their sin. They have no concept of the things of God. It is in their actions and words. They cannot know peace because sin runs rapid in their hearts and mind.

As I was praying for the certain people who God laid on my heart for this particular verse, I began to think of two types of people with no peace. There are the people who are not saved and live their lives in sin and just don't care because they know no other way. Those people hold onto anger and bitterness and who are sad. These people are the ones we need to pray for to come to the Prince of Peace as their Lord and Savior. It is only God who can save them.

The other people are the ones who are Christians and know that they are holding onto some sin in their life but just can't let go. They are literally struggling and wrestling with God. But once again, they have chosen to separate themselves from their Prince of Peace. God's hand cannot be shortened. We need to come along with them and pray with them and direct them to God's word.

I challenge you to pray and ask God to show these type of people in your life. We need to show them the little Baby that came and grew as a man who died that can be their Prince of Peace too. 

Open _________'s eyes, Lord Jesus, and show _________ the way of peace.