Matthew 6:14-15

   Earlier this week a friend of mine shared with me something that was said in a setting among friends that involved these verses:

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. "

Matthew 6:14-15

I was confident I knew what those verses did NOT say, and reasonably confident that I knew what Jesus was teaching there. My friend and I were on the same page where our understanding of those verses were concerned. She was going to be busy this week and asked if I would take a closer look at them just to be certain we were not "off beam." You don't have to ask me twice to spend time in the Word diving for pearls. After pondering and spending time in the Word, I thought I might as well post the following which is what I sent her regarding those verses.

   As Christians we know that our eternal salvation is based on ones recognition of being in a state of sin, revelation that Jesus is the only One that has or will ever be the redemption for our sin, and then by the faith of God receive the Grace of His Son Jesus as our Savior. We come to that revelation and believe it in our heart and confess it with our mouth and we are saved, reborn.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 

John 3:16

In this is love, not that we loved God, but that at He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 

1 John 4:10

...that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 

Romans 10:9

    Salvation has absolutely nothing to do with what we do, our behavior, our works, and that includes after we are saved. 

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

Ephesians 2:8-9

There is no salvation maintenance program that one must stay one step ahead of their sin in order to keep the warranty current on their salvation status. There is no sin, other than denying Jesus Christ as Savior, that is greater than the redemption Jesus purchased for all mankind.

   There are things in scripture that lay out a blueprint for our lives, an operations manual if you will. Feeding and clothing the poor, visiting the sick and incarcerated, loving and forgiving others are all examples of some of that blueprint for our daily lives. Faith without works is dead, but God does not withhold forgiveness for wrong things done, or right things like forgiving others not done. Those are two very different things. The forgiveness and total restoration for us was a done deal on the cross. God accepted that payment for ALL sin- past, present and future! Choosing to not forgive someone is wrong, and it has consequences, but not damnation, and certainly not God not forgiving us for it. This forgiveness we received at salvation was the reconciliation back to God for us that Jesus came to give us, and it covers ALL of our sin, including not forgiving others. In that same vein, no one that dies outside of being saved will be able to stand in front of God and have any authority or success on being let into to Heaven just because He was a decent chap and forgave people.

   We are the righteousness of God the instant we receive Jesus, salvation. That is because at that instant the Holy Spirit places Jesus in our Spirit. Our old dead man becomes completely alive and permanently a NEW creation. Righteousness and sin do not cohabitate- ever. We live in a flesh body, we have a soul that has emotion, makes decisions and is where our will is, but we ARE a spirit. That spirit is what goes to Heaven, and is where our true life is. That is where Jesus resides in us, and our entire spirit has Him in it.

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 1 Corinthians 5:21

For by one [Holy] Spirit we were all baptized into one body[new birth, Gods’ children]—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:13

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17

 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

1 Thessalonians 5:23

   So having laid all of that out there, what is the consequence these two verses refer to?

   In essence we are not talking about the reconciliatory forgiveness we received at salvation. We are talking about the vanity of hypocrisy of asking for the forgiveness from God that we refuse to give others. This lack of forgiveness does not have anything to do with our right standing (being His righteousness) with God, but everything to do with the breach in daily fellowship with Him. 

  

   In John 13 Jesus uses a foot washing moment to talk to the disciples about how unless He washes them, they can have no part with Him.  

Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” John 13:8

Obviously, no one is eternally separated from God because they did not get their feet washed. 

In 1 Corinthians we see what the washing does. 

And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. 

1 Corinthians 6:11

Jesus said to him, “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” John 13:10

The disciples were intimately close to Jesus, daily. They were His disciples, students of what He taught and imitators of what He did. For them there was no spiritual need for a complete washing as a bath would do, but the cleansing from the washing of the daily sin. This type of spiritual daily “foot washing” keeps the fellowship between them and Jesus. Today, it is the daily time with God, the confession of those sins that so easily and regularly beset us that keeps us connected to Him. Not forgiving others is sin and needs to be repented of and forgiven. To not do so interferes with our fellowship, but does not touch our salvation.  The “but not all of you” refers to Judas. Refer up in the first two verses of John 13.

Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son,to betray Him... John 13:1-2

   This is key in the two verses we are looking at.

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. "

Matthew 6:14-15

In the prayer Jesus models for those He was teaching that day He says:

“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

                     Verse 12 says, And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.

First off that word has been translated into “transgression” in some versions of the Bible. The word was written “debt”. Here is the word that was used here.  

G3783 opheilēma: properly, that which is justly or legally due, a debt; that which is owed that which is justly or legally due, a debt. something owed, i.e. (figuratively) a due; morally, a fault:—debt. (metaphorically) offense, sin.

The root of the word above is G3784 opheilō: (through the idea of accruing); to owe (pecuniarily); figuratively, to be under obligation (ought, must, should); morally, to fail in duty:—behove, be bound, (be) debt(-or), (be) due(-ty), be guilty (indebted), (must) need(-s), ought, owe, should.

   Remember this in Matthew’s gospel in the chapter just preceding the one we have been looking at? 

But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 

Matthew 5:22-24

God is all about loving relationship. He want us to abide in His love, and then glorify Him by showing it to others. Now, God is no longer judging the believer. Judgment for our sin has been passed, and the penalty was paid by our dear Jesus on the cross of Calvary. However, men will judge us. As we judge others by imputing anything that exacts something from them, or on them, we are not walking in that love that extends forgiveness. As we judge others by not releasing them with forgiveness, that is how we will be judged and what we have sown is precisely what we will reap. We see this in the Matthew’s gospel in the chapter after the one we are looking at.

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. Matthew 7:1-7

Matthew 7 just above is one consequence of not forgiving others.

   You may have noticed that I have bolded the words “hypocrite” and “hypocrites” in the verses above. A large portion of Jesus teaching we find in Matthew has to do with religion and the Pharisees self righteousness. Jesus gets very emphatic regarding how dangerous that lifestyle is. He starts out this prayer in Matthew 6 by saying, “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men.” By the time He gets to verse 12, “And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.” He is clearly saying that if when you go to your Father for forgiveness and are not willing to forgive, you are being a double minded man who can expect nothing from Him, you are therefore no better than a hypocrite! For the believer that is where Matthew 7:1-7 comes in and you will reap the judgement you have sown. Again, since God no longer judges us it will be the sow and reap principle already established.

   

   When we pray for forgiveness we must make the amends toward those that have injured us, clearing the dirt on our feet of the everyday walking through life, just a foot washing. Otherwise this consequence of being hypocritically judgmental, reaping what we sow will come round and bite us.

   There is another school of thought out there regarding these verses. Simply put it believes that when someone does not forgive others, they themselves have not genuinely experienced forgiveness from God. I do not believe this to be true of those that are truly believers, period. I do not believe all believers immediately have a compassionate heart toward forgiveness. There are things that take time, process and revelation to actualize. Many scriptures address forgiving others, and those scriptures were talking to the church, believers. 

Postlude:

   After studying this out and pulling my finds together I thought to look in the Amplified Bible and found this. 

For if you forgive others their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins], your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others[nurturing your hurt and anger with the result that it interferes with your relationship with God], then your Father will not forgive your trespasses. Matthew 6:14-15

I was delighted to see that because in one small bracketed definition the Amplified Bible made the point I pondered this past week. Once again the AMP did not disappoint. 

   For now I will close with this:

Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:31-32

Deciding to GO.

I stumbled on to the pictures below in my iPhoto yesterday. They reminded me of something I thought I might share here. For a few years I had been frustrated, significantly frustrated, with a number of things. At the heart of it all; it was me I was frustrated with. I think I knew that all along but oh how easy it is to find other reasons and people to blame. This of course, only magnifies the angst of the frustration. I can be quite resourceful and so I put myself to the task of peeling off the layers that were weighing me down. With every plan I came up with to clear away a situation bothering me I became more confused and yes, frustrated. Once the confusion got annoying enough I had an epiphany (the one from which I had been running), I knew where confusion came from and it was not God. God is the giver of peace, such peace we can’t even understand, but we do have complete access to. I also knew my frustration and confusion were directly related. I was frustrated because I was not giving God 100%, and I was becoming increasingly confused the more ran from what he was asking of me. James is clear about the end of that, For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. James 3:16

As a young girl one of my favorite things to do was go out to my father’s garden. I enjoyed gardening but what I really liked doing was teaching the vegetables. Dad’s asparagus stood straight up and at attention. The staked tomatoes were tall and seemingly attentive the way the seemed to reach upward and outward. The pole beans on their wig~wam style sticks just climbing up so quickly seemed eager to hear what I had to say. Imagine my delight when dad decided to give Brussel Sprouts a go. For one thing by autumn the other plants were in canning jars but the Brussel Sprouts were just coming up, a couple more months to teach! And, each plant had many attentive little heads, what joy!!! Yes, each vegetable plant was a part of a wonderfully captive audience.

Somehow, no matter what I considered, I always knew that sharing and teaching was to be  a part of my life. Truth be known, I knew it was to be what I did with my life. I love my family, nutrition and healthy habits for healthy living are things I enjoy reading and talking about, but it has always been the Bible, God’s Word, that I have enjoyed hearing taught. I even enjoyed just the simple Sunday School stories and the flannel-graphs and well.... really anything at church as a child. When I decided to make Jesus the Lord of my life those stories became real to me, they started to become a part of me. As I grew older and life presented less than fun experiences; the Word of God became what I leaned on and trusted in. By this time I was enjoying the Bible on my own. Have you ever thought about how a baby needs milk from its mother and as that baby grows it begins to feed itself and can manage meat on its own? I look back on that time in my life when I picked up my Bible and began to feed myself rather than counting on a Pastor, Youth Leader, Sunday School teacher or Grandmother to nurse me. What a warm and lovely thing to to ponder. I felt so independent and yet knew that I knew I depended on God and God alone. I could just stop here and bask in that, but I want to say something so I will move forward.

Forward. I have wonderful children, each unique and amazing. I love to look back and think of some of the wonderful times watching them grow, think about some hard times and how God molded all of us through them. I enjoy thinking about their accomplishments, everything from first steps to some of the things they have done just recently. I enjoy thinking about some of the things God has done through me. But.......  You know that verse that Paul encourages us to move forward?


I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. Philippians 3:12-14 NLT

I have heard that verse used to preach how we must not look at our failings in the past, after all Paul was the in the natural, and by his own admission, one of the worst of sinners. I do not remember ever hearing a sermon or teaching on not dwelling in the past about our good memories or accomplishments. Only a handful of times did God tell His people to wait to do something and there was always a purpose for future benefit when He did. For instance, when Jesus told some of the disciples, his mother and some other women and his brothers to wait there in Jerusalem until they received the Promise His Father had made about sending the Holy Spirit. He did this because once He was gone they would need the Holy Spirit to endue them with power to continue in ministry. Overall however, God is a GO God. We are told to GO to all the nations. Abraham was always being told to GO. Moses same thing, GO. God told Joshua that yes, Moses was dead, now get up and GO over the Jordan, you and all the people because He was giving them the land He promised. He told Joshua just as He promised Moses, every place Joshua placed the sole of his feet God had given him. God also as with Moses, told Joshua He would never leave or forsake him, just GO. I am not saying it is not good to remember good things and to think on the wonderful things God has done. What I am saying is we are not to camp there. We are to continue walking, GOing forward in the steps God has put before us and Jesus left example of.

I had become most frustrated and wanted to find any reason I could to not take responsibility for it. I did begin to talk with God about how the frustration was getting to be too much and that the pain of staying in that rut was quickly surpassing the pain of facing whatever it was I needed to face to get to the other side of the barren land of Frustration. In a later post I will perhaps go into some detail about how that happened, but for now suffice it to say when I completely yielded myself,  God showed me why I was being so resistant. I stopped my world right then and there. I had known on some level why I was not moving forward in the things God placed before me. Now, He gave me a clear and pretty full picture of the whole of that dilemma. Somehow now I believe I am suppose to put that out there, so here it is.

God called me years ago to teach, and not just anything but to teach people how much He loves them and specifically teach His Word. Here it is. There are things in my past I am not proud of and things I regret. As with things that bring shame and remorse; those things were sin. People look at the actions of people to judge God by. People that want to discredit God do this, but more grievously people who claim to be Christians do too. I did not want to bring anymore blows to the name of God and I thought stepping out in His Name, teaching His Word would bring undeserved marring to Him. The enemy had me right where He wanted me, and deception at its finest, I thought I was doing God a favor.

When God got through to me that day last August, and I realized the bondage I had been in and that God wanted me to do exactly what He called me to do and He would take care of me and anything that came of someone trying to taint my testimony or tarnish Him, I made a quality decision to get up and GO. God will never leave or forsake me and when my journey on this side of glory is done I want it to be said of me:

[That] I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.  John 17:4 NLT

So now I am pressing on to do just that. I enrolled August 11, 2011 in college and am majoring in Biblical Studies. I have eight classes done, my lowest overall class grade being a 94.40% with my overall grade thus far being 98.25%. Even at that, the beautiful thing is I have had that peace that passes human understanding that we have access to, and I have had that peace from the moment I decided to follow God and give Him 100%.

These note cards are one of the little projects I did back then when I was so frustrated. I went through some time of searching my heart and seeking God. These were made while I was earnestly seeking Him and just prior to my decision to obey God. Thank you Father for your patience and for never giving up on me. Thank you that you will never leave or forsake me. I love you, all of You, with all of me.

With a little knowledge, finances can be your friend.

Hi! I would like to introduce you to, Dave Ramsey. I
typically do not post on finances or economics. Our personal finances are essentially just that, personal. Finances can and often do bring out the core of where we live. They reveal so much about who we are. I have heard it said that if you look back over an individuals check book register or bank statement, you will see exactly how they live and what is important to them. How true that is. I imagine in part that is why Matthew, records Jesus' words in Matthew 6:21, " "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." But economics are another thing altogether. Economics affect us all. Of course, they are only a corporate reflection of the handling of individual finances. Economics, is the topic of many meal time gatherings, a favorite topic for the media, a major factor in the stress level of many, and the bane of most, at least those that are not particularly affluent. Unfortunately, the population at large does not appear to have grasp significant enough on the mechanics of personal finance for it to be an asset and friend, rather than a liability and enemy. Therefore, economics receives the undue power of being a four letter word. Fail! This is not a necessary plight for anyone. There are simple ways that require just a small amount of information, and a certain amount of desire, discipline and determination to achieve personal financial success. Since the day I began this blog, I have had made a link available for what I believe to be the very best financial teaching available. Dave Ramsey, has made personal finance extremely easy for the average person to understand. Even I get it now. If you have read this post thus far, you owe it to yourself to take a look at what he has to offer.

Now, why the change in my operating procedure? I decided to address this topic of consternation, confusion and personally sequestered angst out of irritation. If I were to allow it, I would be weary to the point of the hopeless discouragement I hear spoken all around me. It absolutely amazes me how so many believe our economic prognosis is so portent. Personal finances are personal, but I have resolved myself to the idea that I am going to counter those disparaging remarks with a few positive remarks of my own, from now on. I am guessing that those that like to trash talk finances, and the way the world is headed for a certain gloomy doom, will either have their interests piqued by my comments and want to learn more about succeeding, or simply, stop peddling their media influenced down trodden blues to me. I am hoping for the first of those two possibilities. Though it may sound so, I am not a mean person. Quite the contrary. It breaks my heart to hear and see people not only buy and believe disheartening propaganda about anything they hear about finances, but to also to live it out. That dear reader, is why I changed my operating procedure here. If I can in some way make a positive impact in someones life, I grab it with both hands and run like the wind with it. I have lived many years defeated in so many areas, to the point of imprisonment, that I love to see people become free. That is one of the things I love about the, Lord. That's another post. :-)

So, I do get the Dave Ramsey newsletter in my email every month. I want to share the newsletter I got for April, here on my blog today for you to read. The main article is very fundamental, relevant, as always it is easy to understand and very freeing! I hope you will take a few minutes and read this article titled, "Recession Proof Yourself".

And now, my little spin on this matter is going to get just a brief bit of air time here. Here it is.

To begin with, God wants to bless us! He is a good God, and delights in the total prosperity of his children. I am not shoving the Mercedes, mansion, jewels and frivolity show here. Prosperity means many things, but God wants us blessed in all areas, including finances, and adds no sorrow to get it to us. We just need to be obedient, and receive. Second, once we get a grasp on that scriptural concept, being able to give to others becomes the happy event it is meant to be. Just a note, the Bible gives us guidelines for giving, and the Holy Spirit leads each according to the way we are to give. Be prudent and not silly here. Last but not least, if we are not living in and enjoying financial stability, if we are not enjoying blessing, we can not be good givers, certainly not cheerful ones. We are blessed, to be a blessing.


Be blessed, and be a blessing!

Fellowship Thursday

Several years ago, the Pastor at our church asked me if I knew a particular women that was in our congregation. I did not. He told me she and I had parallel interests, that he was certain we would be fast friends, and that I should contact her. I did, we do, and we are. I phoned her and we set a lunch date. Oh my! She loves to study the Word (sound familiar?), she has a deep and special interest in the women of the Bible (definitely a long time passion of mine), she has a deep desire to see women free in the Lord ( something I am passionate about), she is a retired English Professor (hello!), and author(oh if only, eh?). Well, Pastor got it right, we were fast friends. It did not take long for our light lunch fare to become heavy and wonderful conversation. As we shared with each other how God had been so vital and fulfilling in our lives, we made an interesting discovery. Millie, my new and fast friend, said that while she and her husband were missionaries in Taiwan, they had worked with a lady missionary that had the same last name I did. She wondered if I knew of her. Knew of her??? She is only the best Aunt on the planet!! Millie had worked with my husbands' Aunt Dorothy, for four years some forty years ago. Small world? Yep! Coincidence? Come on... you know me better than to think I believe in coincidences. God was at work, and He was shining out strong in our lunch date. Since that time, I have grown to love, Millie Samuelson. Her heart is so bent toward the Lord, and what he has done, and is doing in the lives of women. This is a quote off of her website.

"Growing up in China, Millie saw how the Christian faith gave dignity and freedom to Chinese girls and women. Not only were their feet unbound, but their lives as well."

When Millie was a little girl in China, her father asked her if she imagined that it was only men at the Last Supper. In that conversation, something was birthed in Millie's heart. She began very young to explore the role of women in scripture. Though Millie, has authored other books, I will only mention two of them and then one she is penning now. The first in the series of three is titled, Men and Women of the Last Supper: We Were There Together. The second is, Women of the Last Supper: We Were There Too. The book she is writing now is I believe titled, Children of the Last Supper: We Were There Listening. You can find out more about these books on the website link above, or just click here.

I mention these books because of what I am about to share with you. After Millie, published the first book, our church began performing the monologues from its amazing pages, throughout Lent. Every Wednesday, beginning with Ash Wednesday, until the Thursday before Easter, our church had dinner together. Each Wednesday, all the disciples, and the women that were most likely present at the Last Supper would be there in full costume. A few disciples would perform their monologue from Millie's books at each dinner. The women that were there in costume also spoke monologues. I have been Mary Magdalene, in these performances. Oh, what a blessing. How could Millie, have known how much that story meant to me? She didn't, but God certainly did. I was honored to do it. I may write more on that someday. If I do, I will ask Millie, for her permission to post the monologue she wrote for Mary Magdalene, that I did, on this blog. We were invited to other churches to perform as well. Oh, what an experience. Millie has given me permission to write a script for a play from the inspiration I have gotten from her book. I have a pretty big project in the works right now, but that script is on tap for the summer! Millie, if you are reading this, I want to publicly thank you for so many hours of prayer, research, writing, editing and rewriting that you have put into these wonderful books. Thank you.

Now, for this year. I mentioned the third book in this series, Children of the Last Supper: We Were There Listening. Well, though it is not off to the printer yet, we performed out of it. Remember the account of Jairus' daughter? You can read about it here, here and here. This last book reflects the historical and spiritual perspective of the children that most likely were there. If the women were there, the children were too. And if there was food being served, the women were there. The new covenant using bread and wine was part of the evening, but supper was served as well. Jairus' daughter ( a youth at church) performed a monologue from this newest book, of what Jesus would have meant to her. These monologues though not word for word scripture, give you an historical and scriptural perspective of what it would have been like to be there. Instead of being the Last Supper all those years and cultures ago, it becomes a real, present and relevant event when you can get a glimpse of what it might have been like to be there. Very wonderful road to ponder down. I love those things that make Jesus so real to me. Precious!

Click on the pictures to enlarge them if you like.
Since we added the children this year, Millie gave us some amended instructions before our Last Supper was performed. That is my dear friend herself standing in this first picture. Perhaps you recognize Jon, seated in the photo facing us.


Millie is in my circle at church, and so are these women. These are two of my favorite sisters on the planet! We were in the ladies room preparing to perform. Couldn't resist this shot.


Here we are, Jon and I. I loved making these costumes. Actually, I love every aspect of drama. My grand daughter wants to be in a performance like this, and wants me to make her a costume just like mine. She is the older of the two that I made those cowgirl costumes for. She is also the reason I will get that play written this year. :-)


There are two people missing in this photo, but you get the idea. Jairus' daughter is front and center. Jesus is in at the table, in white. He is more commonly known as, Pastor.



Some call the Thursday before Easter Sunday, Maundy Thursday. Some call it, Holy Thursday. This day is referred to as "Maundy Thursday", because of how Jesus gave a new commandment to those in the upper room after Judas left. Maundy is derived from the Latin word, mandatum, which means command (mandate).

I call it, Fellowship Thursday. That is precisely what Jesus was doing with those there, and the new covenant given that night gave us and all people, the opportunity to choose to have fellowship with Him, yet today and forever.

I can not close this post with mentioning something wonderful that happened that night at church. I will start by sharing a little about Communion, since that is what this Thursday, night was really about. Often churches, therefore people, focus on the forgiveness aspect of Communion. In and of itself, that is great and there is certainly nothing wrong with that. The problem is that there is so much more. And, when we don't have an understanding of that we miss some very precious blessings. Read with me in Isaiah 53: 4-5.

Surely He has borne our griefs (sicknesses, weaknesses, and distresses) and carried our sorrows and pains [of punishment], yet we [ignorantly] considered Him stricken, smitten, and afflicted by God [as if with leprosy].
But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities; the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole. (AMP)

When Jesus went to the cross, he took every need we had and redeemed it there. When He conquered death and came up out of that grave, he gave all the answers to all our problems the power they needed to come to fruition. Hallelujah!! He gave us resurrection power, the ability to come up out of any problem we face.

Now of course we have to believe those promises. To believe them we must first know what they are. We have to have faith in God's word. And, we must choose to receive them when we ask for them, and believe we receive them. There is so much to write about all of that, and I will go into more on that later in a future post. But, if you want to live a life clothed in victory, that's the pattern for the victory cloak.

So, lets review what Isaiah had to say. Essentially, Jesus took all of our weaknesses and problems on Himself, and nailed them to the cross. His body was beaten and cut open so we could have healing in our bodies. His blood ran out as a result of such mutilation so we could have forgiveness for our sins. His spirit was tormented so we could have peace. God gave us Jesus, and Jesus gave us Himself, just to redeem us back from the curse. God loved us enough to give us everything, at a cost that bankrupt Heaven.

So, can you guess what I am doing when I take Communion? Often I have my Bible out on my lap and am thanking God for ALL He has done for me. You know how some religions call the bread and wine the "Eucharist"? Well, that is just a fancy word for what they deem "consecrated elements" for Communion. If you drop the capital "E", and simply spell it eucharist, it simply means "thanks", or "giving thanks", or "thanksgiving". In the Greek, eu means "good". Charisma means, "divine favor". And originally Eucharist was, Eukarist, a combination of the two. So simply put, "good divine favor that we are thankful for". Long before I started studying words, I was spending my time at the Communion table, in communion with God, thanking Him for His merciful, wonderful, abundant favor... His grace to me! I was so tickled when I realized that in blind faith I was actually on the mark. Oh, did you know that sin really means, "to miss the mark". That just popped out. Okay focus. Often, I am reading this while I am at the Communion table.

Psalm 103: 1-6
Let all that I am praise the Lord;
with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.
Let all that I am praise the Lord;
may I never forget the good things he does for me.
He forgives all my sins
and heals all my diseases.
He redeems me from death
and crowns me with love and tender mercies.
He fills my life with good things.
My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!
The Lord gives righteousness
and justice to all who are treated unfairly. (NLT)

And now about that wonderful something that happened that Thursday, night. After we were done with our performance, Communion was served. During the distributing of the bread and grape juice, I had such a pressing in my spirit to pray for my husband's shoulder to neck area. Jon had been going to a Chiropractor for some pain he was having in that area. Jon does not seek medical help unless it is absolutely necessary, and then he fudges as much as he can. So, enough said. The Chiropractor had just ordered an MRI. Jon's condition was not good. Jon knows how to believe God for healing and so do I. We have seen it different times in our family. Anyway, I was really feeling pressed to pray about it. Then, I felt the Lord move me to not just pray about it, but to lay hands on him and pray over it. There was a woman at our table that I knew understood biblical healing, and also knew how to receive it. So it was no surprise when I felt the Holy Spirit lead me to ask her to if she would get in agreement with me over, Jon. She was happy to do it. Thank you, for your yielded and sweet heart, Elaine! God laid it on my heart to ask Jon if it would be okay if we prayed over him. He was good with that. I then felt the Lord lay it on my heart to tell Jon to just receive the healing by faith when we he took the bread and juice. He said he would. The earth did not quake. The building did not shake. But, I felt a complete peace for obedience. You gotta love that feeling... I do! Next day, Jon is at the Chiropractor for an adjustment. He told Jon to cancel the MRI. He couldn't figure it out really, but the problem did not exist anymore. Jon was and is, pain free! Thank you, Jesus for:
For I will restore health to you and heal you of your wounds,’ says the LORD... Jeremiah 30:17 (NKJV)


Be blessed!
Teresa

Facelift for an old footstool.

On January 28th, I posted this in one of my blog entries that day.

"Also, the style of my home is rather a cottage layout. I have begun to update it, room by room and transform it into a cottage home. I will be posting photos of my progress. Next to sharing ones heart and faith, it doesn't get much more real than being invited into someone's home. Consider yourself invited. I only wish we could visit, and have tea and biscuits together."

Well, come on in. I have started. Be they baby steps, I have begun the process of renewing by redecorating this house, with the intention of making it, our home. You will notice that the label for this entry is, "House to Home". That is how I will label every entry from here on that pertains to the redoing of our house. I am hoping to have at least the main floor completed by the beginning of, September. Nothing is set in stone yet, but I am hoping to visit England, in September. I would really like to have the biggest part of the house behind me. That may be a bit of a stretch, but I think with some serious effort and diligence it can be done. With a touch here and there, some normal weeding and a new plant or two...ish, and the planting of the usual vegetables in the garden, I should not have outside work to do this year. So, I am counting on having some quality chunks of time back to do the inside of the house.

Of course, I have been thinking, planning, looking and drafting on graph paper. However, with the exception of actually buying the wallpaper for one of the bedrooms, and pulling out a useless counter, and stripping wallpaper in three rooms, I have not done anything until this footstool that is really getting at the job. I have this footstool, an old rocker and sewing machine case - both 45+ years old, and at least one dresser that I want to antique with an ivory base. I thought this footstool was the best place to start. It is small and the legs are not as visible as the other pieces I want to redo. And, it would be a snap to redo if I did not like the finish. If I did like it, I could proceed to the others. I am glad I did this little stool first. I do like it enough, but I think I am going to look for a green distressing antique top coat for the dresser. I will use the brown top coat for the rocker and sewing machine case.

This old footstool is one my mother used. She really enjoyed it. My daughter Melissa, was so helpful with mom until she moved to, Oklahoma. Melissa, has vivid and many memories of mom using this stool. I knew mom intended to cover it. When I went through her sewing things, I found fabric she bought to do just that. It was difficult for me to opt to choose my own fabric, but mom and I had diametrically opposed views on decorating style. You will see that as we go along.

The fabric is not the only thing that will need replaced.


The foam is in very bad shape, and needs replaced.


Originally, I wondered if the stool could be done over with just showing wood as the finished product. When I uncovered the whole of it, that was not an option. This is the ugliest pressed wood I have ever seen.


Being the eternal optimist, I paint it anyway in hopes of just antiquing. While it was good to get that old thing painted, it had to be covered.


And so, we cover it.


Much different.


The rocking chair seat will be covered in this fabric, and antiqued with this combination of paint and top coat. Though they were never a set, they will be placed together when done.




Footstool. There is some real significance in that word.

foot·stool -noun: a low stool upon which to rest one's feet when seated.

My mind wandered down two paths when I pondered this word.

My first thoughts were about a verse in Hebrews. I had to look it up because I was not sure of its exact reference. It was Hebrews 10:13. Once I got to reading the verse, I realized I began meditating on, and wanted to share the context and not simply that one verse.

Hebrews 10:11-39

Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then He sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 13 There He waits until his enemies are humbled and made a footstool under His feet. For by that one offering He forever made perfect those who are being made holy. And the Holy Spirit also testifies that this is so. For He says, “This is the new covenant I will make with my people on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” Then He says, “I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds.” And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices. And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, 22 let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep His promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins. There is only the terrible expectation of God’s judgment and the raging fire that will consume His enemies. For anyone who refused to obey the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to us. For we know the one who said, “I will take revenge. I will pay them back.” He also said, “The Lord will judge his own people.” It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Think back on those early days when you first learned about Christ. Remember how you remained faithful even though it meant terrible suffering. Sometimes you were exposed to public ridicule and were beaten, and sometimes you helped others who were suffering the same things. You suffered along with those who were thrown into jail, and when all you owned was taken from you, you accepted it with joy. You knew there were better things waiting for you that will last forever. So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that He has promised. “For in just a little while, the Coming One will come and not delay. And my righteous ones will live by faith. But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away.” But we are not like those who turn away from God to their own destruction. We are the faithful ones, whose souls will be saved.

This passage of scripture really put my mind in motion. We have what it takes, what is needed to "make" Jesus' enemies a footstool under His feet. Originally, we were created to have complete fellowship with God, harmony and unity with one another, perfect health and have all of our needs met, and all in a sin and death free environment. Loving to garden and enjoying a beautiful garden, I have to add that this environment was a garden... I am sure the most exquisite ever! As you know, we exchanged that for alienation from God, strife with one another, sickness, disease, death and lack. In a moment of pride and rebellion, we handed our amazing life over for a piece of fruit. But, God wanted us to have what He originally gave us, and as quickly as we fell, he made us coverings for our flesh, and a provision to buy back all we lost was on the way. Jesus, being the only One that had the price it required, left and bankrupt Heaven, then came to buy back what we gave away. Jesus was the incorruptible Seed that had to die and go into the ground, so that we could be the harvest that would once again bring glory to, God. Once we receive this great gift, receive Jesus as our Savior, we also receive the Holy Spirit. At that moment, we have received the same power that was used at the resurrection. The Holy Spirit then begins leading us and teaching us. With the Holy Spirit teaching us who we are in Christ, and how to apply this power to bring glory to God, we are able to accomplish the task of "making" Jesus' enemies a footstool under His feet. Remember how Jesus said we would go on to do greater works than He? He tells us that we will do these works with the help of the, Holy Spirit. What are these works? Anything Jesus, did. Go tell the world the good news of salvation. Baptize. Disciple. Lay hands on the sick. Comfort the mourning. Show love. Help the poor. Visit the incarcerated. Feed the hungry. Dispel darkness every opportunity you get! I think you get the picture. And, the Holy Spirit will guide you where to do these things God calls you to do, AND, he gives you the power to do them! What a wonderful God, we have!!!!

Satan, Jesus' enemy, our enemy, lost his authority in this world the day the Jesus was raised up from the dead. That does not stop him from trying to wreck our lives with his evilness. For those of us that receive Jesus, choose to go on and do the work left here and entrusted to us to do, we can be about the business of "making" Jesus' enemies, a footstool.

You may have noticed, for emphasis I made bold verse 22 in the above passage. Here is where my second path of thinking begins. In pondering all of the verses about making Jesus' enemies His footstool, I was overcome with the "where" of it all. Where it all starts. It starts with the God that loved us long before we loved, Him. The God that even though we were sinful and rebellious against Him, gave out of pure love for us, His only son. The God that does not change. The God whose mercies, and tender kindnesses, and love endure forever. The God that deserves all of our honor, praise, thanksgiving and most certainly our worship. He bids us to come to Him. He has given us what was required to be able to approach Him with boldness. And, just as in the garden, He wants to spend time with us. Do you not find this amazing? I do! Verse 22 above, says:

22 ...let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting Him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.

This verse caused me to think about the next two verses that also refer to a footstool. This footstool however, is the one we sit on at His feet. This is where we are nurtured and grow into the person He created us to be. We go to the throne for salvation, and we go their for everything else thereafter.

Psalm 99; 5 Exalt the LORD our God, And worship at His footstool— He is holy.

Psalm 132: 7 Let us go to the sanctuary of the Lord; let us worship at the footstool of his throne.

Another new tag, or label that you might have noticed is, "Pearl Diving". Although there have been a scant few oysters around the Asian coast containing pearls that could be harvested at less than six feet, that is by far not the norm. To acquire pearls, you gotta go deep sea diving. That is how it is with the truths in Gods' Word. Certainly, you can get something out of His Word just by opening it up and reading it. God promises His Word will not return void. And, I do just that. Read here a little, there a little. What I really enjoy though, is going in deep and getting pearls of deep wisdom. I want to share those with you, too. From here on, I will label posts that have some deep sea diving in the Word, with "Pearl Diving".

Going to the throne for bit,
Teresa

"footstool." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 12 Feb. 2008. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/footstool>.