Also, I decided I needed to go back onto a med to battle Babesia again, so I've slowly been working on getting that med amount back up. (So, you know how that goes.)
This fall, our church is participating in training through www.myhopewithbillygraham.org For me, there is not a lot of 'new' information- but I have appreciated how well the material is put together, particularly appreciating the teaching in lessons 3-11 (I have another week to go.)
If you are interested in the training- you can sign up to go through the training for FREE ONLINE!
I don't plan to do the 'host a DVD event' aspect at this time- but the rest of the training is very good for learning about sharing the Gospel. Being an introvert, and over the years with God, He usually calls me to one person at a time~ But no matter our personality or preferences- the LORD asks us to be ready 'in season and out' to share His Good News. (2 Timothy 4:2)
In doing today's preparation- one of the verses I was to look up was Acts 3:19
Acts 3:19
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
19 Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;
Obviously, what struck me today was the last part of this passage, "in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord"
Oh but that sounds SO GOOD today-- LORD knows I need refreshment, and so the LORD also knows- I need to be in His presence!
There is nothing else on earth that can bring refreshment like His presence!
Do you know His presence? If not, I invite you to know Him-
-understand first that we were all born with a sinful nature (a desire to go our own way, apart from God) which leaves us seperated from God.
- In God's great love, He Himself made a way for us to connect with Him. And because we are sinful in nature, and He is All Holy- it had to be a particular way...a sacrificial way-- and again, in His great love, He made a way for us to re-connect (be in community with ) through sending His Son Jesus to experience humanity, while yet diety/sinless... to unjustly be accused of sin (to take on our sin); He was crucified, died (a sacrificial death on our behalf)
- on the third day- Jesus was risen from the dead- conquering death, leading the way for those of us who believe on Him (trust in Him, and what He has done for us) so that we too can share in eternal life with Him
The verse begins with repent and return.... repent means to turn from sin, and then to turn to Christ.
This allows us to enter the presence of God as one who belongs to Christ- By Jesus Christ, we can enter the presence of Almighty God! (Yes, it really is about who you know!)
For years I knew there was a God, out there, somewhere. And, I had it in my mind that to try to get closer to Him, I had to work at being 'good'. But in my heart of hearts, there was always the nagging sense of 'falling short'...after all, I could never find the answer to my nagging question of 'when is good enough, enough?'
In my college days- I had friends who were 'good' too- they were also 'Christians' (as I would have called myself at the time, because I had at least gone to church some times, and thought is was a 'good thing').
But some of these friends just had 'something more'- I couldn't quite put my finger on it at the time, but there was something different about them. Now I would say it was a quality of 'Light and Life' that I didn't have.
A couple years later, in a late night conversation with another friend, I shared about my perplextion of wondering if it was even worth trying to 'be good' when no one could even say definitively when one was 'good enough' to be assured of going to heaven.... My friend gently explained it wasn't about my being good, but about The Only One Who Is Good- Jesus... and went on to explain this Good News that I shared above...
Oh what relief came over me-- how it made SO much sense that I was a sinner. I intuitively knew that deep down inside.... it was a relief to just admit it, and stop trying to cover it up!!!
What a weighty burden was lifted from me that night- and in it's place, came peace and security, in Jesus. What joy! What refreshment!
Even though some of us have walked many years with the LORD- we still need times of refreshing. The days on this ball of dust can be discouraging, frightening, lonely, overwhelming, difficult, painful... oh but we need to be refreshed... and so, we to, turn to the LORD.
Keeping Him our focus- and allowing Him to refresh us with His presence, through prayer, His Word, the Saints...
May this day- you be refreshed by His wonderful presence!
Blessings-
Obviously, what struck me today was the last part of this passage, "in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord"
Oh but that sounds SO GOOD today-- LORD knows I need refreshment, and so the LORD also knows- I need to be in His presence!
There is nothing else on earth that can bring refreshment like His presence!
Do you know His presence? If not, I invite you to know Him-
-understand first that we were all born with a sinful nature (a desire to go our own way, apart from God) which leaves us seperated from God.
- In God's great love, He Himself made a way for us to connect with Him. And because we are sinful in nature, and He is All Holy- it had to be a particular way...a sacrificial way-- and again, in His great love, He made a way for us to re-connect (be in community with ) through sending His Son Jesus to experience humanity, while yet diety/sinless... to unjustly be accused of sin (to take on our sin); He was crucified, died (a sacrificial death on our behalf)
- on the third day- Jesus was risen from the dead- conquering death, leading the way for those of us who believe on Him (trust in Him, and what He has done for us) so that we too can share in eternal life with Him
The verse begins with repent and return.... repent means to turn from sin, and then to turn to Christ.
This allows us to enter the presence of God as one who belongs to Christ- By Jesus Christ, we can enter the presence of Almighty God! (Yes, it really is about who you know!)
For years I knew there was a God, out there, somewhere. And, I had it in my mind that to try to get closer to Him, I had to work at being 'good'. But in my heart of hearts, there was always the nagging sense of 'falling short'...after all, I could never find the answer to my nagging question of 'when is good enough, enough?'
In my college days- I had friends who were 'good' too- they were also 'Christians' (as I would have called myself at the time, because I had at least gone to church some times, and thought is was a 'good thing').
But some of these friends just had 'something more'- I couldn't quite put my finger on it at the time, but there was something different about them. Now I would say it was a quality of 'Light and Life' that I didn't have.
A couple years later, in a late night conversation with another friend, I shared about my perplextion of wondering if it was even worth trying to 'be good' when no one could even say definitively when one was 'good enough' to be assured of going to heaven.... My friend gently explained it wasn't about my being good, but about The Only One Who Is Good- Jesus... and went on to explain this Good News that I shared above...
Oh what relief came over me-- how it made SO much sense that I was a sinner. I intuitively knew that deep down inside.... it was a relief to just admit it, and stop trying to cover it up!!!
What a weighty burden was lifted from me that night- and in it's place, came peace and security, in Jesus. What joy! What refreshment!
Even though some of us have walked many years with the LORD- we still need times of refreshing. The days on this ball of dust can be discouraging, frightening, lonely, overwhelming, difficult, painful... oh but we need to be refreshed... and so, we to, turn to the LORD.
Keeping Him our focus- and allowing Him to refresh us with His presence, through prayer, His Word, the Saints...
May this day- you be refreshed by His wonderful presence!
Blessings-
Romans 3:23
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
23 for all [a]have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 6:23
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 5:8
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Ephesians 2:8-9
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and [a]that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Revelation 3:20
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.
John 1:12
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,
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