A Testimony of God's Faithfulness
As many of you already know, the last eight months or more I have had many health issues. The Lord has been very faithful to teach me many things through this trial. I would like to share a few things He has done and is doing in my life, but I must give some background first.....
Going back many years ago, I have struggled at times with anxiety and fear. After becoming a born-again believer in 1992, the devil began using it as a temptation in my life. On one occasion in 1993, I actually had a full-blown panic attack, becoming paralyzed by fear. But the Lord in His great power and mercy completely delivered me and soon healed me of these attacks. Occasionally, over the years the enemy would try to sneak in and tempt me with fear and anxiety. I have seen this is a stronghold in my family, going back five generations that I know of. I have prayed for years for this stronghold to be bound and broken and the Lord is doing that in my life. I am still praying that the rest of my family would be free as well.
I have grown to notice that the enemy comes against me when I am going to proclaim truth or my life is showing evidence of my trust in Jesus. I have also learned that the enemy will come in if there is an open door in me, through sin or unbelief.
Over the years, Drew and I have been trying to surrender all to the Lord, which means we want to trust Him with every aspect of our lives. We were even convicted to allow Him to plan our family size. We have allowed the Lord to bless us with how ever many children he would like to "reward" us with. (see Psalm 127:3)
Since then, the enemy began using my pregnancies to tempt me with fear. He does not want parents having lots of children, raised in the ways of the Lord. He certainly does not want an “army for the Lord.’’
This last year during my pregnancy with Micah, the devil began trying to tempt me again to be fearful of the birth. I began to pray early on in my pregnancy that I would have total victory over this in my life and be able to completely and totally trust God in the birth of Micah, no matter what happened. The Lord began giving me great incredible peace. So much so, that I wasn’t anxious at all. My labor and birth were wonderfully peaceful. (Phil.4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.)
Like this verse says, I prayed, being thankful and praising Him for His faithful hand upon me.
This peace did not happen without keeping my eyes fixed continually on Jesus Christ. When I took them off, anxiety would begin to creep in. I spent much time in prayer, reading His word and in praising and worshipping Him. The times of worship and music here in our fellowship have been so rich that it encourages and sustains me. No matter how I felt, we never missed a church meeting, a worship time, Bible study or gathering of friends to worship, sing and pray together.
At one point during this time, the Lord impressed upon me to share a testimony at church of what he was doing in my heart and proclaim His victory. I did not obey at first, however, I did share with friends what was going on often. Then things began to get worse. My blood pressure was dangerously high, and I was sick and could not eat. There were dark times. There times that I was so near despair. I have never known such a feeling. One night I was on the very edge of complete despair. But he lifted me- through praying and crying out to Him for His mercy and through special music my husband played for me to meditate on. The Lord lifted me up as on eagle’s wings (I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me firm place to stand. Psalm 40:1,2) From that point on I began to rise up, holding on to His promises. Even though the devil continued to battle at every angle, especially in my mind.
At one point I remember thinking I was going to die, leaving my husband and ten children without a wife and mother. It began to be reality for me. I actually began to believe the devil’s lies. At the time, we were renting a friend’s home, waiting on our house to be built. I had thoughts like,”you will never even get to live in your new home. You will die before then.” Drew could see the seriousness (not fear any longer) that began to develop in me. I was sober and quiet most of the time and quite sad at times holding my babies and big children often and crying...knowing I would be leaving them soon. I knew I would be in complete joy with the Lord, but I was grieving for my children.
One evening Drew began drawing things out of me, wanting to know what was going on in my mind? I shared these thoughts of my soon coming death. He asked, “who told you that you were going to die?” Did the Lord tell you this? I told Him that it could be from the Lord, I wasn't sure. Then he said “No, it was not from the Lord.” If it was, he would have given you great peace and joy with this news and you would be at peace. He told me he had been praying about it too and felt like the Lord impressed on Him that this was testing and purifying and that I would be okay. He told me this was a lie from the enemy. It was fear and confusion and not a word from the Lord. As soon as my husband and the Lord began showing me that I was believing the enemy's lies I realized I was in a battle. I began to put on the full armor of protection from the Lord. (read Eph. 6:10-15)
God began changing me. I began being obedient to His word and taking every thought captive. (We demolish arguments(in our minds) and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.- 2 Cor. 10:5)
In God’s perfect timing, I began a Bible study with two ladies, that I had wanted to start for a couple of years, but could never get the time to do it. It is called Quieting the Noisy Soul by Jim Berg. It was very instrumental in dealing with my thoughts.
I have learned to listen to the “noise” in my soul. What are my thoughts?What do I spend my time thinking on? What is the noise in my soul? Are they sounds of anxiety? Sounds of fear? sounds of discouragement? sounds of anger? frustration? greed? bitterness? possessions? entertainment? recreation? obsessions?
These noises can be deafening. God’s plan for my soul is way different. His plan is for me is peace and rest. Jesus said, “Let your heart not be troubled.” John 14:27
And “...whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is praiseworthy- think about such things.-Phil.4:8,9”
What’s the cure for the noise in my soul? I must look to Him for direction, hope and strength, not myself, for these things.
Jesus says, “Come to me, all who are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. -Matt 11:28-29.
Jesus also tells us, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Him.”-John 15;4-5
And Proverbs 3:5-8 says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and he will make your paths straight.”
I love the “REVERSED” version of Matt 11:28-30: Avoid Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will deny you rest. Refuse my yoke of fellowship and abiding, and refuse to learn what I am like in order to become like me, and ye shall find noise in your soul.
During this time of growing, it was a sweet time of peace, even as I was going through the “fire” physically, losing weight and feeling horrible, going to many doctors, hospitals and tests, etc...
I was impressed one Saturday evening to share my testimony of my fear problem the next morning at church. I very nervously said “yes Lord.”
The next morning was amazing. We first had a wonderful time of singing and worship. Then, instead of sharing a message that morning, our pastor stopped after a song and said I think there is someone here who has something to share and encourage us in. I nearly fainted in my seat, then before I could stand, a man stood and said he was impressed by the Lord to share a testimony of God’s goodness in His life recently. After he sat down, a woman stood and gave testimony of how the Lord was healing her body of asthma. Then, when she sat down a young widow with seven children, gave an amazing testimony of God’s strength and encouragement in her life. This went on for quite a while. I actually thought, maybe I am not supposed to share today. But I prayed and asked God to make it perfectly clear if and what exactly to share.. Then, an older man in the pew across from me stood and said we must not be shy, we must proclaim the goodness and faithfulness of the Lord to everyone. We must share what God is doing in our lives right now before it’s too late. Then he turned and looked right at me and smiled. After he sat, I waited to see if there was anyone else and then felt led to stand and share. I shared how the Lord was giving me great victory and breaking this stronghold of fear in my life- for good.
Well, this must have really made the devil mad, the following day my blood pressure problems rose so high, I ended up having to go to the ER with BP at 200/114 and it would not even come down with medication.
And that is what my life has been like for the last few months. But, the Lord is doing a great work and I will not stop praising His name and trusting Him.
I had asked Him to do whatever it takes in my life to die to myself and become like Him. I must be crucified with Christ, so I may live. (Gal 2:20)
“Self” is the loudest noisemaker in our souls. It is our pride that whines, pouts, demands, argues, screams, points fingers, blames, manipulates, indulges, worries, etc... I must be delivered from self and be like the psalmist said in Psalm 131, “but I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul.” Dying to self means being willing to be humbled. Jesus’ life was not about himself. He says, “learn of me, I am your pattern.” For us, this kind of humility is measured in our growth: Do we have a continual spirit of repentance, a continual spirit of dependence (being teachable), a continual spirit of deference, and a continual spirit of service toward others?
I must come to Christ daily (or moment by moment) and purpose to be like Him to quiet the the noise in my soul. I must believe Him, I must KNOW him in order to believe Him. The root of my anxiety, fear, anger, despair is my unbelief. Unbelief is the great disorder of the heart. When I think God is not doing enough for me or I need something more than Him, it is unbelief. The Lord is showing me my unbelief and wants to purify me.
Malachi 3:3 "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." I love the story I heard once about this verse....This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this verse implied about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study. That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were the hottest so as to burn away all of the impurities.
The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver." She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that, "Yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver in the fire, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in the silver."
The scripture in Isaiah has comforted me for years, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched. Nor will the flame burn you.”
And Psalm 66:10 "For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined."
And Zechariah 13:9 "I will bring the one-third through the fire, will refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, 'This is My people'; and each one will say, 'The Lord is my God.' "
WoW! What great promises! He purifies those he loves.
He is also teaching me about being content in whatever circumstances he has me in. He is in complete control over me, and the entire universe for that matter.
I was recently blessed by watching a DVD that comes with the Chris Tomlin- See The Morning Tour CD. It is a message about how incredibly big and great our God is. He created this huge universe and He breathed the stars into place.
This star-breathing God, knows me well. He created my very frame and keeps me breathing every moment. He loves me. When I could not figure out what was wrong with my body..He knew! He would not allow me to know what exactly was going on. He knew I would take over and diagnose myself and then have a detailed plan of how I was going to fix it. I would know the vitamins, herbs, foods to eat to heal my body or I would agonize over researching it till I knew. Or, I would find a doctor that could figure it out. He lovingly and mercifully wanted me to submit to Him for everything....every breath.
I must know Him and I must believe Him. I will not be angry or worried if I know Him well and am content with what He has provided because I have found Him to be more than enough for me.
HE IS ENOUGH FOR ME!
-Seeing that His divine power has granted us EVERYTHING pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His glory and excellence. -2 Peter 1:3
written by Amy Berkemeyer,
daughter of the King of Kings, wife to the most wonderful, serving husband and blessed mother to 10 precious blessings here on earth, two in the arms of Jesus
A Baby Announcement
I just had to share the poem that Madison wrote recently when we needed a creative and positive way to share our news with grandparents.
(This poem was attached to a vase with 9 beautiful salmon colored roses with one tiny white rose bud in the middle.)
Jesus smiled from above
As He saw opened arms of love.
Two hearts that were ready and willing
Who saw His precious lambs as blessings.
The Angels cried tears of pure joy
As they watched the welcome of each girl and boy.
So happy then were this Father and Mother
When Jesus said, “I’ll give you another.”
“Teach this child to love my name
To bring me glory and never shame.
Inscribe upon this child’s pure heart
What is right; not what is ‘smart’
Set no evil before this lamb’s eyes
Let not the world come in ‘Christian’ disguise.
Give this child love as I’ve given you,
Unconditional acceptance; love that is true.”
And so now this happy family
Awaits the coming, joyful day
When they’ll see their new rosebud bloom
(Sometime in early May).
So incredibly blessed to be a part
Of a miracle once again
We joyfully announce to you
Our baby number ten!!!
~Written with love by the joyful eldest of these ten,
Madison Berkemeyer
Living in the Light
“But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief.” -- I Thessalonians 5:4
YOU are not in darkness brothers. That is, you are not in darkness if you have fixed your hope upon Jesus.
There is an entire world out there that is lost; without hope. They have turned to their own ways. They do not believe the Bible... because they do not believe anything.
They say that they believe in certain things, yet it seems that what the truly believe is that there is not truth at all. Everything is open to interpretation. These do not even believe themselves. They are constantly moving on and on and on an on and on and on and on; never stopping. They are like the shark; which must be constantly moving or it will die. They are always moving from one idea to the next; from one thought to the next; never lingering too long, never being too still. Never stopping too long to think sober thoughts of reality and life; lest they become conscious. Lest they realize with sober reality THAT THEY ARE DOOMED! Heaven forbid that this be their end, but without Jesus they are doomed and without hope.
Just look around; the truth of this rings true everywhere you turn. We are constantly distracted. There are talk shows, sports shows, gossip shows, reality shows, talent shows, game shows, comic shows, horror shows and fantasy shows, just to name a few. There are TVs in almost every restaurant, every Wal-mart and every doctor’s office that you enter. They are everywhere. You simply cannot get away from them even if you try. In the few places where there is no TV there is radio, usually blaring so loud that you cannot even carry on a conversation with the person you are with or read a book if you so desired. You cannot get away from the constant flood of information, gossip and filth that is pouring over the networks 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
This constant flood of noise, talk music and information keeps people distracted, busy and “engaged” at all times.
What does God have to say about this? What are His thoughts? Psalm 46:10 reads:
“Be still, and know that I am God.”
and also
Why then must there be so many distractions in this world? Why then must there be so much noise, so much busyness? It seems that if a person has too much time that is quiet they cannot stand it. But why? Why do people hate silence? Why are people’s spirits in a constant state of distraction? What happens to us when we are quiet?
Reality sinks in.
As a believer that reality IS Jesus Christ. As believers stillness and silence brings us to a place where we can hear that still small voice of the Lord. But what about the un-believer? What happens to them when quietness settles in?
Reality still sinks in.
Is Jesus absent from their reality. No. Again, I believe that Jesus IS reality. So, what is it that is absent from their reality as the silence settles in? Peace. With out Jesus there is no peace.
I believe that all of us, ultimately, come to a deep unsettling reality that one day we will die. I also believe that all of the noise and distraction in this modern world is the enemy’s way of keeping people from consciously acknowledging that they are alive, breathing and on their way to the grave.
That’s a sobering thought isn’t it? If you are sitting hear listening to me right now you are alive. At some point in your past God breathed life into your being and your life began. That fact alone is all the evidence that is needed to prove a second sobering fact. That is, one day you will die. There’s nothing you can do about it. That train has already left the station and like it or not; you are on it.
That reality came into my life one soft summer night in the late ’70’s. As I lay quietly on the bed at my grandparents house in Arkansas, I could hear the dull hum of the attic fan as it drew a cool, humid breeze through the window next to my bed. I laid on my stomach and looked out the second story window at the cars that passed by on highway 64.
As I lay there I wondered where they had come from and where they were going to. I wondered what they had done that day and what they would do when they reached their destination. I thought of all kinds of things as I lay there in that bed. I thought about my day and I thought about tomorrow. One thought led to another and then, for the first time in my life I a thought came to me that I had never thought before. It occurred to me as I lay pondering so many innocent things that one day, eventually, I will die.
A sudden and immediate panic penetrated my entire being. If you’ve had a panic attack you know what I’m talking about; if you haven’t I’m not sure I can even describe it. The closest I could say would be complete and utter despair, a feeling that you cannot breath and the doom is upon you, not just bad things, but utter horrific, life-ending, no hope, no way out DOOM and there is nothing you can do, no where you can go and no way to change anything. THAT is what happened to me that quiet peaceful night in the upstairs bedroom of my grandparents house… and I screamed. I screamed for my mother, in utter despair and I’m sure it was a blood curdling scream that must have shaken her right out of her bed.
She came immediately and tried her best to comfort me, but I couldn’t even talk. I was bawling. I couldn’t even catch my breath and much less stop and talk, so she brought me to the top of the stairs where she began trying to pry out of me what was wrong. Over a long period of time I was able to try to explain to her that I had realized that one day I was going to die and I didn’t know what to do about it.
She hugged me. She held me tight. She told me everything she could tell me, but she was not able to bring me any peace at all. Fortunately, I eventually got so tired that I was ready to just fall asleep.
That night started a pattern in my life that lasted for many, many years. Generally speaking, it would come at night. When something particularly memorable or intense had happened that day. I was especially vulnerable after watching a movie. There is something about the way a movie gets my brain meditating of things that makes me extra sensitive to this kind of attack.
When it would happen I could feel it coming and I would try to stop thinking the thoughts that had triggered it, but there was nothing I could do, within seconds an uncontrollable panic would seize me and I would despair of any hope at all. The constant and unending reality that my mortal existence would cease gripped me with a fear that words cannot even describe.
One cool spring evening, many, many years later, I was laying on my bed pondering my day as the sun was in the final stages of setting out over our balcony. It had been a particularly good day and the sweet smell of springtime cause me to begin to reminisce. Amy was in the bathroom getting ready for bed and Madison was already asleep. As I lay there I considered life and my wonderful family. I thought of how special life is and wondered what it would be like as Madison grew older. Then, like the hundreds of time it had happened before, I felt despair creeping in on me. I tried to fight it by changing my thoughts, but it was too late.
“Madison will grow up and you’ll grow older. She will marry and you will be both happy and sad all at the same time. Then eventually she’ll have children and her children will have children and… by that time Madison will be… which means you will be… dead. You’re going to die.” “Oh no! I’m going to die! What will happen? What if there is a heaven? You’ll be there F•O•R•E•V•E•R. Do you know how long that is? You can’t even imagine that long, because it never, ever, ever, ever stops. Forever just goes on and on.” So, came the thoughts into my head and soon the panic and utter despair had me in it’s full grip.
What If I die and the lights go out and that is it? DESPAIR.
What if I live FOREVER, AND EVER AND EVER? DESPAIR.
There was no way out. There was no hope. I wished I had never been born, but there was nothing I could do about it. Here I am. Alive with one ultimate destination. Death; and there’s nothing absolutely nothing I can do about it!
I believe that this feeling that I am describing to you is a taste, just a tiny drop of what it means to be cast into the outer darkness. I believe in God’s loving grace He was allowing me to experience just the tiniest taste of what Hell is like. I believe in His ultimate goodness He was drawing me to Himself by allowing me to experience His absence.
I sprang to my feet from the bed and I ran across the bedroom and out the patio door of our small apartment, looked up into the sky and said in all sincerity “God please take this away from me!” Instantly, it was gone. Completely and utterly gone. Not even a fading recollection of what the panic had felt like. I knew in that instance that God had heard me, but what I didn’t know, believe it or not, was God Himself.
You see, God’s word says that before we knew Him He loved us.
So there I was, an enemy of God, not deserving anything short of His full wrath and He in His grace and mercy covered me with His own Son so that all of His wrath would fall upon Him and not me.
I had no knowledge at that time what had just happened other than God had heard me and come to my aid. From that moment on the fear never gripped me as strongly as it had done for over a decade before. I now knew who to call on for peace. Sometimes I would pray as soon as the fear began and sometimes I would wait, trying to deal with it in my own strength, but every time I called out to God, He heard me and took the fear away immediately and completely.
It was many years after that experience before I heard the gospel of salvation and many more years before I actually realized that Jesus Christ is focal point of all truth. However, in His grace and His mercy, He began to draw on my heart through this experience, expanding on a desire to know Him personally.
For some of us death is just around the corner. We don’t even know it, but we are breathing the last breaths we will ever breath at this moment. For others, there are decades of life still to come. Nonetheless, we will all eventually come to the end of this life. Then what?
I’d like to go back to the verse that I read at the very beginning today, but I want to read it in context:
They will NOT escape. All of those who go around mocking God; all of those who have rejected Christ; all of those who say tomorrow I will seek a closer walk with the Lord, tomorrow I will repent and turn from my sinful ways; they will be caught like a rabbit in a snare when destruction suddenly comes upon them and they will NOT escape!
For “then sudden destruction will come upon them… and they will NOT escape.”
We who know Jesus Christ are children of the light. When the day of the Lord’s appearing shall finally come we have not thing to fear, we will not run and hide, we will not wish for rocks to fall on us and crush us as we curse God.
Quite the contrary; we will see Him in all His glory and we will rejoice!
But how can we know? How can we tell whether we are in the truth? The scriptures say in II Corinthians that we are to examine ourselves to be sure we are in the truth.
Have you examined yourself? Are the things that you are doing evidence that you are walking closely with Christ? Are your actions the fruit that would pour out of the Holy Spirit’s body if He had one? How about your thoughts? What about your private life? What are you thinking? What secret indulgences do you allow yourself to have? Do you secretly meditate on Christ as you sit in a business meeting or clean the toilet? You know your thoughts. You know your own desires… and so does Christ.
We are called to walk in the light as He is in the light. We are told that the blood of Jesus Christ will cleanse us of all sin. So how do you know, I’m not talking about hoping, I’m talking about knowing if you are walking in the light. How do you know you are walking in the light and not in the darkness of your own mind?
Do you have fellowship with the light or do you have fellowship with darkness? God’s word says in 1 John “If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.”
Again, where do you spend your time? Where do you spend your money? What do you find pleasure in? Where do your thoughts fly at every quiet opportunity? You can justify them all you want. I have. I have found my thoughts quickly flying to my next big idea at every opportunity. I have found my thoughts centering on how I will deal with a certain problem in every quiet moment.
Where do the desires of your heart lie? I am not judging you. I do not know the desires of your heart. I am simply challenging you to this: Examine your self:
So, what does it mean to walk in darkness? How can we know if we have strayed from the Way of Christ?
Be renewed in the spirit of your minds! Be renewed!
According to Ephesians 4, why are we alienated from the life of God? Because of the ignorance that is within us. And why are we ignorant? Because of the hardness of our hearts.
DO NOT harden your heart towards God and become callous. He will not force you to abide with Him. When you are alone, do not allow your thoughts to wonder towards evil things. Take every thought captive. When you are with others, do not allow their evil talk to cause you to stumble; turn and walk away if you have to. Resist the Devil and he will flee from you.
Are our hearts hard because God has tempted us? No. Is it because Satan has tempted us? No. Yes, Satan may have tempted you, but He tempted Christ also and you that are believers have the Spirit of Christ, that is the Holy Spirit, living within you. So, how is it that our hearts harden? What happens? It is because we have allowed our own hearts to turn from the worship of the Lord by following the temptations of our own desire. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 10:
And in James:
This world is NOT your friend. DO NOT be deceived!
Too many times we grow comfortable and content here. Too many times we observe others and believing that they are thriving in their relationship with Christ decide that we will be OK if we do what they do, only to find out that they are not actually as close to the Lord as we thought or that something that was of no temptation to them is a stumbling block for us.
Brothers and sisters you may not be able to do what others do. The Lord will tell you what is good and acceptable for you, but do not use the fact that someone else you respect is doing something to justify your self doing it; especially if you have felt the Holy Spirit tell you no. God knows what is good and acceptable for you. He will let you know in your spirit if what you are doing is wrong. LISTEN! Do not ignore that feeling that you have that you may be doing something wrong. Now I’m not telling you to grow paranoid and paralyzed; not knowing whether you can do anything. God is not a God of confusion. However, I do not want you to become calloused in your spirit, unable to hear the Lord because you are constantly ignoring the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
There are things that are clearly unacceptable for anyone to do:
However, there are many things that may be fine for one; but sin for another. We must have faith. The Bible tells us that “whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” -- Romans 14:23 Therefore, be sure that you do all things in faith.
How can we know if we are being deceived or if we are walking in the Truth? With all the temptations, with all the distractions, with all the uncertainty it seems that a rule book would be helpful. It seems that if we could just have a set of dos and don’ts life would be easier. That is our natural desire; tell my flesh what it must do to be righteous. However, that is the point, you can never be righteous in your flesh.
So, how then can we guard ourselves against the deception of this present world? What can we do to insure we are staying in the faith?
Let’s read the previous verse from Galatians in full context. Galatians 5:16-24:
You know you are in Christ and walking in Holy Spirit if you have “crucified the flesh and its passions and desires.”
Do not be surprised brothers. Do not be surprised sisters. You are NOT walking in darkness, but you are walking in the light. Listen to your shepherd and know His voice.
If, however, you are here today and you are in despair and you do not know Jesus, I can offer you hope. I can offer you the hope of Eternal Life that is found hidden in Christ. Christ will bring you out of the darkness and cast light on all your despair, causing it to flee if you will truly repent and believe.
If however, you are here today and you have rejected Christ; if you have no room for the Saviour; if your schedule is too full or your just not willing to surrender ALL to Him; then my friend, I am sorry, but I cannot offer you any hope at all. For you, there is no hope. You have chosen an eternal separation from God. For you there awaits the eternal torment of despair and hopelessness that is found in the absence of our All Mighty Saviour. When He withdraws from you there will be no more peace. When you breath your last breath, then you will have eternal torment and despair; hopeless forever and ever and ever.
Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” -- Hebrews 3:15
What can we do about a hard heart? Ask God for a new heart. He is the one that removes the heart of stone and replaces it with a heart of flesh. Pray to Him. Call out to Him. Implore Him to replace your heart of stone with a heart of flesh. He is good and faithful to do it.
Finally, we read in Thessalonians:
Amen.
Madison's Easy Oatmeal Muffins
Large Recipe Ingredients:
12 cups rolled oats
4 cups brown sugar
8 cups buttermilk (1 qt. carton)
2 cup vegetable oil
8 cups flour (this can be 4 cups wheat flour, 4 cups white flour, or 2 of each)
8 Tablespoons baking powder
4 teaspoons baking soda
4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoon cinnamon
Small Recipe Ingredients:
3 cups rolled oats
1 cups brown sugar
2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups flour
2 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tps. salt
1/2 tsp.cinnamon
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Optional: make cinnamon/ sugar mixture to sprinkle on tops of muffins before baking.
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Combine first 5 ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
3. Mix remaining 5 ingredients and add to wet mixture.
4. Pour into greased muffin tins and bake for 15- 20 minutes.
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Variations:
Oatmeal Banana- add 4 puréed bananas to above recipe.
Oatmeal Apple- add 4 cups shredded apple to above recipe.
