Monday, January 31, 2011

Day 29 A Woven Tapestry


First and second Chronicles are probably some of my least favorite books. A lot of the stories that are told can also be found in 1&2 Kings. You will find the most accurate and in-depth genealogical records for the tribe of Judah. Remember the kingdom was torn apart and the faithful remained with Judah. All of the names lead back to David.

Reading all of this reminds me of a beautiful tapestry. Each stitch is not necessarily seen but all of the stitches make a beautiful tapestry. Many of the men and women listed here are not mentioned anywhere else in scripture. However, we can be assured they were a part of the story of God’s people and His redemptive plan.

YOU and me are also part of that tapestry. Woven all together we help make a beautiful tapestry filled with God’s people. Something to think about! Have a great day.

In Christ Alone,

Jill

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Week 5

Good morning everyone. I hope you are keeping up with the reading. This week we will get to the 1/3 mark, yahoo! Chronicles is one of those books you just have to get through. It might help you to read it aloud with so many names. I have a tendency to fall asleep reading them all! You and I can do this together so keeping reading.

Day 29 January 31st 1 Chronicles 1:1-9:44

Day 30 February 1st 1 Chronicles 10:1- 23:32 This is day 30, 1/3 of the way there!

Day 31 February 2nd 1 Chronicles 24:1- 2 Chronicles 7:10

Day 32 February 3rd 2 Chronicles 7:11- 23:15

Day 33 February 4th 2 Chronicles 23:16- 35:15

Day 34 February 5th 2 Chronicles 35:16- Ezra 10:44

Day 35 February 6th Nehemiah 1:1- 13:14

In Christ Alone,

Jill

Thursday, January 27, 2011

An Amazing Guest Blog

Hello ladies. I found the most amazing blog and a new sister in Christ this morning! Kimberley is what I call a “God-lover” God has blessed her as a painter of words as you will soon see below. With permission I am posting one of her latest blogs. Enjoy and Kimberley, I look forward to reading a lot more as you walk with the LORD!

Prostitutes and Inn-Keepers

Have you noticed people talking about authenticity lately? It seems to be the new ‘buzzword’. Whether it’s in politics, news stories, or even in church circles, being authentic is in. I find it all a little goofy. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of being genuine, transparent, authentic. I just find it strange being real is a rare enough trait that it’s held up as something special.

It’s especially troubling in the church. Why is it so difficult for Christians to be really real? What makes us so hesitant to share our pain and struggles? Maybe we think we are honoring God by pretending that living for Him is all sunshine and rainbows. We have this notion that God needs our help in protecting His image. And, often the way we do this is by trying to gloss over the less than palatable stuff. We do it in our own lives, yes, but even worse, we tend to do this with what God reveals to us in the Bible!

I meet with a small group of young women on Sunday nights. This year we’re studying women in the Bible. We’re starting off with Jesus’ genealogy. First up, Tamar. Have you read her story (Genesis 38)? It’s hardly one to put in the ‘Family Memory Book’! In fact, all four women listed in Matthew 1 have stories with ‘not nice’ details. Tamar arranged to sleep with her father-in-law, Rahab was a prostitute, Bathsheba committed adultery, Ruth was a heathen Moabite.

And yet, these are the women the Holy Spirit led Matthew to include. Makes our attempts to ‘shine up’ God’s image a little ridiculous, doesn’t it? Think about it: if God was worried about His reputation being tarnished by these messed up stories, why are they in the Bible? Since the Holy Spirit inspired every single word, I’m pretty sure He could have arranged for these particular words not to be included!

Some of the commentaries I’ve read make a point of saying Rahab wasn’t really a prostitute. No, that was just what they called inn-keepers back then. Seriously?! To me that pretty much sums up this whole authenticity thing. If we cannot allow the Bible to say what it says, without trying to sweeten it up so it goes down more easily, no wonder we spend so much of our energy trying to cover our own less-than-savory parts! It’s crazy!

No, it’s not crazy, it’s sin. When we present a fake, cleaned up face to the world, we’re essentially saying God only loves us when we get our act together. We’re saying God is not capable of handling the sins of the world. We’re saying the Gospel alone is not enough. And when we substitute in our weak, watered down version for the Living, Holy Lord God Almighty, what else can we call it? It is sin.

It’s not easy to be open and honest. I know that. But, being fake is sin. Ouch. Blessed are the real. The ones who are unashamed to be themselves because their stories have been redeemed by Jesus. Really, how cool is it that God knows us – every bit of us – and still loves us?! Isn’t that what the world needs to hear?

If I show the world the real me, it’s gotta show how incredible God is. I mean, if God can love someone like me, there’s hope for everyone! After all, like the women in Jesus’ genealogy, He calls each one of us by name. That is really worth sharing, don’t you think?

Kimberley http://kimheartselcallejon.blogspot.com/

"Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the ground each morning Satan says, "Oh crud, she's up"

Solomon's Downfall

When we visited Solomon last he was asking God for wisdom to deal with His people wisely. What a wise King! At first he was single focused. He was running the race without looking sideways or backwards. Like Paul Harvey used to say, “then there’s the rest of the story”…

Solomon Turns from the Lord

1 Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, 2 from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the people of Israel, “You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. 3 He had 700 wives, princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart. 4 For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. 5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 6 So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and did not wholly follow the Lord, as David his father had done. 7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem. 8 And so he did for all his foreign wives, who made offerings and sacrificed to their gods.

1 Kings 11:1-8 (ESV)

In other words, Solomon straddled the fence. He served God “a little” and served the idols “a little more”.

Solomon broke God’s heart. God was and is very clear, no fence straddling! Either serve Him with our whole hearts or not at all. Tomorrow we are going to talk about those “other God’s”

Do you and I love with our entire hearts? Something to think about.

In Christ Alone,

Jill

Jiller

"Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the ground each morning Satan says, "Oh crud, she's up"

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Wisdom Day 24


I have always loved Solomon's heart when he first became King of Israel. Solomon showed his love for the LORD by walking according to the statutes of his father David. God appears to Solomon in a dream and says, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you." WOW, can you imagine God offering to give you anything? That reminds me of the cartoons where someone is given three wishes! I would like to think I would have chosen wisely but you never know...

Listen and hear what Solomon says to the request.

And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you. And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and have given him a son to sit on his throne this day. 7 And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in. 8 And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude. 9 Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”

1 Kings 3:6-9 (ESV)


Solomon had a burden for God's people and God rewarded him by not only giving him great wisdom to lead His people but also riches and honor for which he did not ask for.

When we get into Psalms and Proverbs we will talk about wisdom again. For today, let's be like Solomon and ask for wisdom to lead ourselves and our children well.

In Christ Alone,

Jill

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Gratituesday


Good morning ladies. I hope you remember that today is Gratituesday. Every Tuesday we spend the day counting our blessings. It is SO easy to forget isn't it?

This weekend I had the opportunity to spend time as a family that included our lost boy. I wrote about him back in the fall. He is a young man that desperately needs to see the hand of God and to accept His mercy and grace. We have been apart for almost a year with him living at a boarding school for troubled boys and the last 2 months out in the wilderness learning lessons about survival.

He came home to reconcile with his Dad. He didn't want to have something happen to his Dad without asking for his forgiveness. It took great courage to come home and face the kind of behavior that got him sent to a treatment center. Pride had eaten him up and so he had to let go of that pride to come before his Dad.

I stood back and watched the first site of the two of the coming together. I watched the tears flow from both their eyes. I saw the last year fade into the past for both of them. I truly believe it was a "God thing" from the start to the finish. God worked a miracle and restored a broken relationship. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me, I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.

Lost boy is no longer lost. For that I am truly thankful.
In Christ Alone,
Jill

Monday, January 24, 2011

Week 4


Good morning ladies. Here is the reading log for week I hope you are doing well in your reading.

Day 22 January 24th 1 Samuel 28:20- 2 Samuel 12:10

Day 23 January 25th 2 Samuel 12:11- 22:18

Day 24 January 26th 2 Samuel 22:19- 1 Kings 7:37

Day 25 January 27th 1 Kings 7:38- 1 Kings 16:20

Day 26 January 28th 1 Kings 16:21- 2 Kings 4:37

Day 27 January 29th 2 Kings 4:38- 15:26

Day 28 January 30th 2 Kings 15:27- 25:30

In Christ Alone,

Jill