It's been a while

Life is busy. Raegan's in her last semester (yea!). I'm involved in a few different things at church. And of course, having kids is a full time job in itself. I feel like change is on the horizon. With R graduating, that opens up more possibilities for her career.

But, as always, God is good. In the busiest of times I wouldn't trade my life for anyone else's.

INK

May 10 2008--The day I received my first tattoo. I've wanted one for a looong time, but never really had a good reason to get one. I always thought I would get a cross of some kind. Jacob drew a few examples for me and I liked them, it just never seemed to go anywhere. Then, last week at church, Pastor Robert put the definition of grace on the screen:
"Favor or kindness shown without regard to the worth of merit of the one who receives it, and in spite of what that same person deserves."

To me, that sums up Christ's love for us. I have a "key word" bible that has a little number next to a bunch of words and you can look up other references or get an accurate translation of the word that was actually used by the writer. It also has the Hebrew and Greek spelling of the word. That's where I saw the Hebrew word "grace." Then it hit me, that can be my tattoo. It's also Abby's middle name, so it's a tribute to her too.

ASSURANCE

I was looking thru my journal and found this entry dated 12/1/03.

Assurance. Jesus saved me. As long as I remember that, nothing can separate me from You (Rom 8:38-39.) David Dykes said that God holds onto us, not the other way around. He used the example of his daughter tripping while he was holding her hand. After that, he held on to her tighter because he didn't want to to fall or be hurt again.

Doubt is another trick Satan tries to use, and unfortunately Christians have turned that into some soft of tactic to question others' salvation, as well as their own. I think that one losing Christ's sacrifice demeans what happened. That means that His sacrifice wasn't enough. That's not right. That can't be right. If we believe His death was enough to save us, then we can't believe that our actions can negate what He did. If we can stop it, then why couldn't we start it? We do have to accept it, but the actual "work" was done by Jesus.

Isiah 53:11 says that God saw the sacrifice and was satisfied. It doesn't say that it was the beginning and then it's up to us humans to finish the work of redemption. Jesus said it is finished (John 19:30.)

The job of a Christian after salvation is to follow God's words for direction to what God has for us. We have the ability to not do what He wants, but that affects our life, not our salvation.

I've always thought that if someone was truly saved, they can't fall away. If we believe in the power of the Cross and of the Holy Spirit, we can't honestly say that our will can overcome His. The Bible is clear about what salvation requires (faith) and what it doesn't (works) Eph. 2:8-9. If works can't gain salvation, how can they lose it?

Heb 10:26- "If you go on willfully sinning after you receive the truth, there is no longer a sacrifice for sins." That doesn't mean that you can lose your salvation, it means that if you are exposed to the Gospel and ignore it, you're doomed.

-->LOOK<--- Eph. 1:18

To follow something (physically) you need to be able to see it. If we can't see where it is going, we don't know where to go. Jesus mentions the importance of watching (John 5:19). The son watches his dad and then knows what to do. The father sets the path for the son to follow.

It's the same with us. Faith is a mental thing; there's no visual confirmation. But, following can be done by seeing (reading) God's directions. But we can see non-physically using the eyes of our heart (Eph 1:18). Paul says the things we can see (or become enlightened to) are:

--His calling
--The riches and glory of our inheritance
--His power

So, to follow, we must have our eyes on what we are following. We can use our eyeballs and follow His words, or use the eyes of our hearts and follow the Holy Spirit's leading.

::Songwriting::

I wish I could write decent song lyrics. All mine seem to rhyme, and not in a good way...very cheesy..."day-way"..."light-right" etc.. I can create music, just not lyrics.


Here' s an example of outstanding lyricism by the greatness of Hillsong United's Joel Houston

Verse 1
In the shadows my spirit weak
Love broke the darkness and lifted me
And I know you'll never let me go

Verse 2
In the storm, in the raging sea
Love conquered the fear and delivered me
And I know you'll never let me go

Chorus
Oh love in the shadows
Be the light who leads me on
Your love I will follow
Be my guide, Your will be done
Oh Lord

Verse 3
In the arms of the one unseen
Love carried the cross that was meant for me
And I know you'll never let me go

Bridge
Oh love I surrender, now forever I'll belong
In the love of the Father, You are faithful, You are strong
So hold me now, hold me now, hold me now
Create in me a heart that's pure
Replace in me all that's not of You
And I know You'll never let me go, You'll never let me go

Verse 4
Now in this life as I walk these streets
Love open my eyes show me what You see
And I know I'll never let you go