"R" is for RIGHTEOUSNESS

This is week 18 of the Blogging Through the Alphabet Challenge by Through The Calm and Through the Storm and Adventures With Jude. This week the letter is "R" and I chose the word RIGHTEOUSNESS to blog about this week.

Yesterday in our sermon the minister mentioned a passage from Isaiah 53.  I came home to look for it and was reminded of verses 4-6:
"Surely he took up our pain    and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray,  each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all"

If Jesus had just taken my sins on His shoulders at the cross it would have been plenty, but the fact that ALL of our sins were placed on Him is just too amazing to wrap my mind around.  Perhaps that is why so many people don't believe is that it is just too unbelievable?  And then when you consider that this was God's plan from the very beginning it is even more amazing! 2 Timothy 1:9 "He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time."

I know myself all too well and without the blood of Jesus flowing through my veins, I would be so lost.  I look upon God's holiness and all I can do is proclaim the way Isaiah did "I am a man (woman) of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty." (Isaiah 6:5)  Yet I can stand in all confidence before my Lord because of the blood of Jesus and realize and celebrate that all my unrighteousness has become RIGHTEOUSNESS in the eyes of my God. 

" It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption." (I Corinthians 1:30)

Jesus took all my sins, all my unrighteousness (lying, pride, lack of self discipline, anger, bitterness, disobedience, rebellion, gossip, selfishness, (an endless list)) and let me put on Christ Himself "all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ."(Galatians 3:27)  Since Christ Himself is RIGHTEOUS, then I am clothed in His RIGHTEOUSNESS.  It is that RIGHTEOUSNESS that allows me to come into the presence of a Holy God.  

"God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21)

 “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24)

"Put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." Ephesians 4:24

So next time you tell yourself "I just have done too much to be forgiven" speak back to yourself "yes, I am a sinner but thanks to Jesus, our Redeemer (another great "R" word) I have been clothed in RIGHTEOUSNESS and God sees as righteous in his sight.  Then get on your knees and give Him thanks!

"Q" is for Query

Week 17 of the challenge of Blogging Through the Alphabet Challenge by Through The Calm and Through the Storm and Adventures With Jude. This week the letter is "Q" and it is truly a challenge to come up with a word.  If you go the other linkups you will see Quiche, Quesey, Quotes, Quick, Quizzes, Backpack Meals and Quiet Rest.

I looked at a list of "Q" words and was surprised at how many there actually are and how many I had no idea what they meant.  

So I chose qabalah, only to find out it is a Scrabble word, but doesn't have a definition.  

So then I chose quahog and it means "the hard clam (Mercenaria mercenaria), also known as a quahog (or quahaug), round clam, or hard-shell (or hard-shelled)clam, is an edible marine bivalve mollusk that is native to the eastern shores of North America and Central America, from Prince Edward Island to the Yucatán Peninsula. It is one of many unrelated edible bivalves that in the United States are frequently referred to simply as clams, as in the expression "clam digging"" 

Then qindarka caught my attention because I thought a "q" always had to have a "u" with it.  And here is the definition "100 qindarka equal 1 lek in Albania"

And then there is qwerty "denoting the standard layout on English-language typewriters and keyboards, havingq, w, e, r, t, and y as the first keys from the left on the top row of letters."

So I am now feeling better at the reason I didn't know these words :-)  Then it dawned on me as I went to type a title for this post that I did a query on the letter "Q"!

Query "ask a question about something, especially in order to express one's doubts about it or to check its validity or accuracy".

"P" is for PRESIDENT

Week 16 of the challenge of Blogging Through the Alphabet Challenge by Through The Calm and Through the Storm and Adventures With Jude. This week the letter is "P" and what could I choose to blog about on President's Day but PRESIDENTS?

It is no surprise that we will be electing a new President in November of this year.  The debates have been endless this year.  I keep watching in hopes that there will be something new or different that will help me decide who I will vote for.  But this last Saturday night the Republican debate just made my heart sad.  Men, who claim to be Christians not acting very Christian.  The Bible tells us in Matthew chapter 7 that we should be able to judge people by their fruits.  You can't just proclaim to be a Christian, your life must bear fruit that looks like Jesus.  Saying you are a Christian to get a vote doesn't mean you are actually a Christ follower.  So I pray for discernment.

Here are some quotes from some President's from our past, who knew how important it was to bow their knee to the God we ask to bless America.  Another Truth? Just because you say "God Bless America" at the end of every speech, doesn't mean He will bless us if we aren't allowing Him to be central in the governing of our nation.

“Hold fast to the Bible as the sheet anchor of your liberties, write its precepts in your hearts, and practice them in your lives.  To the influence of this book are we indebted for all the progress made in true civilization, and to this we must look as our guide in the future.  Righteousness exalteth a nation but sin is a reproach to any people.” – Ulysses S. Grant, Eighteenth President

“The Bible is the one supreme source of revelation of the meaning of life, the nature of God, and spiritual nature and needs of men.  It is the only guide of life which really leads the spirit in the way of peace and salvation.  America was born a Christian nation.  America was born to exemplify that devotion to the elements of righteousness which are derived from the revelations of Holy Scripture.” – Woodrow Wilson, Twenty eighth President

“Inside the Bible’s pages lie all the answers to all of the problems man has ever known… It is my firm belief that the enduring values presented in its pages have a great meaning for each of us and for our nation.  The Bible can touch our hearts, order our minds, and refresh our souls.” – Ronald Reagan, Fortieth President

"The whole inspiration of our civilization springs from the teachings of Christ and the lessons of the prophets. To read the Bible for these fundamentals is a necessity of American life." -Herbert Hoover, Thirty first President

So if you are reading this post I hope that you will join me in prayer that our next President will again help our nation return to our roots and allow us to once again be "One Nation Under God".

2 Chronicles 7:14

"If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

Blogging Through The Alphabet: "O" is for OCEAN

Week 15 of the challenge of Blogging Through the Alphabet Challenge by Through The Calm and Through the Storm and Adventures With Jude.  This week our letter is "O" and I chose the word OCEAN.

I grew up in El Paso, Texas so the ocean was a far piece.  I vaguely remember when I was five us vacationing in California and we visited the ocean, but if I am honest I have many more memories of Disneyland than I do of the Ocean.  The next exposure I would have to what I thought was an ocean as a kid was when I was 10 living in Mobile, Alabama (of course now I know that it was the Gulf of Mexico).  It wouldn't be until I was in my late 20's and moved to Chino, California that I really got to experience the ocean.  There are so many different venues to experience the ocean/beach up and down the coast of California.

I don't really remember when it hit me but I began to really treasure the ocean when I realized that it was a lot like God's grace.  It is continually in motion and constantly washes over us.  We don't have to wait forever, we don't have to swim out to it.  We just have to stand still and sometimes it will be a gentle wash and other times it will knock you over!  But it will always come.  In 1989 I moved to Dallas to get married and since that time, have only had one trip to the beach :-(  I have missed it, but there are times when I want to be reminded so I turn on my wave machine :-)  

I have also always enjoyed the mountains, so Colorado is not a bad place to be, but even here I prefer to spend time in the mountains at cabins that are on a river.  I just enjoy the sound of rushing water.  I have not been blessed to travel the world and there are many places I haven't been.  But out of the places I have been, Big Sur, California is one of my favorite places because you actually have the mountains and the ocean at the same spot.  Steve and I were able to go there on our honeymoon as one of our stops up the California coast.  I just remember thinking "this is heaven on earth" :-)  

That was long before the days of digital photos so I have none, but found this one on the internet.

Of the places I have visited I also enjoyed Kauai, again the mountains and the beach together, but you can't access the beach, except by boat on the mountainous side. 

But on the other side of the island there are a lot of pretty coves.

So all this talk about God's grace and oceans, what is grace?  The technical definition is "the love and mercy given to us by God because God desires us to have it, not because of anything we have done to earn it." It is a gift from God because we are sinners.  None of us go through life without sinning.  Yet there is nothing any of us can do on our own to get forgiveness of our sins.  It only comes through the sacrifice that His son made on the cross.  When we accept Jesus as the Lord of our life and are baptized with him to become a new creation, we get the gift of the Holy Spirit and with that we receive grace.  Romans 5:15 "For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many."  That wonderful gift ensures that each time I sin, I confess and do my best to change and God's grace washes over me and my sins are forgiven as far as the east is from the west. (Psalms 103:12)

Guess I am just a visual person because all the snow we received last week also reminded me of this verse:

Anyway....got a little sidetracked from the beginning of my post.  But if you take a trip to the ocean anytime in the near future, put your toes in the water and close your eyes and then imagine when each wave hits you it is the grace of God and say a prayer of thanksgiving for His love for you!

I am sure others had better "O" posts than I did!  Go check them out here:  

Blogging Through The Alphabet: "N" is for Never Once

Week 14 of the challenge of Blogging Through the Alphabet Challenge by Through The Calm and Through the Storm and Adventures With Jude. This week the letter is "N".  I had been thinking of what I would blog about and then in worship yesterday we sang one of my most favorite songs and I thought "Oh I can blog about 'Never Once'".

A few years ago I was asked to give my testimony at a Ladies Retreat and I had decided to use Matt Redman's Song, "Never Once" as the theme for my talk.  If you are new to my blog you don't know much of my story, but suffice it to say God has brought me through many trials, which I shared at that retreat and was able to testify that through it all "Never Once" was I ever left alone to face those trials by myself.  God has always proved Himself to be faithful.  I actually blogged about that fact and the "Never Once" song on May 4, 2012 (if you want you can find that post here http://lynnslittlelessons.blogspot.com/search?q=%22never+once.

If you are going through a trial and want some hope and to be uplifted go listen to Matt's song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1bXG4WIesA

I always enjoy reading the stories behind songs and here you can read why Matt Redman wrote the song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dR77PdCiU68

Just in case you don't have time to go out to the links, here are the lyrics:
Standing on this mountaintop
Looking just how far we've come
Knowing that for every step
You were with us

Kneeling on this battle ground
Seeing just how much You've done
Knowing every victory
Is Your power in us

Scars and struggles on the way
But with joy our hearts can say
Yes, our hearts can say

Never once did we ever walk alone
Never once did You leave us on our own
You are faithful, God, You are faithful

Never once did we ever walk alone
Never once did You leave us on our own
You are faithful, God, You are faithful
You are faithful, God, You are faithful

Scars and struggles on the way
But with joy our hearts can say
Never once did we ever walk alone
Carried by Your constant grace

Every step we are breathing in Your grace
Evermore we'll be breathing out Your praise
You are faithful, God, You are faithful
You are faithful, God, You are faithful

I hope that you can also say with full assurance that "Never Once" have you ever had to walk alone and if you can't I hope you will come to that realization that you are desperately loved by a God who wants to walk beside you every step.  And even though it is hard to understand at times the "why's" of a situation He is allowing you to go through that the saying is true "If He brings you to it, He will bring you through it." His purposes are always perfect and for our benefit. 

I was just wondering since it was "Never Once" can this also count as my "O" post ? :-)