Colossians Online Bible Study

I recently became a leader through Good Morning Girls. I'm really excited to lead my first online Bible Study, through email. We will be studying Colossians. It's an 8 week study and we will be starting November 18th. The deadline to join will be November 11th. If you want to get an idea of what the study is all about and the method that is used you can check it out here. I look forward to you joining me in on this journey through Colossians! If you are interested please email me at lane1105@gmail.com. 

Hope you are having a blessed week! 

Jen

Are you asleep?

Nope, it's almost 4 a.m. I have class at 8 a.m. and I am NOT asleep. This question goes deeper though are we in a spiritual sleep? 1 Thessalonians 5:6 says "So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober." Paul is giving us a spiritual wake-up call. We are to be set apart from the world. We need to be telling others about Jesus and not be sleeping on our job. Right now I am so sleepy but can not fall asleep, I can hardly think, and will probably want to delete this post tomorrow. I also know that tomorrow I am going to walk around in a fog, I am going to drink enough caffeine to get me through class, and then come home and take a nap.  

Who is asleep? Non-Christians and those who have accepted Christ but have taken a little snooze. WAKE-UP! JESUS is coming and we need to be prepared and we need to prepare others. If you have become weary in doing good cling to, Galatians 6:9 "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

So maybe you have found yourself asleep or you are being tempted to fall asleep remember that Jesus died on the cross for you and me and that he rose 3 days later and is alive and at the right hand of the Father. Remember that you have been given a calling and you agreed to that calling when you accepted Christ. It's time for operation wake up call! 

In Christ,
Jen

Raising from the dead

Earlier this week I read a scripture and then today at a women's breakfast at Church it was brought up again, so I had to share :)

All through the New Testament Jesus raises the dead. Jarisus's daughter  (Matthew 9:18-26; Mark 5:41,42; Luke 8:40-56) A widow's son (Luke 7:11-15) and Lazarus (John 11) and of course the greatest resurrection ever Jesus (Matthew 28:1-7; Mark 16:1-8; Luke 24:1-12)

One story of resurrection, that I don't ever remember reading, was of Tabitha in Acts 9:35-41 36 In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (in Greek her name is Dorcas); she was always doing good and helping the poor. 37 About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. 38 Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, “Please come at once!”

39 Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.

40 Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. 41 He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called for the believers, especially the widows, and presented her to them alive.

First, we see that Tabitha was a disciple, we see that she has a servant's heart, she was always doing good and helping the poor. Next, we see she became sick and died. Men went to get Peter, and he went with them. The widows were standing around him crying, and showing him the robes that Tabitha had made, this tells me they loved her so much and appreciated her hard work. Peter then sent everyone out of the room, he turned toward Tabitha and told her to get up. This is the first time we see someone, other than Jesus, raising someone from the dead. She opened her eyes, saw Peter and she sat up. He is then the perfect gentlemen and helps her to her feet. Peter then called for the believers and scripture says especially the widows, so I am left wondering (or concluding ;) that she must have had a huge impact on them. They were mourning her when she died, and immediately showed Peter the clothing that she had made, she was loved. 

It's amazing how God uses scripture to speak to us. I want to make sure that I am using the gifts Christ has given me each and everyday to further the Kingdom. I do not want to be sitting idly by and not fulfill the calling that the Lord has given me, what a waste that would be. 1 Peter 4: 10-11 10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.  

In Christ,
Jen

Praying for other believers

Last month (September) Andrew, James (our pastor) and Amber (children) started praying for the believers of our church. Andrew sent it to me and I did it along side of him. This month (October) our Pastor "challenged" the congregation to do it, so I am going through it again. This time though with a little more passion. See when I did it last month my prayer was, "Lord bless those, and watch over those, and help those of Kirkwood grow in you." That's as far as it went though. This time I went through and wrote down every person's name and I pray for them each individually. It has been more meaningful this time. I don't feel like i'm just flying through prayers to just get through them, but I'm actually taking the time to pray for each person. 

These past few weeks I have been reminded how important prayer is. Not that I didn't believe it was important, I did however get caught up in the, praying to pray, because it was my Christian duty. When I started praying specifically for each person, by name, it all changed. Part of the scripture that we are reading is coming out of Colossians 1 vs. 9 tells us, "we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way:bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11. being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully, 12. giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light." We are called to pray, we are called to pray for others. If you would like to join in on praying for other believers, click here. 

1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray continually 

Intro

I (we Andrew and I) started this blog a year ago. We was going to blog about what God was doing in Montana, but we felt it was better to do a newsletter since he already had to do one for work, and we had a few churches back in Kentucky that support us that we would like to reach out to everyone and not just the ones that have access to the internet. So this blog sat idle for that time. Here recently I felt that I would like to write more. I keep a blog for the girls, since the beginning of our adoption, but I feel like that one is more geared towards them. This one is going to be geared more towards my faith in Christ; I plan to include what I am reading, and what God has spoken to me through it, I also plan to include any other tidbits I come across that pertain to my faith. My number one goal in my life is to learn more about Christ every day, and I want to share it with y’all.

In the past couple of weeks, I have had on my mind that I haven’t been doing everything that I am supposed to be doing for the Lord. I feel like I have been just going through the motions of everyday life. Yes I read my Bible, Yes I do my Bible Study, yes I talk with the ladies at work about the Lord, but have I been doing everything I am supposed to be doing? Am I doing what God has called me to do, or am I just doing what I know I am supposed to be doing? Does that question make sense? Ok, if not let me explain… I grew up in the south where knowing Jesus is the “norm” but actually having a relationship with Jesus is not the norm. We go to church every Sunday, every Wednesday, and really any other time the doors are open, especially if there is food, and we go through the motions, hug a few people, and tell a few people we will pray for them (but do we actually do it hmm) Then I move to Montana where saying the name of Jesus is like telling someone about a faraway country that no one has ever heard of. This shocked me! But what was more shocking was that I haven’t been doing what I was supposed to be doing either. Matthew 28:19 says, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” In my nearly 20 years of being a follower of Christ I have never made a disciple. I have never mentored any other women. I have taught women’s Bible study, but I have never sat down one on one with another woman and mentored her. This was another command that as a woman in the church God was calling me to that I was disobeying. Titus 2:3-5 says ³ Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted too much wine, but to teach what is good. ⁴ Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, ⁵ to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. I started praying to God, and seeking direction, and how in the world I was going to do this. I barely knew anyone I had only been in Montana a few months. Well, when you ask God a question that he already knows the answer to because he is calling you to do it, he sends the answer. I started a job, as a teacher, at a preschool. I work with some great gals, but one of them just tugged at my heart. I invited her to church, but if you hear her tell this story she says I told her she was going to church with me but I’m not that pushy ;) but that is neither a here or there she started coming to church with me. She has been a Christian for about 3 years at this time, but hadn’t really pursued her relationship with Christ. One day we were talking and we was on the subject of wanting to learn more about Christ and grow in our relationship, and she asked me to Mentor her. I reluctantly said yes. Not because I didn’t want to, but because I feel like Moses, not eloquent in speech, not “educated” enough. Then of course I started doubting once I told her yes, and even thought about “turning” her over to someone else, someone who knew the Bible front to back, and someone who could help her learn far better than I could. God just wouldn’t let me do that. So we started to meet, what’s really awesome is that every Thursday, she comes home with me from work, sits at my counter while I cook dinner, eats dinner with us as a family, and sometimes has to wait while I give the girls a bath or after they go to bed, but she has never once complained. We leave as soon as my girls are in bed and head to Starbucks. We try to get the same spot every week, but sometimes we have to sit somewhere else. All the baristas there know us BY NAME and some even by drink (for me anyways I don’t like much change ;) and they know why we are there. We have had a couple people stop and ask us what we are doing, we’ve had a couple people pretend to not be listening to us, and we’ve had some people join in on our conversation. Through this God has taught me that he can even use me. Please don’t think I am being prideful because let me tell you everything comes from Him. Nothing comes from me; I still have to text Andrew and ask him questions that she has asked me that I don’t have the answer to. God is an awesome God, and he can use anyone to get his message out there. I pray that I never forget to give him credit for what he has done in my life. Without Him I am nothing!

I have 2 more ladies that I sit down with now. Do I think I am capable of doing this absolutely not but God is capable of doing anything. I still have days where I feel like I am not good enough, but God reminds me that HE is good enough, and that I don’t have to be good enough, I just have to be willing.

I am clinging to 2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgment. So whatever you do, do it for the glory of the Lord and let him empower you to do it.