Archive for the ‘Archive’ Category

Righteousness Not By Law, By the Spirit

Monday, June 13th, 2005

We can only seek the power to love, by looking to the Gospel of Christ. The Law will not free us from rage, or vanity, or self righteousness, or pride. Trying to adhere to the Law only brings about more sin. More overt sin! In fact that is the whole point of the Law!

20Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:

21That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 5:20,21

That the offence might abound! So, the Law really is made to cause our flesh to fail, to show just how rebellious we are inside, by creating a rule for behavior which we rebell against outside. It causes what is sin within to become visible without! But why does God want us to abound in offence? because He recieves more glory and delivers more grace where sin is greatest. “where sin abounded, grace did much more abound..” Just like I have mentioned before, those who sin the most, love the Lord the most, because they realize just how much He paid for, because He set them free from more! (there is a scripture for that one too, anyone know it?)

We all know that the Law doesn’t save us. We are saved by faith alone. Even Abraham was saved by faith. That before the Law, but also well before Christ! His faith was counted unto him as righteousness. (No idea where that verse is, anyone??).

So if not by following the Law, after salvation… How does one come to be freed of our cancelled sin? For indeed our sin IS cancelled. It is no longer counted against us, we are saved by faith in Christ, all our sin is made white as snow! But in life, we are still bound by that cancelled sin. And how is it that we become free? NOT BY FOLLOWING THE RULES.

We become free by WALKING BY THE SPIRIT. The Law only condemns us. When we attempt to set ourselves free by following the rules, our flesh rebells all the more. But when we rely upon the power of the Holy Spirit to set us free, we are free indeed.

You may have read the previous post entitled “Those Whom He Sets Free Are Free Indeed” where I list the major things the Lord has set me free from. The freedom I recieved was by no works of my own!! There is no way that I can turn my heart to the Lord, I am rebellious, and only the part of me that is surrended to Christ desires to know Him more. Only the Holy Spirit dwelling within me is able to change my heart, by changing my heart, my behavior ends up being righteous too! But I cannot go the other way, I cannot maintain righteous behavior, to create a holy heart.

Did you get that? I CANNOT MAINTAIN RIGHTEOUS BEHAVIOR TO CREATE A HOLY HEART. Good righteous behavior, loving behavior becomes evident AFTER the Spirit changes my heart.

I must cling to the vine, and keep watching God. By clinging to the Vine and not looking to the left or the right, I am able to draw on the power of the Holy Spirit, He both sets me free, and others around me free because my cup will runneth over! (The righteousness of my heart will pour out, because what is in our hearts is what comes out of our mouths and out in our actions.) His power is not to be denied, nor should we say that the power of God is past! No, the power of God is ever present, we simply must plug in, and remain plugged in. When we walk by the Spirit, we will walk in power and grace. But all the glory will go to Christ. And it will become obvious that it is Christ who changed us, because the change will be so dramatic, so powerful, so permanent, that it will be undeniable that it was a power other than yourself! Undeniable to others, and to yourself!

Currently I am praying that the Lord will set me free from the bondage of pride. He has been faithful to free me from so many other things, that I have no doubt He will free me from this. But I can boast only in HIS power, because myself, I am unable to change, unable to create a humble heart within me.

How will the Lord set me free? By the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling within me. As I choose to look unto Him, to cling to the Vine, to keep my eyes on GOD, first and foremost, and I can only do that by the power of the Holy Spirit too!

Praise God that He can and WILL change me. He sets the prisoner free! I am a prisoner, of pride… but I am also a prisoner of Christ, and He will set me free from all other bondages, that I might serve HIM wholly, completely, without reserve, without anything held back, but to be open faced before the Lord.

I pray that this post will touch your spirit, and inspire you to lean on the Lord, to rely on His power to set you free from whatever you are bound to. Yeild to Him, and you will find yourself a new person in ways you never imagined!

Peace,
Meg

Those Whom He Sets Free are Free Indeed!

Wednesday, June 8th, 2005

I wanted to make a list of some of the things the Lord has set me free from. A reminder of sorts, and a list to bring glory to the Savior, who set me free.

1. FEAR. The Lord has set me free of fear. I know that there is nothing to fear except the Lord. I try to live my life without fear. I try to be willing to do what ever it takes, to walk wherever He would have me go, and the only thing I fear is HIM. One day I will give an account, and I fear it, praise God I have the Son who has wiped my sins away! He has made my scarlet sins white as snow.

2. ADDICTION. I have been miraculously set free from addictions to drugs, and alcohol. I had to abstain, but after a while the Lord washed the craving and desire for alcohol from my heart. I prayed that God would give me a miracle like that, as I had heard He did for others. And He did. He set me free. Today, I have NO desire to drink myself away. I am so free, that I am able to drink one drink and stop, to no longer desire to continue drinking. I choose not to drink most of the time, because there is just no desire to do so. But I am no longer a slave to addiction. (Narcotics Anonymous says “Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic.” They do not believe in total freedom from alcohol, only in total abstinance, therefore alcohol is always a temptation to them, and to drink one glass would send them back to slavery. It is my opinion that even though they abstain, they are not free.) I am free.

3. FOOD. After I was set free from drugs and alcohol, I began to use food as a comfort, and as a weapon. I prayed that the Lord would set me free from food, and today I fast, I eat when I am hungry, I stop when I am full, and I no longer feel condemned by my use of food. Furthermore I have begun to lose weight. *yippee*

4. RAGE. Ever since I was a teen I have dealt with rage. As a teen I used to hit walls, or lockers with my fists, I played physical contact sports to channel the rage. As I grew these outlets became unacceptable, but I was still full of rage. I would get so angry I would turn beet red, I would be screaming on the inside, and sometimes on the outside. I would have to send my son to his room so I didn’t harm him. I was frequently on the verge of losing control! (A scary place to be!) But a friend of mine pointed this out to me, and I agreed that it was a problem. I spoke with my pastor’s wife, and she prayed for me. Ever since then I have been free. The Lord has set me free! Praise God!

5. SEXUAL IMMORALITY. As a youth I gave away my gift. Over and over. I was promiscuous, filled with lust and nasty things like that. When I got saved my behavior changed, but my heart was still sinful, and a slave. The Lord has been faithful to set me free from lustful thoughts, and actions. He has restored my innocence to me. I am again able to blush. Because He has set me free, He has restored my relationship with my husband! Praise God! I am free indeed!

Well… I am free of all these things. But you know what I need to be set free from now? Pride and Arrogance. After having been freed from these previous things, I have realized that I am UNABLE, UTTERLY unable to free myself from sin, this kind or any kind. No matter how hard I might try I cannot make myself stop being arrogant, or prideful. I cannot make myself meek or humble. Only Christ can set me free.

I pray that the Lord will bring me low. Give me a meek and contrite heart, and a humble spirit. I pray that He will make me low, so that Christ may be glorified in me. And I believe He can and will do it. What a blessing it will be! Praise God I will be free indeed!

–Meg

The ABC's of Me

Tuesday, June 7th, 2005

A is for Age – Uh mid twenties
B is for Booze – I don’t really drink anymore. The Lord released me from that addiction! I occasionally enjoy a wine cooler.
C is for Cookie you crave – No cookies I crave, I don’t really like cookies.
D is for Dating tip you’d give your son or daughter – “Dating is of the Devil.” (No I’m just kidding I wouldn’t ever say that. But I would think it.) I would say “The Lord made you for just one person, there is no need to date, He will show you who that person is, then you can marry her.”
E is for Essential items to bring to a party – A soda or a bag of chips
F is for Favorite song at the moment – I think right now I am really enjoying “It Is Well With My Soul” an old hymn, redone by All For Him (i think)
G is for Goof off thing to do -I am rarely goofy. Can’t think of anything I do. Ask my husband he prolly thinks I’m goofy!!
H is for Hometown – I consider Long Island my hometown, but I don’t live there now, and neither do my parents.
I is for Instrument you play – Voice, and I like to play my kid’s keyboard! Because the keys light up and show you where to go!
J is for Jam or Jelly you like – I like no sugar added, seedless raspberry or blackberry jam by Polander’s All Fruit
K is for Kids- Only one so far! a wonderful son.
L is for Living arrangement – 3 br, 2 bath, and a bonus room in the South!
M is for Mom’s name – That’s too much info for me to give out on the internet.
N is for Name of first crush – Jason Bono, and I was like 10. I even got to dance with him ONCE. lol
O is for Overexposed celebrity? -Celebrity? UHG, all of them. But if I have to pick just one, Brad Pitt, since they are making it NEWS that they split up.
P is for Phobias – Honestly, there are a few bones in my body that don’t really enjoy heights, but I would not call it a phobia. And praise God, He sets us free from all our fears!
Q is for Quote you like -There are just TOO many scriptures. How about you read the Bible, pick one, and I will tell you if I like it. Yes, I do.
R is for Relationship that lasted longest -My husband and it will last unto death separates us.
S is for Siblings – One. A brother. But a myriad in Christ!
T is for Texas, ever been? – Nope, wouldn’t mind checkin it out though (SAMANTHA!!)
U is for Unique trait – Uhm, I am a handcrafted child of the Most High God, I am unique in many ways… but giving them a label doesn’t do them justice. Read my blog, you’ll get a better idea.
V if for Vegetable you love – I love Green Beans, Brussel Sprouts uhm CORN, Asparagus.
W is for Worst trait – Disobedience to God and my hubby
X – is for Xtra Credit, did you ever do it in school? – I did some, but I rarely needed to.
Y is for Yummy food you make – I think just about everything I make is yummy (at least my hubby thinks so.)
Z is for Zodiac sign – Not putting that junk on my blog!.

Well, there you have it folks, a very silly list about ME.

Meg

"How Do You Know Who You Are?"

Monday, June 6th, 2005

“How do you know who you are?”

Anyone can know who they are by reading the Word, and reflecting on it.

But when I first began to read the Word I started, by reading what a woman was like, in God’s design. I read the Proverbs 31 passage on a godly woman. I read Ephesians 5 about a woman’s role at home, and Titus 2 about what older women ought to teach younger. And I learned that I am supposed to be:

1. Submitted to Christ
2. Submitted to the Word
3. Submitted to my husband
4. a keeper at home
5. a mother
6. a friend
7. I ought to have a meek and gentle spirit
8. I should have a teachable spirit
9. I should be forgiving as Christ is forgiving
10. I should respect my husband while I allow him to love me

The list goes on and on…

Who does God say I am?

He says I am a child of God (John 1:12)
I am the light of the world. (Matt 5:14)
I am Christ’s friend. (John 15:15)
I am chosen and appointed by Christ to bear His fruit. (John 15:16)
I am a SLAVE to righteousness. (Rom. 6:18 )
I am a daughter of God, God is spiritually my Father. (Rom 8:14,15)
I am enslaved to God. (Rom 6:22)
I am a temple of God. His Spirit and His life dwells in me. (1 Cor. 3:16, 6:19)
I am a saint. (Ephs. 1:1. 1 Cor. 1:2)
I am God’s vessel, His workmanship. Born anew in Christ to do His work. (Eph. 2:10)
I am righteous and holy. (Eph. 4:24)
I am a daughter of light and not of darkness. (1 Thess. 5:5)
I am an alien and stranger to this world in which I temporarily live. (1. Peter 2:11)
I am an enemy of the devil. (1 Peter 5:8 )

He says that

I have died with Christ, and died to the power of sin’s rule over my life. (Rom. 6:1-6)
I am free from condemnation. (Rom. 8:1)
I have recieved the Spirit of God into my life that I might know the things freely given to me by God. (1 Cor. 2:12)
I have been given the mind of Christ. (1 Cor. 2:16)
I have been bought with a price, I am not my own, I belong to God. (1. Cor. 6:19,20)

And again these lists go ON AND ON…

Let me cover a few of the things that have changed since I began to accept and believe what God says about me.

One of the first things God pointed out to me was that I frequently had pity parties, and got depressed. The devil would point out my failures, and I started to condemn myself for not living up to Christ’s high standard. But we are free from condemnation. Once I read that, I said “Lord, if you say I am free, then I am free.” And today, I rarely get depressed, and when I do, I realize much sooner, that I have no need for depression, no reason to be upset. The Lord has set me free from condemnation! I can walk in that freedom. God really helped me out with this, by accompanying the scripture with an old hymn, “It Is Well With My Soul”. “Even so, it is well, with my soul!! It is well, OH it is well, with my soul.” Even if I have failed, (and the righteous man will fail seven times, and seven times he will rise again) Well, it is STILL well with my soul! I have blessed assurance, and forgiveness. I am free from condemnation!

Another thing the Lord started to show me was that I was a slave to Him and to righteousness. That I should value what He has said in His word, simply because He said it. I am no longer my own! I am a SLAVE. That means I cannot do as I wish, but must be submitted to HIS WILL. And where do we find His will? In HIS WORD of course!! This has helped me to trust Him. To seek Him, and His will more deeply. When you think you are a slave, and you long to please the Master, you begin to view the Word differently. It isn’t just a “Handbook to Life”, but it is a mandate. Perfect subission to His will, is always right! A few things the Lord showed me under that, were how I ought to treat my husband. Eph. 5:32 “…and wives ought to respect their husbands.” WOW, not just to submit to my husband “IN EVERYTHING” But to respect him too. Another thing was that I didn’t need to adorn my body in vanity. So, I rarely wear makeup, (Im not perfect, and I sometimes wear it to church, because I feel it is expected). I am growing my hair out long again, because I am convinced that the Lord gave women long hair as a crown, and covering. That long hair on a woman is glorious. I am convicted of wearing a head covering, because it honors my head (my husband), and is a sign to the angels. All of these things are constraints, that are freeing.

What a dichotomy eh? We are released from the Law, released from condemnation, but given some rules! Within those rules, within that fence is true freedom! Doesn’t make sense does it? But I long to serve Him as HE desires me to serve, and He is always faithful to both empower me, and reward my obedience (Deut. 11:26).

God has shown me that I am a vessel of His craftsmanship. He has created me unique, and separate. I am meant to be as HE sees fit. So I seek to know how He would have me behave. One of the ways this has changed me is that I now understand that He has given me knowledge, but He wants me to use it when He says. He has created me bold, but He wants me to be restrained. So, yes, I am willing to speak up when He tells me, but when He asks for silence, I am silent. (I am not perfect at this one either!!) I began to understand that our words have power. And that the Lord wanted to be the one opening and closing my mouth. So I lean on Him. It is REALLY hard, I have to struggle with this one alot. But I find, that when I am obedient, the words I say are said in a due season, and are more meaningful to the hearer. And when I am silent, I learn about other people, and myself, and I am far better able to hear the Lord’s promptings.

I have realized that God designed women to be keepers at home. I was never the sort to have a heart for the home, I had wanderlust! I wanted to be out and about all the time. But when I realized that the Lord has called women to be keeprs at home, devoted wives, and mothers, I prayed that the Lord would give me a heart for home, that I would desire to be there. And He is so faithful!! I love to stay home, I rarely desire to work outside of the home, or to get out of the house all the time. Come the weekends I am ready for some social interaction, but I am gratfeul that the Lord has made me a keeper at home.

There are SO many other things. I am still learning what it means to be Christ’s, to have His life within me, to be a slave to God and righteousness. But it is the greatest adventure of my life!

So, that is how I know who I am. I am who God has said I am. I choose to believe that it is true, and where I do not line up I pray that the Lord will change me, that I might better serve Him.

Peace,

Meg

Im Falling Behind in Posts!!

Thursday, June 2nd, 2005