The Dialysis Gospel

The Bible says that we are all born with "bad blood". We are dying unless there is intervention. God created us to  have a relationship with Him eternally, so Jesus Christ died on the cross to make a way or us to be clean enough to have a relationship with God. He is our lifesaver!

Picture this! The Word of God is our dialyzer. It shows us what is bad in our blood and  Sin is the infection in our blood and Churches are dialysis centers.

When we submit ourselves to the Great Physician God uses workers in the church (dialysis center) to minister to us. However, some people are just in and out of church. "Get me clean again." "What can you do for me this week?" Just because we "belong" to a church does not mean that we have been transformed.

Only when we truly embrace Jesus Christ and go under the knife of the Holy surgeon will we exchange our temporary access for an eternal transplant.

Our old bodies will be done away with. Sin will be finished and we will have eternity to enjoy with our Savior! 

Submission as a spiritual discipline

Whoever God loves he disciplines. He is the vine, we are the branches. If we are going to be true disciples, it is going to cost everything, not just the things you are willing to give up. I confess, for me it is a lot. For me discipleship looks like submission to my husband as the Lord revealed to me today. I was struck by the verse in 1st Peter that mentions Jesus willingness to be crucified on the cross and directly afterwards it says likewise likewise wives are to submit to their husbands. So God already knows that this is a difficult thing. He is already aware that it is not music to most women ears. But what are you really really willing to give up for Jesus?

I have been reading "Not a fan". I asked the Lord to prune me and to show me areas of my life where I have not completely surrendered to Him. This is one. I confess. It is hard to do. But the Word of God clearly says to submit to your husband as unto the Lord. If I am committed to follow Jesus Christ who is my Lord and he told me to follow my husband then it is only logical to be a submissive wife. Is it easy? No way! However if it is what my Lord commands, I will do it.

Please leave it in the comments for me the name of any disciple who had it easy. Please give me the scripture reference for any follower of Christ that was comfortable in their walk and did not have a thorn in the flesh or Satan on their tail.

In my opinion, marriage is a spiritual discipline all its own. There is no greater there has been no greater test of my face then my marriage. It is the most difficult thing for me too completely surrender to God because I have a great idea of what it should look like. My husband should love every idea I have and do things my way. Sound familiar? However, if I am to be a disciple it is not about my will, but God’s will that must be accomplished in my life. So starting today, I am determined to live the life of discipleship starting with my marriage. Yes, I know I will be made fun of. Yes, I know that people will call me strange. However, if I looked just like everyone else and if I acted just like everyone else I would not be a disciple of Christ. If I do not hate my father mother sister and brother as Jesus says, how could I be his disciple?

Other people's opinions are insignificant to me at this point. Of course I will obey my husband IN the Lord and not OUT of the Lord's will. But how many times has he asked me to do something simple and I refused? God forgive me. I will repent which means that I will turn away from what I was doing and head in a different direction. Starting today. How about you?

Discipleship begins at home part II

You may be thinking where is part I of this blog? Well I'm glad you asked! If you go HERE, you will find it!

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One of my regular dilemmas is keeping my boys busy with wholesome, entertaining activity of substance. Sure they have the movies, tv, videos and modern things but they are Kingdom kids. To disciple them to be disciple-makers takes work!

Here are a few of my go-to "disciple them on the sly" activites.

1. For your reading homework,  use your bible as a text. Surprisingly, there is no opposition to this. They have their own bibles and cool bookmarkers to go in them. Kaz loves to share with me what he has read and even memorized on his own!

2. Very cool websites! I am a sucker for FREE christian stuff for my kids. Recently, I have fallen in love with these in particular:

The G.C. (Great Commission) Kidz Club
www.cmalliance.org/kidz/

You can get free maps, a passport for your kids and tradeable GC cards of kids around the globe!

Lifekids.tv - There are numerous resouorces, videos and downloads all for free here. Many include curriculum for bible lessons. Love it!

Makaziville.com (by the Diggar kids) - This is a fun way to introduce missions to your video game addicted kids. It's safe and free! 

Did I mention that all this stuff was free? Lol!

Another great resource (although NOT free) is the Precept series for kids entitled "Discover 4 Yourself".
I suggest these for grades 2 and up. Makaz will start his this summer. It gives kids a method to studying the bible inductively. 

3. Go outside! We have fun playing basketball,  going geocaching, riding bikes and swimming. Read about Geocaching here: www.geocaching.com

4. Making our own movies! I tried this one day and now the boys have too much fun acting, directing and editing their films. The sequels are unending!

5. Last but not hardly least - being a great example of discipleship to them. They say thay more is caught than taught. I find this to be so true. I make sure to have my quiet times in the morning and my sons want to join me. "I can wake up early too" they tell me. Well, my quiet time is MINE, but.....I did teach them how to have their own even if it is at the same time as mine.

My heartfelt prayer is that they will be thoroughly prepared to share Christ and to suffer for His name because that us what happens to true disciples.

Mother's Day 2013

Please share with me some of YOUR favorite resources and ideas for ministering to chidren! I would love to hear them!

Eternally Vain

I have been reading in the book of Ecclesiastes lately. It can be a depressing book unless you realize the point. Life is useless, pointless and has no merit or value apart from a thriving relationship with God. All that you do is for nothing unless there is eternal significance attached, Attach eternity to your purpose and it becomes a game-changer. I have been highlighting words like eternal and everlasting in my bible as well. Few things meet this criteria. 

Life can be eternal as promised by Jesus Christ to those who believe. Jesus can to give abundant life on earth and eternal life in heaven. O to be with Him throughout eternity!

God's Kingdom also has no end. This is so important to me. Of all the rulers, kings and leaders of the world, only the kingdom of God will last.

The Word of God lasts forever. No wonder the Bible has been the most popular, biggest seller and lasting text of all time. In fact, it will outlast time itself!

So the question becomes....what have you done that is eternally praiseworthy? The answer is nothing. Only when we join in thee works of Jesus can the vanity of life be altered to garner any significance. This can only mean that whatever you do for Christ will last and last and last. Some people are concerned with gaining money to leave for their children or gaining land for future exploits. My choice today is to impact my world for Jesus Christ. My legacy will be an eternal one. How about you? Let's make the choice today to not let one more day be in vain.

Happy Sunny Mother's Day!

Mama Tru and I at the National Day of Prayer event - May 2, 2013

It is a beautiful thing to have a mother that prays for her children. Whether they are yet to be born, babies in diapers or teens rolling their eyes, she loves them. Maurice lost his mother at a young age and so we get to spoil my mom every year and teach our children to honor their's.

Enjoying God's creation while watching the boys

While I look forward to watching our boys get older, I am also nervous about the future. My mom said the same thing to us when we were younger. The world is changing and getting darker by the minute. Will our boys be able to navigate the new challenges that the future brings. Well, God tells us not to worry about tomorrow. Today is a gift - the present. So today, I will sit in the grass and enjoy every minute of this Mother's Day weekend!

Mother's Day May, 2013

Mom and Us on Mother's Day

Legacy is important. We teach our children to honor us as parents by honoring our own. We teach them to honor God as Father by honoring Him as well!

Answering My Call to Discipleship

Words like discipline and discipleship have gotten my attention lately.

I long to be Jesus's disciple and to disciple others. My spiritual gifts are varied. I have the gift of mercy, teaching and leadership. I find myself as a nurse instructor and lecturer today. Recently, the Lord has put it on my heart to teach more in the church. Now THAT is out of my comfort zone. However, I am the bondservant of the Lord so I will do as He asks. The Lord reminds me that I am already ministering online (see Maurice, Anita N You - Interactive Bible Study on facebook) and in song (see www.tru-image.org or Tru Image and Tru Image Lifestyle Ministries on facebook). I have taught in front of groups of people before, but teaching the Word of God takes another level of faith. I feel the weight of responssibility to teach with integrity. The Lord had me going to nursing school, then put it to a halt and is sending me to evangelists and teachers who are mentoring me and training me to teach. Woah!

So, I am now in school online to learn how to teach the Word of God. The Lord reminded me that I prayed for instructors and mentors when he told me I would teach. Some interpret this gift as pastor-teacher, but I see it as two different gifts. The bible clearly says that the gifts of the Spirit are varieties and diversities of the operation and administration of gifts (I Corinthians 12:4-7). So there you have it! I also covet the gift of healing. O to have that spiritual gift! Anyway...I digress.

Discipleship is the goal for every christian. How can you say that you are growing in Christ when you still drink milk (Hebrews 5:12) and are not married (ie. committed to Christ (Luke 14:26-33) and multiplying (Matthew 28:19)? To go and teach is the same as making disciples. A disciple is a follower of God. However, my call is to make and to teach disciples to make disciples. God clearly told me to homeschool his children. I interpret that to mean that I am to teach those who are saved and those who will be saved. I am starting with my own chidren.

There is GREAT opposition to those who are disciple-makers. If the devil can steal the seed of the Word of God he has won a battle. He will, however, NEVER win the war! So, I am also learning to battle as a princess warrior in the Kingdom of God. Training is tedious. It basically involves forcing my flesh into submission to the Spirit so that God can use me 100%. I am studying the characters of the likes of Job, Daniel and Stephen. Again....not in the comfort zone. That is one way that I know I am in God's will. This is so NOT my idea!

Please pray for me men and women of the Most High. Pray that I will die daily to my flesh and clearly discern the voice of my Shepard (John 10: 16, 27). My goal is to walk by faith and not by sight.

Today, I rededicate my life to Jesus Christ. My life goal is to go and to teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever He commands me. He will be with me always, even unto the end of the the world.

Why celebrate?

There are so many holidays, birthdays, anniversaries and special occassions. We are given a new reason to party almost every day. As Ecclesiastes says, there is a time for every purpose under heaven. Not taking time to love, appreciate  and remember your loved ones can cause you to be discontent, ungrateful and eben bitter. Just as we need to recall God's blessings in the past, we need to recognize the people in our lives who have helped, shared and encouraged us to be who we are today. Time is moving faster now more than ever. We are tempted to complain and work ourselves to death instead of taking the time to rest, reflect and admire the people, places and things that make our lives as comfortable as they are.

So for every birthday, every Mother's or Father's Day, anniversary and graduation, i want my loved ones to know that my life has been made more fulfilling by their presence, encouragement and smile. Celebrate! Party! Encourage someone in your life on their special day. You never know when it will be the last time to say "Thank You", "I love you" or " You are appreciated".

What if you do your part to celebrate others but don't feel the love for yourself? I very often feel under appreciated and I must very often remember that God HIMSELF rejoices over little ole' ME! God smiles on my life and I can walk pleasing to Him. I am accepted in the beloved. Hallelujah! For cleaning that mess, wiping those tears, fasting & praying for a need, giving out of lack, transporting so and so for the empteenth time...the list goes on and on. But, even if no one else gives a hoot, heaven went bananas when I accepted Christ, got baptized and when I share Jesus to a person and they accept Him into their lives! Not only that, but the biggest party of all is still to come! Heaven. Wow, just the thought excites me!

Imagine Jesus. He taught, He healed, He delivered, He forgives over and over and over and over AND He is still praying for us! What more could he do to show His love than to give His very life for His beloved?? Sheesh. Can he get a little respect? Can someone show Him some love? A thank you even? Of all the people who deserve it, He does. So let's celebrate Jesus everyday! His time will come when every knee will bow to Him and every tongue will call Him Lord. And so will mine.

"Well done Anita! You have been a good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of my kingdom!"

Mother's Day 2014