I grew up in the CRC, and am still here, along with my family. I'm married to Daryl, who has a construction business. I had a CPA license for 10 or so years, then I added EX to the front, and MOM to the back, so now I'm an EX CPA, MOM =). I am MOM to Duncan, Ian and Samantha. Our family also owns a raspberry farm, and in the summers we get to work out there together.
Praise the LORD! this link to this video of Matthew west's song, my own little world, by Christ Church of the Heartland in Texas is working again. It is such a powerful video and it was profound timing when I first watched it...
hmmm. lots of thoughts, here's a few... not sure if you left this out on purpose or why it's you didn't mention it, but one of the areas I feel like the LORD is opening up to minister to us is through the gift of prophecy, which will use both creation and the Word. Is the Spirit in us a "3rd book" . The Word is one, creation or confirmation via the natural is one, and the Spirit in us ministers to us as well, all 3 will point us to God (which the Spirit is of course) and help us live our lives through daily leading and guidance.
next thought... a few weeks ago, was wrestling with "programs", and a conclusion I came to, was that God is an infinitely creative God. We (humans) tend to jump on something that worked a few times and then turn it into a program and market it and say how it will "grow" your church or whatever. What i believe is God wants us to spend time listening to Him every time. He is so creative and longs for us to spend time with Him. Sometimes I wonder if using "cut and dried" programs, gives us an out of spending time in "listening" communion with Him, but then we miss out on what He's got planned for us because we are using and "old word" so to speak.
and the last thought I'll share is a confirmation of this insight...
boq... Imagine a church filled with people whose every moment is attuned to the presence and glory of God. This would be attractive. This would be meaningful. This would grow God’s church. eoq eoqee
that reminded me of a statement for Mary Geegh's little book "God Guides" p10... "How wonderful the world will be when everyone is guided by God's Holy Spirit..." not saying we'll see perfection here on earth, but i think it is a key for His Kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Blessings to you as you pursue the thoughts that the Spirit is stirring up =)..
Bless your hearts... beautiful insights, I sense hearts/spirits being stirred with His Spirit...
When we share the good things, aka testimonies, of what He is doing in our lives, we are reflecting Him, His light...
I have found sharing His stories of what He's doing in my life does 2 things, one encourages those around me who are struggling themselves and hungry for more of Him, or gives me insight to pray on behalf of someone when they are "critical" in some way. It makes me double check myself as well, to make sure there isn't a valid concern.
I love Miss Martha, she's practical, industrious and diplomatic, and I can totally relate to her "plea" in Luke 10:40... she was distracted with much serving aka a lot of work, very busy... then says to Jesus... "don't You care... (that I'm doing all this work alone, no one's helping me)" classic pity party... the enemy loves to isolate us and make us feel like we are the only ones struggling with something or doing anything about some injustice or whatever it might be... so when we share our testimonies, it breaks that deception that we are the only ones who struggle with whatever issue it is, and instead connect on a deeper level. hope that makes sense..
let us draw near to Him with a true heart in full assurance of faith (Hebr. 10:22a)
that is exactly the reason God led me into healing prayer ministry. We get to see Him, when we minister to the poor, the struggling, those who are hurting. I got to see His face through one of those "underprivileged" just yesterday when He led me to a neighborhood of shacks in our area. I left in tears.
I was there for only a few moments, but during those moments, we rec'd this video via email... It was a beautiful confirmation of what is on God's heart. Based on Matthew West's song "My own little world"...
I just read the testimony from Robin Mark, the musician who composed of Days of Elijah of how that song came to be (btw, "he" wrote/composed it in about 30 minutes-see link for full testimony). It confirmed the struggle that we can feel alone and isolated some times, as Elijah, who felt "alone and isolated" after his "battle" with the enemy on Mt. Carmel. This is a common attack from the enemy, particularly after we have experienced a powerful move of God. So let's continue to encourage each other as we follow His leading and guidance, through the testimonies of how He works through our obedience in response to His promptings... every glimpse we see of believers growing in their faith, in their relationship with Jesus, is very significant, and incredible encouragement to each other. It is food for our souls, and fire for our prayers.
from Robin's testimony:
I felt in my spirit that He replied to my prayer by saying that indeed He was very much in control and that the days we were living in were special times when He would require Christians to be filled with integrity and to stand upI for Him just like Elijah did, particularly with the prophets of Baal. “These are ‘Elijah’ days”. Elijah’s story is in the book of Kings and you can read how he felt isolated and alone in the culture in which he lived. But God told him to stand up and speak for Him.
argh.. looks like the video got pulled. probably for copyright stuff.. too bad... I'm sorry, I thought it was way better than the official one! It was done by Christ Church of Heartland, and at the beginning the "man in the mirror" had the writing "It's my time" on the mirror, and at the end, he erases the "my" and replaces it with "His"... It's His time... it was profound, and God used it as a powerful confirmation for me yesterday!! matthew west sings it, don't know if he wrote it...
here's the link to the official one... again, the other video was far more profound at least for me for a variety of reasons, including the timing, so I'm not near as excited about this one!! and btw, the Matthew scripture is one of the verses He's been putting on my heart as well...
so the question to me is... to what extent do we need a "restructure"... is it a simpler remodel (which is never simple or convenient) or a more comprehensive rebuild (a lot of work, and stepping on some sacred toes, etc.)? from what I read in the agenda from the task force (the 5 smooth stones example and 5 streams proposal), I don't think they've even hit a remodel level yet (except maybe with the Canadian/binational issues)... so do i dare say, what I read still seemed a lot like re-arranging the furniture? as Mike pointed out, the execution of it will be the telling indicator, so in most ways it's too early to tell...
hmmm... I think of it as a treasure hunt... letting the Holy Spirit give you guidance/ "clues" to find the treasure aka songs, scriptures, message, etc. He wants you to use to create a new masterpiece of worship, so that when it's all together, it's a beautiful "crown" to offer to Jesus, that also ministers at some level to everyone worshipping, no matter where they are at spiritually.
Henry, you mention that we ignore the bodily resurrection of the Man Jesus - I would submit that we have missed spiritual intimacy with Him, which that concept seems to make us very uncomfortable, but my perception on that could be wrong. I would also submit we have to some degree ignored and quenched the power of the Holy Spirit, and been in contempt of some of His gifts, particularly those gifts we can't explain...
I struggle with when someone thinks someone else has spiritual "superiority", maybe they are sensing pride in some - but let's not throw out the baby with the bathwater on this. I would suggest these "dymanic experiences" are the prompting and work of the Holy Spirit in their lives, and not something to be disdained... everything we are, including our spiritual experiences are a gift of God, through His Holy Spirit, we can do nothing without Jesus... the concept of spiritual superiority shuts down every testimony of what God is doing in our lives, here and now... Yes, none of this has any meaning without salvation and we can not do it on our own, but as a loving and generous Father, He gives us fresh encounters with His goodness and love daily, and I hope we would want to share those testimonies, but when those hearing the testimonies receive them with skepticism or criticism or contempt, instead of joy and thankfulness, then we are quenching the Holy Spirit and His work in our lives... if we don't share those testimonies, we are quenching Him as well... It is all for His glory, and our good... I would hope the response to testimonies of what God is doing in our lives, would be met with joy and excitement, and be encouraging to others... instead of threatening.
I also think we need to recognize that there are different levels of maturity of believers, in our faith..
If we are not "experiencing" the Holy Spirit, then we need to look at our attitude toward the Holy Spirit.. are we quenching Him, through contempt of His gifts, through skepticism/criticisim, through unbelief that He still speaks to us in various ways (which includes making scripture living and active)?
having grown up in the crc, and still a part of it, I have noticed a significant resistance to how the Holy Spirit works via some giftings, for a variety of reasons, which is an entire discussion in itself...
unfortunately the new age stuff is the enemy's counterfeit of the working of the Holy Spirit, and so there will be things that look the same, but are oh so very different because of where it is coming from (Holy Spirit vs enemy spirit), with good fruit from the Holy Spirit and bad fruit from the enemy... this is where testing of the spirits (I John 4:1/1 Thess. 5:19-22), and discernment comes in...
When we love God with all our hearts, souls, strength and mind... that will overflow to loving our neighbors... and we will desire to be with Him via the Word, worship and prayer, to share about Him, to trust Him, and to obey Him... He will consume us, and we will be obsessed with Him and serving His Kingdom
Bless your heart, Karl, for going out on this limb... yup, I think we/crc are being stretched into areas that are new for us... I believe this is a good thing... Josh. 3:4... then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before...
there might be another distinction here... that between testimonies that God gives as encouragement for us personally, along with other believers, and what is evangelism for non-believers... our testimony is not limited to our conversion, but is added to on a regular basis as we walk in faith..
Regarding spiritual intimacy, I think of Eph. 1:17-18, where Paul prays for the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that we may know God better - as one example of a scriptural call for intimacy... I believe almost every time the OT talks about "knowing" God, it is the same Hebrew word (yada) that He uses for marital intimacy... will our knowledge/experience be limited? of course, because God is an infinite God, and so we can only know a very small part of Him, a drop in an ocean, but even that drop that we can know is beyond amazing... Scripture uses the analogy of husband and wife, between Jesus and the Church (Eph. 5:32 - and song of songs for almost 2000 years, it's only in the last 100 years or so, that some no longer support this analogy in song of songs - which is an entire discussion)...
that thaand that the eyes of our hearts are enlightened, so we can know the hope of our inheritance... eyes of our hearts refers to a spiritual experience... this is our inner being, also referenced in Eph. 3:16, where the Spirit is working in us... our faith is Spirit and truth... it takes both working together... Paul says he does both when he prays in I Cor. 14:14-15... praying in tongues is a spiritual experience... the peace that passes understanding is a spiritual experience, becoming new creations in Christ is a spiritual experience (2 Cor 5:17)... having our hearts of stone become hearts of flesh (Ez 36:26), having His Spirit dwell in us, is a spiritual experience... I have testimonies of when He has melted my heart, when my heart was getting hard and cold, and aloof and proud, and in less than a moment He melted it, it was not emotionalism, because there wasn't enough time for that, but there were "triggers" that He used... was there dialogue with God during these times... oh yes... they were terrible and beautiful experiences at the same time, and I'm so glad He didn't let my heart stay hard...
King David talks about praising Him with all our "inmost being" ... so that our youth is renewed like the eagles - that sounds like a spiritual experience... that "deep rooted assurance" of faith mentioned somewhere earlier (i think it's referred to in HC Q&A 23), is a spiritual experience - it's that you know that you know in your inner being through a gift of the Spirit, even though there is no tangible "faith" to show other than through our actions...
those are just a few examples from scripture that I can think of off the top of my head...
Hebrews 6 talks about the elementary teachings, which includes faith in God (v1), and growing/maturing beyond that... I know this is a difficult passage with various interpretations, and maybe you interpret this differently, if so I would be interested in knowing how you view this...
as for "hiding" our works, interestingly Matt 5 tells us we are a light on a hill, and we are not to cover it up...let your light shine before men SO THAT others may see our good deeds and praise our Father in heaven... they are for HIS GLORY!!!
Posted in: Christ’s Face in a Street Person
Praise the LORD! this link to this video of Matthew west's song, my own little world, by Christ Church of the Heartland in Texas is working again. It is such a powerful video and it was profound timing when I first watched it...
I encourage you to watch this... It's HIS time!!!
http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=FJ2F91NU&utm_source=GodTube%20Must-See%20Video&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=01/04/2012
Posted in: My Dream for the Christian Reformed Church
hmmm. lots of thoughts, here's a few... not sure if you left this out on purpose or why it's you didn't mention it, but one of the areas I feel like the LORD is opening up to minister to us is through the gift of prophecy, which will use both creation and the Word. Is the Spirit in us a "3rd book" . The Word is one, creation or confirmation via the natural is one, and the Spirit in us ministers to us as well, all 3 will point us to God (which the Spirit is of course) and help us live our lives through daily leading and guidance.
next thought... a few weeks ago, was wrestling with "programs", and a conclusion I came to, was that God is an infinitely creative God. We (humans) tend to jump on something that worked a few times and then turn it into a program and market it and say how it will "grow" your church or whatever. What i believe is God wants us to spend time listening to Him every time. He is so creative and longs for us to spend time with Him. Sometimes I wonder if using "cut and dried" programs, gives us an out of spending time in "listening" communion with Him, but then we miss out on what He's got planned for us because we are using and "old word" so to speak.
and the last thought I'll share is a confirmation of this insight...
boq... Imagine a church filled with people whose every moment is attuned to the presence and glory of God. This would be attractive. This would be meaningful. This would grow God’s church. eoq eoqee
that reminded me of a statement for Mary Geegh's little book "God Guides" p10... "How wonderful the world will be when everyone is guided by God's Holy Spirit..." not saying we'll see perfection here on earth, but i think it is a key for His Kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Blessings to you as you pursue the thoughts that the Spirit is stirring up =)..
Posted in: Weight Loss is a Lot Like Sanctification
Bless your hearts... beautiful insights, I sense hearts/spirits being stirred with His Spirit...
When we share the good things, aka testimonies, of what He is doing in our lives, we are reflecting Him, His light...
I have found sharing His stories of what He's doing in my life does 2 things, one encourages those around me who are struggling themselves and hungry for more of Him, or gives me insight to pray on behalf of someone when they are "critical" in some way. It makes me double check myself as well, to make sure there isn't a valid concern.
I love Miss Martha, she's practical, industrious and diplomatic, and I can totally relate to her "plea" in Luke 10:40... she was distracted with much serving aka a lot of work, very busy... then says to Jesus... "don't You care... (that I'm doing all this work alone, no one's helping me)" classic pity party... the enemy loves to isolate us and make us feel like we are the only ones struggling with something or doing anything about some injustice or whatever it might be... so when we share our testimonies, it breaks that deception that we are the only ones who struggle with whatever issue it is, and instead connect on a deeper level. hope that makes sense..
let us draw near to Him with a true heart in full assurance of faith (Hebr. 10:22a)
Posted in: Christ’s Face in a Street Person
thank you for sharing!
that is exactly the reason God led me into healing prayer ministry. We get to see Him, when we minister to the poor, the struggling, those who are hurting. I got to see His face through one of those "underprivileged" just yesterday when He led me to a neighborhood of shacks in our area. I left in tears.
I was there for only a few moments, but during those moments, we rec'd this video via email... It was a beautiful confirmation of what is on God's heart. Based on Matthew West's song "My own little world"...
http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=FJ2F91NU&utm_source=GodTube%20Must-See%20Video&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=01/04/2012
Posted in: Weight Loss is a Lot Like Sanctification
I just read the testimony from Robin Mark, the musician who composed of Days of Elijah of how that song came to be (btw, "he" wrote/composed it in about 30 minutes-see link for full testimony). It confirmed the struggle that we can feel alone and isolated some times, as Elijah, who felt "alone and isolated" after his "battle" with the enemy on Mt. Carmel. This is a common attack from the enemy, particularly after we have experienced a powerful move of God. So let's continue to encourage each other as we follow His leading and guidance, through the testimonies of how He works through our obedience in response to His promptings... every glimpse we see of believers growing in their faith, in their relationship with Jesus, is very significant, and incredible encouragement to each other. It is food for our souls, and fire for our prayers.
from Robin's testimony:
I felt in my spirit that He replied to my prayer by saying that indeed He was very much in control and that the days we were living in were special times when He would require Christians to be filled with integrity and to stand upI for Him just like Elijah did, particularly with the prophets of Baal. “These are ‘Elijah’ days”. Elijah’s story is in the book of Kings and you can read how he felt isolated and alone in the culture in which he lived. But God told him to stand up and speak for Him.
http://psalm2004.com/2009/04/24/days-of-elijah/
and as our pastor shared this morning," if you are moving in His Spirit, you are desperate for encouragement"...
Posted in: Christ’s Face in a Street Person
argh.. looks like the video got pulled. probably for copyright stuff.. too bad... I'm sorry, I thought it was way better than the official one! It was done by Christ Church of Heartland, and at the beginning the "man in the mirror" had the writing "It's my time" on the mirror, and at the end, he erases the "my" and replaces it with "His"... It's His time... it was profound, and God used it as a powerful confirmation for me yesterday!! matthew west sings it, don't know if he wrote it...
here's the link to the official one... again, the other video was far more profound at least for me for a variety of reasons, including the timing, so I'm not near as excited about this one!! and btw, the Matthew scripture is one of the verses He's been putting on my heart as well...
http://www.vevo.com/watch/matthew-west/my-own-little-world/US82Y1000065
my own little world it hardly ever rains
I’ve never gone hungry, always felt safe
I got some money in my pocket, shoes on my feet
In my own little world
population me
I try to stay awake during Sunday morning Church
I throw a twenty in the plate, but I never give ’til it hurts
And I turn off the news when I don’t like what I see
Yeah, it’s easy to do when it’s
Population: me
What if there’s a bigger picture?
What if I’m missing out?
What if there’s a greater purpose
I could be living right now?
Outside my own little world oooh
Stopped at a red light, looked out my window
I saw a cardboard sign, said “Help this homeless widow”
And just above that sign was the face of a human
I thought to myself, “God, what have I been doing?”
So I rolled down the window and I looked her in the eye
Oh how many times have I just passed her by?
I gave her some money then I drove on through
And my own little world reached
Population two
Oh
What if there’s a bigger picture?
What if I’m missing out?
What if there’s a greater purpose
That I could be living right now
Outside my own little world oooh, ooh
My own little world oooh
Wooah woooah woooah
yeeah yeeah
Father break my heart for what breaks Yours
Give me open hands and open doors
Put Your Light in my eyes and let me see
That my own little world is not about me
What if there’s a bigger picture?
What if I’m missing out?
What if there’s a greater purpose
That I could be living right now
I don't want to miss what matters
I wanna be reaching out
Show me the greater purpose
So I can start living right now
Outside my own little world yeeeaah yeeeah
My own little world ooooh
Woooaah
Wooah
Wooah
http://www.sweetslyrics.com/789128.Matthew%20West%20-%20My%20Own%20Little%20World.html
Posted in: Deck Chairs?
so the question to me is... to what extent do we need a "restructure"... is it a simpler remodel (which is never simple or convenient) or a more comprehensive rebuild (a lot of work, and stepping on some sacred toes, etc.)? from what I read in the agenda from the task force (the 5 smooth stones example and 5 streams proposal), I don't think they've even hit a remodel level yet (except maybe with the Canadian/binational issues)... so do i dare say, what I read still seemed a lot like re-arranging the furniture? as Mike pointed out, the execution of it will be the telling indicator, so in most ways it's too early to tell...
Posted in: Worship Glue: Sticking the Pieces Together
hmmm... I think of it as a treasure hunt... letting the Holy Spirit give you guidance/ "clues" to find the treasure aka songs, scriptures, message, etc. He wants you to use to create a new masterpiece of worship, so that when it's all together, it's a beautiful "crown" to offer to Jesus, that also ministers at some level to everyone worshipping, no matter where they are at spiritually.
Posted in: Why Are Believers Not Declaring the Gospel?
Henry, you mention that we ignore the bodily resurrection of the Man Jesus - I would submit that we have missed spiritual intimacy with Him, which that concept seems to make us very uncomfortable, but my perception on that could be wrong. I would also submit we have to some degree ignored and quenched the power of the Holy Spirit, and been in contempt of some of His gifts, particularly those gifts we can't explain...
I struggle with when someone thinks someone else has spiritual "superiority", maybe they are sensing pride in some - but let's not throw out the baby with the bathwater on this. I would suggest these "dymanic experiences" are the prompting and work of the Holy Spirit in their lives, and not something to be disdained... everything we are, including our spiritual experiences are a gift of God, through His Holy Spirit, we can do nothing without Jesus... the concept of spiritual superiority shuts down every testimony of what God is doing in our lives, here and now... Yes, none of this has any meaning without salvation and we can not do it on our own, but as a loving and generous Father, He gives us fresh encounters with His goodness and love daily, and I hope we would want to share those testimonies, but when those hearing the testimonies receive them with skepticism or criticism or contempt, instead of joy and thankfulness, then we are quenching the Holy Spirit and His work in our lives... if we don't share those testimonies, we are quenching Him as well... It is all for His glory, and our good... I would hope the response to testimonies of what God is doing in our lives, would be met with joy and excitement, and be encouraging to others... instead of threatening.
I also think we need to recognize that there are different levels of maturity of believers, in our faith..
If we are not "experiencing" the Holy Spirit, then we need to look at our attitude toward the Holy Spirit.. are we quenching Him, through contempt of His gifts, through skepticism/criticisim, through unbelief that He still speaks to us in various ways (which includes making scripture living and active)?
having grown up in the crc, and still a part of it, I have noticed a significant resistance to how the Holy Spirit works via some giftings, for a variety of reasons, which is an entire discussion in itself...
unfortunately the new age stuff is the enemy's counterfeit of the working of the Holy Spirit, and so there will be things that look the same, but are oh so very different because of where it is coming from (Holy Spirit vs enemy spirit), with good fruit from the Holy Spirit and bad fruit from the enemy... this is where testing of the spirits (I John 4:1/1 Thess. 5:19-22), and discernment comes in...
When we love God with all our hearts, souls, strength and mind... that will overflow to loving our neighbors... and we will desire to be with Him via the Word, worship and prayer, to share about Him, to trust Him, and to obey Him... He will consume us, and we will be obsessed with Him and serving His Kingdom
Posted in: Classis at Prayer: Discerning God’s Will for the CRC
Bless your heart, Karl, for going out on this limb... yup, I think we/crc are being stretched into areas that are new for us... I believe this is a good thing... Josh. 3:4... then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before...
Posted in: Why Are Believers Not Declaring the Gospel?
there might be another distinction here... that between testimonies that God gives as encouragement for us personally, along with other believers, and what is evangelism for non-believers... our testimony is not limited to our conversion, but is added to on a regular basis as we walk in faith..
Posted in: Why Are Believers Not Declaring the Gospel?
Regarding spiritual intimacy, I think of Eph. 1:17-18, where Paul prays for the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that we may know God better - as one example of a scriptural call for intimacy... I believe almost every time the OT talks about "knowing" God, it is the same Hebrew word (yada) that He uses for marital intimacy... will our knowledge/experience be limited? of course, because God is an infinite God, and so we can only know a very small part of Him, a drop in an ocean, but even that drop that we can know is beyond amazing... Scripture uses the analogy of husband and wife, between Jesus and the Church (Eph. 5:32 - and song of songs for almost 2000 years, it's only in the last 100 years or so, that some no longer support this analogy in song of songs - which is an entire discussion)...
that thaand that the eyes of our hearts are enlightened, so we can know the hope of our inheritance... eyes of our hearts refers to a spiritual experience... this is our inner being, also referenced in Eph. 3:16, where the Spirit is working in us... our faith is Spirit and truth... it takes both working together... Paul says he does both when he prays in I Cor. 14:14-15... praying in tongues is a spiritual experience... the peace that passes understanding is a spiritual experience, becoming new creations in Christ is a spiritual experience (2 Cor 5:17)... having our hearts of stone become hearts of flesh (Ez 36:26), having His Spirit dwell in us, is a spiritual experience... I have testimonies of when He has melted my heart, when my heart was getting hard and cold, and aloof and proud, and in less than a moment He melted it, it was not emotionalism, because there wasn't enough time for that, but there were "triggers" that He used... was there dialogue with God during these times... oh yes... they were terrible and beautiful experiences at the same time, and I'm so glad He didn't let my heart stay hard...
King David talks about praising Him with all our "inmost being" ... so that our youth is renewed like the eagles - that sounds like a spiritual experience... that "deep rooted assurance" of faith mentioned somewhere earlier (i think it's referred to in HC Q&A 23), is a spiritual experience - it's that you know that you know in your inner being through a gift of the Spirit, even though there is no tangible "faith" to show other than through our actions...
those are just a few examples from scripture that I can think of off the top of my head...
Hebrews 6 talks about the elementary teachings, which includes faith in God (v1), and growing/maturing beyond that... I know this is a difficult passage with various interpretations, and maybe you interpret this differently, if so I would be interested in knowing how you view this...
as for "hiding" our works, interestingly Matt 5 tells us we are a light on a hill, and we are not to cover it up...let your light shine before men SO THAT others may see our good deeds and praise our Father in heaven... they are for HIS GLORY!!!