Stand For You – Jonny Diaz

So long politics it’s time to start being me
Take the chains off my lips it’s time to set my tongue free
Some might just turn their heads but some will raise a fist
And You told me to stand so I won’t back down from this… See More
They say there are no absolutes but are they absolutely sure

In a world that tries to water You down
Where beliefs cannot be spoken to loud
I’ll stand for truth
Where they claim Your way isn’t wide enough
And they do their best just to cover You up
I’ll stand for You

Hello reality it’s time we embrace honesty
Teach me to speak with truth and love and with humility
You made a promise that You’re coming back to Earth
So how selfish am I if I don’t go tell the world
They say just be sincere but could they all just be sincerely wrong

They might remove Your name from money
But You own it all the same
They kicked You out of school that’s funny
Cause how could You go away
In a land that’s built upon Your Word
It’s amazing You’ve been banned
To think that we control You is absurd
So for Truth I’m here to stand!

Elizabeth Krueger’s Lesson of the Day

Thanks again Debbie!

You CAN Change Your Emotions
Yes, you CAN change your emotions. You are not a helpless victim of hurt feelings, irritability, and anger. We can and must learn to alter our tempers and deny our feelings, when necessary, and teach our children to do likewise.

Colossians 3:8 (NAS) tells us: “But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, {and} abusive speech from your mouth.” Since here and many places elsewhere in scripture, we are commanded to control our emotions, it’s safe to assume God gives us the ability to do so. God tells us what to do, and that we can do it, so all we need to do is obey Him. In the same way, we have the ability to teach our children to control their emotions. All they need to do it obey us, as we wisely discipline them and train them according to God’s word.

For this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach.”
- Deuteronomy 30:11

-Excerpt from “Raising Godly Tomatoes“

Elizabeth Krueger’s Lesson of the Day

Thank you for posting this Debbie!!

Not All Emotions Are Good (From “Raising Godly Tomatoes”)
It is not wrong to have emotions, but unbridled emotions are dangerous and potentially devastating. Adults who feel righteous indignation upon seeing the innocent suffer, or children who grieve the loss of a grandparent, act properly and nobly. But not all emotions, displayed freely, are good. Both the adult who loses his temper when frustrated, and the child who throws a fit to get his way, are equally reprehensible. Emotions are attributes of God Himself, engendered in us when He “created man in His own image”. The challenge is not to eliminate emotions, but to manage them in ways pleasing to God and in accord with His image.

Because God is gracious, He helps us in this task of becoming like Him, by revealing to us in His word, when we are to feel certain emotions and to what extent. We are to “hate” evil, for example. We are to “be miserable and mourn and weep” over our own sins. We are to “rejoice” in Him. We are to “love” our neighbor. And so on. In addition to His direct instructions, God offers His example, so that we might imitate Him. Thus, when Exodus tells us that God is “slow to anger,” we too must be slow to anger. When the Psalms describe Him as compassionate and longsuffering, we are to seek to be the same.

Jesus is, of course, our supreme example. His emotional repertoire was vast and we are given many examples thereof. Jesus was “consumed with zeal” when He saw God’s house being misused. He “felt compassion” for the lost and taught them, and for the sick and healed them. He “wept” when His dear friend Lazarus died. His soul was “deeply grieved” when He prayed in the Garden. And ultimately, Jesus demonstrated “love”, beyond compare, by laying down His very life for our sakes. In all that He did, He set an example for us to follow and gave us the power to do so.

Along with the biblical descriptions of wisely managed emotions, the Bible also gives us many examples of mismanaged and unrestrained emotions, beginning with Cain who murdered his own brother in anger, to Moses who lost his temper and struck the rock, to the malice of the Jewish leaders who sought to put the Son of God to death. Never are these displays excused because the perpetrators did not have the ability to control their tempers. Apparently God felt they did. In the next few chapters I am going to discuss emotions as they relate to parenting small children and how, in practical ways, we can help our children become masters of their own spirits and hence live the rest of their lives free from the bonds of emotional slavery.

Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth”
- Exodus 34:6

I Love My Husband

I love my husband.  He is such a good man.
He has a continuing desire to always be loyal
to God, me, and his children.
He is faithful and trustworthy.
He is always there to support me, encourage me, defend me,
and correct me where it’s needed.
And I am so thankful that he only has eyes for me!
I am more blessed than I deserve.
I love him more than I could ever express by what I do or say.
He is the perfect man for me
…

even as the imperfect man that he is.

Vote Yes on 1

Question 1 on Maine´s November 3rd election ballot will read: People´s Veto: “Do you want to reject the new law that lets same-sex couples marry and allows individuals and religious groups to refuse to perform these marriages?”

Many people are voting “Yes on 1″ in Maine tomorrow, for many different reasons. Some because they think it’s wrong for their personal reasons, for others because they are rude and judgmental people, and then there is me and others like me who simply have no personal agenda but simply trusting the Bible as the inspired Word of God.

My loyalty lies first with God, even before my loyalty as a wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend, and as an American. Scripture tells us to love God first and love our neighbors as ourselves second.

As Christians, we are not to condone or ignore sin and this includes homosexuality and the altering of marriage which was created by God to be between man and woman (Genesis 2:21-24; Matthew 19:4-6). Christians should stand firmly against the idea of same-sex marriage for the simple fact that the Bible expresses homosexuality as sin.

We are given a free will to choose our will or God’s will. Be careful not to quote scripture out of context in an attempt to condone what the Bible says is a sin. I had sex with my husband before we married. God commands us in His Word not to fornicate and, as Christians, we should have heeded His instruction. Instead we chose to put Him second to our sexual relationship. We knew it was sin and have asked God to forgive us and we aren’t to try and justify it.

Since both homosexual desires and actions are condemned in the Bible, it is clear that homosexuals “marrying” is not God’s will, and would be, in fact, sinful.

If you don’t agree with the Word, than this does not apply to you. As for me, my convictions are rooted in the Word so for me to vote “No on 1″ would express my loyalty lies somewhere other than with God.

Christians need also to remember that we are to share the love of God and the forgiveness of sins that is available to all, including homosexuals, through Jesus Christ. We are to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15) and contend for truth with “gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15).

As Christians, when we make a stand for truth and the result is personal attacks, insults, and persecution, we should remember the words of Jesus: “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you” (John 15:18-19).

Please, vote yes on 1.

Kindness

And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel;
instead, he must be kind to everyone,
able to teach, not resentful.
Those who oppose him
he must gently instruct,
in the hope that God will grant them repentance
leading them to a knowledge of the truth,
and that they will come to their senses
and escape from the trap of the devil,
who has taken them captive to do his will.

2 Timothy 2:24-26