Easter Sunday

This service was one that I think many people will remember. Pastor Shane showed us the perspective of the criminal on another cross, the one who acknowledge Jesus. The Holy Spirit was sweet and convicting. Easter always brings up in me what Jesus went through on the cross. This offered an aspect I had not seen before. How even through the horrid pain He was suffering, He was able to give the criminal salvation and hope. WOW!
Songs:
Joyful
Crown Him
Jesus Loves Me
Above All
Jesus Messiah

We started with a reading of Psalm 139. This is a psalm where David says "Lord search my heart . . ."

Luke 23: 32-43
This seems to be a time of reflection for me. I do not have many words to write. I highly recommend you take some time to watch the video. You can do so at avefc.org and pick the video from 4/5/15.
As Jesus hung from the cross, there was a lot of mocking going on from different groups: the crowd, rulers, soldiers, and a criminal also hanging on a cross. But the other criminal rebuked him, confessed his sin, then asked to be remembered by Jesus. It was a really beautiful moment of faith and by that faith he was saved. There was a lot packed into this message, so please watch the video and God bless you.

We missed the previous Sunday as we were traveling over the weekend. So I did not post last week. We did go over it in our growth groups and got a lot out of it. It is also posted in the same place as the Easter service. Mark 2:13-17 on 3/22/15.

May you find all things new in Him,
Frontier Woman @ FrontierChristianLiving 

March 8, Sermon at AVEFC

Another week has raced by. I can hardly believe it is Tuesday. Every day is filled; no time to turn around even.

To help get you in the right spirit, you can use these links to sing along to the songs we did. Enjoy. (It is good etiquette to let the ads run if they do not offend. It helps the artists make something since we are not buying their songs.)
10,000 Reasons - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtwIT8JjddM&list=PLfeMYZA1gW6ZlIFHbxfhXwBqVs6eqQHOU&index=6
Jesus Loves Me - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8gKXu6J2wE
Knowing You - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69tDg_m3lvw&list=PL5UNCqFDiVjimZN8-RkoZxcqw-G5uuxfd
Jesus Messiah - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdxSC1tHJn0


The sermon was from Mark 1:29-38. Go here to see it, as my writings are only a part of it.
Jesus went to the home of Simon and Andrew. Simon's mother-in-law was sick. Jesus helped her up and she was healed.
Hmmm. She didn't ask. She didn't need faith. She didn't do anything. Her proximity to Jesus healed her. He didn't command it, he touched her.
I have been trying to learn what it is God wants of us to be healed. I am still not sure. But seeing this account of a healing where one's faith is not involved means a lot to me. I don't think it is all based on our faith. Although God's ways are beyond our knowing, He has made things pretty simple when you find the right verses or experience. I have been healed from a death-bed. I did not participate in coming back, but I did believe He was with me, near me, near enough to touch me. Was that it? Then why am I not always healed of everything?
Guess that is what keeps me coming back is that there is so much to learn. Maybe He does not want me to feel like He is in my back pocket and I can just access Him whenever I like. I am pretty sure God is bigger than any pocket!
Did you see that the sick and demon possessed were brought? The two are common occurrences in those times and today we only allow for sickness. It seems the 2 overlap some, too. But Jesus is the cure for all.
I am sure that knowing Jesus personally makes a huge difference. Knowledge of Him and His deeds and words are not enough. One of my favorite songs is "Whom then Shall I Fear" and the line is "The One who reigns forever, He is a friend of mine." Wow, do you think of Jesus as your buddy, your friend? I am learning to do that as well as my Brother, my Advocate, my Savior and my Lord.
Now, if you have not noticed, God is a big fan of timing things just right. We went to John 2:1-11 where Jesus turned water to wine for his mother. He said it was not His time, yet his mother pressed Him into doing something by telling the servants to do whatever He says. I wonder how many times He performed small miracles for His household.
So after a day of teaching at the synagog, walking to Simon's house and healing his mom-in-law, that evening a crowd shows up with all their sick and possessed. Jesus healed many and drove out demons without letting them talk because they knew who He was. More of that timing thing showing up. Jesus got up before dawn the next morning, tired but determined to spend time alone with God. The disciples went looking for Him as people were showing up again. But Jesus said, No he wanted to go preach in other villages because, "That is why I have come." So Jesus is here to speak words to the lost. Jesus is the Word and he came to tell us about the Word, through the scriptures! I was really blown away about that revelation. Jesus = The Word of God and he his here to speak about himself using words he gave the prophets to write! How simple and yet it is so intricately wound into the fabric of the scriptures. I never saw it. Thank you Jesus for showing that to me. He is restoring God's word to the people and the people to God.
Matthew 7:21-23. I pray I am not going to be in the "I never knew you. Away from me." group. Don't get caught up in doing that which looks Godly, but is not called of God. It is so easy to be deceived, I must make sure I don't get into thinking I am doing right when it is not what God wants me doing or for the right reasons.
 Luke 19:6-10 Jesus went to the house of Zaccheaeus, a sinner, which was frowned upon. but Zacc said he would give away much and make reparations to those he harmed. Jesus answered his actions, "Today salvation has come to this house . . . For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."
We look for the easy way to do things and God has another way, sometimes harder, but always better. Will you say "I will do it Your way. I will follow you."

May you find all things new in Him,
Frontier Woman @ FrontierChristianLiving 

Love by Choice

Love is one of the most overused words around. What meaning does it hold? Is it a feeling? Is it measurable? Does it come and go?

Yes and no.

I first thought love was a feeling, and it is. I thought love was commitment. It can be. I thought love was forever. Not the kind of love I had then. I thought I loved more than anyone else, but that was not enough. I thought love was freedom without bounds. It is not without bounds.

We love so many things such as:  our spouses, kids, pets, sports teams, ourselves, trees, homes, cities, collections of this or that, even money. Some of the things we are related to and others we relate to. But what would you die for? Anything?

That is a way to measure love. I would die for my family. I would not die for much else. To describe something we need adjectives and analogies. To measure something, we need a standard to measure against. To really understand something we need to experience it.

God is all of these and we need to experience Him to get to know Him.

We are to love the Lord our God. Wow, how is that possible? Without knowing God it is hard to simply love Him.

One of my first lessons learned is that to love God is to get to know Him. As I learn about Him by reading His words in the Bible, He ever so slightly uncovers the mystery of Him. The more I learn about who He is, the more He reveals Himself and the more I can love Him.

Is God only love? No. He has all the emotions we do. He certainly has different motivations than we do. All His emotions have to be contained within His goodness. He has no evil in Him. He is just, which means there are consequences. He shows mercy when we ask for mercy as those consequences were completed with Jesus on the cross. We only need to believe that, and ask God to show us mercy and forgive us for the unlovely things we do. Repent. That means asking for God's mercy and forgiveness with no hidden agendas or intentions to ever do it again. As humans, we tend to lean toward doing stupid things over and over. He knows that and every time we come to Him through Jesus with repentance in our heart, He is true to His word and forgives us.

Picture from clipart in Office

Here is my analogy. Many of us have chosen to have cats for pets. We desire our cats to choose to "love" us back, but cats are very independent. They want us to do all the work and, if they feel like it, they come love us back with rubs and purrs. Young children often want to make cats love them back. The children pick up a cat and hold it tight making the cat want to break loose. The relationship with cats is like what we have with God. He does all the work and we sometimes choose to acknowledge Him and love Him back. He does not force us to love Him but desires for us to talk to Him and spend time with Him. He wants relationship and is waiting right now for you to turn to Him and love on Him. He will return your efforts more than you can imagine.

God gives us choice, always, even when we tear up the curtains or "miss" the litter box. Love out of choice is so much more meaningful than if it is forced.

Choose to show love to others, without judgment, and do for them as we would like to have done for ourselves. Have you ever needed help and wished someone would just help you get through something? Start helping others get through their needs and you will find others helping you, too. 

God made us to willingly love Him and each other. Don't hoard your energy and love. Give it away, and it is returned to you many times over. 

 

In Him,
Frontier Woman @ frontierChristianLiving.blogspot.com

Not Another Blog

Why in the world would I start another blog when I don't really even have a following for my Frontier Living Today blog? Good question and I don't really have a good answer. Just 'cause I felt lead to do so.
I have been learning a lot in the last 4 years. I have been a Christian for 30 years, and was wanting to be closer to God and more Christ-like when I converted. It was a gentle slide toward believing in God and who Jesus was to asking Him into my heart. No big fireworks, nor did I have any demonic exorcisms. A few years later I got a divorce after my then husband had his 2nd affair since we had been together. (That was a long story made into a sentence!)
I stopped going to church (we had moved) and went through a time of experimentation. Although I still believed, it was pushed aside for a couple years of fun and games. I went through another serious relationship that bombed and I left it. I then moved again.
I decided to learn to be a masseuse. There wasn't enough money to pay for the certification, so I signed up to work off the tuition. I was good at office work and computers. Doing massage was enjoyable and I kept the new age, open-yourself-up mindset to a minimum. It made me very uncomfortable. I gathered a few Christian clients and worked for two chiropractors.
I started going to a small church. The people lived the message they taught. It was a chance to start learning again. Over the next couple of years, I switched churches 3 times and moved. Then I got married and moved again. I willingly became unequally yoked to a non-Christian man. Another long story made short.
I then didn't attend church for years. I did keep my faith and prayed a lot including for my husband's salvation.
A few years ago, we felt an urge to move to the country. We had gotten tired of city living. An ad for property in Aeneas Valley caught Frontier Hubby's attention. After a few months of looking around, we bought a parcel. God was placing us exactly where we needed to be but we didn't know it yet. (Long story made short #3)
In 2010 we moved up here, living in a shed we had built for storage. We made it livable with insulation. It was a place to sleep and keep warm. Hubby saw a sign for a local church and said we should try it sometime. I was very happy to hear him willing to do so. A new friend of ours also invited us to attend, so we did. We have been going there ever since. A few months later, hubby went from being a diehard atheist to a Christian. (My fourth long story made short.)
Our learning seems to be accelerated to a daily occurrence. God is blessing us as we move to seeing the world through His eyes and understanding more about Him. We have made many friends through the church and neighbors.
Frontier Hubby and I have lived a rather volatile life arguing almost endlessly. Most of the stuff was minutia. Our walk with God has brought us closer than ever and the problems are much fewer and far between.
Every day the beauty surround us gives me pause to thank God that we are here and to see what He has created. There is no way to capture it all. May you enjoy the small moments in pictures that we do capture.
This platform is for me to bring up whatever I am learning. Even if I think I have learned something, God manages to show me there is a long way to go. I am so grateful for His patience with me and that He not only allowed me to marry Frontier Hubby, but brought hubby into the family of Christian brothers and sisters who love the Lord and show us love and grace.

In Him,
Frontier Woman @ frontierChristianLiving.blogspot.com