Loving Obedience and Loving Communion

This past Sunday, we were blessed to have Dr David Murray preach for us and also administer the sacraments of the Lord's Supper. His scripture was on John 14:15-31, mainly focusing on verse 23.

"Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep 

                     My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him 

                     and make Our home with him."

He started out by focusing on the loving obedience needed from us. We learned that (1) we do not earn His love by keeping His commandments, (2) Commandment keeping is not love, (3) we manifest our love for God by keeping His commandments.

His second point focused on the loving communion from God in response to our loving obedience. (1) Believers obedience has no impact on their status as sons of God. (2) Our obedience determines the quality of our experience and enjoyment of God. (3) The more loving obedience we manifest, the more loving communion we benefit.

Some points of my own, things I came away with.. 

(1) Jesus loves me no matter what: now we all know that in our minds, but sometimes we forget it in our hearts and hearing it again from the pulpit reminds me even though I am a sinner, no matter how sinful I am if I love the Lord and keep His word, the Lord will love me back and come and live in my heart. 

(2) No matter how many times I sin against the Lord, He will not leave me. My life as a Christian is like a roller coaster with many ups and downs, but Jesus promises to "come to him and make Our home with him". Jesus will not treat us like a roller coaster. When we sin, He leaves us and when we repent He comes back. NO, He is there to stay in our hearts! Isn't that amazing? That He would think us worthy enough to stay with us and show patience, love, forgiveness every time we sin against Him. 

Now, we all have our days where we do not want to do devotions or maybe even some of us just don't feel like praying, but when we neglect those things that help us commune with Christ, then our experience and enjoyment of Christ will go down. I struggle with the same thing, but remember if you want to learn more about the Lord and experience Christ more fully then reading your Bible and praying will need to be on your daily "things to do" list. In fact it should be number one.

How is your life with God? Do you struggle with some of these things? 

One of my residents at my work has this magnet on his fridge: "God is only a prayer away". So true and so easy to forget at times.

Click here to listen to the sermon

Lenelle

Facebook: good or bad?

I am sure you are wondering why facebook is on my mind.. well I read a post of a friend who just recently deactivated her account for several reasons. She referred to this posting when making her final decision. I would have to say I agree with most of those points Erin mentions in the article. I know we are all guilty of it.. wasting time, cyber gossiping, feeling connected to all those "friends" we have... to name a few.

Deactivating myself from the facebook world seems more and more enticing as I think back to all the time I have wasted catching up on other people's lives. I was thinking recently, the only connection I have with some of my family is through facebook. Now that is just sad, isn't there some other way to show your family you are thinking of them and love them? Of course... e-mail, sending them a card through snail mail.. yes the post office is still around, that is not a thing of the past yet and I feel we should take advantage of that system. I know for myself I love getting mail with out having to get on the computer.

So I challenge you all to show your love and support to a family member or friend by using a different method then facebook.. or even better a different method then the computer! It will make their day I can guarantee it!

Lenelle

Here is the link to my friends page if you want to read her post.

Family picture!!

 So, this past thanksgiving we were all at my aunt and uncle's house in Battle Creek. My relatives from Georgia and Florida came up for the holiday as well so we all decided to do a big family picture. There are one or two missing, but it is pretty rare these days to get everyone together all at once.

Here is one of just our family.. notice Andrew has moved over so the little baby bump can be seen on Cherise.

I hope and pray you all had a blessed thanksgiving!

Lenelle

Thanksgiving

It is that time of year again where we gather together with family and friends and give thanks to the Lord for the many blessings He has given us. As I think back on the year since last thanksgiving, there are many things which I am grateful for and feel privileged God felt it me worthy enough to have such blessings.
Things I am thankful for:

• Ian (my boyfriend)
• My family
• My friends
• My house
• A job
• Life
• Freedom of Religion
• Men gifted by God to bring the gospel to us every Sunday

And there is so much more that I could add but I think this summarizes it all. So much goes on in one year, I challenge you all to take time today and every day to give thanks to God for all the blessings He has given you.

On another note, the tickets have been booked!!! I leave with Ian December 26 for Scotland for 3 weeks. Recently I looked at the calendar and realized that is in 5 weeks! My how time flies, one of my residents at the nursing home i work at explained it this way "the older you get the shorter the years seem". But remember out time on this earth is only but a moment compared to the eternity we will spend after death which is only a passage from this life into life eternal for those of us who have chosen to follow the Lord! What a day that will be!

I wish you all a Blessed Thanksgiving!
"Oh, give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for His mercy endures forever!" Psalm 136:1
Lenelle

Autumn!

It is October tomorrow already! I love this time of year, seeing the leaves change in color, feeling the cool breeze on your face. Being able to enjoy God's creation in all four seasons is one of my favorite things to do. There are always surprises as the weather changes that make you stop and stand in awe of the majesty of our Lord. As the weather changes, the months fly by, and before you know it Thanksgiving has come and gone and we begin to prepare for the day we have all set a side to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior. This year will be different I feel, simply because of all the blessings God has bestowed on me already. The pastors we have had at church, FRC of Grand Rapids, or should I say the sermons we have heard from God through these gifted men haave drawn me closer to God and helped me in appreciating what He has done for me. I can't wait till the next Lord's day and feel discouraged when I have to work knowing I will be missing out. But where I work I have felt blessed as well seeing as there are a few elderly women/ residents who are devout Christians and being able to fellowship with them on Sunday is also a blessing.

I hope to join Ian on a trip to his home town this December... Scotland! A little nerve wracking as I will be finally meeting his family after a year of dating him, but yet I also am very excited to see him in his own environment with his family and friends. So maybe in January I will have some pictures to post of my trip to the wonderful highlands of Scotland.



Lenelle

August!

Wow has the summer flown by! Already the middle of August and I feel like I really have not had a summer yet! Windows are open today with a nice breeze blowing and it really isn't very humid so seems like perfect weather, although we are all anticipating the storm that supposedly is to come tonight. Many things still to do before the "school" season starts... but seeing as I am not in school it really doesn't apply to me.. only my boyfriend. So here is my list of things I was to accomplish before the "school" year started...
grow my grass... (my yard looks terrible!)
plant flowers
paint my front and back porch (still has not been done, need to find time to get it all done in one day)

That is all. I have yet to accomplish the growing my grass seeing as I have tried to fertilize it and it hasn't worked yet because when i bought the house the yard was supposed to have 6 inches of topsoil and somehow the company did put topsoil. I think they put about 6 centimeters instead so it is frustrating trying to grow anything in the ground right now. As for my porches.. well.. I still need to get a color picked out and then I will paint, maybe next week sometime.. or labor day..? We will see!

Lenelle

July!

Wow, we are halfway through July already! This summer has passed by really fast, and I don't know about you all but I feel like all the things I wanted to do this summer has not been done yet. But I am not complaining seeing as August is a pretty busy month. I have been working A LOT... my excuse for not posting anything on here in a while.

A little update on the past month.... crazy thunderstorms came upon us.. with lots of wind... took down some branches in the front yard of everyone on my street. Then we had this shoot last week, there were 7 killed and a car chase before the shooter ended up killing himself. Sad, those 7 victims are being buried this week. We thank God there were not more victims.

Hope your summer is going good!

Drinking From My Saucer

I've Never Made A Fortune
and It's Probably Too Late Now
but I Don't Worry About That Much
i'm Happy Anyhow
and As I Go Along Life's Journey
i'm Reaping Better Than I Sow
i'm Drinking From My Saucer
'cause My Cup Has Overflowed

haven't Got A Lot Of Riches
and Sometimes The Going's Tough
but I've Got Loving Ones Around Me
and That Makes Me Rich Enough
i Thank God For His Blessings
and The Mercies He's Bestowed
i'm Drinking From My Saucer
'cause My Cup Has Overflowed

o, Remember Times When Things
went Wrong
my Faith Wore Somewhat Thin
but All At Once The Dark Clouds Broke
and Sun Peeped Through Again
so Lord, Help Me Not To Gripe
about The Tough Rows That I've Hoed
i'm Drinking From My Saucer
"cause My Cup Has Overflowed

if God Gives Me Strength And Courage
when The Way Grows Steep And Rough
i'll Not Ask For Other Blessings
i'm Already Blessed Enough
and May I Never Be Too Busy
to Help Others Bear Their Loads
then I'll Keep Drinking From My Saucer
"cause My Cup Has Overflowed!" Lenelle

SUMMER!

After two days of humidity we have been experiencing a cold front, but now the weather has turned warm again... at least mid day it is nice, after dinner it turns chilly again but i am not complaining! It is nice to feel the sun on your face again even if it is for part of the day.

So, last week I headed to Tunnel Park with a few of my friends and family. Cherise and Andrew Bergsma, Mark Moerdyk, Ian Macleod, Brian Najapfor, Jyoti Chakravartty, and Michelle Vandentoorn. It was a beautiful day out, we grilled burgers.. or should i say.. Mark grilled burgers.. delicious! Then we headed off to the water to get our first swim in. It was COLD, but refreshing. Pictures soon to be posted i hope..

This week thursday, i am also planning on heading to the beach with 3 other girls.. I hope to take my camera and get a few shots in. One of the girls is getting married in August and moving to Ireland so want to spend time with her and capture memories before she leaves.

                                ^{Psalm 29
1} Give unto the LORD, O you mighty ones,
         Give unto the LORD glory and strength.
 ² Give unto the LORD the glory due to His name;
         Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
        
 ³ The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
         The God of glory thunders;
         The LORD is over many waters.
 ⁴ The voice of the LORD is powerful;
         The voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
        
 ⁵ The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars,
         Yes, the LORD splinters the cedars of Lebanon.
 ⁶ He makes them also skip like a calf,
         Lebanon and Sirion like a young wild ox.
 ⁷ The voice of the LORD divides the flames of fire.
        
 ⁸ The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness;
         The LORD shakes the Wilderness of Kadesh.
 ⁹ The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth,
         And strips the forests bare;
         And in His temple everyone says, “Glory!”
        
 ¹⁰ The LORD sat enthroned at the Flood,
         And the LORD sits as King forever.
 ¹¹ The LORD will give strength to His people;
         The LORD will bless His people with peace.
                          


Well, off to enjoy the weather outside...
Lenelle

Life after the Rapture

Interesting how everyone's life just seems to continue after May 21. The predicted rapture never happened and if it did people don't seem very worried they were not raptured. Even many followers of Harold Camping were saying they had their doubts about the whole May 21 date and that even the final ending of the world supposedly happening on Oct 21 doesn't seem to phase people anymore. What has this world come to? It says in Matthew 25:13 "Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh", or in Mark 13:32 "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father". So obviously, these predictions are false and the bible talks about False Prophets coming and deceiving people- Matthew 24:24 "For there shall arise false Christs , and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; in so much that, it it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect". These people are not led by God, so we really need to keep watch for those who try to deceive us and turn our hearts away from the truth in Jesus.

Lenelle

By the grace of God go I

My first post! And what to say? Only that I have felt more and more blessed as each day goes by with the little reminders from others and through my bible reading that God is always here. He always was, is and will still be the same till the end of my life and even beyond because He never changes! He has given me life for which I am very grateful to Him. He has spared my family as well in the many adventures we take together or separate. He has blessed my sister with a baby to be born around September 20, Lord willing. He has given me a job and a house, a room mate to live with and food to put on my table. The blessings never end!

As I sit here typing I am enjoying the beautiful weather coming through my open windows. Even my cats are basking in the sun and breathing the new smells from outside. The past (almost) week, we have had one day after another with temperatures in the 30s, 40s, and today even the 50s! In the middle of February! Enjoy the weather while it lasts, for winter is not over yet.

"Show my your ways, O Lord, guide me in your truth and teach me" Psalm 25 :4-5

Lenelle