A dear friend over at Changing of the Greene Leaves posted something that was very encouraging to me. I encourage you to go read her latest blog post. In her post she tells us how she was obedient to the Lord in something He asked of her. Well, the Lord has been asking something of me for a while now. I have tried to reason it away. But, I'm sure we all know, you can't reason His will away. If He asks you to do something, you do it. Plain and simple. As human beings we make things complicated. Our sinful self is always trying to get in the way. I have had a lot of static in my head lately. Most likely because I have been willfully disobeying my Father. No more.
For my friend, she was convicted of cable tv. For me, it's Facebook. Yes, you heard right, Facebook. You may be wondering, why Facebook? How could social networking be something that the Lord would convict you on? All I can really say is that the Lord convicts people on different things, at different times. Several years ago I was convicted on tv, then my diet, and so on. Little by little God is working on us. He gives us tests. We decide whether or not we are going to pass, or fail. My current test was Facebook. So, I have deleted my personal account. Well, deactivated it actually. It seems it never really goes away. Which is pretty disturbing to me.
I am not saying that everyone should get rid of Facebook. This is something that the Lord has personally been convicting me on. There are lots of things that tie in with it though. One day, I'll go into it further. But, for now, I thought it was important to share just this.
So friends, there you have it. It feels so good to be obedient to my Lord and Saviour! I am so thankful that He is so patient with me.So loving and kind.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Monday, April 25, 2011
Too Much Thinking
A lot has been on my mind lately. I want to talk about it all but don't know how. There is so much I want to share but I don't know the right words to use. Sometimes, in my attempt to share with people, I say too much. Or, I say things in a manor that the person doesn't take kindly to. I never mean to offend, or belittle anyone. Nor do I ever want people to feel as if I am judging them. But, the truth is, sometimes it happens. Not that I am judging them, but they feel like I am. Or, sometimes people feel offended by what I say.
I need to choose my words a little bit more carefully. Which can be hard for me because the Bible is so clear. God gave us this instruction book to study and examine, for all areas of our lives. He is the thread that holds our quilts together. As with a quilt, if you don't thread it together, it falls apart. So it is with Christ. If we don't thread all areas of our lives with Him, things will quickly fall apart. We need to let Him into everything. Really let Him work through us. We can't keep Him out of certain areas just because we don't want things to change.
Change can be so hard. About 5 years ago lots of changes occurred in my life, all at once. I tried to fight it at first. Then I realized I was just fighting with God. And that was NOT something I wanted to be doing! After lots and lots of prayer, I realized that His ways are the best ways. He knows the end from the beginning. I am so thankful that I had not hardened my heart to Him. I am thankful that He helped me read through His word to find His answers to so many things. I admit, it was hard at first but once you know you're doing God's Will, not 'feeling' like you're doing it, it's amazing how He just carries you through! ('Feelings' is a whole other post. Someday.)
I think I may have jumped around in this post. I'm hoping it made some sense. My head is all over the place today with Spiritual things.
I love the Lord! I am so grateful He suffered the cross for my sins and that He rose again and has ascended into heaven to make intercession for me. Christ is my high priest in heaven. Thank you Father God! Thank you Lord Jesus!
I need to choose my words a little bit more carefully. Which can be hard for me because the Bible is so clear. God gave us this instruction book to study and examine, for all areas of our lives. He is the thread that holds our quilts together. As with a quilt, if you don't thread it together, it falls apart. So it is with Christ. If we don't thread all areas of our lives with Him, things will quickly fall apart. We need to let Him into everything. Really let Him work through us. We can't keep Him out of certain areas just because we don't want things to change.
Change can be so hard. About 5 years ago lots of changes occurred in my life, all at once. I tried to fight it at first. Then I realized I was just fighting with God. And that was NOT something I wanted to be doing! After lots and lots of prayer, I realized that His ways are the best ways. He knows the end from the beginning. I am so thankful that I had not hardened my heart to Him. I am thankful that He helped me read through His word to find His answers to so many things. I admit, it was hard at first but once you know you're doing God's Will, not 'feeling' like you're doing it, it's amazing how He just carries you through! ('Feelings' is a whole other post. Someday.)
I think I may have jumped around in this post. I'm hoping it made some sense. My head is all over the place today with Spiritual things.
I love the Lord! I am so grateful He suffered the cross for my sins and that He rose again and has ascended into heaven to make intercession for me. Christ is my high priest in heaven. Thank you Father God! Thank you Lord Jesus!
Monday, April 11, 2011
Following His Lead
The Word of God is an amazing book! Each time you read it, you can learn something new because He opens your eyes to different things, at different times. He never gives you more than you can handle because He is always there to help you in whatever trial you may be going through. He carries you, not the other way around. We can not rely on our own understanding, especially when reading His Word. We need to let Scripture interpret itself, here a little there a little. (Isaiah 28:10)
I was in prayer and study most of Sabbath on the topic of head covering. It was a wonderful thing to be immerged in His Word. I believe that if it is in the Bible, there is a reason. He has so many wonderful Truths just waiting to be discovered by His children in there! He loves us so much that He never expects us to 'get it' all at once. Amazing grace! I, and my husband, have concluded through the study that I should wear a head covering. But not the one that I had been previously wearing. It needs to cover more.
Why did we come to this conclusion? Or, how, may be a better question. Well, we read 1 Corinthians 11 thoroughly, from beginning to end. It's interesting that Paul starts by saying to 'keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you'. He then proceeds to talk about how man should not have their head covered during prayer but women should. Because, 'For a man indeed ought not to cover [his] head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man' v 7. After Paul speaks on head covering he immediately starts talking about the ordinance of the Lord's Supper. This must be an important topic, for him to speak on them both, together.
Paul also makes it a point to first tell us that, 'But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman [is] the man; and the head of Christ [is] God.' An order is being set up here, not a value. Paul isn't saying here that women should be ashamed therefore they should cover their heads. He has made it quite clear in several other verses throughout the New Testament that woman and man are equal in the eyes of God but God has placed man over the woman. Just as He has placed Christ over man and Himself over Christ. There is no belittling going on here. I think that most women in our society find it shameful to cover their heads in submission to their husbands. Mostly because of the feminist movement.
Now, this is the conclusion that my husband and I came up with after lots of prayer and study. I would encourage you also to do a study on this as well. Really listen to what the Lord is telling you. There is a lot of static out there, silence it. Don't consider what other people might say, or think. Especially when it comes to your walk with the Lord.
I also want to add that this is not a salvation issue. My decision to head cover is something that I am led by the Lord to do. When He asks me to do something, I need to obey Him. I can't just say to myself, 'Well, it's not a salvation issue, so I don't have to do it'. I think then, it does become an issue for salvation. Only because we are called to be obedient to God in all things. So, when we choose to disobey Him, we will be punished for that disobedience. We would need to repent and ask for forgiveness, just like any other sin.
I hope all of this has made sense. It's my best attempt at trying to explain this. =)
As always, comments are welcome. I'd like to hear what you have to say on the matter.
I was in prayer and study most of Sabbath on the topic of head covering. It was a wonderful thing to be immerged in His Word. I believe that if it is in the Bible, there is a reason. He has so many wonderful Truths just waiting to be discovered by His children in there! He loves us so much that He never expects us to 'get it' all at once. Amazing grace! I, and my husband, have concluded through the study that I should wear a head covering. But not the one that I had been previously wearing. It needs to cover more.
Why did we come to this conclusion? Or, how, may be a better question. Well, we read 1 Corinthians 11 thoroughly, from beginning to end. It's interesting that Paul starts by saying to 'keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you'. He then proceeds to talk about how man should not have their head covered during prayer but women should. Because, 'For a man indeed ought not to cover [his] head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man' v 7. After Paul speaks on head covering he immediately starts talking about the ordinance of the Lord's Supper. This must be an important topic, for him to speak on them both, together.
Paul also makes it a point to first tell us that, 'But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman [is] the man; and the head of Christ [is] God.' An order is being set up here, not a value. Paul isn't saying here that women should be ashamed therefore they should cover their heads. He has made it quite clear in several other verses throughout the New Testament that woman and man are equal in the eyes of God but God has placed man over the woman. Just as He has placed Christ over man and Himself over Christ. There is no belittling going on here. I think that most women in our society find it shameful to cover their heads in submission to their husbands. Mostly because of the feminist movement.
Now, this is the conclusion that my husband and I came up with after lots of prayer and study. I would encourage you also to do a study on this as well. Really listen to what the Lord is telling you. There is a lot of static out there, silence it. Don't consider what other people might say, or think. Especially when it comes to your walk with the Lord.
I also want to add that this is not a salvation issue. My decision to head cover is something that I am led by the Lord to do. When He asks me to do something, I need to obey Him. I can't just say to myself, 'Well, it's not a salvation issue, so I don't have to do it'. I think then, it does become an issue for salvation. Only because we are called to be obedient to God in all things. So, when we choose to disobey Him, we will be punished for that disobedience. We would need to repent and ask for forgiveness, just like any other sin.
I hope all of this has made sense. It's my best attempt at trying to explain this. =)
As always, comments are welcome. I'd like to hear what you have to say on the matter.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Confused
I just wanted to share that I am a bit confused. My last post I spoke about my decision to not head cover anymore. I was good with this decision. It felt right. But, now, I have received some information from a dear sister at church that has made me think again about that decision. What's most interesting to me is that I think she was trying to show me how you don't have to cover your head. But, I got the opposite from the info she shared. Here is that information...
I am big on the reasons why things are done and the history behind it. God gives us information in the Old and New Testament for a reason. It's there for us to use, even today. So, friends, I am keeping this issue in prayer. Maybe I was not head covering the way He wanted me to. Maybe I replaced some prayer time with the head covering. It may have been a coincidence that the distance I felt from God, and the head covering, happened at the same time. These are all things I am pondering and praying about. I also find it very interesting that I received this information after I had made my decision to stop head covering. I know that God works in mysterious ways, and I am thankful for that. I am thankful that He loves us so much that He gives us the little nudges we sometimes need to continue in His ways. Would you please keep me in your prayers also? Any other information you may have regarding this would be greatly appreciated also!
Have a blessed Sabbath day!
The Christian Woman's Head Covering Through the Centuries
When I first saw some Mennonite women with their head coverings, I couldn't imagine why they were wearing those things on their heads. I figured it was simply some type of quaint costume.
But then I read the writings of the early Christians. And then I understood why Mennonite and Amish women wear prayer veils or head coverings. I realized that it was in obedience to 1 Corinthians 11:5, which says, Every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, for that is one and the same as if her head were shaved. The early Christian women veiled their heads not only in church, but also anytime they were in public.
From my later study of church history, I discovered that Christian women continued to maintain this practice through the all centuries up to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. During the nineteenth century, many Christians in the United States and western Europe began arguing that long hair constituted the only covering women needed. Others said that women only needed to wear a covering when in church. The middle class and wealthy women switched from veils and caps to ornate bonnets if they wore a covering at all. Bonnets became more a matter of fashion than of modesty or obedience to 1 Corinthians 11.
By the turn of the twentieth century, the ornate bonnets of the nineteenth century had given way to ladies hats. Until the mid-century, women in Europe and America typically wore a hat or scarf in public, but they were simply following tradition and fashion without realizing that there was originally a spiritual reason behind the practice. Similarly, until about 1960, western women wore hats when in church. But the meaning behind the hat was lost.
Today, Christian women in eastern churches still cover their heads in church. Some of them cover their heads all of the time. In the west, some Plymouth Brethren women still wear the prayer veil in church, as do many black women. But usually these sisters do not wear a head covering at other times.
Generally speaking, in the west today, only the Mennonite, Amish, Brethren and Hutterite women still practice wearing a head covering at all times. However, in recent years, they have been joined by thousands of Christian women from house churches and other independent congregations who have re-discovered this New Testament practice.
But, as it has been said, a picture is worth a thousand words. So I have set forth below pictures of the Christian woman's head covering from the early Christian era to the present day.
David Bercot
Taken from:
http://www.scrollpublishing.com/store/head-covering-history.html
I am big on the reasons why things are done and the history behind it. God gives us information in the Old and New Testament for a reason. It's there for us to use, even today. So, friends, I am keeping this issue in prayer. Maybe I was not head covering the way He wanted me to. Maybe I replaced some prayer time with the head covering. It may have been a coincidence that the distance I felt from God, and the head covering, happened at the same time. These are all things I am pondering and praying about. I also find it very interesting that I received this information after I had made my decision to stop head covering. I know that God works in mysterious ways, and I am thankful for that. I am thankful that He loves us so much that He gives us the little nudges we sometimes need to continue in His ways. Would you please keep me in your prayers also? Any other information you may have regarding this would be greatly appreciated also!
Have a blessed Sabbath day!
Thursday, April 7, 2011
His Love
It's been a while since my last post. Life has been keeping me busy, a little too busy. I've been trying to slow down. I'm starting to dislike having something to go do almost everyday. Whereas, at the beginning of the school year, I was trying to make it so that we had stuff to do. Obviously, I succeeded. Finding time for myself has become more difficult. I used to wake up at 6am every weekday morning. I would have my quiet time with God and prepare for the day. It was great! But, somehow between then and now, I have lost that quiet time. It saddens me. I need to find that balance I once had.
So many things have changed since we moved. I say so many things but yet its all still quite the same. I'm starting to feel more like 'me' again. And, honestly, I think it has a lot to do with my decision to stop head covering. Yes, you heard me right. The topic I started this blog with - head covering - I no longer do. I don't know if I can give a real reason. At first it was something felt led to do. Like God wanted to show me something. And, I did feel different. I felt like He was right there with me as I went throughout my day. Over time though, that feeling diminished. I started to feel far from Him. My days started to swirl about and all I felt was confusion. Something was missing in my life. It was that close personal relationship I had with Him before the head covering began. Now, I am just speaking from personal experience here. I know people who choose to head cover, and I think that's great. As I said at the beginning, it's a personal choice. I never felt as if it was something that God told us we HAD to do.
I only recently stopped covering my head. If you could really say that, it was more like a wide headband. The change in me is amazing. I feel.... free again. It seems weird to type that out. But, it's true. That's the best way I can describe how I feel. Free.
I am so thankful to the Lord God Almighty, who made the heavens and the earth, who has given us freedom in Christ. He has saved us from our sins. That is amazing! He did it out of love for us. US! You and me friends! He loved us even though we were/are filthy sinners. That IS love! It baffles me every time I think about it. It always will. I want to have that kind of love for people. Lord, please fill me with Your love. Let it flow from me for all to see and feel and know.
So many things have changed since we moved. I say so many things but yet its all still quite the same. I'm starting to feel more like 'me' again. And, honestly, I think it has a lot to do with my decision to stop head covering. Yes, you heard me right. The topic I started this blog with - head covering - I no longer do. I don't know if I can give a real reason. At first it was something felt led to do. Like God wanted to show me something. And, I did feel different. I felt like He was right there with me as I went throughout my day. Over time though, that feeling diminished. I started to feel far from Him. My days started to swirl about and all I felt was confusion. Something was missing in my life. It was that close personal relationship I had with Him before the head covering began. Now, I am just speaking from personal experience here. I know people who choose to head cover, and I think that's great. As I said at the beginning, it's a personal choice. I never felt as if it was something that God told us we HAD to do.
I only recently stopped covering my head. If you could really say that, it was more like a wide headband. The change in me is amazing. I feel.... free again. It seems weird to type that out. But, it's true. That's the best way I can describe how I feel. Free.
I am so thankful to the Lord God Almighty, who made the heavens and the earth, who has given us freedom in Christ. He has saved us from our sins. That is amazing! He did it out of love for us. US! You and me friends! He loved us even though we were/are filthy sinners. That IS love! It baffles me every time I think about it. It always will. I want to have that kind of love for people. Lord, please fill me with Your love. Let it flow from me for all to see and feel and know.
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