Wednesday, December 10, 2014

I Am the Lord: Reminding Myself of Where I Have Been...and Where I Am Going!

[Exo 6:1-9 KJV] 1 Then the LORD said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land. 2 And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I [am] the LORD: 3 And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by [the name of] God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them. 4 And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers. 5 And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant. 6 Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I [am] the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments: 7 And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I [am] the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 8 And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I [am] the LORD.

Today’s (November 2, 2014) sermon revolved around these verses. As I sat and listened to Bret preach, I thought of these verses with my own story mixed in. This is what it looked like:

“Now I will show you what I have done for you. I am the LORD: I told you in your tender years that you would serve Me. Throughout your life I have protected you, and kept you for myself, but you did not know it was My plan that I had laid out for you.

"I have seen the tears you have cried, for yourself and for others. I have heard the prayers and groanings you have lifted for others."

“I am the LORD, and I kept you safe when you should have died. I am the LORD, who brought you to Bible school in a miraculous way. I am the LORD, I sent you to Friend Ships. I am the LORD, who saved just for you a Man after My own heart. I am the LORD, I picked out a wedding time and date just for you, and went before you in your wedded life. I am the LORD, I gave you 3 daughters to brighten your day. I am the LORD, I brought you to Pennsylvania. I used these friends to help you in your time of need. I am the LORD, I gave you a job and Help and my Comfort (aka Ezra Nehemiah) just in the nick of time! I am the LORD, who sent you to the Land of Misery, and protected your husband when he should have died. I am the LORD, I gave you a 4-month Sabbath Rest when you needed it most. I am the LORD, I sent you to a peaceful setting in Ohio and gave you a friend to love on (Sara). I am the LORD, I gave your kids  land to play on, and someone to love on (Adelee).

“One day I will come to take you home with Me. I have a home waiting for you. I am the LORD.”

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

I Hear a Voice...

Hi. My name is Rebekah, and on various occasions, I post on this...my blog.

A while back, I posted A Story I Never Told. It was good for me to get it off my chest. To let people see inside me and to get the word out that others are not alone.

Did you know that I still struggle? I still have really dark days where I just hate...myself...when I don't think I will ever get it right. Those days aren't an every day occurrence, but they do pop up more than I care to think about.

One such day, I was going to visit my friend (who by the way was one of the Top 50 for American Idol 2008, but never made it all the way), and I was listening to K-Love. I love listening to K-Love because my kids more often than not belt out these songs with AWESOME words that I wish I had pounded into my own brain when I was their age! A song came on by MercyMe called Greater.

Some phrases that stuck out to me (okay, smacked me in the face) were:

Every day I wrestle with the voices
That keep telling me I’m not right 

Every time I fall
There’ll be those who will call me
A mistake

When I heard these words, there was a kind of argument in my head. One voice kept saying that this song doesn't apply to me, because I don't know anyone who says this negativity to me. The other Voice said, "But you say it to and about yourself." 

Man!

I decided the Voice was right...and I listened to the rest of the song:

‘Cause I hear a voice and He calls me redeemed
When others say I’ll never be enough
And greater is the One living inside of me
Than he who is living in the world
In the world
In the world
And greater is the One living inside of me
Than he who is living in the world

There’ll be no condemnation here
You are holy, righteous and redeemed

There’ll be days I lose the battle
Grace says that it doesn’t matter
‘Cause the cross already won the war
He’s Greater
He’s Greater

I am learning to run freely
Understanding just how He sees me
And it makes me love Him more and more
He’s Greater
He’s Greater

Holy, righteous and redeemed!

Holy - Set apart!
Righteous - clean!
Redeemed - PAID FOR!

Dude. Someone (with a capital 'S') thought me worthy enough to PAY my RANSOM! 

I am clean! Able to stand before God...ONLY because Jesus paid my ransom.

Dude.

And you know what makes my heart smile even more? My kids are hearing this song, and belt it out in the van whenever it comes on! May my kiddos never have to deal with their own voices in their heads calling them mistakes and failures... May they be reminded that they are holy, righteous and redeemed!