Quietness, Again

1. Job 3:26
   I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil.”
   Job 3:25-26 (in Context) Job 3 (Whole Chapter)
2. Isaiah 30:15
   This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.
   Isaiah 30:14-16 (in Context) Isaiah 30 (Whole Chapter)
3. Isaiah 32:17
   The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.
   Isaiah 32:16-18 (in Context) Isaiah 32 (Whole Chapter)
4. 1 Timothy 2:11
   A woman should learn in quietness and full submission.
   1 Timothy 2:10-12 (in Context) 1 Timothy 2 (Whole Chapter)

These scriptures all talk about the value of “quiet”.  To have a “quiet” soul.  No sounds of static, questioning, excess reasoning, doubt, fear, anger, unforgiveness.  Quiet trust.  To be able to fully submit to what she is being taught.  Not writhing.  Not wiggling.  Not squalling like a child.  But, to rest, content in the lap of the one who loves the most.

I read another translation that read “in quietness and trust”.  So, therefore, not quiet and confidence in the flesh.  But quiet confidence in the one who leads, guides, directs, and loves us!

Quiet.

Confidence.

90 Day Bible Reading Marathon

Diana had a passion for the word that motivated all of us.  I’ve currently taken a challenge to read the Bible in 90 days and am about 10 days in.  It’s a marathon, let me just tell you.  Total focus and time and energy goes into that goal every day.  But, I love it…I look forward to it every day.  I hope to post a few jewels I run into along the way here.  If any of you would like to join the readings, email me and I’ll be happy to give you more info on that.  Basically, you read about 15 chapters a day, and it takes about 45 minutes of reading.  Less time than most of us watch TV each day.  It’s waking my mind up every day.  I have absolutely loved it.  I hope the short time frame will keep me on track!

Strength

Isaiah 30:15
This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says:

“In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.

posted by Magnanimity

…strengthen your brothers.

31“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you,^[d] that he might sift you like wheat, 32but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”

-Luke 22.31-32 (ESV)
Jesus prayed that the disciples’ faith wouldn’t fail… and he said “when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers”. Is that encouraging to someone who might have just sinned, and maybe devastated by their unfaithfulness? Peter wept bitterly. But Jesus said “when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers”… hope… encouragement.

Don’t let go of the zeal to serve Jesus, and don’t let yourself be deceived into thinking Jesus can’t/wont use you anymore. He says as soon as you find your faith again, get back to worship and witnessing, get right back into edifying the church. You can do all things through him who strengthens you.

Luke 22:

 39Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. 40On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” 41He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, 42“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” 43An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 44And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.^[c] 45When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. 46“Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”

This post by Bill and this scripture have my thinkin’ today.  1.  Jesus’s final little episode here, I’ve often taken many things for granted.  I read it in church yesterday, the pastor’s passage being nearby.

1.  Jesus needed to pray for courage, and felt “weak” to do what was asked of him.  He felt free to ask God for something different, but was ultimately committed to what God felt needed to be done, though it cost him much anguish and pain.

2.  God sent ministering angels to strengthen Jesus.

Now…if Jesus needed strengthening angels to handle things with grace…how is it I think I’ll ever be strong enough to handle life without prayer, without asking God for strength and courage, without being totally dependant on him to follow Him?  No wonder I get so disappointed in myself at times…still trying, I think, to do entirely too much without His “extras” to get me by.

posted by Maggie

Isaiah 58.11, ESV

And the LORD will guide you continually
and satisfy your desire in scorched places
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters do not fail.

 

Just wanna say sorry for not posting much here of late, thanks all who have been sharing and encouraging everybody else here and through your own blogs.

So thankful, in Christ,
Diana

Psalm 122:6 ESV

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!  May they be secure who love you!

Mars Hill switches to ESV

http://www.esv.org/blog/2007/01/mars.hill.switch

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
-Luke 2.8-12

GOD BLESS ALL!

Depravity–The Spiral

Romans 1

18The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness,

19since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.

20For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

21For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.

22Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles [idol worship...today, self worship most prevalent imho].

24Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

26Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

28Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.

29They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. [see the cycle...the spiral downward a person goes through rejecting TRUTH?]

32Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

Depravity from dictionary.com: de·prave /dɪˈpreɪvclass=”prondelim”>/ Pronunciation Key – Show Spelled Pronunciation[di-preyv] Pronunciation Key – Show IPA Pronunciation

–verb (used with object), -praved, -prav·ing.

1.	to make morally bad or evil; vitiate; corrupt.

2.	Obsolete. to defame.

Well…so, this is related the post a few down on “RAIN” and comments.  It got me thinking. 

Deprave: to make morally bad or evil, to corrupt…the downward cycle into moral looseness.  You know, we act so enlightened in our “free thinking” and “broad thinking” and “sensitivity”. 

“Close-minded” is the worst insult you can case on a person. What is close-minded? Anyone who has a firm opinon and will not be moved based on popular opinion or, at times, situational ethics?  

Conservative, family- oriented Christianity is defined, even by other Christian writers at times with ‘close minded’, angry, and intolerant people!  Oh!  That saddens me!  And that’s why we DO need to keep speaking and talking with those whose views are different from ours in a calm, respectful, but engaged manner.

Those who “present” the group differently “don’t like to argue” to try to prove that perception wrong.  Policies are made based on stereotypes of vocal and pursuasive charicatures who WILL fight the fight.

Will we fight the fight for public policy?  Is it important?  I think so. 

As God calls each person to get involved, they should.  Keep speaking truth.  Keep praying.  Keep being informed.  Your states legislative bulletin, though available, is not broadly subscribed to, unfortunately. 

I’ve grown very lax since college…closed my eyes…got tired of the “pork” and the mess, felt too uninformed…and…the innocent suffer because of our lack of priority, involvement, willingness to “argue”.

To argue is not always bad thing.  It’s politics.  We’ve gotten weak in our willingness to pursuade.

I repent.  Help me, Lord!  There ARE moral absolutes.  There ARE priority issues of paramount significance to keep our nation from this depravity cycle, and as I see it, we have not much further to go in America.

We CAN come under the judgement of God and his patience has limits.  In mercy, he remembers justice.   

~posted by Maggie