My Inheritance

Most of our REVIVE team along with several other women from our church headed down to San Antonio, Tx and joined 10,000 other ladies for a Beth Moore (Living Proof Live) conference. WOW! It was an amazing weekend! We gathered in the Alamodome for worship and the Word! It was Incredible!

Beth's prayer for us was that God would do everything but kill us with His Glory. By His mercy He relented but oh, the Glory that He revealed was so magnificent! The presence of God was so heavy that I could barely stand on my feet. My body trembled nearly the entire time from the power of the Holy Spirit doing a work in me and in that place. Oh, how I praise Him for His love and Grace.

Here is a bit of a recap from the teaching we had from Beth.

It was based on Psalm Sixteen which says:

“Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.

I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you. As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.

The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips.

The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.

I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
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Our The Theme for the weekend was Inheritance. Beth showed that the Inheritance principal was interwoven through out His Word from Genesis to Revelation.

She proved that Inheritance from God always involves 3 elements:

1. Presence - "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

2. People - "But the LORD has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be a people of his own inheritance, as you are this day." Deut. 4:20

3. Property - "The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, Among these the land shall be divided for inheritance according to the number of names. To a large tribe you shall give a large inheritance, and to a small tribe you shall give a small inheritance; every tribe shall be given its inheritance in proportion to its list. But the land shall be divided by lot. According to the names of the tribes of their fathers they shall inherit. Their inheritance shall be divided according to lot between the larger and the smaller." Numbers 26:52-56

8 points were made under the emphasis of
"I AM AN HEIR(ess) OF GOD"...

1. My life is NOT left to chance. (oh thank you LORD that even all the things that don't make sense to me make perfect sense to you)

2. I am inheriting a Kingdom. – Matthew 25:34-Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 1 Peter 1:4 says to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. Daniel 7:18- The Saints will possess the Kingdom forever and ever!

3. He is my portion, and I am His. Psalm 16:5, Deut. 10:8-9,Ephesians 1:18 These were incredible words. Not only is Jesus our portion and Inheritance, but we are HIS! Mind blowing... But, since we are God's inheritance we are to be a pure spotless Bride.

4. The down payment has been made.- Eph. 1:14

5. My boundary lines form a pleasing place. – Psalm 16:6
God has given us boundary lines that involve our Past, Faith, Gifting, Life Experiences and Intimacy with God. These boundary lines are for my good and God's glory. It's a gift from God.

6. The will has been activated. – Heb. 9:15-17

7. I can be secure. – Col. 3:23-24

8. I have a beautiful inheritance. – 2 Timothy 4:6-8, Eph. 3:6
We not only have a beautiful inheritance but we will receive a double portion!

I couldn't get over how much of God's word from Beth was so much the same of what God had me share with the girls at REVIVE 8.21.08 just the night before. He is preparing His people. Oh LORD, plunge your people deeper. Purify Your Bride! May she be the most gorgeous thing that you have ever seen when we step into the fullness of your Kingdom and may we bask in the splendor of our most beautiful, glorious Inheritance. You!
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In addition to a powerful Word the LORD also provided the sweetest fellowship among us sisters. We got to enjoy each other, some incredible Mexican food and some site seeing on the River Walk and Alamo! We had a BLAST!! Praise you LORD, you are so good.

Here are some photos of our time

I LOVE my church

I LOVE my church! Our pastor started a new series called Devoted:Being a Genuine Church. This past Sunday was on worship. Here are some things he shared with us on how to be ready to worship each Sunday morning. (see below) There are some wonderful things happening in the life of our church and I am so pumped! I believe our church is about to have a head on collision with Yahweh! Bring it on!

Week 2: The Devoted Dozen

At the end of last week’s sermon Buddy shared some practical ways to make the most of worship each Sunday.

1. Devote yourself to worshiping God every day. Your worship on Sunday grows out of your personal worship each day. So, seek to do all to the glory of God as you engage in your spiritual worship by daily offering yourself as a living sacrifice.

2. Get a good night’s sleep on Saturday night. Make a conscious effort of going to bed early on Saturday night so you can be alert and attentive to the majesty and presence of God on Sunday morning. Remind yourself that you are not “going to church” but you are going to worship the Lord God with your brothers and sisters in Christ. You may even want to spend time with the Lord before you head to bed. This will certainly help put you in the right attitude to worship.

3. Plan to be at least five minutes early to the worship service. If you see that you are always late to the service, then set out your clothes on Saturday night and/or wake you and your family up 15 minutes earlier on Sunday. There really is no good reason to be late on a regular basis. It robs you of a blessing and God of his deserved worship.

4. Try to spend some time alone with the Lord before coming to church. It may be hard to do, but you will arrive eager to worship God.

5. When you enter, warmly greet those you see. (The early Christians greeted one another with a holy kiss! In our culture, a smile and a gentle hug will do!) There is a healthy balance between greeting friends and being quiet as the service begins. When seated, pray or read a psalm, or read the scriptures on the sermon notes from your own Bible.

6. Be conscious that God is present. God is indeed with us when we gather for worship. We are also joining in worship with all believers in heaven as well as the angels in the worship of God. (Hebrews 12:22-23)

7. Think as you worship. Concentrate on each phrase spoken, sung, or prayed.

8. Sing to the Lord. Sing with great joy. Sing with great volume and with great thought. Think about the words of the song and make them your own. Think about what they mean. Let your mind focus on the theology behind them. Remind yourself that you are singing to the creator of the universe, your Savior and Lord.

9. Listen carefully to the Word as it is read and preached. The Word is God’s living voice speaking to you. Give the sermon your full attention; pray to learn from it. Take notes. And, please pray for your pastor!

10. Respond. At the end of the service there is a time of commitment and reflection. Remember, this is not the time to think about where you are going to eat after church. This time is personal between you and God. Reflect back on what you just heard in the sermon and turn it into a prayer to God.

11. Stay until the service is completely over. Leaving early or running out of the door to beat the other cars out of the parking lot betrays a consumer mentality. Take the time to actually speak to five people on your way out. Be especially aware of visitors at this time and take some time to get to know them.

12. After the worship service, ask, “Was God pleased with my worship?”

13. Before the day is over, ask God to show you what things you need to learn, change, make right, repent of, or begin as a result of what you heard on this Lord’s day. If possible, discuss the sermon with family members or friends. Begin now to anticipate gathering again for worship with your church family.

REVIVE 8.21.08

Ladies,
It's that time again!
Revive starts back up this week, Thursday August 21st. We will meet again at Hunter Street in the High School worship room at 7:00pm. We are very excited about what God has in store for us through REVIVE! Hope to see you there.

For more information you may check here and here

God's love for orphans

God's love for orphans.....I don't know about you, but this has been on my heart day and night. I have been praying and asking God what He would have me do over this issue. Could not help but post the following article by Steven Curtis Chapman.....and following the article is some videos from his ministry called Shaohannah's Hope. Pray with me over this issue and see what God would have us do!



Our tragedy and God's love for orphans
By Steven Curtis Chapman

Special to CNN

FRANKLIN, Tennessee (CNN) -- According to UNICEF, there are 143 million children in the world who have lost one or both parents.

In America alone, there are half a million children in foster care, and approximately 120,000 of these children are waiting to be adopted. In many countries, children are too often orphaned or abandoned because of poverty, disabilities and disease; every 15 seconds, a child loses a parent because of AIDS. These are staggering facts that can seem overwhelming and discouraging, but I believe that God has a loving plan for each child, and that plan is you and me.

Caring for these children is not the job of governments or institutions; instead, it is the job of families, people and communities. As Christians, our compassion is simply a response to the love that God has already shown us. Mother Teresa would constantly remind those who worked with her that the Bible clearly teaches that whatever we do for the least of these, we do for Jesus. So in a very real sense, caring for orphans is a chance to meet the person of Jesus in "the guise of human suffering." This is an invitation from the heart of God to know him and to experience his love.

Nine years ago, my wife and my eldest daughter, Emily, traveled to Haiti on a mission trip. Having been exposed to extreme poverty for the first time, Emily returned home with a determined passion to make a difference in the lives of at-risk children.

Only 12 years old, Emily went on an all-out campaign to persuade us to adopt. She bought a book on international adoption with her Christmas money and would read it to us regularly. She began fervently praying and writing letters to Mary Beth and me, encouraging us to consider giving a waiting child a home. Emily knew God was leading us in the direction of adoption; however, Mary Beth and I were not yet convinced.

My wife and I had always supported the idea of adoption, and as Christians, we understood the importance of loving and caring for others. But what I had not yet grasped was that adoption is a physical picture of what Jesus has done for me. I did nothing to deserve God's love; in fact, I was living as an orphan, without hope. Yet God chose to pursue a relationship with me, and through the death of his son Jesus, I was adopted into God's family.

My wife and I began moving toward adoption with fear and trembling and asking all the questions people ask. I remember Mary Beth crying herself to sleep at night saying, "What are we doing? I can't do this." However, God kept reassuring us that this was the direction he was leading us. It was a huge journey of faith for us.

In May of 2000, we found ourselves in a hotel room in China's Hunan province, welcoming the newest member of our family, Shaohannah Hope. From that moment, we began our journey into the world of adoption, orphan care and Shaohannah's Hope.

We went on to adopt Stevey Joy and Maria. Recently, our youngest daughter, Maria, passed from life on this earth and is now safely in the arms of Jesus. We have been completely overwhelmed by the love and support of so many during this time of deep, deep sadness. Through all that we've experienced, one thing we still know is true: God's heart is for the orphan.

In our travels to Latin America, Africa and Asia, we have visited many different orphanages. If you look past the surroundings and into the eyes of the children, they all have the same look. They seem to convey, "I don't think this is what I was made for. Where do I belong?"

These children are crying out for the hope of a family, for the hope of community, for the hope of a permanent love. Our mission, and the mission of our adoption charity, Shaohannah's Hope, is to show hope to these children and to mobilize people, families and communities to be living examples of God's love for them.

We started Shaohannah's Hope in order to connect willing families with waiting children, but the reality is that there are many orphans who cannot be adopted. Even though we may not be able to bring them into our homes, we still have the opportunity to show them the hope we have.

If only 7 percent of the 2 billion Christians in the world would care for a single orphan in distress, there would effectively be no more orphans. If everybody would be willing to simply do something to care for one of these precious treasures, I think we would be amazed by just how much we could change the world.

We can each do something, whether it is donating, adopting, fostering, mentoring, visiting orphans or supporting families that have taken in orphans. You can change the world for an orphan.