Time With God Survey

I would appreciate it if you would take a few moments to answer just a few questions about your time with God. If you have more comments after completing the survey,  you can comment on this post or go to Facebook and comment there.

Time With God

Thank you, in advance, for your participation!

Immerse Yourself in the Word

Importance of Daily Bible Reading

I am constantly amazed (although I shouldn't be!) that oftentimes my daily Bible reading speaks
directly to something I have been pondering, struggling with or curious about. Today's scripture truly hit home!

I encourage you to read your Bible Every day. Even when you think you won't get anything out of a reading, God can use it to speak to your heart.

For me, this scripture:

Jeremiah 42:10-12

If ye will still abide in this land, then will I build you, and not pull you down, and I will plant you, and not pluck you up: for I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you. Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid; be not afraid of him, saith the LORD: for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand. And I will shew mercies unto you, that he may have mercy upon you, and cause you to return to your own land.

is symbolic for something I have been struggling with. You need to keep your heart open to hear what God will say to you through His Word.

Turn Aside

1 Samuel 12:14 If ye will fear the LORD, and serve him, and obey his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then shall both ye and also the king that reigneth over you continue following the LORD your God:But if ye will not obey the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then shall the hand of the LORD be against you, as it was against your fathers.

Could this apply to American and our president? I feel that it definitely can! The people have turned from God. We, as a nation, no longer fear God. We don't live by His commands.

1 Samuel 12:20 And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not: ye have done all this wickedness: yet turn not aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart; And turn ye not aside: for then should ye go after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain.

We need to turn back to God! We need to serve Him! We need to follow His commands! We need to put aside our greed for it is vain. Money can not save us--only Christ can save us!

Spiritual or Tradition?

Isaiah 66:2-3 For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog's neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine's blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations. 

When reading these verses in context of the entire chapter, you see that the people approached sacrifices as rituals; the sacrifice had lost meaning and they were just doing it because it is what they were supposed to do.

God desires our hearts. His concern is not with who gives the most or who gives the best speeches, or who knows the most scripture. He wants our hearts! If we give what little we have out of our thanks for Him, He is happy. If we speak His Word to others, He is happy. If we tremble at hearing His word, then He is happy.

What does it mean if we stand in church and open our mouths to sing if we don't have a spirit of praise? What does it mean if we put something in the offering, but not willingly or with respect? God sees our complacency as an abomination. Traditions and rituals can become vain repetitions if our hearts are not in the actions.

Ecclesiastes 1:2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.

Perfect Peace

Isaiah 26:3-4 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength: 

God's promises--if only I would remember them and dwell in them!

I have had a stressful 24 hours and I wish I would have read these scriptures 24 hours ago instead of now.

"Perfect peace" is what I long for as well as strength. How do I find those things--by keeping my mind on Him! I need to keep reminding myself that God is in control and that He has a plan for me. I may not see the plan or understand the plan, but I know that He knows and He desires good things for me.

Foolishness and Wisdom

1 Corinthians 3 

18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.
 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.
 20 And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.
 21 Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;

To become wise, we must seem foolish to the world. The wisdom of the world is foolishness to God. Why do so many people (especially Christians) put so much focus on the wisdom of this world? Why do we trust the wisdom of doctors and scientists over the wisdom of God? Why do we put our faith in so called experts instead of in God? His World tells us to do the opposite!

The Lord knows that man only wants to bring glory to himself. Man is selfish. Why not follow the all-knowing, all-loving God who sent His only Son to serve?

Resurrection Sunday

Chad's sermon for Resurrection Sunday.

Prayer, Patience and Purpose

My day started out nicely, but quickly turned. It seemed to be one hardship after another and all I wanted was to get back home. I finally made it home safely and sat down to read to help calm my stressful mind. As soon as I opened up my book and read the chapter title, I was reminded of my morning Bible time and it all fell into place.

I was reading about the story of Joseph this morning during my Bible time. I even wrote a journal entry about it.

[Y]e thought evil against me, but God meant it unto good. ~ Genesis 50:20

Often times when something bad happens to us we go to God and ask, "Why?" It may not be for us to know or understand the why behind it. It was many years after Joseph was sold into slavery before he knew the why behind he was sold into slavery by his brothers.

We need to rest in the knowledge that God will use it for His good and His glory. I know it isn't always easy to do, but we need to try anyway. God will bless our patience and our diligence if we just wait on Him.

Balancing It All

So I finally make it home almost two hours after I had originally planned and sat down to read. I have been reading Balancing it All: My Story of Juggling Priorities and Purpose by Candace Bure. I only had one more chapter to read and when I opened to it and read the title, When Life's Got You Stressed, I realized it was perfect timing for me to be reading this chapter today.

Of course, she reminded me that I should have stopped and prayed today when I was in the midst of the troubles. I should have stopped my worrying and fretting and just laid it at Christ's feet.

I always try to start my day in prayer and if I don't, I have found that my day doesn't go well. I also usually find myself praying throughout the day about a number of things. Why, then, did I not turn to God in prayer today? I can't answer the why, but it is something I will think of often and hopefully remind me to do so the next time troubles enter.

Candace writes in this chapter, "A day without prayer is a day wasted of an opportunity to see God's hand in my life." How true that is! While I did realize and thank God that no one was hurt in today's proceedings, and I was thankful for the one person who stopped to help, and I was thankful my husband kept his cool and didn't yell, I didn't stop to ask God to help me with my own feelings and emotions. I could have seen His hand move in a mighty way and I missed out on that blessing.

I wish I would have remembered my morning reading when the troubles first began. I wish I would have been more like Joseph and been patient and waited for God to show me how He was working in my life. Of course, now that this has occurred and came home to be reminded once again, I have a feeling that it will stick with me better. Maybe this all happened so I could see how God was taking care of me even when I forgot to go to Him. Maybe this all happened so that the next time something happens, I will go to Him and patiently await to see His purpose in my life.

Spring Cleaning Your Heart

This time of year everyone wants to open windows, clean out cobwebs and junk, and create a fresh start with their homes. While this is great, I want to challenge you to do the same with your heart. Open your heart to what God has for you, clean out the cobwebs and junk and get a fresh start. . . . . .

To read the complete post, join me at Like a Mustard Seed!

Just Do It

I know it has been a few weeks since I’ve written about my reading in Nehemiah, but I have felt called to write about a lot of different things so I am finally getting back around to it. Chapter three was a profound chapter for me.

The very first thing that struck me was the people got to work right away. They did not argue, debate, discuss, etc. about who was going to do what. They worked on what was in front of them and continued working until they met the next team of people.

Another important idea is that as they built each thing, they “consecrated” (dedicated) each section to God. They didn’t wait until the whole project was done and then dedicate the whole wall. No, they took the time and dedicated each step of progress.

They all worked together to accomplish a great thing. The leaders worked alongside the common people. Women were even a part of this great undertaking (3:12b).

When each group finished the section they were working on, then they moved on to another new section. They did not whine and moan that someone else was not working as fast, as hard, or as much as them; they just kept working.

It is easy to take the lessons learned from this chapter and apply it to our lives. When we have a task set before us, we need to “just do it!” A lot of times I get overwhelmed at the amount of work needed to be done that I sit and debate with myself or what would be best to do first (my messy office is a prime example!). I just need to jump in and get started.

We need to make sure we stop and praise God for the little steps along the way and make sure to give Him credit for what has been accomplished and make sure we are following His will.

An old adage says, “Many hands make light work.” We all know that work can get done a lot faster if more people are working together. If you have a large job ahead of you, enlist the help of your spouse, children, friends, and family. You can even trade work at your house for work at someone else’s house. Not only will it go faster, but you will have more fun while doing it. This is one idea that the Amish community knows well.

The last thing to remember is that you are working for the Lord. “Whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.” Colossians 3:23. It does not matter if you have done more work than someone else. God will bless your work.

I am sure I will continue to learn many more life lessons from my continued reading from Nehemiah!

Foolish Living

God reminded me of a few things I already knew, but hadn’t been thinking about lately when I read Nehemiah 2. I think this is one of the important reasons why we are to be in His Word everyday. He can not speak to us through His Word if we do not read it and know it.

Nehemiah was the King’s cup bearer. The King asked Nehemiah what was wrong and before Nehemiah answered him, he prayed. He prayed. Before even doing something as simple as answering a question, he prayed. This was definitely a reminder that I need to stop and pray for God’s guidance before I do or say anything. I need to remember that every opportunity is an opportunity to show God’s love and be a witness for Him and the best way to do that is to pray for His guidance before starting.

I also saw that the Israelites worked for God despite the fact that the people around them laughed at them. Verses 18-20 tell us that they put their hands to the hard work of rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem and those in authority around them laughed and despised them. Nehemiah answered their laughter and derision with “The God of heaven Himself will prosper us”. We know that if we live how God calls us to live, then people who are of the world are going to laugh at us. They don’t understand why we would want to follow God instead of taking charge of our own lives. They think the Bible is foolishness. However, if we are living as God calls us to live, then we know that the Lord will prosper us regardless to how foolish the world thinks we are being. I have seen this proven over and over not only in my life, but in the lives of family and friends who choose to follow God.

Learning these two things has been beneficial to me already as I saw that I was doing things without praying about them first and was making unwise choices. I was able to repent and change my ways and I now have a peace moving forward. I receive that same peace when I move ahead with following God’s commands even though I receive condemnation from those around me for supposedly making “foolish” choices. The funny thing is that the foolish choices I was making and had to repent of were not seen as foolish in the eyes of the world even though I didn’t feel peace with those choices. We have to remember that the ways of God are not the same as the ways of the world. We are called to be different, to stand out, and to be a witness for Him.

Nehemiah

Three times in the last week and a half, God has led me to the book of Nehemiah during my study time. I am going to write on what I feel God revealing to me during my study time as I work my way through the book.

After reading the first chapter, I am reminded once again how appropriate verses 5-11 are for praying. Almost every time I read chapter one, I will go back through and pray those verses for myself and my family because no matter how hard we try to be obedient, we are sinners and fail time and time again. It is because of scripture like this that I have the hope of forgiveness and redemption.

Here is how I personalize the scripture for us.

I pray, Lord God of heaven, O great and awesome God, You who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love You and observe Your commandments, please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You now, day and night, for Team Carmichael and confess the sins of Team Carmichael which we have sinned against You. Both my family and I have sinned. We have acted very corruptly against You, and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses. Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations; but if you return to Me, and keep My commandments and do them, though some of you were cast out to the farthest part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and bring them to the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name’. Now these are Your servants and Your people, whom You have redeemed by Your great power, and by Your strong hand. O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive to my prayer, and to the prayers of Team Carmichael who desire to fear Your name; and let us prosper this day, I pray, and grant us mercy

Standing on God's Promises

I've been having some rough days for the past month (not every day, but often for a few days at a time). This weekend was one of those patches of bad days. Yesterday was particularly bad. I'm not sure if it is being caused by the fact that my hormones are still out of balance since having Hava (who knew it would take more than 7 months for them to get back in balance?!), or from having too much on my plate (being a mother, preparing for school--writing curriculums, responsibilities at church, preserving food from the garden, etc), or financial stress, or maybe just all those put together. Regardless of the cause, it has been pretty bad a few times.

This morning I read Psalm 34:17 in one of my small devotional books. It spoke to me and caused me to want to read the whole Psalm so I opened my bible and started reading. It is amazing how God can speak what you need to hear when you need to hear it. What are the chances that I would be on that page in my devotional today? What are the chances that I would be the only one awake so I would have the opportunity to look up the Psalm and read the whole thing? I can tell you that it wasn't coincidence or luck; It was the Holy Spirit speaking me through the guidance of my loving heavenly Father!

Some of the verses from Psalm 34 that I am choosing to stand on today are:

"I sought the Lord, and He heard me And delivered me from all my fears."--4

"This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles."--6

"The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry."--15

"The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit."--17-18

"Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all."--19

You may be going through a rough time right now and these verse may strengthen you as they have strengthened me. Take them as promises from God and stand on them! You may not be going through a rough time right now, but keep these verses in mind for when you do have rough times (we know that they will come!).

I'll end with the words from a great song:

Standing on the Promises

Standing on the promises of God my King
Through eternal ages let His praises ring;
Glory in the highest, I will shout and sing,
Standing on the promises of God.

Standing, standing,
Standing on the promises of God my Saviour;
Standing, standing,
I'm standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises that cannot fail,
When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,
By the living word of God I shall prevail,
Standing on the promises of God.

Standing, standing,
Standing on the promises of God my Saviour;
Standing, standing,
I'm standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord,
Bound to Him eternally by love's strong cord,
Overcoming daily with the Spirit's sword,
Standing on the promises of God.

Standing, standing,
Standing on the promises of God my Saviour;
Standing, standing,
I'm standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises I cannot fall,
Listening every moment to the Spirit's call,
Resting in my Saviour as my all in all,
Standing on the promises of God.

Standing, standing,
Standing on the promises of God my Saviour;
Standing, standing,
I'm standing on the promises of God.

Personal Bible Reading and Study Time

For the past year and a half, I have been reading a chapter (sometimes more) a day in the Bible. I have jumped from Old Testament to New Testament and back. What I did was pick a book of the Bible and read that every day until I was done with it. I would then chose another book and do the same thing. I chose my books depending on where God was leading me the morning of the day I was ready to start a new book. I have now read through the entire Bible!

My problem is I don't know what to do in the morning now that I have completed that task. Do I start all over? Do I just read where I feel God is leading me that particular morning? Do I work on a published Bible study? I would love to hear your suggestions.