Bible Verses Used

Colossians 3: 12~17

Matthew 7: 1~5

Luke 6: 27~38

Romans 2: 1

James 4: 11~12

Romans 14: 10

We need to put our roots down deep in God. There are surface roots, but if there’s no rain, the plant will wither and die. The first time a storm comes along, you are in deep yoghurt. Put your roots down deep. God looks at our ♥♥♥ ~ you can’t do without God’s love.

Let love guide your life; then the whole church will stay together in perfect harmony. We are the church. There are many people who have their “church persona” and the “rest of their life persona”. We need to have the same persona throughout the whole week.

Jesus commandments are:~

• Love God.
• Love others.

You can’t be a God~lover and not love others. The human tendency is to stand on the sidelines and not to pitch. We are not to judge others, for with the measure with which we judge others is the measure with which we will be judged. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Who are you to judge your neighbour? When you criticise someone else, you are going where you are never meant to go. How many times have I sat in judgement? If a person’s drowning, they will push you under in order to save themselves. There is no excuse for pushing someone down in order to elevate yourself.

We are to pray for our enemies. Criticism is the major instrument that Satan uses to destroy the church. Peace, harmony and unity are what God wants within our church today. Unless your roots are down deep, it is easy to go Satan’s way. There is a narrow way or a broad way ~ the broad way is the easiest way.

Gossiping is passing on information when you are not a part of the problem or a part of the solution. People who will gossip to you will also gossip about you. People who gossip cannot be trusted with your confidences. The greatest wounds come from other sheep, not from the wolves. Gossip is not meant to be a part of our lives. When people gossip, they are destroying harmony and unity within the church. If they are gossiping, confront them with this. We each have talents and abilities, and the church needs each one of us. God blesses churches that are united. God is looking for a church that will build and strengthen believers.

People are looking for acceptance and love when they come to our church, a church where every person can be:~

• Accepted
• Loved
• Valued

Leaders and pastors are not perfect, but they need your support and prayers to build the church that God wants. We want God to be welcome to walk into our church, and we need to work together.

No matter what comes, we shall stand and we shall build the church that God wants.

People who live outside Vietnam think that there is freedom of religion within Vietnam, but if you really want to find out whether that is true, you need to walk in the shoes of the members of the persecuted church.

Christians in Vietnam live between two “tigers” – Communism and Buddhism/tribal religions, and no matter which way they turn, there is a “tiger” threatening them. Do they stop worshipping Jesus? No! They travel the lonely roads, face police interrogation and prison, and they do it all with a sense of joy and accomplishment, knowing that Christ’s power rests upon them.

Vietnam is a small country in Indochina, which has suffered greatly and been wounded by various wars. The people have felt that their lives were being sacrificed to Communism, and at about the same time, Buddhism was brought in from China, with pagodas, shrines and temples adorning every home. Superstitious religious rites were practiced with regularity.

Communism began around 1954 and the churches persecution still continues today, although the North is more heavily persecuted than the South. The Christians who remained in the North after Vietnam was split had their Bibles confiscated and they had their crosses destroyed. Atheism and Darwinism was taught, while newspapers spread false information about believers. In the North, churches are even told what they can preach, and the pastors are controlled by the government.

House churches are one way that the North Vietnamese Christians can spread the Word of God, but there are harsh penalties – imprisonment and severe beatings for anyone caught with a Bible and preaching the Word of God. Most of these house churches contain ten to twelve people who have continued meeting like this for months, and in some cases, years. Today Vietnam is a place where Jesus Christ is changing the course of history. The gospel is being preached all over the land, and the land is ripe for the harvest.

There are many stories of extreme persecution within this book, and real Christians endure such hardships that it makes me shudder, knowing that these people are willing to give their all for their love of the Lord Jesus Christ and the spreading of the Gospel. Bibles are still in short supply in Vietnam, and the Vietnam Christians guard their Bibles with their lives, sometimes burying Bibles so that they will not be confiscated. People borrow Bibles so that they can learn of the love of God and instill His Word into their ♥♥♥.

Some Christians pedal 40 kilometres to preach their sermons (Gulp!), and they spend whatever money that they have to photocopy tracts and encourage people to read them. Once they have read the tract, they return it and receive a new one. We can only imagine the hardships that they endure, to bring others to the saving grace of the love of our Lord Jesus Christ. Praise God that there are Christians in Vietnam prepared to give their all so that others can learn of the love of God! This is an excellent book, and one that I can heartily recommend.

Now, I know that it’s not Thursday, but I’m running waaaay behind time once again. Nevertheless, I’m here, and today:

I’m having:~

A Lemon and Ginger tea with a Wagon Wheel, thanks to Ruby and Jeanne. Yes, I finally stopped procrastinating and bought it on Thursday, and I’m so glad that I did – it smells absolutely delicious – sort of like a hot home-made Ginger beer – YUMMY!

My Mug is:~

One that my fried, Janice, gave to me a very long time ago, and it is fine bone china – the sort that makes you feel very sophisticated and is delightful to drink out of.

I’m Feeling:~

Very blessed that Jesus thinks me worthy of giving His life for me. May I seek to always walk worthy of His calling, never causing my fellow sister or brother in Christ to stumble because of my words or actions.

On My Mind:~

Friendships, and how important it is to cultivate those friendships – just as the ground will not bring forth it’s blessings without careful planting, watering, nurturing, and watching it grow, so it is with our friendships. They, too, need careful attention and then, and only then, can the friendship blossom and grow. I praise God for the friends He has brought into my life – the people who have helped me to grow just a little more like Jesus every day!

“Wishing to be friends

is quick work,

but friendship is

a slow-ripening fruit.”

…Aristotle

Thank you for stopping by to say hello and to share Tea  Time with me. Ruth hosts Tea Talk each week, so if you would like to participate in this Meme, pop on over – I’m sure that she’d be delighted to see you!

I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore. Psalm 86: 12

for:~

• Answered prayer for my husband – his spots are healing, and his pain relief seems to be working this time. Praise You, heavenly Father that You have heard the prayers of Your people and that you have been swift to respond. Your Word says that You will never leave us nor forsake us, and God never lies.

• Our children, who have been a tower of strength through the difficult times – milking, feeding animals, doing dishes, cooking, ironing and generally helping whenever help is needed, but especially for the hugs and words of encouragement and affirmation that mean more than anyone could ever know.

• Friends – blogging friends , internet friends and real-life friends who are true prayer warriors, picking up the challenge and being prepared to pray for my husband – from the bottom of my ♥, I thank you all.

• A good hospital and doctors in our local area – this is so important at times like this.

• Our church – praise God that our church building will be going ahead – thank you Lord, once again, for answered prayer.

• Our home – warm, comfortable beds; food on the table, protection from the elements, fresh goat’s milk and a place where we can say that we truly feel close to God, as He brought us here.

• The ability to be able to homeschool - In Germany it is illegal to homeschool, and Sweden seeks to introduce a law stating that homeschooling will only be allowed under “exceptional circumstances”. Please pray that God will work with the authorities to block this law, and that Swedish homeschoolers will have the ability to be able to homeschool openly. I pray that God will open the eyes of the authorities to the benefits of homeschooling. Praise God that we, in Australia, have the freedom to be able to homeschool openly!

A holy man spoke with the Lord about heaven and hell. The Lord said to the holy man, “Come, and I will show you hell.”

They entered a room where there was a large table, and a group of people sat around a huge pot of stew. Everyone was famished, desperate and starving. The stew made the holy man’s mouth water. Each person held a spoon that reached the pot, but each spoon had a handle so much longer than their own arms that it could not be used to get the stew into their own mouths. The suffering was terrible, and everyone sitting around the table were thin and sickly.

“Come, and now I will show you heaven,” the Lord said after a while. They entered another room, identical to the first — the pot of stew, the group of people, the same long-handled spoons. But there everyone was happy and well-nourished. “I don’t understand,” said the holy man. “Why are they happy here when they were miserable in the other room and everything looked the same?”

The Lord smiled, “Ah, it is simple,” he said. “Here they have learned to feed each other.”

The greedy think only of themselves.

When Jesus died on the cross, He was thinking of you!

Remember that I will always share my spoon with you.

There are lots of differences between the Christian and economic security vs. the unsaved and economic security. The unsaved person will have a totally different view of money vs. the Christian, who trusts on God and asks for God’s guiding on any major economic decision; sometimes maybe even in the minor decisions, too. A Christian will have an eternal view, where as the unsaved person will be solely focusing on providing for his time on earth. Colossians 3:2 says “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” and that is the major difference in the views of Christians and the unsaved on the subject of economics. Christians will not lay “up for [themselves] treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But [they will] lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:” *

Christians will view economic security with a godly perspective. They will prayerfully lay up money for the future, but with an eternal perspective. They won’t just hoard money for the sake of it. They will seek God’s face in all matters of economic security. Christians will trust God for the means to survive in their later years, whether it is by them saving money or whether it is by the grace of God that they are living. Christians will not be devastated if some catastrophe happened and they were no longer economically secure. They will view it as God’s way of bringing them closer to Him. After all, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

The unsaved will view economic security from a worldly viewpoint that is influenced by Satan so as to keep as much money from doing good in this world. Satan will influence the unsaved to hoard their money. He loves to see people who are rolling in cash, and yet not giving it worthy causes. He hates to see good being done in this world, whether it is a Christian organization or not. Satan is the “father of lies”, so he likes to give people a false sense of economic security but encouraging them to lay up for themselves “treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt.” Economic security in the earthly sense really isn’t economic security. All that has to happen is for the stock market to crash, the bank to go bankrupt, or some other catastrophe and you are no longer economically secure.

As you can see, Christians will view economical security differently to unsaved people. They will view in light of the temporary, whereas Christians will view it in light of an eternity spent with God, where they will be “judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.” (Revelation 20:12). True economic security is found only in trusting totally upon God.

*Slight changes made, but they don’t affect the meaning of the verse.

Bible Verses Used:

Isaiah 55:11

Trust in God for He will never leave you nor forsake you, and He promises that His Word will never return to Him void. When God is moving us to a different level, we’re supposed to move on. I know that God is with me 100%. When Jesus speaks to us, He expects us to learn from our mistakes and move on. God doesn’t consult our past when He prepares our future.

Once we’ve given our heart and life to Jesus, there’s so many things we can do in serving Him – we can serve, we can pray and we can share what God is doing in our lives. In our weakness, God can be our strength, but I hear you asking – What can I do? There’s plenty that I can do. If you’ve felt it’s not my calling, get up there anyway. We’re called to serve Him.

Perhaps your calling is to clean the toilets. Whatever you do, do it to the glory of God. When you step out, just say, “Here am I, God – use me.” As situations change in your life, offer to help someone. Perhaps you’ve been asked to read aloud in church, and you’re terrified of being humiliated – just remember that God blesses your efforts. God will give you what you need, and He sees your ♥. When you feel peace in your ♥, go with it.

When you’re in any situation you can call on the name of Jesus, knowing that if He be for me, who can be against me? God is there for me; He will never leave me nor forsake me. Jesus didn’t die on the cross and endure all the pain and suffering so that we could backslide. We need to work together in unity – a strong body!

The Holy Spirit gives us an inner peace if what we are doing is right for us. We need to have faith and trust in God. If you trust the Holy Spirit 100% to guide you, you will find inner peace. Sometimes we need to step out of our comfort zone, for we are answerable to Jesus. There are people who have been Christians all their lives, and yet, they don’t have a personal relationship with the Lord Jeus Christ, nor have they stepped out in faith.

If you want Christian input, you need to approach a good strong Christian, who is rooted and grounded in God’s Word. God is building us strong and firm. If our roots are not strong in the Word of God, we don’t have the Living Water. Pine trees have shallow roots;  they wave in the wind and if they don’t receive water, they die. That’s like us – we need to have our roots grounded deep in God’s Word, so that when the storms of life come, we will be strong, and we also need to receive the Water of Life (Jesus).

We all have pressures from family and friends, but it’s up to us how we deal with those pressures. It’s important what God wants! We are all a part of the same body, and we need to fulfil our part – God will bless you for it. If we are faithful in the small things, God will bless us in the bigger things, too.

There are many areas where God can use you. Don’t wait for ten burning bushes. God can and will use you if only you let Him. Make yourself available. God is calling us to be a Holy people, and He’s opening our Spiritual eyes and our Spiritual ears. God will call the people that He wants to use. There’s no better time to make a commitment to the Lord Jesus.

If you don’t know the Lord, Jesus Christ, I ask you to invite Him into your heart, and pray the following prayer:~

Lord Jesus, I admit that I am a sinner and constantly fall short of your glory. I believe that You are the Son of God, and I give my life over to you and acknowledge you as my Saviour.

Then shout it from the rooftops that you are saved!

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Philippians 4: 8

• ...for you are mighty to save, you keep us sheltered beneath your everlasting arms, and you carry us when the going becomes too tough for us to go it alone. I praise you that your love for us is boundless.
  

• …that you have strengthened us during the past week – knowing that you are there for us makes life so much easier.

• …for my husband who has been a tower of strength, even with his worn-out knee. He has cut firewood and been teaching our son how to milk the goats.

• …for patient goats, who will stand still (with enough oats!) while my son perfects his technique in milking them.

• …for my daughter, who has done more than her fair share of cooking and helping out around our home.

• …for friends – blogging friends, internet friends and IRL friends who make life much more valuable simply by their presence in it. The comments that you leave on my blog make me feel loved. ♥

• …for support organisations, such as the HSLDA and ROHUS - May their work be blessed by our Almighty God, as they seek to return Dominic Johannson to the loving arms of his parents, and as they seek to stop the implementation of draconian homeschooling laws in Sweden.

• …for granted travelling mercies during the last week. Even when we had a flat tyre, it was able to be repaired, and we are having light truck tyres put onto the car this week in an attempt to prevent further punctures.

Thank you, Jennifer for hosting Praise each week. Care to participate in this Meme, please visit Jennifer, and don’t forget to leave a comment – she loves visitors.

I’m Having:~

A Rosehip and Hibiscus tea with one sugar, that my son has made for me in my insulated stainless steel cup.

I’m Feeling:~

Elated -

• As my husband has cleaned up all of the autumn leaves from around our home.
• My son has achieved the standard of writing that we were looking for.
• The housework is nearly completed for another week.

and

• My husband’s pain is managed well, now, thanks to a new doctor who was willing to go the extra mile.

On My Mind:~

• My husband’s knee – his pain is much more bearable since we saw another doctor last week, and his quality of life has improved dramatically.
• Our new church building – praying that building will commence soon.
• Homeschooling – sometimes we see learning occuring, but at other times we see a jump in progress that both amazes and astounds us. Praise God that He knows the learning is taking place!

• The independence of Christian schools in South Australia is under threat, after a new Directive B4 was approved after Parliament rose on 8 December, 2009, which reads:

The Family First party is strongly opposed to this new directive, and already, FAMILY FIRST has received a complaint from a Christian school that was told to pull down a poster from their classroom that didn’t meet this requirement.

This is unacceptable, and a serious threat to the freedom and independence of our wonderful Christian Schools in South Australia.

What you can your church or school do?

FAMILY FIRST is steadfast in its opposition to these new rules, and will move to revoke the rule in the next session of Parliament.

1. The South Australian State Election will be held on 20 March, and FAMILY FIRST is asking for your support. The most important thing you can do is help us with your vote – to ensure that   FAMILY FIRST Member (Robert Brokenshire) is  re-elected to the Upper House of State Parliament to fight this new rule.  Along with Dennis Hood (who is not up for re-election this year), this will give us the numbers to challenge the new rule.
2. Please send this message of concern on to your church and school mailing lists so that more people are aware of the concerning new rule.
3. Volunteer to hand out How to Vote cards on Election Day (March 20) for FAMILY FIRST at a polling booth near you. If you are willing to adopt a polling booth for the entire day, or even if you are just able to help for a few hours, please leave your details with the Family First Secretariat (8265-9442).

Thank you for stopping by to enjoy Tea Time with me, and to Ruth from Celebrate Friendship for hosting this wonderful meme. Please drop by to see other wonderful Tea Talks. Hooray – I finally posted Tea Talk on a Thursday – I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me!