Confident (through Him Alone)

I guess you've probably noticed by now that I like to share things from my devotions. :) I would like to share with you though, a little something that I learned the other night while reading Proverbs 14: 26--"the fear of the Lord is strong confidence: and His children have a place of refuge." I don't about you, but when I read this verse, it struck me as being a little "contradictory", or maybe a better word would be a little confusing. I mean, how does "fear" bring "confidence"? Like I said, that's confusing! So when I finished the chapter, I jotted down the question: "How does the fear of the Lord bring confidence?" and these are a few thoughts that came to mind:

1) When I fear God, it really doesn't matter what happens or what the world
does to me, because it is God who I fear and not the world (or man).

2) Also, by fearing God and having Him in the right place in my life, I can
have confidence because I know that God is my authority and He is on my side (kind of going along with the first point.)

3) A healthy fear of God is brought about through an understanding of who God is--He is Omniscient, Omnipotent, and Omnipresnt, to mention a few, and by understanding these things, I can then have confidence in life.

4) I fear Him because I love Him, and "perfect love casts out fear" (1 John
4:18), thus giving confidence and boldness.

I think this verse (Proverbs 14:26) stood out to me because lately, I've really felt rather "afraid" of what others think of me--especially while helping with the different ministries at our church this last month. I've often subconsciously asked myself "Do I measure up to what others expect of a 'MK' girl?" I'll be honest: I've stuggled with this subject a lot lately.

But you know, it all comes back to the verse I mentioned in the beginning: If I really were fearing God, I wouldn't be so afraid of what others--even Christians--think of me! I would help in the different ministries without always wondering what others think of how I teach the lesson to the children, or fearing that someone else might come in and watch me as I minister to the children. No, I would be bold and confident that what I am doing is for the Lord, and that is all that matters! Period! Through God, I have no reason to be anything but bold and confident!

It is easy to write this all, but much harder to actually put it into practice.... My prayer is that we can encourage each other in our walk with God and help each other to look to Him for the strength to be bold for the cause of Christ and to put aside those fears that always arise.

Desiring to walk closer to Him,

~Angie

Advice from Proverbs

"My [daughter], if you will:

...receive my words
...hide my commandments
...incline your ear to wisdom
...apply your heart to understanding
...cry after knowledge
...lift up your voice for understanding
...seek her as silver
...search for her as hidden treasures, then...

You shall understand the fear of the Lord,
and find the knowledge of God."

(Taken from Proverbs 2:1-5)

Update--August 10

Well...I really should give a little update on what I have actually been up to lately, shouldn't I? :)

To start off with, if I ever wasn't sure about it before, I am now: American summers temperatures are definitely higher than Brazilian ones! Whew! Up until the last few days, the weather has been up in the high 90's and 100's here in Kansas! Thankfully, it has rained a little here and there the last day or two, and has helped immensely to cool things off a little!


As you all know, my family and I have been back in the US since May--not much more than three months--but I am already missing Brazil terribly. Oh to be able to walk around our little town and see all of the Institute students that have now come back for the semester beginning this coming Monday! To see all the ladies outside crocheting and visiting; to stay after church and just stand around on the "praça" and talk with the other teenagers....I am also finding out that I am actually more of an animal lover than I thought: Kitana, our Siamese cat, is back in Brazil, and I miss being able to hold her and hug the breath out of her. :) But...as everyone know, changes are a part of life. I simply can't have the best of both worlds--it's either one or the other--not both!


So...like goes on for me, here in the US. Since the last time I wrote about the every-day happenings around here, God has provided exactly the kind of job that I was looking for, even though I hadn't really been seriously praying about it! (Isn't it exciting to see how God really does know our hearts and it's desries and even sometimes answers before we ask?!?)

Anyhow, to say the least, this year is going to be filled with a lot of new things for family our...it already is! My brother, Jared, went to summer camp for the first time a few weeks ago, which of course he loved, he just doesn't want to admit it! :) Then, a week later, Melissa went on a missions trip up to Minnesota, MN, with the youth from Medora Community Bible Church. She came home with dozens of stories from the trip, but more importantly, I believe she came home with a greater vision of the need to spread the Gospel!

While I will not be starting college this semester (or year), Patrice and I will be travelling down to Dalllas, TX in September to attend EXCEL, a two-month course for young ladies. You can find out more about it at http://dallas.iblp.org/program_excel. Various skill will be taught--to name a few, by the time I get back home, I will be certified in CPR, have the basics skills of floral-arranging and sewing, and, most importantly, hopefully have learned a lot from the classes on practical daily Christian living as a young lady in this world! As you can tell, I am really excited about this opportunity! For sure, it will be a growing experience!

Finally, please be in prayer for Patrice and I as we teach "Partnering in Prayer"--the Wednesday nights children's class at our church for the month of August. We are doing it with a focus on different character qualities with Bible and Nature lessons to illustrate the qualities.... Pray for the children, that they will not only hear the lessons, but also apply them to their lives....


Have a great week!
Seeking to reflect Him in everything I do,
Angie

P.s. Right now, I am reading the book Some Gave All by Ellen Caughy--the story of four missionaries who gave their lives for the cause of the Gospel. Very interesting! A few sentences in the introduction really caught my eye: "...Missionaries, and especially missionary martyrs, are often held up to the rest of us as extraordinary examples of overwhelming devotion to the Christian cause. But [...] the missionaries' commitment may have been extraordinary, but the individuals were completely ordinary. Like the rest of us, they had human needs and desires. They had dreams that had to be forgotten or discarded. They were known, at times, to flounder, havning lost their hope. But they kept going, kept trusting, and kept praying." These few sentences reminded me that God really does call the ordinary people, just like me, to do great tasks, for He doesn't "call the equiped, but rather He equips the called!!" (a quote I heard somewhere...)

With Everything I have...or is it?

The other day, as I was doing my devotions in 2 Chronicles, my eyes fell on the following verses:

"And they entered into a convenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with
all their heart and with all their soul. That whosoever would not seek the
Lord God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man
or woman." (2 Chronicles 15. 12-13)

Those verses, although talking about the Israelites, really stood out to me. While the Israelites don't have a history for always seeking the Lord, at that moment in time, they were joining together, and keeping each other accountable for seeking the Lord with their everything that they had! These Israelites really were serious about their relationship with God--even to the point of death!

Although this event occured in Old Testament times, why shouldn't we also do the same thing as this group of Israelites? Maybe we don't have to go around killing those who don't seek God (please don't!), but, I know for myself anyway, sometimes I take my relationship with God much to lightly. While I truly do want to seek God with all of my heart and with all of my soul, sometimes other things in life take priority and I forget about what should really be the all-time focus in life--God and my relationship with Him! Just imagine what it would be like to be held accountable to a committment to really seek God--not just 15 minutes each day half-heartedly reading the Bible, but rather, intentionally and continually, focusing on God's Word and applying it to my life! My whole life should revolve around loving God and seeking Him with everything that I have!
After I read these verses, I jotted this note: "Oh how lightly I take my Christian walk at times! Lord, make me to seek You with such a zeal as this!"

Are you reading this?

Yes, obviously you are reading this! :-) But guess what? I don't know that you're reading it (at least I haven't figured out a way to know who looks at my blog!) It feels kind of wierd to not know if I'm writing to dozens of people, or if I'm writing to myself. Probably most likely it is a little between the two extremes! Anyway, here is my suggestion for you: if you're reading this, please let me know that you do read my blog and leave me a comment. That way, if no one responds, I know I have a problem, and that I need to do some more "advertising" for my blog! :-) Thanks!!


Seeking to know Him, my Lord and Savior,
Angie

"No, Lord"?

"You cannot say 'No, Lord'and mean both words; one annuls the other.
If you say no to Him, then He is not your Lord." ~D. James Kennedy

This short quote caught my eye when I read it. It really is quite profound. So many times, as Christians, we tell the Lord that we want to do His will, but if He asks us to do something that doesn't necessarily sound like the greatest idea to us, we say "No, Lord, anything but that!"

I know, because I've done that myself! All my life, or for the last several years anyway, I've felt that God might want me to be a missionary, but, since I had grown up on the missionfield as an MK (missionary kid), I knew that life as missionary wasn't just beaches, palm tree, and tropical weather. No, it was much more than that--most of it was good, but there were also some things that weren't all that wondeful either. So, when I would feel that "nudging" of the Spirit, saying that God might want me to be a missionary, I would say "No, I really don't want anything to do with it!" All I wanted was to go to college and study music, get married, and lead a normal life, in the US!

Well, as you know, man's plans aren't always God's plans! Little by little, God began working in my heart. It was in 2005, I think, that I finally dedicated my life to God, telling Him that I wanted to do whatever He asked me to do. However, there was still a little bit of my life that was beging held back--not as much as before--but there was still a little bit of a "no" to doing anything regarding missions. Little did I know that God would totally change that!

It was August 2005, and the beginning of the semester for the Antioch Bible Institute. For the opening week, Dad invited a missionary lady, who is from a church in Fortaleza, to come with a group of young people and present a drama. This drama, however, wasn't just any drama. This drama was based on a true story of an Indian tribe that was begging for missionaries to come and bring the Gospel to their family. They had never heard the Gospel before, and when a few did, they wanted all the rest of the tribe to hear it too! The main purpose of the drama was to open the eyes of the audience to the necessity of spreading the Word and taking it to those who have not heard it.

Needless to say, that evening, the Spirit convicted me of my unwillingness to spread the Gospel. That night I prayed and told God that I would go wherever He would call me, to spread the Good News of Salvation. I was still hesitant about the where He wanted me, and how I would ever do it, but now it was different: I could no longer understand my reasons as to why I didn't want be a missionary, mabye even go back to Brazil one day. All of the reasons that I thought were so important, now seemed so weak and lame! It was amazing how, from one minute to the next, God totally changed my way of thinking!

Well, that was 2 1/2 years ago, but since that night, my focus in life is totally different! Before that day, while I wanted to work with some kind of teens ministry and be involved in a church, what I really wanted was to get a degree in music--perhaps piano or violin performance. But now, I am hoping to go to a Bible Institute www.cornerstonebibleinstitute.com , and complete the program there. I still do not know where exactly God wants me, or how He is going to use me, but now, I'm open to what He wants for me! I am really excited to see where He is going to lead me in the next few years!


While I am far from having achieved anything, I am slowly learning that if God is really going to be my Lord, I have to say "yes!" to Him and what He has for my life. As a Christian, I am never going to be totally satisfied and content in life if I'm not in the center of God's will. It is only when I am willing to do His will and to submit myself to His wishes that I will achieve fulfillment and happiness in life.

What is God asking you to do? Have you submitted your own will for your life in exchange for His perfect plan for your life? As long as you hold on to that little "something," you won't experience His best for you, for "you cannot say "No, Lord" and mean both words...."

Happy Fourth of July!!

I would like to wish every one of you a great 4th of July! My family and I are hoping to go to Kansas City to be with family to celebrate. It is almost a tradition that every time we are here in the U.S., we have to get together at a near-by park to listen to a band play patriotic music, and then watch the amazing fireworks when it gets dark! It is exciting to be able to look forward to that this year! While I am proud be a Brazilian, I am just a proud to be an American! May God bless America!