Experience God's Peace

...I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go. If you pay attention to my commands, your peace will be like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea.

Peace on life's river - be it through alligator infested swamps or rushing rapids over sharp rocks, or freezing waters filled with icebergs, or down a quiet lazy calming stream - all depends on the confidence you have in your tour guide.

What a difference when you set out on a river journey alone versus a professional, knowledgeable, well experienced tour guide who knows the river like the back of his hand. Isn't it funny how much peace we have when we ride those rapids with someone who knows what they're doing? Even if the rapid waves wash us over board, we're confident the guide will jump in and rescue us. So confident that we get out in waters no sane person would dare get in - in a little rubber raft at that!

When God used the analogy of a river, He described a peace that can be retained while life twist, turns, and rolls over boulders. To have peace like a river is to have security and tranquility of heart and mind while meeting many bumps and unexpected turns on life's journey through change. Peace is submission to a trustworthy Authority. - Beth Moore

Just living upright before God - paying attention to His commands - honoring this life He gave me, keeps my life headed away from the dangers of the shallow places and rough spots. He keeps me from drifting off course, instead I can float peacefully through deeper waters, knowing full well if the deep waters overtake me He will come in after me. And oh the adventure to go into deeper waters with Him!

I'm so confident in the Tour Guide I've chosen!

How 'bout you? Don't move into uncharted waters alone! Choose wisely. Choose the Guide who rides the waves.

...even the winds and waves obey Him. Matthew 8:27

Psalm 104

¹ Praise the LORD, my soul.

LORD my God, you are very great;
you are clothed with splendor and majesty.

² The LORD wraps himself in light as with a garment;
he stretches out the heavens like a tent
³ and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters.
He makes the clouds his chariot
and rides on the wings of the wind.
⁴ He makes winds his messengers,^a]">[a]
flames of fire his servants.

⁵ He set the earth on its foundations;
it can never be moved.
⁶ You covered it with the watery depths as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.
⁷ But at your rebuke the waters fled,
at the sound of your thunder they took to flight;
⁸ they flowed over the mountains,
they went down into the valleys,
to the place you assigned for them.
⁹ You set a boundary they cannot cross;
never again will they cover the earth.

¹⁰ He makes springs pour water into the ravines;
it flows between the mountains.
¹¹ They give water to all the beasts of the field;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
¹² The birds of the sky nest by the waters;
they sing among the branches.
¹³ He waters the mountains from his upper chambers;
the land is satisfied by the fruit of his work.
¹⁴ He makes grass grow for the cattle,
and plants for people to cultivate—
bringing forth food from the earth:
¹⁵ wine that gladdens human hearts,
oil to make their faces shine,
and bread that sustains their hearts.
¹⁶ The trees of the LORD are well watered,
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
¹⁷ There the birds make their nests;
the stork has its home in the junipers.
¹⁸ The high mountains belong to the wild goats;
the crags are a refuge for the hyrax.

¹⁹ He made the moon to mark the seasons,
and the sun knows when to go down.
²⁰ You bring darkness, it becomes night,
and all the beasts of the forest prowl.
²¹ The lions roar for their prey
and seek their food from God.
²² The sun rises, and they steal away;
they return and lie down in their dens.
²³ Then people go out to their work,
to their labor until evening.

²⁴ How many are your works, LORD!
In wisdom you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
²⁵ There is the sea, vast and spacious,
teeming with creatures beyond number—
living things both large and small.
²⁶ There the ships go to and fro,
and Leviathan, which you formed to frolic there.

²⁷ All creatures look to you
to give them their food at the proper time.
²⁸ When you give it to them,
they gather it up;
when you open your hand,
they are satisfied with good things.
²⁹ When you hide your face,
they are terrified;
when you take away their breath,
they die and return to the dust.
³⁰ When you send your Spirit,
they are created,
and you renew the face of the ground.

³¹ May the glory of the LORD endure forever;
may the LORD rejoice in his works—
³² he who looks at the earth, and it trembles,
who touches the mountains, and they smoke.

³³ I will sing to the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
³⁴ May my meditation be pleasing to him,
as I rejoice in the LORD.
³⁵ But may sinners vanish from the earth
and the wicked be no more.

Praise the LORD, my soul.

Praise the LORD.

Breaking Free

This week we began the Breaking Free Bible study by Beth Moore.

But we are free, aren't we? After all, we live in Christ and even God said "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free." Because of this we think we can't live in bondage. Galatians 5:1 says this: "Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." Again is the key word in this passage. This was spoken to the believer.

A Christian is held captive by anything that hinders the abundant and effective Spirit-filled life God planned for her.

This will be our definition of captivity throughout our study. The theme will come from the book of Isaiah.

This first week we are looking at the lives of the kings who ruled during Isaiah's ministry: Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. These king's lives show us many of the obstacles to true freedom which we must deal with to live, truly live.

I've already seen a lot of truth of bondages we so easily get tangled up in through the lives of Uzziah and Jotham. We look at them all by the time this week is complete.

We will be focusing on a single scripture each week to memorize and meditate on. Print or write it out and post it on your mirror or somewhere you will look at it often. The verse for this week (or two weeks in our case) is:

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners. Isaiah 61:1

We are taking two weeks to complete each week to give ample time for study. If your interested in joining us please let me know so I can get you a study guide. And please join me by commenting on what you are getting out of the weeks study here. All you need is a google account. Set it up and join me!

Happy studies to all!

(blog contains quotes or excerpts from Breaking Free.)

SAF Ladies Night

Pj party!

Saturday

Jan. 15^th

Comfort Food at 6PM

Movie at 7PM

Lights out at 9PM

In the Stone Family Life Center

Come in your pajamas and bring your pillow and blanket. There will be yummy comfort food as well as a candy and popcorn bar for consumption during the movie.

RSVP to hockeymom3229@yahoo.com

or

send a message on facebook to

Alicia Mullins

Happy 2011!

It's here! A brand new year!

What is it about a new year? Makes me think of a new clean slate. I've thought about it all day. Talked about it with my husband. Talked about it with God. What will this new year, this clean slate, hold in store for my life. Will I take advantage of the challenge to better myself? To study more, draw closer to the Lord? To lose that weight...again?! To grow to a place I have yet to obtain? To be successful in all those things I planned on doing last year and didn't do?

What does God want me to do this year? What does He have in store for my life, if only I will seek Him and find the treasures and opportunities He has waiting. Will I look for them and see them?

One thing I'm committing to, along with my Bible studies, is reading through the Bible this year. I always have some kind of plan going to do just that, but it just seems enough sometimes to accept the study I'm doing is good enough. Not this year. This year, it's time to just take that simplistic approach and do it again.

I will be using The Daily Bible if you want to join along. I happen to have it on my phone, so anywhere I am, I can open it up and read when I can. But, you can get the actual Bible, or any read through the Bible in a year plan will work just as well.

Will you meet the challenge with me?

Ah, go ahead, it can only be good!

Happy New Year!

DeLana

Christmas Coffee

Tonight is the SAFirst Christmas Coffee at 6:30 pm in the SFLC. I hope you signed up for it! A bunch of ladies spent all day yesterday decorating the hall and with 12 round tables decorated by their hostesses in a Winter Wonderland & Christmas theme, as well as the whole room and stage...it is fabulous! From the time you walk through the outside door, you'll feel all warm and Christmassy (yes that's a word!) inside!

There will be a meal at each table provided by the table hostesses, followed by skits, games, and a devotion.

I just can't wait!

Watch for pictures coming soon!

God of Gods

Our soul delights in God when we come, listen, and turn, from our idols, and call out to Him.

When we step back from those vices that mean to overtake us. When we sit instead, quietly before the Lord...listening, our soul finds rest, relief, and renewal. Our soul finds joy. For most of us - active or passive, driven or laid back, open or private - sitting quietly before the Lord, listening to Him, and calling on Him does not come naturally. We have to work at it. But the more we do it, the more we find it absolutely essential.

Finding Him in the secret, quiet place, which comes as we meditate on Him and His Word, will bring life to us. As I search Psalm 42 looking for words of life and longing for a deeper intimacy with Him, I find verse 7 begins with Deep calls unto deep. I felt my spirit rise.

God, you are deep, and when I become serious about the depth in You I am willing to go- You are waiting. Your Spirit is calling out to me...COME. And in the night Your song has been singing in my heart, billowing up within me, a song to the God of my life.

Come, Lord Jesus, come
All who are thirsty
And all who are weak
Come to the fountain
Dip your heart in the stream of life
Let the pain and the sorrow
Be washed away
In the waves of His mercy
As deep cries out to deep, we sing
Come, Lord Jesus, come
Holy Spirit, come

What does your soul long for? What are you in need of? He will have mercy on us and will freely pardon us when we return to Him. vv 8-9 says, My thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways...as heaven is higher than earth, so My ways are higher than your ways. And Deeper!

He is truly the God of my life. Why do I ever turn to another?

He is the great I AM!

The Problem with Idols

There are so many things that we can wrap ourselves around and allow them to take priority in our lives over God. One that is the most controlling is the place we place people in our lives. Be it our spouses, children, friends, even our pastors, we can find ourselves putting them on a pedestal and without even realizing it, deeming them our god. Problem is, people fail us. God doesn't...problem solved. I'm sure we've all been there at one time or another in the course of our lives. When we find ourselves there, we find misery. Humans always make terrible gods.

Idolatry can be linked to so many things in our lives.

A quote from Tim Keller: Idolatry is attached to everything. All of our bitterness, all our impurity, al our malice, all of our problems, everything that troubles us is a result of idolatry. And what is idolatry? It's taking a good thing and making it an ultimate thing."

WOW! That last statement tore at my heart! What is my ultimate thing? What is yours?

The Greek word for desire means "to set the heart upon, long for, covet, desire, lust (after)." Well just take that definition and apply it to the things that hold your heart, would ya!

You know what scripture from this lesson made me say "Whoa" out loud?
The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously? James 4:5

He lives right here! Right here inside of me, observing all that I allow to take my devotion from Him, all the time just longing and yearning for me to remember...He's right here.

I liked Kelly's declaration and I think I shall make it my own!

People-gods have lost their power. God is God in my life. He is Sovereign. Comforter. Friend. Guide. Light. He is personal, and nothing fills me more than His Presence and knowing that I am walking open handed in His will. Friendships and family are glorious compliments to my life, which is quite different from them being my life. Quite different indeed!

How bout you?