Doubt not His grace.

O child of suffering, be thou patient;

God has not passed thee over in His providence.

He who is the feeder of sparrows,

will also furnish you with what you need.

Sit not down in despair; hope on, hope ever.

Take up the arms of faith against a sea of trouble,

and your opposition shall yet end your distresses.

There is One who careth for you.

His eye is fixed on you,

His heart beats with pity for your woe,

and his hand omnipotent shall yet bring you the needed help.

The darkest cloud shall scatter itself in showers of mercy.

The blackest gloom shall give place to the morning.

He, if thou art one of His family,

will bind up thy wounds, and heal thy broken heart.

Doubt not His grace because of thy tribulation,

but believe that He loveth thee as much in seasons of trouble as in times of happiness.

What a serene and quiet life might you lead

if you would leave providing to the God of providence!

With a little oil in the cruse,

and a handful of meal in the barrel,

Elijah outlived the famine,

and you will do the same.

If God cares for you, why need you care too?

Can you trust Him for your soul, and not for your body?

He has never refused to bear your burdens,

He has never fainted under their weight.

Come, then, soul!

have done with fretful care,

and leave all thy concerns in the hand of a gracious God.

[c.h. spurgeon]

"For He who is the ground of thy faith..."

So very very encouraged by this Puritan prayer I read tonight before bed...

[Remember] O my soul,

It is thy duty & privilege to

rejoice in God:

He requires it of thee for all his favours of grace.

Rejoice then in the Giver & his goodness,

Be happy in him, O my heart, & in nothing

but God,

for whatever a man trusts in,

from that he expects happiness.

He who is the ground of thy faith

should be the substance of thy

joy.

Whence then comes heaviness & dejection,

when joy is sown in thee,

promised by the Father,

bestowed by the Son,

inwrought by the Holy Spirit,

thine by grace,

thy birthright in believing?

Art thou seeking to rejoice in thyself

from an evil motive of pride & self-reputation?

Thou hast nothing of thine own but sin,

nothing to move God to be gracious

or to continue his grace towards thee.

If thou forget this thou wilt lose thy joy.

Art thou grieving under a sense of indwelling sin?

Let godly sorrow work repentance,

as the true spirit which the Lord blesses,

& which creates fullest joy;

Sorrow for self opens rejoicing in God,

Self-loathing draws down divine delights.

Hast thou sought joys in some creature comfort?

Look not below God for happiness;

fall not asleep in Delilah’s lap.

Let God be

[all in all]

to thee,

& joy in the fountain that is always full.

- j. shae

He is Risen INDEED!

"Christ was all anguish that I might be all joy, cast off that I might be brought in, trodden down as an enemy that I might be welcomed as a friend, surrendered to hell's worst that I might attain heaven's best, stripped that I might be clothed, wounded that I might be healed, athirst that I might drink, tormented that I might be comforted, made a shame that I might inherit glory, entered darkness that I might have eternal life.

My Saviour wept that all tears might be wiped from my eyes, groaned that I might have endless song, endured all pain that I might have unfading health, bore a thorned crown that I might have a glory-diadem, bowed his head that I might uplift mine, experienced reproach that I might receive welcome, closed his eyes in death that I might gaze on unclouded brightness, expired that I might for ever live." (The Valley of Vision, "LoveLustres at Calvary)

This is the day that made all the difference.

HE is RISEN indeed!

~Jessica Shae

"My determined purpose . . . "

I love the beginning of a new year. I love the feeling of starting anew, of looking out into a new year "with no mistakes in it . . ." as Anne Shirley would say. I love the feeling of wondering what tomorrow, next week, six months from now, holds for me.

The unknown.

It is always amazing to me at the end of every year to look back on where I was a year ago, and see how much has changed since then. Most of it change that I would have never seen coming. I wonder . . . where will I be twelve months from now?

I don't like making resolutions at the new year. Everyone makes them, and then three weeks later promptly breaks them and continues on with life just as it had been three weeks before.

Instead, one of my favorite things about starting a new year is seeking the Lord about what He would have me focus on in the coming year. Every year for the past 5 or so that I have been doing this, He has never failed to press upon my mind a certain area of my life, subject, character quality, or bible verse that illustrates what He wants me to focus on. And this year has been no different.

But before I share the vision that God has given me for this new year, let me say a few other things.

This year, more than ever before I have felt that the year ahead of me is going to be BIG. Admittedly, every year walking with my Savior is big, how could it not be? But I mean even bigger than normal. This year more than ever I will be faced with the challenges that come from making unpopular choices and not doing the "politically correct" thing with my life. I am now a nineteen year old soon to be twenty year old girl, who is single, and not dating anyone. I am not going to college, and have no plans to do so in the near future. I am not pursuing a career, but am content to be at home where God has me right now, serving my father.

I am not doing it the "right way" according to what most everyone around me would say. I am not making the most of the opportunities that I have, to be someone great, to do something amazing that will impress many. I am not a "success" in the basic sense of the word.

But, whose standard am I living by anyways? In the end will it matter if I have satisfied others sense of political correctness, or, if I have brought joy to the heart of my Maker and Savior by pursing his desire for me and for my life?

The verses that the Lord gave me as my main focus and passion this year, I am more excited about than I could say.

They are Phil. 3:8-12. I love it in the Amplified, so that is what I am posting it in here, and I would ask that you please please please, read it in its entirety, and slowly. Take it all in and read it as if you had never read it before. I know it is a little long, but really, it is amazing.

..................................................

8Yes, furthermore, I count everything as loss compared to the possession of the priceless privilege (the overwhelming preciousness, the surpassing worth, and supreme advantage) of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord and of progressively becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him [of perceiving and recognizing and understanding Him more fully and clearly]. For His sake I have lost everything and consider it all to be mere rubbish (refuse, dregs), in order that I may win (gain) Christ (the Anointed One),
9And that I may [actually] be found and known as in Him, not having any [self-achieved] righteousness that can be called my own, based on my obedience to the Law's demands (ritualistic uprightness and supposed right standing with God thus acquired), but possessing that [genuine righteousness] which comes through faith in Christ (the Anointed One), the [truly] right standing with God, which comes from God by [saving] faith.
10[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection [[a]which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death, [in the hope]
11That if possible I may attain to the [[b]spiritual and moral] resurrection [that lifts me] out from among the dead [even while in the body].
12Not that I have now attained [this ideal], or have already been made perfect, but I press on to lay hold of (grasp) and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) has laid hold of me and made me His own.

...................................................

Isn't it amazing!?!

I count everything loss when compared to the priceless privilege of becoming deeply and intimately more acquainted with Him. (paraphrase mine)

To know He who speaks, and waves are calmed. He who breathes, and life is created. He who paid the ultimate sacrifice by laying down His life for me while I was yet in my sins, unaware of what He had done, in order that I might have eternal joy with Him.

This is my "determined purpose".

To know and be conformed to Him.

"When You said, seek My face, my heart said to You, Your face, LORD, I will seek.” ~Psalm 27:8

~Jessica Shae

Let Christians Vote As Though They Were Not Voting

October 22, 2008
By John Piper


Voting is like marrying and crying and laughing and buying. We should do it, but only as if we were not doing it. That’s because “the present form of this world is passing away” and, in God’s eyes, “the time has grown very short.” Here’s the way Paul puts it:

The appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away. (1 Corinthians 7:29-31)

Let’s take these one at a time and compare them to voting.

1. “Let those who have wives live as though they had none.”

This doesn’t mean move out of the house, don’t have sex, and don’t call her Honey. Earlier in this chapter Paul says, “The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights” (1 Corinthians 7:3). He also says to love her the way Christ loved the church, leading and providing and protecting (Ephesians 5:25-30). It means this: Marriage is momentary. It’s over at death, and there is no marriage in the resurrection. Wives and husbands are second priorities, not first. Christ is first. Marriage is for making much of him.

It means: If she is exquisitely desirable, beware of desiring her more than Christ. And if she is deeply disappointing, beware of being hurt too much. This is temporary—only a brief lifetime. Then comes the never-disappointing life which is life indeed.

So it is with voting. We should do it. But only as if we were not doing it. Its outcomes do not give us the greatest joy when they go our way, and they do not demoralize us when they don’t. Political life is for making much of Christ whether the world falls apart or holds together.

2. “Let those who mourn [do so] as though they were not mourning.”

Christians mourn with real, deep, painful mourning, especially over losses—loss of those we love, loss of health, loss of a dream. These losses hurt. We cry when we are hurt. But we cry as though not crying. We mourn knowing we have not lost something so valuable we cannot rejoice in our mourning. Our losses do not incapacitate us. They do not blind us to the possibility of a fruitful future serving Christ. The Lord gives and takes away. But he remains blessed. And we remain hopeful in our mourning.

So it is with voting. There are losses. We mourn. But not as those who have no hope. We vote and we lose, or we vote and we win. In either case, we win or lose as if we were not winning or losing. Our expectations and frustrations are modest. The best this world can offer is short and small. The worst it can offer has been predicted in the book of Revelation. And no vote will hold it back. In the short run, Christians lose (Revelation 13:7). In the long run, we win (Revelation 21:4).

3. “Let those who rejoice [do so] as though they were not rejoicing.”

Christians rejoice in health (James 5:13) and in sickness (James 1:2). There are a thousand good and perfect things that come down from God that call forth the feeling of happiness. Beautiful weather. Good friends who want to spend time with us. Delicious food and someone to share it with. A successful plan. A person helped by our efforts.

But none of these good and beautiful things can satisfy our soul. Even the best cannot replace what we were made for, namely, the full experience of the risen Christ (John 17:24). Even fellowship with him here is not the final and best gift. There is more of him to have after we die (Philippians 1:21-23)—and even more after the resurrection. The best experiences here are foretastes. The best sights of glory are through a mirror dimly. The joy that rises from these previews does not and should not rise to the level of the hope of glory. These pleasures will one day be as though they were not. So we rejoice remembering this joy is a foretaste, and will be replaced by a vastly better joy.

So it is with voting. There are joys. The very act of voting is a joyful statement that we are not under a tyrant. And there may be happy victories. But the best government we get is a foreshadowing. Peace and justice are approximated now. They will be perfect when Christ comes. So our joy is modest. Our triumphs are short-lived—and shot through with imperfection. So we vote as though not voting

4. “Let those who buy [do so] as though they had no goods.”

Let Christians keep on buying while this age lasts. Christianity is not withdrawal from business. We are involved, but as though not involved. Business simply does not have the weight in our hearts that it has for many. All our getting and all our having in this world is getting and having things that are not ultimately important. Our car, our house, our books, our computers, our heirlooms—we possess them with a loose grip. If they are taken away, we say that in a sense we did not have them. We are not here to possess. We are here to lay up treasures in heaven.
This world matters. But it is not ultimate. It is the stage for living in such a way to show that this world is not our God, but that Christ is our God. It is the stage for using the world to show that Christ is more precious than the world.

So it is with voting. We do not withdraw. We are involved—but as if not involved. Politics does not have ultimate weight for us. It is one more stage for acting out the truth that Christ, and not politics, is supreme

5. “Let those who deal with the world [do so] as though they had no dealings with it.”

Christians should deal with the world. This world is here to be used. Dealt with. There is no avoiding it. Not to deal with it is to deal with it that way. Not to weed your garden is to cultivate a weedy garden. Not to wear a coat in Minnesota is to freeze—to deal with the cold that way. Not to stop when the light is red is to spend your money on fines or hospital bills and deal with the world that way. We must deal with the world.

But as we deal with it, we don’t give it our fullest attention. We don’t ascribe to the world the greatest status. There are unseen things that are vastly more precious than the world. We use the world without offering it our whole soul. We may work with all our might when dealing with the world, but the full passions of our heart will be attached to something higher—Godward purposes. We use the world, but not as an end in itself. It is a means. We deal with the world in order to make much of Christ.

So it is with voting. We deal with the system. We deal with the news. We deal with the candidates. We deal with the issues. But we deal with it all as if not dealing with it. It does not have our fullest attention. It is not the great thing in our lives. Christ is. And Christ will be ruling over his people with perfect supremacy no matter who is elected and no matter what government stands or falls. So we vote as though not voting.

By all means vote. But remember: “The world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:17).

Voting with you, as though not voting,
Pastor John



~Jessica Shae

Kirk Cameron: "I will only kiss my wife"

I came across this interview with Kirk Cameron today and thought it was worth sharing with y'all.

I say a hearty AMEN to him for not being afraid to go against the grain and stand up for something that is no longer deemed as very "important". I have not yet seen the movie 'Fireproof' that he just starred in, but from everything that I've heard it is an amazing movie and I can't wait for it to come out on video!



Living to Glorify Him. . .
~Jessica Shae

Voddie Baucham

Voddie Baucham has for many years now been one of my favorite preachers, evangelists, and apologists. Here is a recent interview he did on CNN about Sarah Palin running for Vice-President. I thought it was very interesting.

(You might want to scroll down and turn off my music before you watch the video.)

~Jessica Shae

'In God We Trust'

NBC is taking a poll on whether 'In God We Trust' should stay on our American currency. You can click here to vote. If that is truly the motto you strive to live by then I would encourage you to take this small opportunity to make your voice heard as a Follower of Christ.

~Jessica Shae