An Ephesians 2:19-22 Blessing

Sorry for my absence on here. Last week my grandma was rushed to the hospital for multiple things, so our household was a bit "topsy-turvy" this past week. But thank the Lord, she is at a rehab center slowly improving! But this post isn't about that. This is something I wrote recently and I felt lead to share it with all my readers.

"19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit." -Ephesians 2:19-22

You are part of a family & a kingdom. The family of God. Nothing you have done can change that. What really matters is not the choices you've made, but the child of God you are. This song, "You are More", by Tenth Avenue North tells us that our decisions of the past do not define us... we have been forgiven by our Rock, by our Savior. AND, because of that, we are now part of a loving family and we are part of the Lord's kingdom What a wonderful promise this is! 

In the next section,  the Bible tells us that we, the family of God, have a foundation of the prophets, the Bible. We stand firm on the promises of God in the Scripture! The chorus of an old hymn say this: 

      

"Standing, standing, 

standing on the promises of Christ my Savior; 

standing, standing, 

I'm standing on the promises of God!" 

R. Kelso Carter

Another song says this: 

"How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, 

is laid for your faith in his excellent word! 

What more can he say than to you he hath said, 

to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?" 

"K" in Rippon's A Selection of Hymns

Isn't is marvelous that we stand on the promises of our Savior? He is our Rock, our Fortress, our Shepherd, our Lord! He is the cornerstone that we as a family of God, and as individuals, can put our trust and faith in.

The last verse says that we are being built together to be a dwelling place for God. Our bodies are a temple. We as a group are a temple of God. In 1 Corinthians 6:19, it says "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?" When we are saved, we are no longer our own. We have the Almighty God living inside us, we belong to Him! 

One last song, I promise: 

"Know ye not, know ye not ye are the temple?

Know ye not, know ye not ye are the temple?

Know ye not, know ye not ye are the temple?

Ye are the temple of the Holy Ghost!"

I don't know where that's from, but I remember singing it in church years ago. What a faithful reminder that we are the temple of God! 

So my main points: 1) We are part of a family and a kingdom. We accept each other, we help each other, we love each other. 2) We are founded on Christ and the promises we find in Scripture. Trust in them. Keep them close to your hearts. 3)We are a temple! We have our Lord living inside us, helping us, loving us, teaching us.

Thank God today! Thank Him for everything that He has done for us! Thank Him for your salvation, for His love, for His promises, and for the family that you are a part of!

A rainbow, one of the promises of God.

I hope that this little thought blessed you as it did me!

Blessings, 

~Abby

God is right here...

Hey!
I haven't posted like I hoped last week! So sorry! Life gets crazy real quick...

Just something quick... I've learned this past week that distance doesn't separate us from God. He's right then when you ask Him. Isn't that awesome? Simple, yet we often find it super hard to understand. Thank God that He is patient with us!

Blessings,
~Abby

Encouragement

Hi all! A few words to update and encourage!

Our homeschooling convention went better than we hoped! Yeah! God is so god to those who put their trust in Him! ~Psalm 78:7~

I went to Pilgrim camp for Memorial Day Weekend. I worked hard, saw many old friends, and was blessed by the meetings!

I feel like I need to say this again. God is just so awesome! When you think you can't handle anymore, God is right there for you. He never gives us anything we cannot handle. He is there through it all. It doesn't feel like that all the time. We feel like no one is there and that is far from the truth. GOD IS THERE. He's with you at school, home, work, in your car, etc. ALWAYS. I'm still learning this truth. Believe me, I don't have it all down pat. I can't give you steps 1, 2, & 3 and the problem will go away. But, most the most important thing is to realize that HE is there. HE is right beside you, and sometimes, He's carrying you through. If you can accept that fact, such a peace will cover you and the situation may not get better; in fact, it might get worse. BUT you will have peace, knowing that it's all under the blood!

Here are two songs that have been encouraging me recently.  

"Through it all,

 through it all,

 I've learned to trust in Jesus,

 I've learned to trust in God.

 Through it all,

 through it all,

 I've learned to depend upon His Word." - Andrae Crouch

"His love has no limits, His grace has no measure,

His power no boundary known unto men;

For out of His infinite riches in Jesus

He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again." - Annie Flint

Meditate today on the fact that God is carrying you "Through it all!"

Blessings!

~Abby

PS - Prayer Requests: 1) My mom - she is having some health issues that require lots of prayer! 2) A friend's mom had a heart attack last Friday and she had an operation and appears to be doing fine, praise God! Please pray for her recovery. 3) A dear friend is in the army right now. He is in basic training in Oklahoma (unaffected by the tornadoes) but please pray that He grows spiritually even more! 4) The people that were affected by the tornadoes in Oklahoma! For peace and comfort for all involved!

Stars

The first full week of March is over and spring is, finally, almost here! We had a snowstorm Thursday night into Friday, but the snow stuck little and by tomorrow it had all melted away.

Tonight, I am thankful for stars. I was outside for a few minutes taking the new puppy, Ebony, out for a quick walk. I looked up and saw a crisp, clear, black sky, sparkiling with stars, scattered like diamonds. It was beautiful! So awe-inspiring. God is so amazing! What looks, at times, like total chaos to us, is completely in order for Him!

What a good reminder that when we feel like the world is falling apart, God has everything in control!

Blessings,

Abby