Ruth is a young bride. Her groom who is crazy about her. He loves her so much that he can't contain himself. Ruth is everything to him. He constantly pours out his love, support, protection and riches on her He treats her with the utmost respect and tenderness. He spends all his time with her and listens to her whenever she is worried or sad or when she is overjoyed about something. He would do anything for Ruth and she would do anything for him.
She would follow him wherever he leads her and that idea is fine with Ruth because she knows that no matter what happens, he will be there and they will be together forever. Life is great. The two of them grow closer and closer and couldn't be happier. Isn't this this dream marriage? Isn't this what most people long for in their lives with their husband/wife?
But over time, for some strange reason, Ruth starts to stray. Not physically, but in her mind. She is deceived by things outside of the marriage. Her groom is still completely willing to protect and love her. But he is confused.
"What fault did she find in me that caused Ruth to go away from me?" he wonders. "Did I not pour out my riches on her and show her my love and devotion at all times? Did I not take care of her and protect her? What could possibly be out there that could interest her heart more than these things?"
Even their servants in the house who work for the groom wonder.. "She has everything anyone could ever possibly want and need. Our master would do anything for her good. How could she even be tempted by other people and places?"
Ruth has believed lies about her husband, that other people have told her. She has gone through a process, mentally and psychologically, which led her to villainize her husband. She eventually abandons the marriage, and goes out to face the world alone. She leaves the vastly beautiful mansion where she and her groom lived and moves into a small crude shack.
Ruth enjoys her newly perceived freedom and starts to date other men. But they don't care for her. They promise her things, security, love, protection, but in the end she finds out that their promises are empty. They rape her and rob her of everything. They leave her destitute and heartbroken but she continues to date other men.
Her groom goes to her shack and begs her to come back to him. But Ruth is proud and ashamed and she hides from him. She somehow, for some reason, incomprehensible to anyone else, prefers to live in the shack and have her heart stomped on and have everything stolen from her.
Even though her groom is dying inside and wants nothing more than to care for her and provide for her every need, Ruth continues to ignore and avoid him. Not only that, but she talks cruelly about him and calls him names behind his back. She blames him for everything that is going wrong in her life. But she does not return to him. She continues in loneliness and darkness...
Please watch this, and take it to heart! It is true and if you choose to take it seriously and live it, it will change your life and the lives of others, for the better!
This is a
list of pages and resources that I really enjoy and have helped me to
understand Jesus and the Scriptures. Although the only resource that
we need is the Bible, it is
nice to have some wise people help us learn how to understand it;
always
remembering that the Holy Spirit is the authoritative teacher and is
solely concerned with directing our minds to Jesus, who is Truth and
Life.
I
hope these are helpful to those who investigate them further. Feel
free to comment any other resources you have/know of.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Professor Grant Horner's Bible Reading Plan
is one of the best, most comprehensive plans I've ever seen, and
used. This PDF includes and explanation of where Horner came from,
how to use the plan [and why], including a printable page of
bookmarks, if you wish to use them. I have been using this for the
past year and it has greatly blessed me. I highly, highly recommend
using this system.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dr. Neil Nedley is a very wise and knowledgeable man of God. His lectures
are very logical, scientific and easy to understand, but yet teach us
about the way in which God desires for us to live, eat, and conduct
ourselves. He deals with a lot of topics relating to emotional
disorders and depression.
My favorite
presentation of his, is “Heavenly Music: Starting Now” which I believe, is on the second page of
his index. However, all lectures of his, which I've listened to have
been very enlightening and edifying.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Christian Berdahl is a very interesting man and has a very unique
testimony. He focuses on music quite a bit but also has a lot to
say about how important it is to guard your mind and give your entire
focus in life to Jesus, in order to disciple to others and do other
work for the Lord.
Of course
Walter Veith has to be on this list. He was my first adventist
teacher, before I started attending church again. His lectures were
instrumental in drawing my attention back to Jesus and helping me
realize that the Father loves us with a love beyond what we can even
imagine. His lectures cover a myriad of topics: from Evolution vs.
Creation, to Health, to the Reformation, to the End Times – a study
mostly concerning the Sanctuary, Daniel and Revelation—and the fulfillment of Biblical Prophecy throughout history. There are a few
other topics as well.
Repairing the Breach [this, and Total Transformation is more for those who
are already Christian and are interested in knowing more in-depth how
to understand God's will for our lives and a few other interesting
points of view]
Walter Veith's testimony is very intriguing as well. I personally enjoy
hearing testimonies because it shows me how real God is in our lives,
if we invite Him to be, and also shows where this person has been and
what gives them the knowledge and experience to know what they're
talking about in their ministry.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
These are a
few of my favorite Bible sites/apps. I have android (Google Play)
but perhaps you can find them on your own “market”/”store”
You Version
is a great Bible site and app.
It also allows you to keep track of multiple reading plans,
highlight passages, bookmark passages and more. I use it to keep
track of my Prof. Horner Bible System.
Bible.is
is also a very cool site. I don't believe there are reading plans on
it, but it does have very well done audio-bibles. You can choose
many different languages and translations and can also choose
between dramatic readings (basically voice acting, background music,
and sound effects), or non-dramatic readings. On the app,
you can also download chapters of the audio-bible so that you can
listen later, offline. You could even download the entire bible if
you wish.
Remember Me is a really great site for aiding in memorizing Bible
passages. This is something that I desire to do, but have trouble
in doing so this app/site has helped quite a bit. The site is more
of just keeping a record of your verses and perhaps adding more, but
the app
is where it really comes alive. You can use many different
techniques of practicing the verses, and you can move the verses from
“New” to “Due” to “Known.” When you feel confident that
you know the verse, you can record yourself saying the verse on a
virtual “card” and then flip the “card” over and listen to
your recording to see if you were correct.
This Bible app is fairly unassuming, to the naked eye, but if you're
interested in history and want to read many “old fashioned”
translations, such as the Geneva Bible, or Webster's Bible, or
Young's Literal Translation, this is a great app. It also has many
Bibles of other languages, like Greek, Indonesia Baru, Ostervald,
Martin
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
These are
just a very few of my favorite resources, and apps. I will add some
more later on too. I have found many online study courses and Bible
Study sites, if anyone is in need of some.
Colossians 3:23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.
Whatever you do, do with vigor, effort, strength, passion, to please GOD, not man!
Live to please GOD only (but also treating others with love and respect)!
Don't
hesitate about doing things – DO IT! Take risks! Do NOT FEAR! Jesus
told us several times throughout the Bible to not fear.
We always have a choice!
It's about determination to do what we need to do – for God, no matter
the circumstances. Do your best at using whatever talent, gift, vocation
that God presents you with!
We are only here for a few years and we are expected to make the best of what God gives us
These are some ideas that I was impressed to write down while at
church, a few different days. They're not complete because I tend to
be pulled all different directions when I'm at church. I plan to
expand on each of these ideas over the next few weeks, so please stay
tuned! I hope these do something for you - bring you some sort of true
enjoyment and/or get you thinking!
All who love and serve God, become part of his family – they are adopted.
God is the God of the whole world,
not just Jews, Christians, or SDAs. God uses us as his agents, acting
out his love towards all others, including the wealthy, poor and
in-between. We should not only help/love those who do so for us, but also those who are unlovely and can't help us in return.
This is exactly what Jesus Christ did for us. We should be practicing for the life we will have with Christ in Heaven. That includes being obedient and responsible, as a loyal minister of Christ so that we can be trusted as judges.
God
will carry out this promise because He said He will and He is
infallible. He will always follow through on whatever He promises. The Lord, God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Israelites coming out of slavery in Egypt were physically liberated, but mentally they were still in captivity (mental and emotional subconscious conditioning). They coveted their lives which they had back in Goshen. They had the same habits, ideals, mentality, and lifestyle.
The
“Heathen” comes to “Christianity” reluctantly – maybe as “insurance” or
because they were brought up in “the church”. Even though they are on
the surface, or by name, “Christian”, they are still mentally, emotionally, spiritually in the world. Their hearts are full of all the world's stuff – bells and whistles. The only time/way change can truly take place is when we let go of the past and of the world and go after Christ with our whole heart and life. We have to let go of our own preconceived ideas.
Satan enjoys counterfeiting everything God does and stands for. In Psalm 119:18 “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.”, David expresses a need to know and be shown the truth. Illumination is the work of the Holy Spirit.
This is true illumination and can't be truly duplicated. But Satan
surely tries to duplicate it. He has his legion of ministers, for ill,
who try to tell proud men of influence, that they are the “illuminated,
or “enlightened” ones. This illumination is a false one and is built solely on lies, of which, Satan is the father. So much of the world does not understand the evil and absolute destruction that any shred of sin causes to our entire being. We try to justify sin to ourselves and to others.
Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart. Psalm 119:2 (KJV)
Beginnings:
I
was born in October of 1980 in Toronto, Ontario. I was a happy healthy
baby: until six days later. I have been told that on the sixth day of
my life, I projectile vomited past the end of my mother's hospital bed
(she was still in the hospital due to complications). I was monitored,
examined, etc. In fact, the first photo ever taken of me was this.
Doctors tried to figure out what was wrong for about two weeks. When
they were about to cut me open to investigate, a series of screenings
had come back. It turns out I had no Thyroid Gland. Now keep in mind
that most children born without a Thyroid Gland have at least the stem. I
had nothing; not a trace. The tricky part was, I also didn't have
typical symptoms (fat tongue) of Thyroid deficiency, so they didn't even
think of that as a possibility. If you're curious about what the
Thyroid gland does, you can read a brief explanation here. Suffice it to say, without its hormones, you're dead. I will touch on this topic, again, later on in my testimony.
My childhood:
I
grew up in a pentecostal family. I went to church every Sunday from
birth. It was boring and fairly meaningless to me. I wanted to be "good"
and love God and Jesus but I didn't understand even the little bit that
I was taught about loving God. The bible was incredibly boring to me
and I had no idea how to read it. When I tried, I got bored very
quickly due to the frustration of not understanding what I was reading.
All I was ever taught in Sunday School and church was very shallow
versions of the stories which probably anyone who had ever heard,
(non-Christians) in passing would know. I constantly heard the same
morals from the same ten or fifteen Bible stories. None of them seemed
remotely relevant to me and they were just fantasy as far as I could
tell. I believed in God only because I didn't know it was even an
option to not believe in God.
Teen Years:
I
spent 17 years being forced to go to church. Sometimes I liked it but
that was rare. I was a quiet, introverted, fat girl who wasn't the same
age as any of the other girls in my church. I barely ever said a peep
and I felt like I was not welcome in a place where, ideally, people
should always feel welcome. I tried to fit in but did not ever really
feel welcome there. Therefore, church was always accompanied by this
uneasy feeling of being ignored or talked about behind my back. I was
also invisible at school or mocked for being Christian, fat, ugly and
poor.
At
the age of seventeen, I got a full time summer job at Canada's Wonderland.
Part of the job was, of course, being required to work on Sundays. I
felt that at last, I was free from being forced to go to church. I was
still expected to go to church the weeks that I wasn't working but it
was at least less torture for me. I had no problem missing it.
Young Adult Years:
Throughout
the next few years, I had found more acceptance from non-Christians
than from girls who I had known most of my life. I still "liked" God
but I, because of my very weak foundation in knowledge about anything
Godly, was very easily led away from all of the morals I was taught
growing up.
When
I was twenty, crisis hit my family. My parents, who were Christian,
started fighting and proceeded to get separated (but still lived in the
same house). It was insanely tense most of the time. You could cut the
tension with a knife, as the phrase goes. I didn't realize how much it
had affected my psyche until years later. I had been very sheltered as I
was growing up and now everything was changing. I became a very angry
person before very long and without realizing why.
I
started to spend more time with non-Christian friends and was even more
easily pressured to drink, smoke weed, party all weekend, dabble in
recreational drugs (magic mushrooms, hashish). It wasn't as horrible as
it could have been but I was still very far away from God. I would get
drunk and stoned every Friday and Saturday night, and then go to work
the following day and work in my clothes from the previous day while
hungover. I got to the point where I couldn't imagine life without
getting drunk and stoned on the weekends. Then smoking weed started to
bleed into my daily life.
I
remember one night, sleeping at my friend, Jessie's place after a
party, overhearing Jessie say to a couple of friends "Isn't Amanda so
cool! And she's a Christian!". I remember feeling ashamed to even be
called a Christian at that point. I certainly did not act like a Christian and I wanted to have nothing to do with, what I perceived to
be, those oppressive, judgmental, holier-than-thou, hypocritical bigots
anyway.
Part of me did want to be a good
Christian, but I didn't understand God in the slightest; other than my
perception that God was a big scary, mean buzz-kill. I had outwardly Christ-like behaviorisms. I was kind, polite, quiet and had a strong
work-ethic. But inside my mind and heart, I was confused, angry and
rebellious. My heart was as black as soot.
Info "Addiction" Beginnings:
I
had gone through my "party" phase of life but I had grown tired of it
fairly quickly (age twenty one to twenty four). But by this time, I had all but forgotten
God. An online friend had told me, casually, one night when he was
logging off "oh, look up the Illuminati".
I "Googled" it and I was shocked. I had a hard time believing what I read.
but the more terms I searched or cross-referenced, the more real it
became to me. In the past (2000-2001) I had worked a midnight shift at a
gas station so I'd pass the time listening to Coast to Coast A.M. A
few things I'd heard on there were starting to make sense.
Confused, prodigal phase:
I
went through a brief phase where I wanted to go to church. I started
attending church again, reading the bible again trying to learn how to
pray. But I got nothing from it. Again, I was ignored by the
church-goers. I figured, if they don't even notice I exist, what is the
point in even going? I was crushed and depressed and just gave up for a
long time. I'd always discussed this topic with my sister (being
rejected or ignored by church members in larger churches) and I remember
stating a few times, sincerely, that if I could find a small,
close-knit church, like the one my Grandparents attended, I'd go to
church all the time. Little did I know what God had in store for me.
I
started to get very involved in learning as much as I could about the
Illuminati and related topics. I was starving for information. This
hunger for knowledge also applied to learning history, astronomy,
physics, quantum mechanics, music, arts and crafts, and many other
subjects (which i can't think of at the moment.)
But
that led me to searching for "truth" about life. I had all of these
mixed up philosophies about life. I even vaguely believed evolution
(maybe in conjunction with creation), reincarnation, etc. I still sort
of believed in God but not as a conscious entity. More of the new-age
view of God as "the universal higher power", whatever that even means.
Even though I was searching and confused, I did know that there must be
only one real truth.
Self Justification:
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. Proverbs 1:7 (KJV)
All
that this meant to me, was that I could continue to waste my life doing
things that I wanted. buying what I wanted, watching what I wanted,
associating with who I wanted.
Who
wants to have to obey a bunch of rules, right? That's for kids. I was
an adult and a very smart adult, at that. I knew it all. Except... I
was still completely lost, confused and misled. The more I felt like I
"knew", the more lost and hopeless I was. I became consumed with
learning. I was searching for information constantly. I'd spend my few
breaks at work watching videos on my phone and spending all my free time
at home reading the internet or watching videos.
I was so sure that I knew what I was doing and that I knew more than everyone else.
Signals:
I
had always had weird dreams. Always wandering around in some sort of
gigantic dark building. It was always very ominous and confusing. This
became normal to me and I started to not even care. But one night,
that summer (2011), I had a dream that really bugged me. I dreamed that
I was getting into an elevator. The elevator was going to take me
either to Heaven or to Hell. I was confident which way it would go; I
was a good person - of course I was going to Heaven. But then, it
went down. I was shocked; in the dream and when I woke up. I started
to think about this dream a lot. It had really, really gotten into my
mind It was bothering me quite a bit. I told my sister about it later
on and she suggested that maybe it was what I needed to start
questioning my direction in life; that maybe God was trying to get my
attention.
I'm
not sure which came first; that weird dream or my small prayer (which I
didn't even remember saying until much later), for Jesus, if he was
real, to make himself known in my life, and that I wanted to know the
truth, no matter what it meant for my life. It was a short, little
prayer, but it was completely sincere, and I believe that is what
counts, in Jesus' eyes.
Things started to take shape, quickly.
I
had worked (teaching piano lessons at a studio) from Tuesday to
Saturday every week for about five years. I despised working Saturdays
because, unlike the rest of the week, I had to actually get up in the
morning*gasp* and it was a long, annoying and boring day. I know; woe is me.
Well,
I can't pinpoint the exact timing, but within a couple of weeks, or
maybe even that next weekend (and I had completely forgotten about my
little prayer by now), my co-worker told me about how the lady using my
classroom on Mondays had quit. I jumped on that immediately. I told the
supervisor of the studio that I wanted to, as soon as possible, change
from Saturdays to Mondays, instead. He accommodated me immediately and I
was set to start my first Monday a couple of weeks later.
A
week later, (the week before my last Saturday) I met my (now
ex)boyfriend. Online. I was still confused about theology and had been
starting to think of myself as an Agnostic. But he started showing me
some videos about Creation v. Evolution by Dr Walter Veith.
I rolled my eyes when I saw that he was trying to prove creation as how
the bible describes it. Everyone knows that's ridiculous, right?
Well, as I started to watch more and more videos, I started to
understand. It started to become logical to me. I started watching all
of his videos. I found his explanations engrossing, logical, and
completely convincing. My obsession for learning translated into an
obsession for learning about God, history (including biblical history),
prophecy and the end times theories. His lectures also showed me the
profound logic in the pages of the Bible.
Letting God break down my walls:
I spent
the next six months learning about these things and looking for sermons
online. I was learning that God was, in fact, NOT a big, mean,
wrathful grump. That He was love. And learning how much He loved the
people he created. I spent this time randomly breaking down into tears.
Sometimes it was because I was overwhelmed with Joy. Other times, I was
overwhelmed with sadness for how people were taught to view God. How
God loved us and we just treated him like a reject. Sometimes it was
both mixed together. The whole process was emotional upheaval . In
April 2012, I found a video testimony about Emmanuel Amos Eni who
was formerly a witch doctor, and who was verily heavily involved in the
demonic spiritual world. Through his testimony video (which was
actually a reading of his book), I learned that in this world, you can
not be a casual Christian. You have to be completely committed. If you
are not strongly committed to the Lord, Satan and his angels will come
along and attack you, after they lead you away from Him - if they need
to do that much.
That
was what I needed to hear to decide that I was all or nothing. There is
no middle ground on this issue. I spent the next few weeks completely
engrossed in sermons on YouTube from various pastors and as it was
revealed to me the absolute loving nature of God, I gave up any
resistance to the Holy Spirit. I spent the next week constantly
learning about everything I could, praying, crying, praying and crying
at the same time, singing/playing praise songs or hymns on piano. I
repented from my sins and asked the Holy Spirit to help me keep all of
His commandments.
Now,
all I cared about was learning about, talking about, thinking about,
hearing about God. But no one in my life had any interest in talking
about it, except an online friend and sometimes my sister; who usually had to leave before talking to me very long.
I
had been telling one of my piano students' mom (Sophia) how I was
learning about the Seventh-Day Adventist theology and she invited me to
go to church with her. April 28, 2012 I was supposed to go to church
but I guess I wasn't ready to go yet. But the following
Saturday, I woke up very early in the morning. I began singing and
playing hymns (piano). I felt like I wanted to sing with other
Christians and told myself that today was a great day to go to church.
I called Sophia and asked to go with her to church that morning. Well,
she gladly picked me up and when we got to church, she introduced me
around to everyone.
I
felt so welcome, it was heartwarming. I felt like I was home. My soul
was at absolute peace being there. By the next Saturday, I was already
playing the piano for service and getting to know a ton of people. I
was fully immersed in the church family. I even had a passion,
immediately, for teaching others about the Lord and trying to help them
understand God's unadulterated love. This was the small, close-knit
church I had always wanted.
I am now so filled with complete peace, joy, love that sometimes I can't stand it.
Update - May 29 2013
After
a few months of attending church and learning more about God, my mom
came home to visit from Alberta. I asked her about something she'd
said to me as a teenager. She'd told me once that if I had been born
very much earlier than when I was, I would have not lived past infancy;
doctors hadn't yet learned much about thyroid dysfunction. She told me
that God made me when He did for a reason, and He wanted me here on
Earth. I never really understood the gravity of that statement until
last year. I had been thinking she was talking about a matter of twenty
or thirty years. She informed me one day, during her visit, over
lunch, that it was not a matter of decades, but a matter of about three
years. My brother was born in 1977 and they had not yet started doing
any sort of thyroid screenings. Keeping in mind that I hadn't
displayed the typical symptoms of hypothyroid (as hypo as one could get,
I suppose), if it had not been for that newly routine screening, the
doctors would most likely have had no idea until after it was too late
to save me. I would have perhaps not made it past the age of one month.
That their hearts might be comforted , being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; Colossians 2:2,3 (KJV)
It has been a year since I started attending church. It is great. My
life and heart have changed in so many ways, I could not even explain.
Not only does the world make complete sense now (yes, I'm serious), but
I have learned to let go of
anger/fear/hatred/unforgiveness/discrimination/judgment of others/etc.
In addition to these, I also have more of a passion for outreach and
helping others - something I have never even pretended to care about in
the past.
I
also have a new family. My church is my family now (even though I
still do love my biological family). It just shows me that love is
ever-expanding. We can always have room to love more people. It's not a
finite commodity. And Jesus is the one who has taught me all this.
Sometimes
I think back to the hopelessness that was choking the life out of me
before, and I almost feel like I'm falling. If Jesus hadn't made
notable and noticeable (maybe not at the time, but in hindsight)
impressions on me over the past couple of years, who knows where I'd be
now. I am so thankful for His love and mercy.
I
just hope that you, reading this, have found this, or have the desire
to find this happiness. It is not a conditional happiness or fleeting
happiness. It is true internal joy which no situation can take away.
New addition: I've learned quite a bit over the past few years. Something I was considering in December was how I got my start in the music field. I believe that my life would not have been nearly the same, and my mind would not work the way it does, had I not had such focus on music throughout my life. Now, knowing what I know about even having my life in the first place, I know that God has guided my steps. So I started thinking about how piano lessons for me even started. When I was six years old, we had this little organ keyboard in the dining room. I had no idea how to play it and I, unlike many children, was not satisfied with faking it. I decided one day that it would be interesting and challenging to learn to play piano, and for that reason, I wanted to learn. [What six year old thinks that way?] I knew then, that I was going to be a pianist. However, our family was fairly poor. I had noticed that we had a rough time paying for necessities at times, so I would not dare to mention piano lessons to my parents. I went through a few years of wishing I could learn, and envying little girls and boys who could play. There was a T.V. show that I liked called Tiny Talent Time and I would always watch, intently, the pianists, while ignoring the other talents. A couple of weeks before my tenth birthday, my mother had a lady over, from a music studio/school. She had come to test the aptitude of my brothers and I. They just seemed like fun little games to me. I don't remember what they exactly were, anymore, but I do remember that I enjoyed playing them. After she had administered the tests, she talked with my parents. She told them that I would probably be good at piano. I was asked if I wanted to take piano lessons. My answer was an immediate and resounding "YES!" Finally I had my chance to learn that great instrument. I had to wait two weeks for piano lessons to start, and boy, was I excited. I constantly, throughout those two weeks, asked my mom if it was "piano day" yet. Finally it was the eve of "piano day" and I could barely sleep. I was almost as excited about starting piano lessons as I would be about my own birthday or about Christmas day. After "piano day" had come and gone, I kept learning, earnestly. I would practice and learn things on my own at home, and was usually at the top of my class (I had a class of others at piano lessons, instead of private). I got to Grade 8, RCM (This is the Royal Conservatory of Music, which is the "standard" agency in Canada, although levels in piano are sort of an arbitrary concept) within four years of lessons. After highschool, when I started working, my progress slowed and, at times, even stopped, because I couldn't put the work into piano that I had previously been able to. However, I did eventually achieve passing Grade 10, RCM. At the beginning of 2014, I spoke with my mother again about past events. I asked her if I had ever mentioned piano lessons between the ages of six and nine. She said that I hadn't. I also asked her if she had asked the representative from the music school to come test us, or if they had just, seemingly, randomly called to book an appointment at our house. She said it was the case of the latter. How then, I asked myself, and God, did it happen that I had got my start in music? I believe that God had "pulled strings," so to speak, that made that happen, as I don't believe in coincidence. Knowing what I know about how music changes, physiologically, the mind of a student, and knowing that my own piano teacher gave me a chance as a teacher at the beginning of my adult life, I don't believe that I would have the job I now have, nor would my mind work in the ways that it does now if it had not been for years of music lessons. That leads me to conclude that the only possible reason for me being able to start was God's wisdom, knowing that he had made me for this purpose.
The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands. Psalm 138:8
From time to time, I read this plaque that my mother gave me. Each of her children have one. Mine says:
Amanda
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Worthy of Love
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Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and
that seek him with the whole heart.
Psalm 119:2
Throughout the years of my childhood, adolescence, young adulthood and even now, I've always had that plaque. At times, I believed it, and at other times, I scoffed at it. But now, it speaks exactly of me. Sometimes it touches my heart how clear it is, to say that God is right here, guiding my path and bringing me where He knows I should be; even when I mess it up.
"God is faithful, by whom ye were called into Fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord." 1 Corinthians 1:9 (KJV)
I'll close, for now, until there's more to add, with this video presentation. I hope you enjoy it and that it touches your heart. May this testimony bless you and direct you to the Lord Jesus Christ.
I
am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt,
out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Thou
shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing
that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in
the water under the earth: Thou shalt no bow down thyself to them nor
serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the
iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth
generation of them that hate me; And showing mercy unto thousands of
them that love me, and keep my commandments.
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
Remember
the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all
thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it
thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy
manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that
is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the
sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the
Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
Thou shalt not kill.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
Thou
shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy
neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox,
nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's
Here,
we see the original ten commandments in Exodus. Let's take a look into
the New Testament to see where these commandments are restated.
Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve. Matt 4:10
Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen. 1 John 5:21
Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honor,that the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed. 1 Tim 6:1
For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise,And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.
Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to
whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief: Again,
he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, Today, after so long a time; as it is said, Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have
spoken of another day. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of
God. Heb 4:4-9
And he said unto them,The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath. Mark 2:27,28 *
Honor thy father and thy mother: and, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.Matt 19:19
Honor thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise. Eph 6:2
He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said,Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness.Matt 19:18
For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Rom 13:9
He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness.Matt 19:18
For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Rom 13:9
He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said,Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness.Matt 19:18
For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Rom 13:9
He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness. Matt 19:18
For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal,Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Rom 13:9
For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Rom 13:9
What
shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known
sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said,Thou shalt not covet. Rom 7:7
* Note:
This is not a license to ignore or change the Sabbath. It is simply
stating that God made the sabbath for rest, for us to enjoy and spend
time with the Lord,
as apposed to the way the pharisees treated it; as though observing the
sabbath was a list of rules and restrictions. The sabbath is a retreat from the world and a holiday; not a burden.
Why
should we care about this? Who cares about the law? We are free,
through grace, right? Well, yes, we are, but when you have truly been
converted, keeping the law of God is not just easy; it is a pleasure!
As that last verse is quoted to say "Nay, I had not known sin, but by
the law" We don't know we're doing wrong unless it is told to us that
we're doing something wrong. A very good book to read about this is
James; especially James 1 and 2.
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But
whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein,
he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall
be blessed in his deed. James 2:25
