Philippians
2:5-11

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:  (6)  Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:  (7)  But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:  (8)  And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.  (9)  Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:  (10)  That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;  (11)  And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

For other scriptural teaching and lessons go to Settled In Heaven Ministries

God Provides....

Matthew 6:25-34 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? (26) Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? (27) Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? .........

(28) And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: (29) And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. (30) Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? (31) Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (32) (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. (33) But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (34) Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.




Open your heart to Jesus Christ, seek His kingdom and walk in His ways.....and He will provide for you the things that are needed.

Thank you, Lord, for providing for us, even though we don't deserve it.  Thank you for Your Grace and Mercy.

The One Material Thing That Brings Us Closer With God

Whether you call it the "Bible" or the "Word," it is the one material thing that brings us closer to God.  It is the one material thing that teaches us how to become a Christian through faith in Jesus Christ and what our "new life" and "salvation" mean.  It teaches us how to live our new life in trying to be more "Christ-like."  We learn about our roots in the history of God's Creation and the Jewish faith.  We also learn of the first coming of Christ in the writings of the prophets.  In the Gospels, we learn about Christ's birth, life on earth, His apostles and followers, His crucfiction on the cross, His resurrection, and His acsension into Heaven.  In Revelation, we, His saved people, learn to look for the signs of Christ's second coming and events to happen after then. 

Did you know that the Bible is the one best selling book of all time with over one billion copies sold, translated into many, many languages?  In my belief, the Bible is the one book most debated about and died for throughout history.

If you are saved, you should know the value of the Bible.  It's not the monetary value that I speak of, it's the spiritual value that no one can put a price on.  If you are not saved, now is the time for you to start reading....the time left is getting shorter day by day.  Start reading the Gospels; Matthew, Mark, Luke, John.  The New Testament is a bit easier to start reading.  If you know a Christian, who can help you or a good Bible teaching church, you can get help learning and guidance on how to learn from God's Word.  You can also get help for learning how to become a Christian. 

Once you start, as you continue to read the Bible, you will begin to let God into your life, you will begin to see the purpose for you life, you will let Christ into your heart, and you will begin to enjoy reading.

My husband Rob, has a wonderful Bible teaching blog called Settled In Heaven Blog.  He also has his vlog on youtube called  Settled In Heaven Vlog.  You can go to his blog and read, or go to his vlog and listen...whichever works better for you.


Proverbs 30:5 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.


Psalms 18:30 As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.

Luke 8:11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.

Luke 8:15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

Acts 12:24 But the word of God grew and multiplied.


John 3:14-18 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: (15) That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. (16) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (17) For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (18) He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.




To God be the Glory for All!

Marriage is Between One Man and One Woman

Same sex marriages seem to be in the headlines a lot lately.  It's not "politically correct" to voice an opinion contrary to this topic...well, I am going bold into the Word of God on this issue.  What the Lord has to say on this topic is what I believe in.....one man, one woman in marriage.  I know that there are people who will be furious if they read this blog post...all I can say is I believe in my Lord Jesus Christ and my Father God and Their Word...and I will pray for these people.


Genesis 2:22-24 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. (23) And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. (24) Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.




Ephesians 5:28-33 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. (29) For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: (30) For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. (31) For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. (32) This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. (33) Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.




1 Corinthians 7:2-3 Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. (3) Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband.
 
In any of these verses, or any of the other verses that I've read over does it say that a man shall cleave to a man....or a woman shall cleave to a woman....in fact, these following verses refer to this....
 
Romans 1:24-32 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: (25) Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. (26) For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: (27) And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. (28) And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; (29) Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness .....(31) Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: (32) Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.


Jude 1:7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
 
I know that there is many out there who will think that I am horrible for writing this blog post...but, all I can say is the Word of God is the one law that everyone should follow.  There will be a time when all of this will be made clear to all....the time is coming and I believe it's coming soon.  This is still a free country and I still have a right to my opinion, whether it's "politically correct" or not.  God bless all and I pray for a time when all will come to their senses and follow the law of God.
 
I felt a real need to write this and felt that God placed this on my heart.

Wisdom is Found in the Bible

2 Timothy 3:14-17 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; (15) And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. (16) All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: (17) That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

This is a picture of my watercolor painting of the Great Horned Owl.  When you think of owls, you think of the wise old owl....an icon for wisdom.  What is wisdom and how can we obtain it?  According to Wikipedia, "Wisdom is a deep understanding and realizing of people, things, events or situations, resulting in the ability to choose or act to consistently produce the optimum results with a minimum of time and energy. Wisdom is the ability to optimally (effectively and efficiently) apply perceptions and knowledge and so produce the desired results. Wisdom is comprehension of what is true or right coupled with optimum judgment as to action."  ....as God's children we need to obtain wisdom from God's Word, the Bible.  In 2Timothy3:15, we are to know the holy scriptures which are able to make us wise unto salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.  The Bible is where we learn that we must have faith in Jesus as Savior and Redeemer.  Faith in Jesus is what gives us salvation.  Keeping in the Word is what gives us Godly instruction of how we are to live our lives.  With the application of what God teaches us in the Bible, we can obtain a righteous life lived in wisdom of that which we learn in the scripture.  In James 3:17,18 we learn about the kind of wisdom that we must have.

James 3:17-18 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. (18) And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

"Calvary" He Did It For Us.

Welcome to my new blog and my first post.  All are welcome here...whether you be someone who is saved and have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal savior, or someone who is not saved and is looking for something to make a life-changing difference.  I hope that maybe I can help you on your journey.

This is a portion of an acrylic painting that I did a few years ago.  The name of it is "Calvary."  When Jesus was crucified on the cross, He had two other crosses on each side of him with theives being punished for their crimes.  The one thief asked Christ to remember him...at that time Christ told him that He would see him in paradise (Heaven).

Luke 23:42-43 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. (43) And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.

We can be that thief...do you see how easy it is....to just ask Jesus to be our Savior and let Him into our heart and learn to trust in Him.   You can feel that overwhelming change in your heart.  When you accept Him as your Redeemer, you will begin to feel joy and peace in your life...this is the Holy Spirit, which God gives us when we are saved, to help us and guide us in this life....but, do you know the best part of trusting in Jesus...someday, you will spend eternity with Him in Heaven.   If you have questions, please feel free to ask...I will try my best to help you and explain.

Now to the painting; I chose only to paint Christ's cross in my painting...I was putting the focus on Christ's crucifixition and showing what He did for us.  The red paint on the Mount is a picture of His blood that He shed for us.  The sky is dark to show the ultimate sadness of all of His people (what they totally did not understand is that their great Lord would rise again in 3 days, spend 40 days with them here on earth, and then ascend into Heaven to be with God the Father).  There is a bright shining break in that dark sky that illuminates down from the heavens, which represents God the Father in Heaven.

Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

I will try to answer your questions, but I also have to suggest another blog, done by my husband, which is a Biblically based blog written from a sovereign grace perspective.  It's a great blog to get some answers from.

http://settledinheaven.wordpress.com/