What's on top of that mountain?

Overwhelmed with what lies ahead, we often retreat, quit or move forward in our OWN strength.  Faith is a difficult thing because it means that you have to go against what might come naturally or you might have to step into uncharted waters.  Movement towards faith can be scarey, especially for people like me who are "planners"! This is where I have found myself, faced with a decision to step out in faith or stay comfortable with where we are.  God has been burdening me about a ministry in our church that reaches out to children with special needs.  So few churches have ministries like this.  If we believe what Scripture says, then we need to obey Mark 9:37.  The first argument that we all battle with is: "how can we begin a ministry that needs so many workers, when we are sometimes short staffed in the other areas of children's ministry?"  Here is where the FAITH comes in! If God calls, then He will provide.  AMAZINGLY the very day that I wrestled with letting go of these "fears" I turned to my study and it was in Genesis 22:1-15!  God told Abraham to take his only son Isaac up to the mountain and offer him as a sacrifice.  Yes, you heard that right! God told Abraham to KILL his only son! Wow! Abraham started up that mountain in faith that "God would provide a lamb" v. 8.  He followed up that path without knowing how God would provide but knowing that He would! So in faith our children's ministry steps out.  We don't know exactly what God is going to do on that mountain.  We just know that it is our job to climb and see what He has in store.  Have you ever taken any steps of faith? Real faith? Steps that are scarey but can only be ordered by the Lord?  There are things that God gives, that God shows, that God does on the top of the mountain but so many are too fearful to take the journey! 

Return to Eden

This 10 week class is meant for marriage enrichment.  My husband Jeremy and I are burdened for families and marriages!  We have found common struggles and common areas of neglect in marriages today.  In this class we explore what the Bible has to say about our marriages and how we can make the most of the marriage God gave us.  This class is for everyone! From those who are soon to be married to those who have been married many many years! We never stop growing and we never stop learning.  Even as we teach this class, we grow and learn each session.  This class is on Wed. nights at 7pm at Lewis Memorial Baptist church.  For more details contact me at r.shaffer@lmbc.or or my husband Jeremy at j.shaffer@lmbc.org.

Exhausted?????!!!!!!

Exhausted?

Do you stay exhausted? Do you ever feel like the leader of a country (i.e. your life/home) who has many borders? You run as fast and as hard as you can to solve a problem or handle a situation on the North border when suddenly you hear word from a messenger (usually one of your kids) that there is a crisis on the South border.  You spend all day everyday running to repair, clean-up, tighten-up, and protect your borders when you really just want to go to the capitol city and take a nap!  
Matthew 11:28-30 is a famous passage that we often hear or read but never apply!  2 oxen are connected by a yoke then hitched to the plow.  Jesus compels those who are weary to come and be "yoked" with HIM.  His yoke is lighter than the yoke of this world.  Often we choose to go at it all alone and so technically we are pulling the whole plow by ourselves! We need to be "connected" to our Savior who will give us rest.  I have found that in the midst of my greatest burdens, I find peace and rest when I am reading my Bible or spending time in prayer.  It's like pressing the "refresh" button on my day.  Most busy, burdened people think they don't have time to stop and spend time with the Lord but in fact they don't have time NOT too!  Try it! Try resting in the presence of the Savior! I guarantee the first time God speaks to you from His Word, you will be charged up like the energizer bunny!

Putting Words in God's Mouth

Genesis 3: 1-6
"The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the LORD God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” 
“Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’ ” “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman.  “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”
The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too."



For months now I have been deeply entrenched into Genesis chapters 1-11 as I worked on a curriculum for our children's ministry entitled "The BIG Truth".  These narratives are so familiar to me and to so many of us that we often skim it or only read the highlights.  It becomes like proofreading your own work, you miss the little things! 


There is one phrase found in this passage that may often be overlooked that is small and probably very insignificant but it has perplexed me greatly! In Gen. 3:3 when Eve was speaking to the serpent about the fruit of the tree that they were not to eat, she added 4 small words to the command God had given her, "You must not eat it OR EVEN TOUCH IT; if you do, you will die."  Why did she say that? Why did she add to the words of God?  Why did she exaggerate? God never told them they couldn't touch the tree.  Did she think the command from God needed "something else" to make it seem more emphatic?
In studying personalities, I have learned that some people are bent towards exaggeration.  I include myself in that category :) I guess that I wonder about Eve because I would have probably done the same thing.  In studying this passage I have come to two conclusions. 
First, this shows the place of her heart.  Before Satan ever came to her with temptation, she was already unsure of what God had said.  Or maybe she had chosen not to listen to His Word.  Had she been firm and steadfast in her decision to obey God's command she probably would have not added to God's Words.
Secondly, this simple phrase shows her desire to be in control.  For us control freaks who like to plan and prepare for everything it's hard to just listen and let God be God. 
I believe that from this simple phrase we can take away 2 things.  First, we need to keep our hearts in check and lined up with God's Words.  Second, we also need to let God be God and not try to add to or take away from who He is.  He is in control of our lives whether that fits into our plan or not!  

Not I, Just Him!

Welcome to my first blog!  This blog is entitled "Not I, Just Him" because that is what I plan on using this blog for; to point people to Jesus Christ! I am really just a nobody but because I know Jesus as my personal Savior that makes me a somebody.  It has been said that the human body, when dehydrated down to only its elements, would only be worth about 3 dollars.  What makes us valuable is that fact that we are made in the image of God. 

This blog is simply a way for me to share things that God has shown me and is still showing me through His Word and through His service.  What a wonderful thing it is to be a child of the king!