Complete in Thee: Answer to Prayer/Prayer Request/Thoughts on 1 Peter

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Answer to Prayer/Prayer Request/Thoughts on 1 Peter

I am happy to report to you that Denise is no longer in a coma and has been transferred to rehab!! Praise the Lord!!! This is truly His hand... Mommy said that it sounds like Denise is wishing she could get better quicker than she is able to, which is understandable, so if you could pray that she would heal quickly and that during this time of rehabilitation that her heart would be set on God and drawn closer to Him.

Most of the people had church seem to be coming out of the flu; the auditorium was a LOT fuller this week than last. Praise the Lord!

Thanks also for praying for Nathan; he's doing a lot better. However, now Evan Gerber has the pneumonia. :-( So if you can pray for him now! And that no one else gets it!

Here's some beautiful verses I read today:

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls." (1 Peter 1:3-9)

I love 1 Peter! How often I need this reminder, that the events in my life are to burn off the dross and make me more like Christ. Instead of focusing on how hard things are, I should look to Jesus, whom, having not seen, I love... And when you focus on Jesus, things take on such a new perspective, don't they?

Well, to try to expound upon these verses would pretty much be to just repeat them! So reread the verses and let the message sink into your hearts!

8 comments:

Amanda said...: Ohh, thank you for that passage...; November 8, 2009 at 7:53 PM
Gaby said...: I'll be praying for everyone! I am glad that everyone is beginning to feel better! :)

I liked the passage too. :)

~Gabrielle; November 8, 2009 at 7:56 PM
Rebecca Ann said...: Yes thank you for typing up that verse! Melanie your posts and thoughts seem so like mine right now! Even through these trials I have to remember they are to mold me and make me more like my Savior, not to hinder me but to build my character.

I will keep praying for Denise and everyone who is sick.

Could you also pray for me. My father and mother just told my sister and I yesterday that in January we may be leaving our church and looking for a new one. This is going to be tough as we have gone to this church for 9 years, but its starting to go in a direction that is very unbiblical and the youth group is starting to be more a hindrance to my sister than helpful. The Bible studies we don't even open our Bibles and its just sad that it is not christian fellowship, its just hang out time for the other teens.
We want to find a church that has sound doctrine being taught and hopefully no youth groups. WOW its a tall order. I am sorry I am telling so much! But I know you will pray for us. We can't tell any of the people in my church obviously to pray for our family. So please pray for God to keep revealing his will for our family in seeking a church home.

Praying for you too! and I am sorry if this is a burden, but I can't post it on my blog either, because some people from my church read it.

praying and in Christ,
Rebecca; November 9, 2009 at 9:36 AM
Melanie said...: Thank you all for your prayers!

Rebecca, I will certainly pray for your family as you make this transition!! Our family can really identify, as we were searching for a long time to find a church where God's Word was truly preached and lived. At one point, we were beginning to wonder whether there were *any* good churches out there, but then He led us to our present church, which is such a great blessing to us (even if it is two hours away!! :-D ) It took a while, but He really used that time to grow us in Him and I am so thankful for that. I am sure He will lead you too and will draw you closer to Himself and to each other through this. Keeping you in my prayers!!

God bless,
~Melanie; November 9, 2009 at 9:44 AM
Gaby said...: Rebecca- I'll be praying for you and your family too. (even if I have no clue who you are! :); November 9, 2009 at 10:33 AM
Rebecca Ann said...: Thank you Melanie and Gabrielle! I am actually Gabrielle rebecca stricker I went on the sense and sensibility forum england trip with your sister Ashley. :)

lol I know who you are!

Yes thanks for your prayers! I feel kind of like I a being a burden, but I just knew Melanie that you had experienced this and thought you could relate! thank you for your prayers! thank you so much!; November 9, 2009 at 1:30 PM
Rebecca Ann said...: Oh and here is my blog Gabrielle. Your sister is actually on there sometimes and I posted pictures from the England trip.

www.xanga.com/icebluechick; November 9, 2009 at 1:32 PM
Gaby said...: Rebecca- LOL I know who you are now! :D :P; November 9, 2009 at 4:01 PM

PRAYER REQUESTS

"Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints" (Ephesians 6:18)

PLEASE PRAY...

* That I would draw nearer to God every day and never allow my relationship to become stagnant ritual; particularly that I would grow in the area of submission, patience, 1 Corinthians 13 love, and wholehearted devotion

* That I might have wisdom as I edit "The Marquis' Daughter"; that the Lord would bless and work through it; and that I might find just the right publisher for it.

* That I would submit to the Lord's work in my life, whatever it may be; that I would take each opportunity He brings me (even the seemingly hard ones) to draw closer to Him and point others to Him

*That our Etsy shop might be successful and that it would be a means by which we can glorify God and share the Gospel

Ephesians 2:1-10

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience-- among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved-- and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

"The heart set to do the Father's will need never fear defeat. His promises of guidance may be fully counted upon. Does it make sense to believe that the Shepherd would care less about getting His sheep where He wants them to go than they care about getting there?"

"God is God. Because He is God, He is worthy of my trust and obedience. I will find rest nowhere but in His holy will, a will that is unspeakably beyond my largest notions of what He is up to."

"If God, like a father, denies us what we want now it is in order to give us some far better thing later on. The will of God, we can rest assured, is invariably a better thing."

"Obedience to God's will is the secret of spiritual knowledge and insight. It is not willingness to know, but willingness to DO (obey) God's will that brings certainty."

"Victory over all the circumstances of life comes not by might, nor by power, but by a practical confidence in God and by allowing His Spirit to dwell in our hearts and control our actions and emotions. Learn in the days of ease and comfort, to think in terms of the prayer that follows, so that when the days of hardship come you will be fully prepared and equipped to meet them."

"And shall I pray, Oh, change Thy will, my Father,
Until it be according unto mine?
Ah no, Lord, no, that never could be, rather
I pray Thee, Blend my human will with Thine."

"A crucified life cannot be self-assertive. It cannot protect itself. It cannot be startled into resentful words. The cup that is full of sweet water cannot spill bitter-tasting drops, however sharply it is knocked."

"And as we rest our hearts upon what we know (the certainty of the ultimate triumph of good), leaving what we do not know to the Love that has led us all our life long, the peace of God enters into us and abides. And then we see our light."

[A Practicing Christian]...it means that every single act and feeling, every experience, whether pleasant or unpleasant, must be referred to God. It means looking at everything as something that comes from Him, and always looking to Him and asking His will first, and saying, "How would he wish me to deal with this?"

Christ says: "Give me all. I don't want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work. I want you."

"I was not born to be free. I was born to adore and to obey."

"What is saving but taking us out of the dark into the light? There is no salvation but to know God and grow like Him."

"I will not try to convince you of anything about God. I cannot. You must know Him. I only tell you I believe in Him with all my heart. You must ask Him to explain Himself to you, and not take it for granted that He has done you a wrong because He has done what you do not like. Whether you seek Him or not, He will do you justice. But He cannot explain Himself unless you seek Him."

"Sometimes a thunderbolt will shoot from a clear sky; and sometimes into the life of a peaceful individual, without warning of gathered storm, something terrible will fall. And from that moment everything is changed. That life is no more what it was. Better it ought to be, worse it may be. The result depends on the life itself and it's response to the invading storm of trouble. Forever after, it's spiritual weather is altered. But for the one who believes in God, such rending and frightful catastrophies never come but where they are turned around for good in his own life and in other lives he touches."