pretty car lights at Robinsons bay

Question: Can Christians loose there salvation?

This is a very complex question and I think you could very well argue both sides and convince people for both sides, but I will try and express how I believe it. Salvation is a free GIFT that God choose to give to us, but the catch is we have to be willing to accept the gift. I don’t believe our gift of salvation is like a medal that we just receive and will always have, I believe it’s more like a plant, we have to water it and give it what it needs to be healthy and if we don’t tend to it will die and not produce fruit. Salvation is a never ending Journey that we have to fight for every day, "Work out your salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12). So our salvation is something that we do need to work at and allow God to change and mold us, and the work in our lives will never be finished simply because we are not perfect, if we were we wouldn’t need saving. Another point to bring up is that God only judges us by what we know, so if as a Christian we sin but do not know it is a sin I believe God will not judge us on that, BUT when we knowingly sin what we are actually doing is turning our back on God and pretty much saying I don’t need to do what you tell me. I am not saying that if we sin once we lose our salvation, but rather if we willingly and knowingly, continuously sin I believe our salvation is then lost, because in doing that it is like we are throwing Gods free gift back in His face. (Ezekiel 18v13-32) Yes this is an Old Testament verse but the same basic principals apply

Some may argue that true Christians don’t ongoingly live an immoral life, and that if they do they were never really redeemed in the first place. However this is cannot be true because I did exactly that, when I was younger I loved God with all I was and was very close to Him, but as teen years hit I began to be swayed by the world and knowingly did walk away and I believe that if I had have died during that time in my life I would not have gone to heaven.

Losing your salvation is much like receiving it, is a conscious decision, the bible says that the devil is hiding at every corner seeking whom he can devour (1 Peter 5v8,), he is constantly seeking to rob us of our free gift (salvation) and convince us we don’t need saving, simply because his mission is to steal kill and destroy us (John 10v10)

Salvation is about our relationship with Christ and just like any earthly relationship we need to spend time and effort into getting to know that person, otherwise on the Day of Judgment Jesus will say sorry I don’t know you. It’s a daily choice we need to make, not just a once saved always saved kind of gift.

Esther 2 - Gods favour

Hello my lovely ladies!

I know the readings eash day are short but there is so much in this book and coz its so short i needed to really break it down.

1. God has a perfect plan for us (Jeremiah 29v11)
God had big plans for esther, she was to be queen and save all her people, big plan yeah? but esther was but a simple girl and even more a jew in a persian counrty. She wouldnt have thought for one moment when she was taken form her family that there was any way she would become queen!
We need to think big! Gods plan for us is bigger than we can imagine, He has it right there for the taking, all we have to do is stay inline with Him and be obedient

2. Gods blessing comes when we are obedient!
Esther obeyed her uncle (who she lived with) by not telling them she was a Jew, but also the picture that is painted of esther is that she was a very obedient child and did what her uncle told her, she could have gone home to Jerusalem whenever she wanted but choose to stay with her uncle.
When esther went into the palace she found favour with one of the Unics that were in charge of taking care of all the ladies, she was given many extra priviledges by him. When Esther went before the King she immediatly had favour in his sight and he picked her, above everyone else even though he may not have seen all the other girls. It was because Esther obeyed and stayed faithd\ful not only to her uncle but to her God (she would have prayed a lot) that she had favour. God places people above us teachers parents leader etc, and they are all there by His appointment. (cant remember the verse) We need to obey what our leader say, we may not always like what they have to say but they are put there by God so we need to obey. classic example is with our parents, (..obey your parents because for this is right. honour  your father and mother, which is the first commandment with a promice, that it may go well with you and that you will enjoy a long and happy life) sometimes we dont agree witjh our parents and our parents may not be christian but God wants us to obey and honour them, (obedience is better than sarifice 1 samuel 55v22)

So go, Obey your authoritys, and really push into God, talk to him, do some further study..Being close to God is so awesome. You will see blessing when you begin to Obey..

Much Love!!!
xoxoxoxox

Esther! ..God is in control

Hello everybody
5 more days till Jaana is back! yay
Hope you are all behaving yourself..

About the Book of Esther

The events that the first chapter of the book of Esther describes happened about 483 BC (Before Christ). Over 100 years earlier, Nebuchadnezzar (the king of Babylon) had attacked Jerusalem. He overcame the Jews and he took many Jews to Babylon. Almost 70 years after that, the king of Persia defeated the armies of Babylon in battle. Then the people in Persia allowed the Jews to return to their own country, but not many Jews did return. When the story of Esther happened, most Jews were still living in the country called Persia.

We do not know who wrote the book. It may have been Mordecai or Ezra. Whoever wrote it knew the customs of Persia well. We know this from other history.

The Bible does not mention the book of Esther anywhere else. Some people think that it is only a story. They think that it is not true. But the writer wants us to know that the story is true. At the start of the book, he says when it happened. At the end of the book, he says that the official records included the story about Esther. (See Esther 10:2 and also Esther 2:23.)

The book of Esther does not mention the name of God. This is strange for a book that is in the Bible. Sometimes God seems to be silent. We might even think that he does not care about us. The writer of the book of Esther probably wanted his readers to realise that God is always in control. Although we cannot see God, he is always doing things in the world. Nobody can stop his plans.

·     Usually the kings of Persia only married wives from the 7 most important families in Persia. But God wanted Esther, who was a *Jew, to be queen. The servants of the king suggested that officials should search all the *kingdom for suitable young girls. The king would then choose his favourite girl and he would make her queen (Esther 2:2-4). God made Esther beautiful (Esther 2:7). And the king chose her to be queen.

·     Mordecai was Esther’s relative. He saved the king’s life. But the king forgot to reward him. That was unusual. But God knew that the best time for Mordecai to get his reward was much later (Esther 2:21-23).

·     Haman was the enemy of the *Jews. He wanted to select a lucky date when he could kill the *Jews. So he used the *Purim stones, which were a game of chance. God made sure that the *Purim stones chose a date nearly a year later. God had a special plan to save the *Jews from Haman’s plot (Esther 3:7).

·     Mordecai believed that God had made Esther queen. So Mordecai believed that God could use her to save the *Jews. But even if Esther did not speak on their behalf, God would still save the *Jews. Mordecai believed this also (Esther 4:12-14).

·     Esther went to see the king, although he had not invited her. In Persia, this was a dangerous thing to do. She knew that she was risking her life. But she also knew that God was in control. God helped Esther to please the king. The king promised to give her almost anything that she wanted (Esther 5:1-3).

·     We do not know why the king could not sleep that night. We do not know why he chose to read the books of official records. But we know that this was part of God’s plan. The records described how Mordecai saved the king’s life. So the king wanted advice about how to reward Mordecai. He decided to ask the first important official that he could find. It was Haman. Haman got up early and, at exactly the right time, he came to see the king. But Haman wanted the king to hang Mordecai (Esther 6:1-5).

·     Haman told his wife and his friends about Mordecai. He told them that Mordecai was a *Jew. They seemed to believe that God would protect his *Jewish people (Esther 6:12-14).

·     God changed the situation. Mordecai got the king’s reward that Haman had wanted for himself. And Haman got the punishment that Haman wanted Mordecai to get (Esther 7:5-10). Then the king allowed Mordecai to write a new law that would protect the *Jews from Haman’s evil plan.

·     The day that Haman had chosen for his plan came. The enemies of the *Jews had hoped to kill all the *Jews. But Mordecai’s law allowed the *Jews to defend themselves on that day. Haman’s plot had failed. God’s plan had succeeded (Esther 9:1-4).

·     The book of Esther records the origin of the holiday called *Purim. During this holiday, the *Jews remember how God saved them from their enemies (Esther 9:20-22).

ESTHER 1

This beginning of esther paints a very cruel and acurate picture of the persian empire at this time, that if you do not do what the king wants and according to the law, you will get thrown out, or even die.

But it also shows Persias great wealth, I mean holding two partys for the whole of the city not just for a day but sa whole week! farr!

But in all this, God had a plan, and used this incident with vashti being banished to save a whole nation, all by one girl.

Dont ever underestimate what God can do through you, to change things in your world..All you have to do is trust Him and fully be devoted to Him. In this day and age its pretty hard with so many ideas and wierd things going on, but does it really matter what other people think about us, when we know the truth?

I am definatly not saying it is easy, but God always comes through for us.

Be encouraged, trust God in everything, big or small things (money, transport, etc), and He will never let you down

:) have an awesome day!

xox

Job 32-37

Sup Girlys!

Job 32-37, is one of Jobs friends making a speech, he is a young man (probably a teenager). In those days they stictly believed with age comes wisdom and it was strange for a young person to be wise. This young man, Elihu, was a very brave boy, he waited for all the other men to have finished speaking, even then him speaking could have been dangerous for him, he begins by asking them to please listen to him because he has something to say, and each chapter he actually re asks for their attention just so he doesnt get into trouble I guess.
There are many thoughts on his speech, but personally I think he was the most correct out of all the friends and it sounds like Elihu really knew God, and also points towards that the spirit of God was talking through him.

In our world today there is so many views and opinions about God and why he does what he does and His reasonings. Elihu, in his speech point out clearly that God is just and He wouldnt have just smited Job with His troubles just because, but also points out that Job was a righteous man, not perfect but a good man..He doesnt come to a conclusion about why God did what he did to Job but simply tells to trust God that he has it under control, and we dont really need to know why.
In many situations we wont ever know why God does some of the things He does, But know that God is JUst and in control, and everything happens for a reason, plus He works out all things for the good of those who love him (Romans 8v28). Sometimes it is hard to do this especially when we cant see a way out of a situation or cant see any possible just reason for things, but know we cant control much in this world and the more we do try the less control we will actually have. But when we simply just trust and depend on God, he takes control of it all!

Elihu knew what to say because he knew his God and God was with him, When we know what God says about us and everything else, what Gods like, and how powerful He is, nothing that is said or happening really matters if its against what you know about God. Because He NEVER changes and is ALWAYS there for us.

I encourage you all, that if something is happening you dont understand or is hard, talk to us cell girls (while jaana is away)  get into your word (ask us if theres something specific you want to learn) because thats how we get th know God more, and pray, even asking us cell girls to pray for you is awesome just so you know your not alone :)

Love you girls so much and see you all tonight!!
ABz...
xox

Job 25-28

Hey!

Chapter 26-27 is a really awesome Chapter, and lays an awesome foundation for Jobs speech over the next few chapters.
In essence Job describes how big and mighty God is and how little and powerless we are in comparison, then 27 Job begins to make a promise to God that while he is alive he will stay true and righteous before the Lord with all the strength he has.

Job is just in awe of God and His wonders, how awesome would it be that when we are going through hard times to just simply look at how awesome God is and all the good things He has done for us instead of focusing on all the bad stuff, its almost a form of worship to Him, just thanking Him and giving Him all the glory (credit) for all He has placed in your life.

Job knew He had been delt to unfairly and that he wasnt being punished for sin, and refused to take his friends advice that he was suffering for something he had done wrong.
Sometimes we care to much about what people think and take their thoughts as truth, but when you know your God you know how He feels and thinks anout you, and your situation and there is no need to come under human standards or thoughts if they arnt what God thinks.

Short Word today but we shall carry on tommrow.
I encourage you to read the commenary I am following
http://www.easyenglish.info/bible-commentary/job-lbw.htm
It really helps get that little bit extra understanding!

Have an awesome day!
xox
Abz...

Job 15-19

Hey girls!
Thanks heaps for the wee party you put on for me! was wonderful!!

Todays reading is quite an exciting reading, Job is beginning to get some revelation for God about life and death, and also getting sick of his friends with what they are saying.

To begin with Job and his friends had very simpl ideas about life and death, and how God punished bad people and rewarded good people. But in chapter 18-19 we begin to see that Jobs ideas are changing and God is revealing some things to him: (here is an exert from the commentary I am reading)

These verses (19v25-27) may be the most important verses in the Book of Job. Elsewhere Job explained his troubles, fears and doubts. But in these verses, Job explained the reasons why he still had hope.

Elsewhere Job had been doubtful whether he could ever prove himself innocent. He prayed. But he was not sure that God would ever help him. But in these verses, Job felt confident again.

Elsewhere, Job argued that death would be the end of everything. He did not think that a dead person could ever live again. But in these verses, Job was sure that God could make a dead person live again. And Job believed that he himself would meet God.

These are very important verses. But they are not easy verses to translate. Bible students are unsure about the exact meaning of many phrases.

But we understand enough to be confident about Job’s main ideas here:

·     Firstly, Job was developing his thoughts in Job 16:19-21. There, Job said that somebody in heaven was helping him. He described that person as a lawyer or a friend. Job probably meant God himself. With our knowledge of the whole Bible, we can add that these passages describe Jesus well.

·     In Job 14:7-9, Job remembered about trees. A tree that seems dead can often live again. And in Job 14:13-17, Job prayed that this would happen to Job himself. Here in chapter 19, Job seems confident that God will answer that prayer.

·     Job used a special word in verse 25. In the original language of the book (called Hebrew) this word is GOEL. A GOEL frees someone by either of two particular methods. Either the GOEL may pay a debt for that person. Or the GOEL may fight to free the person. The English word for GOEL is a redeemer. So:

(1) In the Book of Ruth, Boaz freed Ruth. He loved her. So he paid her debts and he married her. He was her redeemer or GOEL.

(2) God is often called a GOEL or redeemer. For example, Psalm 19:14 and Isaiah 63:16.

(3) The Bible teaches that Jesus is our redeemer (1 Peter 1:18-19). When he died for us, he freed us from the devil’s power. The price for our freedom was Jesus’ death.

(4) In Job 19:25, Job uses this special word to describe God. At last, Job trusts God completely. God will rescue Job, even if God has to take Job from the grave to save him. God will rescue Job, even if God must pay to rescue him. And God will rescue Job even if God must fight for Job.

·     Job realised that his body would die. But Job now knew that death would not be the end. In verse 26, the words ‘in my body’ might mean ‘without my body’. The translation is difficult but the meaning of Job’s words seems clear. After Job’s death, Job would see God. And Job desired that day, like Paul in Philippians 1:21-23.

I believe this can relate to us, so many people including ourselves may have traditional or wrong views or understandings about christianity and how things are that can bind us into fear or unbelief about things, but If we pray and seek God like Job did He can begin to reveal things to you that maybe you dont even understand.. And also Praying for your friends who have false Ideas about christianity that will stop them getting into church, because the media and everyone out there portrays christianity so different that what it really is people just dont wanna touch it. But we all know the reality that God is awesome and He just wants us to love us.

Action key: Pray for both yourself and your friends that God would reveal and open your eyes to things that may be holding you back or confusing you.

The other thing I want to take from this passage today was Jobs rightous anger at his friends...Job was sitting there for days/weeks listening to his friends tell him he was evil and God was punishing him for it and talking smack about his children and his life. Job in chapters 18-19 gets angry at his friends and sick of what they are saying because he knows that what they are saying cant be right.

Sometimes we sit and take crap from our friends and family about our lives or they say things over and over we know are not right or from God, and we dont have to take that, If we know Gods word and what is reality you dont have to take crap from other people. Doesnt mean you can yell at them and get all snarky but it is ok to say hey, what your saying isnt cool, or right and I don't appreciate it. especially if there words are attacking you or your family.

Jaana shared on the power of words a few weeks ago and this is where it fits, Know what God has told and promiced you, know what He thinks of you and etc...Dont let anyone speak out otherwise.

Words have power and my mother always said if what your saying is not uplifting or encouraging to someone dont speak...

So be encouraged, dont take crap, pray for things to be revealed.

And like was said last night if you simply have a willing heart, that can be key to break through

PRAY!!

Abz

xox