Hello to whoever reads my blog! (especially Gracie!)
I am headed on a road trip for the next week.... but I'll fill you in when I return!
Stay strong in Christ... be an overcomer!
Amanda
Friday, March 13, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
"They shall mount up with wings like eagles," Isaiah 40:31
As spring break draws nearer, the to-do list grows bigger! It's easy to get 
consumed with how it is it all going to happen! (A friend of mine left a verse on my wall that was really encouraging 1 Chronicles 28:20) One of my favorite passages in the Bible is Isaiah 40:28-31. In verse 31, it talks about mounting up with wings like eagles.
I was reading it today, and the idea of the eagle stuck with me. So I started researching the eagle. Did you know in the Bible, eagles are mentioned 33 times? It has always amazed me how God uses nature to speak with us, so I wanted to find out why the eagle is used so much.
1. Job 9:26 "Like an eagle swooping on its prey."
-Eagles are strong! "A Bald Eagle’s grip is believed to
be about 10 times stronger than the grip of an adult human hand and can exert upwards of 400 psi or pounds per square inch." (from http://www.hawkquest.org/TA/XL/Gripping.pdf)
That is amazing!!! On that same website, it said that the Harpey Bald Eagle’s feet have
enough power to crush large mammal bones! Wow!
-Also, eagles can see four times better than a human with perfect vision! They can see forward and sideways at the same time.
2. Isaiah 40:31 "But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint."
-Eagles wings can be 6-to 7 feet wide!
3. Proverbs 30:18-19a: "There are three things which are too wonderful for me, Yes, four which I do not understand: The way of an eagle in the air..."
-The eagle can fly up to 10,000 feet in the air or 1.89 miles in the air!
What I take away from this is how God DESIGNED (not evolved) the eagle this way. He made this bird with its strength, beauty, long wings.... and uses it to teach us. Always keep an eye out in nature for God's lessons. As Romans 1:20 "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse"
Just the other day at the park, I saw some ants carrying something and I was interested and stopped and watched! I thought it was prey, but the black ants were carrying wood chips back to their ant hill around the edge of the picnic table. They would carry the chip and drop it on the hill and then immediately turn around to search for more wood. What had originally caught my eye was this ant carrying a piece of wood that was three times its body length and two times its body width... He struggled with it over the 'hills' for him, but made it. He did not take a break or complain (at least I didn't hear!)! He went back for more wood. Another lesson, God will not give you more than you can handle (like the ant's wood), and He'll help you carry your burden through the hills (trials!)!
So, God speaks through many ways. Amy Carmichael said that nature is the second Bible! So this week, thank God for His nature... the sun's splendor, the bird's music....
Psalms 103:1a and 4b
Bless the Lord, Oh my soul
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
consumed with how it is it all going to happen! (A friend of mine left a verse on my wall that was really encouraging 1 Chronicles 28:20) One of my favorite passages in the Bible is Isaiah 40:28-31. In verse 31, it talks about mounting up with wings like eagles.I was reading it today, and the idea of the eagle stuck with me. So I started researching the eagle. Did you know in the Bible, eagles are mentioned 33 times? It has always amazed me how God uses nature to speak with us, so I wanted to find out why the eagle is used so much.
1. Job 9:26 "Like an eagle swooping on its prey."
-Eagles are strong! "A Bald Eagle’s grip is believed to
be about 10 times stronger than the grip of an adult human hand and can exert upwards of 400 psi or pounds per square inch." (from http://www.hawkquest.org/TA/XL/Gripping.pdf)
That is amazing!!! On that same website, it said that the Harpey Bald Eagle’s feet have
enough power to crush large mammal bones! Wow!
-Also, eagles can see four times better than a human with perfect vision! They can see forward and sideways at the same time.
2. Isaiah 40:31 "But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint."
-Eagles wings can be 6-to 7 feet wide!
3. Proverbs 30:18-19a: "There are three things which are too wonderful for me, Yes, four which I do not understand: The way of an eagle in the air..."
-The eagle can fly up to 10,000 feet in the air or 1.89 miles in the air!
What I take away from this is how God DESIGNED (not evolved) the eagle this way. He made this bird with its strength, beauty, long wings.... and uses it to teach us. Always keep an eye out in nature for God's lessons. As Romans 1:20 "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse"
Just the other day at the park, I saw some ants carrying something and I was interested and stopped and watched! I thought it was prey, but the black ants were carrying wood chips back to their ant hill around the edge of the picnic table. They would carry the chip and drop it on the hill and then immediately turn around to search for more wood. What had originally caught my eye was this ant carrying a piece of wood that was three times its body length and two times its body width... He struggled with it over the 'hills' for him, but made it. He did not take a break or complain (at least I didn't hear!)! He went back for more wood. Another lesson, God will not give you more than you can handle (like the ant's wood), and He'll help you carry your burden through the hills (trials!)!
So, God speaks through many ways. Amy Carmichael said that nature is the second Bible! So this week, thank God for His nature... the sun's splendor, the bird's music....
Psalms 103:1a and 4b
Bless the Lord, Oh my soul
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Put through the fire
When gold is first mined, it has many impurities, such as zinc, copper, silver, or iron. One way to get out the impurities is by melting the gold. Gold's melting point is 1064.18 °C / 1947.52 °F! Once the gold is melted, gaseous chlorine is blown into the liquid. The remaining elements react with the chlorine and form a layer on top of the liquid gold. Note how the impurities could not be gotten out until gold was melted... which is extremely hot!
Christians must go through this process. What! Yes. There are several references of the 'gold process' in the Bible.
1 Peter 1:7
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:
Gold has always been valuable. Paul talks of how our faith being much more valuable than gold... and gold goes through fire. No one buys the impure gold because it is not at its best. Same with our faith. We need the fire to make our faith strong... and pure... to glorify God. After we go through the fire, it is so our faith 'might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.' So, we as Christians following after God, can expect to go through the fire so our impurities can be 'melted' out. It is during those extreme trials in our life that our imperfections rise up and that is when we can offer them to God and He can remove them. Do not be discouraged during this process because it is out of love for you and it is drawing you ever closer to Jesus. He sees our finished product, our true potential through all of the imperfections. Keep in mind how 'hot' the gold has to get in order to get the impurities out.
Isaiah 1:25
And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin.
purge: rid of impurities, an act of removing by cleansing, etc...
dross: a mass of solid impurities floating on a molten metal, waste, impure matter
God said He will rid of us our impurities... so if you're going through the fire, trust in His word... that He will never leave you nor forsake you! Wait on Him and your strength will be renewed... for our God, the creator of everything, does not grow weary!
I was convicted after I had written this post, thinking of what right I had to write on such an issue. So I must say, I do not pretend to fathom what the depth of this test will be like or what it will cost. In my limited, immature faith, God is slowly teaching me what it means to go through the fire. My 'fire' is to me a trial, yet I know it is not worthy to be compared to such things as persecution. Each person has his/her own thing that makes their faith be tested. So, I'm not an expert at being put in the fire, rather beginning to learn and realize what this fire means and having the light bulb click on that if you are following after Christ, you will be put through the fire.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
"work out Thy whole will in my life at any cost, now and forever."
After being inspired by my little sister's blog, (virtuouswomanintraining09), I have decided to start a blog. My desire in life is to have Christ be the center always. May He lead me in this life and may I rest contentedly 
in my lot. Psalms 16:5
"Lord, I give up all my own plans and purposes, all my own desires and hopes, and accept Thy will for my life. I give myself, my life, my all utterly to Thee to be Thine forever. Fill me and seal me with Thy Holy Spirit. Use me as Thou wilt, work out Thy whole will in my life at any cost, now and forever."
-Betty Scott Stam
This prayer is such an inspiration to me. To give it all to Christ, that is what He asks! He may give some of it back, but we must not give with that mindset. So many Christians get settled in their lives and only give God part of what they truly have to offer... they are missing out on all that God can be in their lives.
Betty Scott Stam was a missionary in China with her husband and baby girl. Betty and her husband discovered that Communist leaders were coming for them. They left a note for their baby's formula and went with the leaders. Betty Scott Stam watched her husband get beheaded and then she herself was beheaded. That was her cost... she did not know that when she prayed her prayer. Yet I have no doubt that she had the 'peace that passeth all understanding' and oh what joy she must have had when she saw Jesus... Paul says he suffered the loss of all things for Christ and counts them as dung so that he may win Christ! I would say that Betty Scott Stam would agree here.
This prayer cannot be prayed without seriousness, but we must all recognize that we are bought... we are servants. We cannot hold anything back, but oh the reward for those who surrender all to Christ.
in my lot. Psalms 16:5"Lord, I give up all my own plans and purposes, all my own desires and hopes, and accept Thy will for my life. I give myself, my life, my all utterly to Thee to be Thine forever. Fill me and seal me with Thy Holy Spirit. Use me as Thou wilt, work out Thy whole will in my life at any cost, now and forever."
-Betty Scott Stam
This prayer is such an inspiration to me. To give it all to Christ, that is what He asks! He may give some of it back, but we must not give with that mindset. So many Christians get settled in their lives and only give God part of what they truly have to offer... they are missing out on all that God can be in their lives.
Betty Scott Stam was a missionary in China with her husband and baby girl. Betty and her husband discovered that Communist leaders were coming for them. They left a note for their baby's formula and went with the leaders. Betty Scott Stam watched her husband get beheaded and then she herself was beheaded. That was her cost... she did not know that when she prayed her prayer. Yet I have no doubt that she had the 'peace that passeth all understanding' and oh what joy she must have had when she saw Jesus... Paul says he suffered the loss of all things for Christ and counts them as dung so that he may win Christ! I would say that Betty Scott Stam would agree here.
This prayer cannot be prayed without seriousness, but we must all recognize that we are bought... we are servants. We cannot hold anything back, but oh the reward for those who surrender all to Christ.
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