The Unsurpassed Intimacy of Tested Faith

Here's a devotion sent to me from Kelly that applies to all of our lives, but especially to a few that are very close to me. Keep the faith!

The Unsurpassed Intimacy of Tested Faith

Jesus said to her, ’Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?’ —John 11:40
Every time you venture out in your life of faith, you will find something in your circumstances that, from a commonsense standpoint, will flatly contradict your faith. But common sense is not faith, and faith is not common sense. In fact, they are as different as the natural life and the spiritual. Can you trust Jesus Christ where your common sense cannot trust Him? Can you venture out with courage on the words of Jesus Christ, while the realities of your commonsense life continue to shout, "It’s all a lie"? When you are on the mountaintop, it’s easy to say, "Oh yes, I believe God can do it," but you have to come down from the mountain to the demon-possessed valley and face the realities that scoff at your Mount-of-Transfiguration belief (see Luke 9:28-42 ). Every time my theology becomes clear to my own mind, I encounter something that contradicts it. As soon as I say, "I believe ’God shall supply all [my] need,’ " the testing of my faith begins ( Philippians 4:19 ). When my strength runs dry and my vision is blinded, will I endure this trial of my faith victoriously or will I turn back in defeat?
Faith must be tested, because it can only become your intimate possession through conflict. What is challenging your faith right now? The test will either prove your faith right, or it will kill it. Jesus said, "Blessed is he who is not offended because of Me" Matthew 11:6 ). The ultimate thing is confidence in Jesus. "We have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end . . ." ( Hebrews 3:14 ). Believe steadfastly on Him and everything that challenges you will strengthen your faith. There is continual testing in the life of faith up to the point of our physical death, which is the last great test. Faith is absolute trust in God— trust that could never imagine that He would forsake us (see Hebrews 13:5-6 ).

He got off the bus with our neighbor, Lexie.

Lance's 1st day of Kindergarten! Sniff...Sniff

Here he is the big Kindergartener! For some reason, I can't seem to upload any more pictures. I'll try to do another post with more. Lance had a great day and was sad that he doesn't go back tomorrow. He was so excited to eat lunch at school and ride the bus. I think the bus was by far his favorite part of day. He is begging to ride it in the morning to school too. We are so proud of him for being such a big boy on his big day! We are also praising God for giving him a teacher whose favorite book is the Bible according to her Star of the Week board! It's going to be a great year!

For those who doubt or look for solutions in the wrong places...

The Bible: Useful in All Situations

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

All Scripture is helpful and relevant to your life. But the Bible is more than a good self-help book; it is a treasure trove of godly principles and truths that can radically change your life for the better.

"I know there are a lot of books, and people gave me a lot of books, but I think the best book is God's Word," says Bruce, a widower.

Heavenly God, when I open Your Word, open my heart to understand what You are saying to me. Show me the value of a biblical lifestyle, a life rooted in You. Amen.

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Suggested reading from the GriefShare HelpCenter

Women's Devotional Bible - NIV: The Original Collection of Daily Devotions from Godly Women


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A couple more favorites

Some of my favorite vaca pics

Chef Clay

Loggerhead

Our Vacation

Don't need to waste too much time...bags to unpack, blogs to read, uh.. I mean, laundry to wash, but I wanted to do a quick post about our vacation. It was a great relaxing 12 days, but somehow now we are home, I barely feel like I was away. Everyday life is back! Plus I am not feeling well, a mild case of vertigo. I still feel like I am on a boat! It's awful and the medicine the doc gave me makes me sleepy. So I am gently being rocked to sleep, but with whinny children hanging on my leg! OH... back to the relaxing vacation... We spent days on the beach which all the boys loved. We got our exercise because Levi had to be the great explorer! No books read at the beach this year! Darren got to go on a dive trip, which he said was amazing! We went to the Loggerhead Marine Center, which rescues sea turtles. This is a great place to visit (for free) if you are ever in Juno Beach. We took break from the sun one day and went to the movies (for free) to see Alvin and the Chipmunks. We did very good with our budget. We may have even spent less $$ than if we were at home. My mom bought a lot of our groceries. We didn't spend more on gas than if we were home, believe it or not. Thank God for bringing down gas prices just in time for us! We even had gourmet meals prepared for us by "Chef Clay" (my baby bro) that we didn't pay a dime for! If you ever visit the area, be sure to eat at Cucina's on Palm Beach. It was wonderful and a great casual atmosphere. Not pretentious at all, as you would expect for Palm Beach.
We really enjoyed our selves and I really want to thank my Grandma "GG", my Mom "Granny" and Howie, and my brother "Chef Clay" and Gabby for a wonderful vacation! We love y'all!!!!!