Thought of the moment...

Earlier today I was listening to a sermon by Mark Driscoll. It was the firs in a study he was doing on the book of Malachi. The whole sermon was very good, yet one part in particular stood out to me. All day it has been poping into my mind, so
I decided that I am going to let it out.

So here it is, of course im rephrasing it, but anyway: " We, people, deserve hell. Anything else giving in life is a gift."

The fact that im saved by the blood of the lamb is a gift. That I have the promise of everlasting life, also a gift. Kind of opens a new perspective to when things go wrong in life...  Definitely something I am going to remeber for the rest of my life!
                      
                       Abba's Daughter,
                               Arina D.

Mark Driscoll Sermon

Yes Lord, Yes Lord, Yes, YES LORD!

2 Corinthians 4:6-12

6" For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you."

Wow! All six of those verses are good, but aren't the last two, 11 and 12,  extremely thought jarring?! His life should be revealed in our bodies, ( the whole W.W.J.D thing again) it is at work with in us! 

Verses 7-9 are very comforting, and inst there a song that has those word in it? ........Hmmm! It's: 

I'mTrading My Sorrows (yes lord) - Jeremy Camp

 Great song aye?  Let us be jars that are willing to be molded by our Abba, Father.

His Daughter,

Arina D.

Proverbs 16

Just some really good verses from Proverbs 16 I got for today!

-1 "To humans belong the plans of the heart,
    but from the Lord comes the proper answer of the tongue."

-2 "All a person’s ways seem pure to them,
    but motives are weighed by the Lord."

-6"Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for;
    through the fear of the Lord evil is avoided."

-9 "In their hearts humans plan their course,
    but the Lord establishes their steps."

-20"Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers,
    and blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord."

-31"Gray hair is a crown of splendor;
    it is attained in the way of righteousness."

-32"Better a patient person than a warrior,
    one with self-control than one who takes a city."

-33"The lot is cast into the lap,
    but its every decision is from the Lord."

I believe they are all pretty self explanatory...  and some are very convicting! :p

His Daughter,

Arina D.

"Eating Food Given to Idols"

1 Corinthians 8:4-11

"...yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came for whom we live; and there but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came, and through who we live."

We as believer this may firmly believe it, but others could be shaky on this concept. Shaky as in they may be questioning, and not sure how to behave as a follower. something that you may find "okay" to do,or have, may be something they could have a guilty conscience over.

So maybe someone is struggling to stop doing something, and then there you who doing it, not seeing anything bad in it, or being able to control yourself. for example, some sort of social media network. you don't get distracted by it, at least not as much as the  next person. But that next person may be fighting the temptation of spending time on that instead of reading the word and praying. They see you being able to do both, and believe they can to. So for the sake of that soul, we should be able to give up our comforts.

Though we may not be moved by having that one thing in our lives, or brother or sister may be.
"So the weak brother or sister for whom Christ died is destroyed by [our] knowledge."

I need to ask God for his approval on the thing I do. I don't want anyone to stumble due to my thoughtlessness. I believe with His help, we can accomplish anything!

His Daughter,

Arina D.

"Nature of True Apostleship"

Okay, so I read some really good stuff today! Well, at least  I thought it was pretty swell.

So anyway, 1 Corinthians 4.

"Nature of True Apostleship"

(Title in my bible)

If we consider our selves as a servant of Christ, we have been given a trust, must prove to be faithful. also, we must not worry about what other will think and say to us, as long as we know where we stand in front of God. But having a clear conscience in front of God does not make us innocent. God will still judge us, so we must take this as a lesson, not to judge others because God will judge us, and them. 

God will bring to light what is in the darkness. we cannot hind anything from Him. eventually everything will be out. So I believe it would be much better if we always came out with the truth right away. All the motives and desires of the heart will be exposed.

Probably one of the greatest statements from this passage would be verses 6-9. For what make us diffrent than anyone else? What do we own that we did not receive by grace? 
"8 Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have begun to reign..." and "9 For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings." So great! I just love these promises, and I love knowing that we as Christians have responsibilities! 

May God bless us all... and give us all the desire to follow Him and become better spectacles to the whole Universe.

His Daughter,

Arina D.

June 9th....

Wow... its been like what... 7 days since my last post? Yaa... Well, could start coming up with excuses, but I think that would just make things worse. Ill just be honest; I was slacking. I keep telling my self that i will have more time for God once school and finals are over. But yesterday I got real with myself, and I can say that i am really quite embarrassed with myself.  I know that once schools over, I will still be in the bad habit of not starting my day with the word. I mean I still read, but that was just to get rid of my guilty conscience of not-reading. But I Praise God He is so merciful and patient!

Today I read from Acts 16. Verses 11-36 stood out to me most. I never cease to be amazed by Paul's character. I mean his characteristics of Faith and Bravery are amazing! Even in a jail cell he worshiped and sang to God, with his friend, Silas. They were not at all afraid of what was to come,(I encourage to press the likes and to read the chapter, if you are not familiar with it!) yet I can't even force my self to read the word sometimes, or pray! I want to be like Paul and Silas. Not only did they prove there faith and trust in God, but doing so they brought a man and His whole family to Christ! Amazing! God help me to become more like Pauls... and Silas.(Hmm I am loving that name; Silas).

Well, hopefully i wont be so long to post again...

Arina Dovgoruk,

His Daughter.

P.s. Check out this cute Finals Poem! 

http://www.ccefc.org/_blog/Reid_Kapple/post/a-poem-for-finals-week/

June 2, 2014

Isn't it great to have friends? Ones that you can still come for comfort, even if you haven't talked to them for a day? I mean I cannot compare God to our earthly friends, yet I still consider Him a friend, even in my earthly state. I  know that even when I am to "busy" to spend time with Him for the day, or to lazy, I can always come to Him, and He will be there for me! Of course this is no excuse to not read my bible, or spend anytime with Him, its simply a comfort for me; one that I'm still trying to grasp. 

I am truly grateful for my father, and His unending love for me. looking at the way I act towards Him sometimes is embarrassing...  I mean,  there I am, running around trying to solve my own problems. Thinking about my own worries, longing for love and attention where I'm not supposed to. Mean whiles He's watching me and (probably) thinking... "Did you really forget that I am RIGHT HERE.".

My God, help me remember that You are there. Always. Help me long for your presence to be with me constantly. Help me love You the way You love me. Amen!

-Arina D,

Your Daughter.

June 1st!

I've heard many time that we must be like Jesus. The whole W.W.J.D (What Would Jesus Do) thing. Well today I read from Luke 2 the 41 verse to the end of the chapter. This is where Jesus parents take him to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. We all know how the story goes. Joseph and Mary "lose" him. Three days later, when they finally find him, he was in the temple courts among the teachers. He was "...listening to them and asking them questions.".[Luke 2:46 NIV] Poor Mary was worried and upset, so she asked him why he treated them like that, he replied saying: 49 "Why were you searching for me?...Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?". While I was reading this, I got two messages.

1. We should always be happy to be in our Father's house (like our church). Listening, and asking questions. We can get so much from sermons as long as we set our hearts to receive something for that day. Not only that, but we must participate, or work in the church.

2. We should also always be in in our Father's presence. Asking Him question, and listening to His voice. Reading the word and praying is how we can accomplish that. So in doing this, we can answer people that we we in our Father's house. This is probably the best place to be!

 I need to try to always be in his house, and to enjoy it. Whether it,s when I'm at church, or when I'm at home spending time with Him. May God help me find pleasure in being with Him, and serving Him.

-Arina D,

His Daughter