Nothing Too Hard

Jeremiah had been a prophet for nearly forty years by the time Jerusalem
came under attack by the Babylonians. He had long been proclaiming a
message of repentance, but the people continued to ignore his plea; now
the enemy had surrounded Jerusalem and the end was near. In this time
of great turmoil, God told Jeremiah to purchase a field from his cousin.

This was a strange request, but Jeremiah obediently purchased the field.
However, he soon began to question God's reasoning: "See how the siege
ramps are built up to take the city? Though the city will be handed over
to the Babylonians, You say to me, 'Buy the field'" (Jeremiah 32:24,25).
Jeremiah had been a prophet for many years. He had been given the
privilege of talking directly with God, but this command just didn't
make sense. Why should he purchase a field when the enemy was invading
and taking prisoners?

God answered Jeremiah with a simple, yet challenging question.

Jeremiah 32:27
"I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for Me?"

Yes, the enemy had invaded the land and would soon overrun the city of
Jerusalem. But God's plan was for the people to one day return to the
land: "I will surely gather them from all the lands where I banish them
in my furious anger and great wrath; I will bring them back to this
place and let them live in safety. They will be My people and I will be
their God" (Jeremiah 32:37-38). Jeremiah's field was to be a reminder
that God would one day restore His people - a reminder that He could be
trusted even in the face of overwhelming circumstances.

We often have a difficult time seeing how all the pieces of God's plan
fit together. He leads us down a path and we fail to see the purpose -
especially when the enemy begins to attack. We want to fight back, but
God says to trust Him and pray; we want to determine a solution and
solve the problem, but God says to love Him with all our heart and share
His love with others.

The times in which we are most tested and pressed down must be the times
of greatest growth and closeness with our Heavenly Father. Let's put
our life firmly in His Hands and submit to His guidance - even when we
may not see where we're going or how we're going to get there. Let's
trust His ways and always remember...for God, there is NOTHING too hard!

i hung out with matt v. yesterday, it was pretty awesome to get to see him. we had fun just talking and sharing stories, giving eachother a hard time. it was great.
i need to call that fella more.
my mom's b-day was yesterday that was interesting. we went out on teh town and had a blast. we ate at shimmels- good stuff- i'm having my leftovers for lunch.

going with dave to umc to meet some of his doctor friends and pple he use to work with. yeah my guy use to be a doctor...not really. no offense baby but i'd be a lil scared if u were my doctor- too a.d.d - you wouldn't want me as a doctor either.

here's a poll for you guys on here- helen already answered.
should i go back to blonde if i do no more dying hair.
what do you think i should do.
and dont' give that whatever u wanna do answer.
for more info abotu the hair go to my xanga site.

scheduling of the tour is going good. i'm having to rearrange things but i think it's about to start falling into place.
good stuff.

Thursday is bosses day. and i'm a boss- but i don't want recognition or anything- i don't need and i shouldn't get it.

well i'm bout to get ready to go home. this morning has been so slow.
well i'm off
have a wonderful day
God Bless
Emmi

Spiritual Wisdom and Understanding

Paul wrote his letter to the Colossians to show that Jesus is sufficient
to supply every need of the believer. In the opening verses, Paul wrote
that the Colossians had a reputation for great faith in Jesus Christ -
their love, hope, and hunger for the Gospel was bearing fruit and had
been growing "since the day you heard it and understood God's grace"
(Colossians 1:6).

Paul was thankful for their strong faith, but he wanted them to have
more and was committed to praying for their continued growth; "We have
not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the
knowledge of His will through all Spiritual wisdom and understanding"
(Colossians 1:9).

Paul then explained the purpose of his prayer.

Colossians 1:10-12
"We pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and
may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing
in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to
His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience,
and joyfully giving thanks to the Father."

Though God's gracious gift of Salvation is free, the cost is high. We
can do nothing to earn or maintain this gift besides believe in His Son;
but the faith through which His grace flows is a faith committed to Him
without reservation - prepared to follow anywhere He leads and willing
to live a life which honors Him in all we do.

Paul didn't pray for the details of an honoring life; rather, he prayed
for what truly produces change; "the knowledge of His will through all
Spiritual wisdom and understanding." We never please God by focusing on
specific activities, we please Him by drawing near and allowing His
blessings to flow in and through our life. This is a life which bears
fruit and is filled with endurance, patience, and thankfulness.

This life is available for us today...regardless of our circumstances.
But we must draw nearer to our Heavenly Father and hunger for a better
understanding of His Word. We must long for His presence and continue
to grow in love and faith. God has infinitely more to give and will
only pour His blessings upon those who continue to seek Him with all
their heart.

Dear Lord, we pray that You will give us a continued passion for You and
an increased hunger for Your Word. We pray that You will strengthen our
faith and use our life for Your glory. Heavenly Father, we pray that we
will abandon ourself to You and that You will fill us with the knowledge
of Your will through all Spiritual wisdom and understanding.

Time to write, time to listen , time for feedback.

So this last week has been rough. but Sat was awesome. The show went amazing. Thanks for everyone who came out.
This sat is the clb benefit and we need major support. major. i'm looking for sponsers as we speak. God will provide. Pray for us.

I spent the whole weekend shopping for jeans , and finally on the 3rd day i gave in and bought the pair i first tried on two days ago. Helen you know what i went thru. man was it horrible.
Sat i got to hang out with people. after the show i went out. just me- with other people. it was great. to actually be around people that i flet like liked me. to see friends. it was great. to laugh with em. i really miss it. i miss going out. i miss friends. i miss my friends calling me, i miss being called to go out. friday i called pple and invited them to go out- it felt odd- i almost forgot what to say. the people i called were even suprised. shocked - you could hear it in their voices- wow thanks. suprised that i had called. yeah i like pple i like friends and i like to go out.
i'm afraid that in the music scene- i'm just emmi- i do all this work- i have pple who work for me- but when it comes down to it yeah they like me - but they would never call me to go out- and if i did go out with em it might be odd- because well i'm emmi. i know that all sounds rather sad , and a few of you think that's obsurd cause you're my friends - but you aren't here. so i'm left here with all these pple that i'm friends with but we never hang out- yus i know i need to take action. i'm trying trust me.
i miss you all very much. it's so odd not having you guys here. the sad thing is - i got use to it - and then i remebered what it was like - and now i miss it more than ever.
i take alot of my friends for granted. and i'm sorry.
And i know a lot of you are gonna be like what? where did this come from.
Wha Happened.
i stayed in mississippi- dont' get me wrong i made the right decision.
my friends went away. i need to adjust and make new friends- hang out with new pple. that's something i'm gonna have to do. i need to adjust. this isn't a wrong or right thing. it's just a matter of doing .
Forgive me for my rambelings.
Feel free to rail me, attack me.
Feel free to tell me i'm loved.
i need it.
i don't mean for anyone to feel sorry for me.
i don't mean to sound pathetic, or depressed , although i'm sure i do.

i'm very happy dont' get me wrong
i love my life
i love my Lord
i love my family
i love my boyfriend
i love my friends

i just miss my friends
i miss seeing em- that's all.

if any of this made sense - if you know where i'm coming from then good
if i confused any of you i'm sorry.
just ask me and i'll explain. hopefully my random rambleings or patheticness made sense.

Helen- i know you know what i'm going thru.
you went thru it last year.


dave, i love you, see you later today- it should be a fun. can't wait to see you.
thanks for the movie last night.

I love you all.
God Bless
Emmi

Grace In Others

In the last two devos, we've considered the grace of God in our
Salvation as well as in our daily Christian walk. Anytime we add
requirements to faith, we have strayed from the true gospel message. We
certainly need to be challenged as to what faith really means and how a
saving faith will manifest itself in our life, but we must never walk
away from Salvation by grace through faith and faith alone.

Galatians 1:6-8
"I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called
you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel - which
is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into
confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we
or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we
preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!"

This is a serious call - one we cannot ignore. We are challenged in the
strongest of terms to continue walking according to the true gospel.

We usually begin this walk by focusing on our own life. We slowly take
our eyes off of what we can do and look more upon what Christ has
already done; "He must become greater, I must become less" (John 3:30).
But there remains another step we must begin to take. This important
step is to recognize that the grace which pulled us out of the slimy pit
and set our feet on solid ground (Psalm 40:2) is the same grace which
works in the life of other believers. We know we can do nothing to earn
or add to our Salvation, but how often do we place "requirements" on others.

There are some congregations where all the men wear a suit and tie
during the worship service. Though they may preach Salvation by grace
through faith, they have a difficult time with someone who professes to
love the Lord but comes to worship in a pull-over shirt and does not
conform to the "Law" of suit and tie - "How can they really be saved
dressed like that?" Likewise, there are other congregations who worship
in shorts and tee shirts. Though they may preach Salvation by grace
through faith, they have a difficult time with someone who professes to
love the Lord but comes to worship in a suit and does not conform to the
"freedom" we have in Christ - "How can they really be saved dressed like that?"

This may seem like a trivial example, but I trust the Spirit will guide
as to how this applies in your own life. How about things like hair
style or worship style. How about those "sins" which we, in our great
wisdom, have identified as indications of true Salvation but which the
Bible remains absolutely silent.

Please, let's all search our heart on this issue. Let's never pull
anyone away from the true gospel. We are saved by grace through faith
and faith alone - and "we" includes all our Brothers and Sisters in
Christ. Let's continue to live by grace and diligently seek to
recognize God's grace in others.

By All Possible Means

The Apostle Paul was a pillar of strength who saw the ways of God more
clearly than any other individual. He had a unique boldness in his
message because he had received the gospel directly from God: "The
gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive
it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by
revelation from Jesus Christ" (Galatians 1:11-12).

There is no doubt that Paul had a special anointing: "This man {Paul} is
My chosen instrument to carry My name before the Gentiles and their
kings and before the people of Israel" (Acts 9:15). But if Paul would
have remained attached to this highly favored position of strength and
superior knowledge, his ministry would have been severely limited.

1 Corinthians 9:22
"To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to
all men so that by all possible means I might save some."

Paul was so devoted to preaching the Gospel that he could humbly
minister to anyone! He was determined to reach every person God placed
in his path - even if this meant lowering himself and becoming weak.

We must be careful to understand that weakness does not mean we engage
in sin! God NEVER asks us to violate His commands in order to accomplish
His will; we will never need to sin in order to reach someone with the
gospel. Rather, becoming weak means showing compassion without regard
to a person's status; it means having the "strength" to walk beside the
weak and minister the love of Jesus without condemnation. Godly
weakness means showing grace to others because we understand the grace
we've been given.

As we minister to the lost - as we touch those without Christ - there
must be a single purpose to our message. Without Jesus we are ALL lost
and on our way to an eternal damnation; "For all have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). We must never forget this
basic truth. We must never let our position in Christ cloud the message
of the cross. We have been saved and set free; "He has rescued us from
the dominion of darkness" (Colossians 1:13). But now, the world around
us is in desperate need of this same Savior.

We each have a message to share - a message which can encourage and be
used to draw others to faith in Jesus. Let's begin to share this
message with ALL. Let's begin to step outside our select and
"comfortable" group - outside the group we relate to and claim to
understand. The Good News of Jesus is a precious life-saving gift!
Let's begin to share this gift with ALL - by ALL possible means.

internet at school is finally fixed so yeah i'm back. things have just gotten crazy as of lately with everything that's been going on.
we have a big show this weekend
the lyndsay diaries so if you can make it please do , we really need your support

next week will be the rock the clb event.
major support needed there.
thanks so much
God Bless
Emmi

Actively Wait

In the last devo "God's Perfect Will" we saw that God's will is for us to
live a life of thanksgiving and prayer; a life of contentment and peace
independent of circumstances. It is also "God's will that you should be
sanctified {set apart, made holy}; that you should avoid sexual
immorality" (1 Thessalonians 4:3). These are general aspects of God's
will, given to every one of His Children. His specific direction will
come as we obediently align our life with His general will...and wait.

We live in a generation where waiting is viewed as a waste of time, but
learning to wait is how we grow: "They that wait upon the Lord shall
renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they
shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint" (Isaiah
40:31 KJV).

This is a powerful and encouraging passage: if we wait on the Lord, we
will be strengthened, soar like the eagles, and not grow weary. But
what does it really mean to wait? We were not called to "take up the
cross of Salvation" so we can then live our lives sitting on the couch.
Rather, as believers in Jesus Christ, we have been invited to a
wonderful lifetime journey - a journey which is sometimes difficult, but
one always filled with adventure and purpose.

1 Timothy 6:11-12
"But you, man of God, flee from all this {evil}, and pursue
righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight
the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you
were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many
witnesses."

Notice all the word of action: flee, pursue, fight, take hold. This is
definitely a call to actively move forward in our journey of faith.

So: do we wait, or do we fight and take hold? Do we rest and hope in
the Lord, or do we flee and pursue? The answer is simply....yes! We
are called to a life of action - to a life where we "bear much fruit"
(John 15:8) - but we must learn to "act" while waiting and trusting God
for every result. We must give Him all our effort while remaining "in
the vine" (John 15:4), and allowing the life of Christ to flow through
us and produce the fruit.

This means we are to boldly share the gospel message, but then to wait
on God for the harvest of belief. It means we are to seek opportunities
and diligently prepare for service, but then continue to listen and
trust Him to reveal His desired path.

God calls us to a faith of complete trust; a faith which produces both
action and patience. Let's take hold and fight the good fight of faith
as we learn to actively wait.

once my internet at schoool gets fixed i'll be able to do more updates on here.
sorry for the great abscence .
have an awesome day
and go to the fair

His Amazing Grace

In the last devo "Strong In His Grace" we considered God's grace in the
process of Salvation and saw we can do nothing to earn a right standing
in His eyes. Our Heavenly Father poured out His love when He gave us
Jesus; "But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were
still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

God, through His amazing grace, gave us His Son and said, "Whoever
believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). We
are allowed into an eternal relationship with God because of His grace
and are strongly exhorted to live each day knowing our relationship is
maintained by the same grace in which it began, not by anything we do or
accomplish.

There are many things we are called to do as a Child of God, many ways
to serve and honor our Heavenly Father, many ways to be obedient and
seek after holiness; but we can NEVER fall into the trap of thinking,
even for a moment, that what we do adds to our Salvation by grace. As
much as faith in Jesus Christ is absolutely necessary for our Salvation,
faith in Jesus Christ is also absolutely sufficient.

Paul delivered this message in many of his letters, but no where as
strong as in his letter to the Galatian churches. He had preached the
message of Salvation by grace, but they had been led into a false
teaching which said they must earn their Salvation by first submitting
to the Old Testament Law. Paul warns that if we fall into this same
trap, "Christ will be of no value to you at all" (Galatians 5:2). The
things we do have value, but the value is not in the religious activity
or product we produce; rather, the only thing God will recognize is the
faith in our heart which ought to drive ALL we do.

Galatians 5:6
"The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love."

We show our love for God through worship, thanksgiving, prayer, study,
obedience, and faithful service; and we acknowledge His saving grace
with a humble spirit which does not allow us to become puffed up or feel
deserving of our Salvation. We demonstrate our love for others as we
refuse to cause harm, in word or deed, refuse to harbor unforgiveness,
and actively look for opportunities to serve. And we show an
understanding of God's grace as we express our love without requiring
others to earn our love or even love us in return.

Let's receive His grace with a thankful heart, knowing we bring nothing
to the cross besides our sin which He then takes away. Let's trust only
in His grace, given to us through faith, and express our faith with all
our heart, soul, mind, and strength as we love Him and love one another.
Let's begin to live this life like we truly understand His amazing grace.