Lessons Not Just for Easter

I’ve been reading Jesus: 90 days with the One and Only since Aug 2010. I think the 90 days kind of stretched out to 300 days so far, and I just finished Day 73. I could say I’m taking my time absorbing all the lessons I’ve learned from it, but I’d be lying. I’ve not been consistent AT ALL, but still God waited patiently, and also prepared me for what He was going to lead me through beforehand. It just made my sporadic pace look purposeful. Purposeful on God’s end, not so much on mine...

This last lesson, I’ve read before over and over again, especially on Easter, yet He made it more personal through this book so I'll understand just how much He loved me, and understand how purposeful His death was to Him and for me. I just want to share a part of my journal about what I saw and wrote:

Lord, how did I not see this? I’ve read it many times and celebrated this on Easter that you died during Passover, when the Jews celebrate and remember their Salvation from Egypt. The Hebrews took a lamb, killed it, took some of the blood and put it on the doorposts and above the door to protect them from God as He came by killing all the firstborn. (Ex12:3,6-7,12,13) You were OUR lamb to save us from Eternal Death. Our Lamb died, and like the people that wiped blood on their doorpost to protect themselves from Death that breezed through Egypt, You washed us with Your blood to redeem us and protect us from eternal Death.

After going through this book (though slowly), I’ve seen You more personally, and You’ve shown me how much You know me, and love me enough to teach me, comfort me, and even reprimand me when I need it, and especially at the right moment. Thank you. Now, I have to read of your journey to your death, but seeing how purposeful You were, with your eye on me, saying ”this is for you. I’m dying in your place for you.” Oh, Jesus. I didn’t deserve it then, and I don’t deserve it now, but Your eye is still on me, and I can hear you saying, “I did it for you. I died in your place for you.”

Just imagining someone that loved you so much, and shared so much with you, died in your place of a death YOU deserved. He died for you to live. Can you look at your significant other and say they’d be willing to die that kind of death Jesus did for you, and you won’t feel pain yourself knowing that was supposed to be you? I can’t. And, this is something I need to remember not just during Easter, but every day. I am Alive because of Him.

A Port-A-Potty Life?

Did that get your attention? ;)

It definitely did for me. Last week, I was looking through my journal, and completed some thoughts I started in it. In one of my journal entries I came across a verse I wrote next to it to "definitely to need to REAP further". I dugged deeper into it, and found a "jewel" of a lesson out of it. When I later went to church, Pastor Matt pretty much taught the same lesson in a different way (Jan 17), more ELOQUENT way than I did, but I like my way of looking at it still. Wanna know what that was?

Digging the Word, and IN the Word

I remember when I started my nursing career, I thought all those initals after a nurse's name was too much, such as, SoandSo Burns, RN, MSN, RRT, ACNP, CCRN, FAAN, FCCM, FAANP. For real! Really! Those are actually someone's professional suffixes! All those abbreviations are certifications that someone studied and took an exam for--EACH. As a new nurse, I said I'd be happy with just RN, BSN after mine. I don't want to do anymore studying. I'm all studied out. ..Yeah..., didn't stay that way. I was writing an email today, and then I noticed the alphabet soup after my name as well. Did I take that many tests for those letters?! Worse yet, I'm studying for another one! On the positive side of it all, it's nice to know that you have nurses with all those letters backing up their name, because you know they worked hard, and know a lot about their specialty. So, onward to my next certification, so I can say I conquered my fear of Neuro patients, and I'll be certified to say "I know what I'm doing."

If only we would be willing to study and learn the Word like that. Not to put initials by our names, but to have the Word of God in our hearts. That's more lasting than any external reward. Can we say that we read and dig into the word daily in our busy lives? I can't. Every day, I wanted to open my bible, but had another reason to set it aside to catch up with other things in my life, and then I've set it aside almost altogether. I couldn't remember the passages and God's promises that refreshed and redirected me many times before, when I needed them the most. It was like a vague memory. That jolted me awake on how much I set aside my bible for my distractions. We need to sink our spiritual teeth into the word like its fresh bread daily, and savor it. If we set it aside, the passages we remembered will be a stale as week old bread, and hard to remember the verses that once encouraged, taught, rebuked, corrected, and trained us in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16) Jesus even said:

"It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone,

but on every word that comes from the mouth of God."

Matt 4:4 (Deut 8:3)

For the past 2 Sundays, the pastors at my church preached about studying the Word, and it's ignited a desire in each of us to grab our Bibles and dig into the Word. There's so much treasure to be found in the Word if you are ready and willing to dig for it. "They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold;" (psalm 19:10) Let's get digging, and see what treasures the Lord has waiting for us.

I may not receive initials after my name for reading God's Word, but I know what's engraved in my heart, like certifications of His Promise to me. We don't need to pass a test to receive His Promise. We're already certified by His Word and covered by His Grace.

Leona Baxter, DOK, COG, HSIHP, LWAEL

DOK: Daughter of the King (Ex. 6:7, Pslam 10:16, Psalm 103:19, Eph 1:5, heb 12:5-9)

COG: Child of God (John 1:12-13)

HSIHP: His Sheep of His Pasture (John 10:2-11,14-16)

LWAEL: Loved with An Everlasting Love (Jer 31:3-4, Psalm 103:17-18, Eph 2:4,)

2008 - Year of the Onion

I wish I can say 2008 was awesome for me...well, in a way it was. It's good to look back and see what I've gone through and what prayers been answered. Looking back, I've seen received blessings, missed opportunities, painful lessons (too many of those), and finally doing what the Lord has been telling me to do: resting. It's been the Year of the Onion. I'm the onion, and God has been peeling my layers back. It doesn't tickle. No wonder when you cut through an onion tears are bound that follow. It not only stinks, it also hurts.

2008 has been my transitional year. After traveling for a year and a half, going from to city every 3 months, and then to stop in one place "permanently" has not been an easy task. In November, last year, I took a permanent staff position in Austin, but my mind wanted to gear up for the next city, and had a problem listening to God speaking to my heart to stay in Austin, and it's been a tug-of-war between mind and heart to stay in one place for the Lord. With that, I lost sight of why I was to stop. It wasn't to serve, but to rest. He whispered it to me to rest since I returned to Austin last August ('07), but I didn't really listen very well until in May when I went to my church's Women's Retreat, He made it very clear to me to rest, and how to do that. Since then, I've stepped down from ministries I've been involved with, but still available to volunteer for little things around the church office, when asked. Since then, the Lord has been peeling away LAYERS of barriers, obstacles, and other issues of my life that I've apparently been hiding behind for years, to reveal the real Leona that He sees (work still in progress).

It goes to shows that no matter how "strong" you think you are in Christ, you're not. I'm not perfect. 2008 has been refreshing and revealing that I wouldn't change my experiences if I had a choice to go back. Maybe start resting earlier in the year....like August '07. Can't wait to see what's in stored for in 2009.

The best blessings I received in 2008 are my amazing Austin friends that started popping up in my life since May. Laughter is the best medicine, and they've kept me laughing since I met them. Thank you, ladies (and gentlemen). You know who you are, and I praise God for you in my life.

"I have refined you,
though not as silver;
I have tested you in the
furnace of affliction."
Isaiah 48:10

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while
you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.
These have come so that your faith
-- of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire --
may be proved genuine and may result
in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed."
1 Peter 1:6-7

Amazing visual picture

I love mapping out data just to get a visual picture of what I'm reading in the bible. Timelines, geneologies, etc. I like to break things down to get a better picture of what went on. This picture is way more intense than I'd ever do, but AWESOME none the less.

How many of you out there believe that you don't need to believe the whole bible, or that the Old testament is no longer valid after Jesus came down as our Savior? No need to answer. Just nod if you believe that.

One of the Pastors at my church shared this picture with us tonight. It's a picture of how the bible verses from Old Testament and New Testament are so interconnected, from Genesis to Revelations. A couple pastors took the data they collected, and laid out the bible. The white vertical lines below are all the chapters in the bible, and the length of the those lines are how long each chapter are. The arcs above are the number of cross-references in the bible (63,779) and where. For example, the largest arcs you see is Genesis referenced in Revelations. The link below explains the whole picture better than I could.

http://www.chrisharrison.net/projects/bibleviz/index.html

Some would say that the Old Testament is null and void after Jesus came, but Jesus said:

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets, I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the law until everything is accomplished." Matt 5:17-18


"It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the law." Luke 16:17

"Every word of God is flawless;
He is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
Do not add to his words, or He will rebuke you,
and prove you a liar."
Prov 30:5-6

What's your Viper?

I needed to share this. I went through this study, and it can't stay in my journal for myself.


There are times when I'm reading that I come across a story that I've skimmed by many times, and nothing has jumped out at me before, until this time around. This is one of those times. I've read this story in the bible before, and skimmed passed it. This time, something caught my attention. Paul has gone through a lot before this situation. He's been in jail for years without a plausible cause (more for protection than a crime, and placed on a ship for Rome only to be ship wrecked on an island in the Mediterranean Sea.

Paul gathered a pile of sticks and was putting them on the fire when a poisonous snake came out because of the heat and bit him in the hand. The people living on the island saw the snake hanging from Paul's hand and said to each other, 'This man must be a murderer! He did not die in the sea, but Justice does not want him to live.' But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and was not hurt. The people thought that Paul would swell up or fall down dead. They waited and watched him for a long time, but nothing bad happened to him. So they changed their minds and said, 'He's a god!'" Acts 28:1-6

Everyone saw Paul bitten by a snake. The natives on the island have seen the outcomes of everyone that's been bitten by that type of snake, and probably haven't been good since they're waiting for Paul to "swell up and fall down dead." Instead, he sits by the fire saying to himself, "great, what next," but holding onto God's promise that "do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar." (Acts 26:24)

What's your Viper? What's your poisonous snake? What's our "viper" that might have bitten us that people would look at, and think that we will never recover? Or, that I might think I may never recover from? Was there, or is there, any situation or moment of our lives that would cause others, or even ourselves to think that we won't recover? The damage is done. Nothing can fix it.

"You of little faith. Why do you doubt?" Matt 14:31
"When the Lord All-Powerful makes a plan, no one can stop it." Isaiah 14:27 NCV

Not even me.

"Paul shook the snake off into the fire and was not hurt." Acts 28:5

Whatever whispers or discouraging remarks I may hear from others or from Satan, I need to shake it off, and continue on. The Lord will redeem me. God is faithful, even though my faith falters.

"I believe. Help me overcome my unbelief." (Mark 9:24)

But the people who trust the Lord will become strong again.
They will rise up as an eagle in the sky;
they will run and not need rest;
they will walk and not become tired." Isaiah 40:31

"That is why we are not discouraged. Though outwardly we are wearing out, inwardly we are renewed day by day. Our suffering is light and temporary and is producing for us an eteranl glory that is greater than anything we can imagine." 2 Corinthians 4:16-17

The Lord says it a whole lot better than I can.

The blood

THE BLOOD

One night in a church service a young woman felt the tug of God at her heart. She responded to God's call and accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior. The young woman had a very rough past, involving alcohol, drugs, and prostitution. But, the change in her was evident.

As time went on she became a faithful member of the church. She eventually became involved in the ministry, teaching young children. It was not very long until this faithful young woman had caught the eye and heart of the pastor's son. The relationship grew and they began to make wedding plans.

This is when the problems began.

You see, about one half of the church did not think that a woman with a past such as hers was suitable for a pastor's son. The church began to argue and fight about the matter. So they decided to have a meeting.

As the people made their arguments and tensions increased, the meeting was getting completely out of hand. The young woman became very upset about all the things being brought up about her past. As she began to cry the pastor's son stood to speak.

He could not bear the pain it was causing his wife to be. He began to speak and his statement was this:

"My fiancee's past is not what is on trial here. What you are questioning is the ability of the blood of Jesus to wash away sin. Today you have put the blood of Jesus on trial. So, does it wash away sin or not?"

The whole church began to weep as they realized that they had been slandering the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Too often, even as Christians, we bring up the past and use it as a weapon against our brothers and sisters. Forgiveness is a very foundational part of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

If the blood of Jesus does not cleanse the other person completely then it cannot cleanse us completely. If that is the case, then we are all in a lot of trouble.

What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus! End of case!!!!

"Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved." Psalm 55:23