Breaking The Chains

Today I was overwhelmed by God's goodness. After a wonderful Thanksgiving week holiday, the LORD topped it off with an amazing blessing. After spending the weekend with my parents I headed home to get ready for church. I got a call asking if I wanted to go hear my brother, Chad, preach. Of course, was my quick answer!

We headed up to Newton Pres. and on the way I couldn't help but think of how good God has been to our family. It was such am amazing blessing to worship under the leadership of my very own brother. He is a gifted preacher, filled with the Holy Spirit, and bold in proclaiming the Gospel of our LORD Jesus Christ. It was an amazing sermon from John 15, and it pierced my heart as the Holy Spirit convicted me through his wonderful teaching. 

As church ended there were so many people who came up to us, singing Chad's praises. One, in particular, asked my dad if Chad got his gift of preaching from my daddy. My dad could only humbly give the credit back to the LORD! He truly has a gift, but it's not of him, as he preached. There is nothing that my brother has to offer, but Christ in him and Him crucified!

It is an amazing blessing to see how Christ has broken the chains of unbelief in our family. My brother and I are the second generation of believers in the Scott family. And what a blessing to share that tie that binds us together, Jesus Christ our LORD! 

And even now, we are enjoying the third generation, Wyatt and Raney, believing that God will call them unto Himself in His timing. The chains have forever been broken, praise His Name, hallelujah! God is so good, and so faithful to His children!

As the passage in John said so clearly: "you didn't choose me, I chose you..."; there is nothing special about our family, nothing good or great that we have done to merit salvation and break the chains of sin and death, there is nothing about us that is holy and righteous, there is nothing good or upright that we have done to bring all of this about. It is only God and His goodness and mercy that saw fit to call my parents unto Himself, and then my brother and I, and my wonderful sister too! It is only by God's grace that the sins from generation to generation have been broken! It is only by God's grace that we now have a family deeply rooted in the LORD and His Word. It is only by God's grace that Chad is an ordained Reverend and preaches the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is only by God's grace that Kelly lives out the Gospel and teaches Wyatt and Raney of our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ. It is only by God's grace that Momma and Daddy will return to the Philippines to serve in advancing His Kingdom. It is only by God's grace that we now belong to another family, the family of God, saved, redeemed and adopted through the precious blood of our Brother and Co-Heir Jesus Himself!

Praise God for the sacrificial blood that breaks the chains of sin and death! Praise God for His goodness and mercy that chose to shower grace and love upon us, His children, the Scott family! 

Thank you LORD for the wonderful gift of Your Word through my brother! 

Thanksgiving

Well of course as it is Thanksgiving, now is the time to give thanks... not thanks to just anyone, but thanks to our Father in Heaven who gives us ALL good gifts!

I am thankful for...

~My salvation & the promise that the LORD will carry me to completion! Phil. 1:6

~God's love and sacrifice of His Son on the cross for me!

~God's faithfulness, as you all know, His faithfulness is what keeps me with Him.

~the blessing of a God fearing family... this means a lot to me as the most of my extended family are not believers.

~a Church home where the LORD continues to provide for me and bless me through His Gospel and grace.

~a place to call home, as so many don't have homes, or even roofs over their heads.

~friends and adopted family that God has provided.

~the abundance of blessings that God has given me.

~my job! I love my work, my boss, and his family.

~my momma and diddy who have loved me with the love of God through the years, and have stuck by me through some hellish times in my life.

~my brother and sis-n-law (really more a sister than in law!!) who have cared for me through many hard times, and who are always there for me no matter what.

~my precious neice and nephew, who bring joy to my heart, a smile to my face, and are nothing short of lil miracle blessings from the LORD on high.

~opportunities for ministry that God has opened for me.

~wisdom and discernment to live life day to day before the face of God.

~spiritual eyes to see and live for my God's reality, not falling asleep in this world that lulls so many with it's dazzling comforts.

~my experience in the Philippines that has brought me deep life long friends, and a new gratefulness for life.

~the trials that the LORD walks with me through, burning me, in order to skim off the dross. It sucks at times, but I am thankful!

~the freedom, that we take for granted, to worship our God freely.

~the love that God has given me for Him...and therefore the ability to love others, that I could not muster on my own, but was given this by His grace and through Him first loving me!

~My amazing, holy, wonderful, redeeming, patient, loving, gracious, forgiving, faithful and merciful God.... who created me, has saved me, loves me, is sanctifying me, and who will remain with me...He who is the same yesterday, today and forever!

Hallelujah what a Savior!!!!!

Hallelujah what a Friend!!!!!

Thank you God!

Great Is Thy Faithfulness...

I know I write a lot about God's faithfulness, but that is the attribute of His that stands out to me most these days, well really all the time; in the light of my unfaithfulness, His faithfulness means so much to me!
Over the years He has been nothing but faithful to me, even when my heart turns from him, even when I stray, when I rebel, when I wander like a sheep going my own way. He remains faithful, and always will until the day I die. Praise His Holy and Loving Name!
Today, I look back and I can see that God has been faithful to His children for thousands of generations. Not one of His, even His famous, children in the Bible remained faithful to the LORD.
"We all like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all." - Isaiah 53:6
I have been comforted that I am not the only one in this world that struggles with a rebellious heart, it just looks different for others. We are each created in uniqueness, in the image of God, and we each rebel against the holy and perfect will of God in different ways.
Some question God's goodness and wisdom - like Adam and Eve
Some doubt & fear; taking things into their own hands from a lack of trust in God's will - like Abraham
Some wrestle with God openly - like Jacob
Some deceive and try to work their own will - like Rebekah and Joseph's brothers
Some doubt God's will and fear - like Moses
Some go after their will/fleshly desires - like David
Some just plain doubt - like Thomas
Some disown the LORD for a time - like Peter, and the rest of the disciples as they fled.
For me, it's a mixture of a lot of the saints that have gone before us.
This is tremendous relief for me, because for the longest time I thought I was the only Christian with this rebellious heart that did not seek after God at times in my life. This does not give me license to continue in my rebellion of course, but it does bring much comfort that I am normal, I am a normal rebellious sheep of the LORD!
That is why I am so thankful for the LORD's faithfulness, because I know my heart, I know my sin, I know my rebellion, but He knows it even deeper. He sees into the depths of my heart that I am blinded to, and yet He loves me still. He continues to work in me still.
As I look back from the other side of a wrestling match with God, He has shown me so much truth about Himself.
1. My anger against Him and His "seemingly hard" will is invalid and sin actually, because He is a holy, perfect, and righteous God that works only the good for His children... Just because it doesn't fit into my "plan of goodness"; that does not mean it's not His holy good.
2. God will withhold anything that will effect my relationship with Him... This was amazing to hear, and made things seem much more palitable. His desire is to transform me into the image of His Son, and in order to do that, sometimes things must get hard, uncomfortable, and difficult; with Him often stripping from me idols that I love in order to push me to dependence on Him and growth through Him.
3. He did not only come to rescue me, but to redeem me to the Father as well... this means that I will not always understand His plan and will. And I don't need to try and "make meaning" out of what He is doing. I don't have to ask why all the time, because He has a good and perfect will which He works in and through me for His glory and for my redemption... therefore, Lindsey, stubborn, lump of rebellious clay, trust Him!!!
4. Beholding Christ is the way we are changed... so He will remove anything that keeps me from beholding Christ in His fullness, glory, majesty, and His all sufficiency which has the power to satisfy every need, longing, and desire of my heart.
5. God is love..."but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us..." - Romans 5:8... God loves me, He loves me so much that He absorbed His own wrath for my sin, so that I could enjoy Him and His presence for the rest of eternity; and dare I say, that He could in return enjoy me, rebelliousness and all! He has loved me from the beginning of time, before I was even created. He had love in His heart for me before I even knew His Name, before I even desired Him. While I was "in my rebellion" he sent His Son to pay the price of my salvation and reconciliation to Him. He knows the rebellion of my heart, and He knows my feeble attempts to love Him in return, and He remains faithful.
He will continue to walk with me, and He promises to carry me to completion on the day of Christ Jesus. And because He is a faithful, covenantal God, He is not able to go back on His word, or His character. Therefore I can trust that He ALWAYS has my best interest in mind, He ALWAYS has my good at heart, no matter how difficult it may look from this side of heaven, He ALWAYS is working to make me more and more into the image of His Son, for His glory and by His grace!
So on this side, the broken, humble, dependent side of my rebellion, I lie waiting on the Potter's wheel, motionless and still, a lump of clay, awaiting his washing, cut, pounding, spinning, etc... awaiting His touch.
Oh that God would give me the surrendering heart of Mary and Jesus, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." Jesus himself came not to accomplish His own will, but only to do the will of His Father.
LORD God please give me the heart of a humble, still, surrendering servant, with only the desire to attend to Your will; as a bond servant, bought with Your precious blood, please take away my stubborn and rebellious will until there is only Yours that I desire to fulfill.

Thanks For The New Look

I have to give a special thank you to Annie Gundy for beautifying her blog, and giving me the idea and place to go to get a cute background too!

You're the best Annie!

If anyone wants to make the blog beautiful.... just click on the site in the upper left corner of my blog. It's "The Cutest Blog On The Block".

Check it out!

Thanks

More Than Life

I know, I know... this is the last one for today... well the last song at least :)

I have my iPOD on shuffle and the next song that came up after the last one I posted is one of my all time favorites. I think I have posted it before, but I can't help but share it again. It's just sooo good! If you haven't heard this song, google it, it's worth your time :)

"Stand by everything You've said, stand by the promises we made.

Let go of everything I've done, I'll run into Your open arms. 

And all I know... is I love You more than life!

Oh, I love You more than life!

Fall back on everything You've done, fall back on Everlasting Arms. 

Let the world slip away, You are all the things I need. 

You're the air I breathe... oh, I love You more than life!

Oh, I love You more than life. More than anything, LORD, more than anything!

Oh, I love You more than life. 

Oh, I love You more than life. 

You've been so good, You've been so good. 

Said You would never leave, You told me You would never leave, 

and I love You, Oh Jesus, You're so faithful, so faithful. 

I love You, oh yes I do, Oh Jesus, I love You so much. 

Makes a grown man wanna cry.

How can it be that You were upon the cross, died for me?

Lifted for all my sin...

How can it be the scars in Your hands were for me? 

I love You so, You are the King of all!

Oh, I love You more than life. 

I love You more than life. 

You're so faithful, never find another like You. 

I love You more than life. 

I love You more than life.

Praise Your Name, I'll praise Your Name!"

- Hillsong

For All You've Done