The King Will Make a Way

December 8, 2010September 26, 2020 ~ Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool

The King Will Make a Way a story for the last days saint has been published! Get your copy here!

From the back cover:

This end-times story of faith and perseverance is an allegorical tale set in a village long ago. Gabe is the only one who knows the true King is still alive, but Vulpine is determined to become king himself and will stop at nothing to force the villagers to give him their loyalty.

Through storms, plague and persecution, the servants of the true King learn that there is one thing they can always be sure of — The King Will Make a Way.

“This is really magnificent. ‘Vivid’ is the word that comes to mind. Your language is rich…and the story itself is immensely compelling.” Leslie Komarnicki

“You are in good hands when you read The King Will Make a Way. The author has crafted a carefully paced, well developed plot that will leave you challenged and inspired. The story is pure delight, not sentimental, but truly satisfying.” Ned Erickson, author, Falling into Love

*****

Also available on Kindle.

(Leave a review on Amazon.com after you’ve read the book!)

(Updated 2020) I do have old homeschool materials I made for the book if you are interested. It is also used in 7th level of EP All-in-One Homeschool where the students read it and write their own novel. Those lessons can be found here.

One Personal Account of God’s Provision

July 29, 2010October 22, 2020 ~ Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool

There was a time our family was without money. We saw the money dwindling, dwindling, kept waiting for money to come from somewhere, but nothing came.

I hesitate to explain that we lived overseas at the time for fear you think our story doesn’t apply to yourself. We served the Lord among the Roma and had for years. But a year earlier we had left our missions agency, told our churches and supporters to send their money to orphans instead of to us, gave away the balance of our bank account to the same and jumped out of the boat and onto the water. We had decided to live by faith.

My husband had no work at the time, but he planned to tutor some students in English. We were about to move into the ghetto and were going to be living at the same economic level as our neighbors. We lived in a small two-room basement apartment in a crowded part of town. At first a handful of people contacted us and asked if they could support us still, saying they felt the Lord leading them to give to us. We accepted. The money was sent right to our bank account. Only one person gave a little each month. The rest was “random” to any outside observer. My husband also got a few students. That income fluctuated each month and never paid more than half of a month’s needs.

More than a year later we were getting close to the end of our money, I went to buy bread for breakfast and was planning on buying less than usual. On the way my daughter found a couple of coins so that we were able to buy the normal amount and then the store owner threw in some extra, just because. We had a feast.

But the money kept going away. I made homemade bread for breakfast because we didn’t have the money for bread from the store. I already had in the house everything needed. Everyone wished I did that more often. Who doesn’t love fresh, homemade bread?

We finally had left just enough for one more container of milk. We have four children [at the time] so milk is quickly consumed in our home. It would be needed in the morning. With that purchase the money would be gone, completely.

Students had been cancelling lessons, no one from church slipped us money as they sometimes did, and no one sent a gift to our bank account. We would know when someone did send a gift to our account because we’d get a notification of it as “pending.” After that we’d wait three or four days for it to make it into “available balance.” There was nothing even pending.

We told no one of our need. We didn’t make any prayer requests for our finances, support or needs. We didn’t take out a cash advance on our credit card. We waited on the Lord to see His salvation.

We expected the Lord to provide. He had to provide. He meets the needs of His children. We had given and His Word says He’ll give back. He was a good Father who took care of His children. We knew we were following His will and obeying His Word as best we knew how. We knew this time He had to provide by miracle. It was too late for any of the “normal” ways to get money. Rent and other bills were due the next day.

Before bed my husband checked the bank account online one more time as he had done frequently those last days. And there it was. Our miracle. One thousand dollars in “available balance.” It was a “direct deposit” according to the bank. It wasn’t through Paypal or by check like every other gift we received. We did check with the few people in the world who had our bank info and could have deposited something, but no one knew anything about it. It was a gift from God, and it was enough to cover rent, bills, and food for the next month.

There are many other times the Lord provided through people. People we have never met have sent us money. People at church have slipped us cash. A few faithful continue to support us even though they get no tax receipt for it.

God has sent Roma (Gypsies) to our door with food, clothing, shoes, blankets, rugs. We have never lacked a thing. God provides for His children. Now you might say, “A worker is worthy of his wages,” so we were due provision where “normal” people aren’t. But if you are following Jesus and obeying His word and have a need, then your Father is going to take care of you. He will provide.

And may I also add, we don’t live in a continual state of broke. This was a test we had to go through, and knew we would go through, when we told the Lord we were going to trust Him all the way with our finances. The money is always there. We always have all we need, and the Lord doesn’t repeatedly make us wait until the last second to provide. He’s a good Father.

God Provides, cont.

May 26, 2010October 2, 2020 ~ Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool

I started another post with Scriptures on God’s provision, but let’s first continue with examples of God’s provision for God’s people. We’ll skip the long list of amazing provisions the prophets received of food and lodging, safety, the waters parting, and supernatural strength and go to the New Testament this time. By the way, I’m not doing this trying to pick examples to make a certain point; I’m just making observations.

Joseph

NEED: guidance — first to marry Mary, then to escape Herod

PROVISION: dreams (Matthew 1:20, 2:13)

REQUIREMENT: We know that he was chosen by God and a righteous man.

***

The people of Israel with every kind of sickness and disease and pain, as well as demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics and the blind, deaf and mute, and also a couple of dead people

NEED: healing, deliverance, resurrection

PROVISION: healing, deliverance, resurrection (Matthew 4:24, Luke 7:14-15 and many other places)

REQUIREMENT: having a need (we are often told Jesus was moved by compassion), seeking help from Jesus (but not all came and asked for help), and being an Israelite, meaning God’s chosen

***

Centurion and the Mother of the Demon Possessed Girl

NEED: healing, deliverance

PROVISION: healing, deliverance (Luke 7:9-10, Matthew 15:28)

REQUIREMENT: faith — They both had great faith. They were both Gentiles.

***

Those Following Jesus Listening to His Teaching

NEED: food (seems they had been three days without food)

PROVISION: bread and fish (Matthew 15:37)

REQUIREMENT: Having a need, Jesus was moved by compassion

***

Peter

NEED: to pay his taxes

PROVISION: money (Matthew 17:27)

REQUIREMENT: the faith to obey Jesus’ command to cast a fishing hook into the sea and to look in the mouth of the first fish he pulled up

***

New Believers (Acts 2 and also in 4)

NEED: need (“as anyone might have need”)

PROVISION: needs were met by other believers who were supernaturally moved to sell their possessions to meet the needs of others (Acts 2:45)

REQUIREMENT: having a need and being a part of the close community of believers

***

The World

NEED: Savior

PROVISION: Jesus

REQUIREMENT: He met the need while we were sinners and didn’t deserve saving, but we receive salvation by faith.

God Provides for His Children

May 10, 2010October 2, 2020 ~ Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool

I’d like to start encouraging you in how God provides in every way for His children. We are taught by the world that “God helps those who help themselves”. While the book of Proverbs does say wise things about work ethic and being prudent that every unbeliever should follow, the New Testament offers a deeper understanding of the work required of a believer and of when God “helps.”

Even though I want to get to the New Testament, let’s start at the beginning. God is the same yesterday, today and forever. He’s always been a loving Father who will provide for His children everything they need.

Adam and Eve

NEED: decent clothing

PROVISION: God made them animal skin clothing, Genesis 3:21

REQUIRED: Nothing. They didn’t deserve it, but He knew their helplessness and cared for them.

***

Abraham

NEED: a sacrifice

PROVISION: a ram, Genesis 22:13

REQUIRED: the faith to obey God’s command to sacrifice his son

Joseph’s Brothers

NEED: food

PROVISION: free food whenever they needed it

REQUIRED: Nothing. The didn’t deserve it, but God wanted to meet their need and display His goodness and be glorified.

***

Israelites Enslaved in Egypt

NEED: deliverance

PROVISION: a deliverer

REQUIRED: They called out to God, but God hears and responds because He has seen their suffering and has compassion. Exodus 3:7

***

NEED: protection from God’s wrath

PROVISION: flies did not swarm in Goshen, Exodus 8:22; cattle of the Israelites live, Exodus 9:4; there was no hail in Goshen, Exodus 9:26; there was light in their dwellings, Exodus 10:23; not even a dog will bark against an Israelite because God distinguishes between Egypt and Israel, Exodus 11:7; the firstborn among the Israelistes are spared, Exodus 12:23

REQUIRED: being God’s children, having God in their midst (Exodus 8:22), the faith to obey the command to kill a lamb and to spread its blood on the door posts

***

NEED: deliverance from Pharoah’s army

PROVISION: the parting of the Red Sea (and its closing back in on Pharoah’s army)

REQUIRED: “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” (That’s the NIV. The NASB is “while you keep silent.”) This is Exodus 14:14. God tells Moses to stop crying out to Him. God wants Moses to stand in quiet confidence in the Lord. Moses also has to show faith by obeying the command to stretch out his staff. This is not the first time Moses has been asked to stretch out his staff. The Lord has prepared him for this trial. We don’t know how much faith the Israelites had, but they walked across on dry land between walls of water.

***

NEED: water

PROVISION: water

REQUIRED: Moses again has to obey in faith (throws the tree branch in the water). The rest are provided for even though they are grumbling, but they are God’s people.

***

NEED: food

PROVISION: manna, meat

REQUIRED: Let me just focus on the manna here. There are rules about picking up the manna. But even when those are broken, God continues to provide manna, for forty years. The Israelites continue to show disbelief by their disobedience, but God still provides this basic provision for His people.

***

I don’t know if I will continue this exercise or not, but I think I will be continuing on this topic in the next post. I hope it is encouraging to you to think on how the Lord provides for His children.

I hope you see how the Lord takes care of His children. He provides food and covering for them even when they don’t deserve it. He acts in compassion for His children when He sees them suffering. He doesn’t require saying “the magic words,” faith formulas of proclaiming His provision. He wants quiet confidence displayed in acts of obedience.

Baptized with Fire or Fueling the Flames

March 31, 2010October 2, 2020 ~ Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool

But on Mount Zion will be deliverance; it will be holy, and the house of Jacob will possess its inheritance. The house of Jacob will be a fire and the house of Joseph a flame; the house of Esau will be stubble, and they will set it on fire and consume it. There will be no survivors from the house of Esau.” The LORD has spoken. (Obadiah 1:17-18)

I’ve thought for a while that maybe there are three baptisms the believer is to go through. I’m thinking of John the Baptist saying, “I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” (Luke 3:16)

Water, Spirit, Fire

I know people say the Spirit and the fire are one and the same. But consider how the Scriptures speak of fire. Fire destroys and fire refines.

Everyone and everything must go through the fire. 2 Peter says the earth is being reserved for fire. It’s all going up in flames someday. Ouch. But like the house of Jacob, some are delivered from the fire and come out holy.

It’s very similar to another thing John said. “He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” (John 15:2)

The good and the bad both get cut. Again, ouch. The one is tossed into the fire. The other produces even more abundant fruit–and I just wrote about this, the fruit of righteousness, or Christ-likeness. Or we could say like those who came out of the fire, they come out holy.

How will you stand in the test of fire?

Has not the LORD Almighty determined that the people’s labor is only fuel for the fire…? (Habbakuk 2:13)

His work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. (1 Corinthians 3:13)

Proof of a Disciple

March 29, 2010October 2, 2020 ~ Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool

How do you know a disciple of Christ?

John 15:8 “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.

Here’s the scriptural test for proof of discipleship–do you bear much fruit?

That of course begs the question, what does it mean by fruit?

Somehow we got on to the idea that fruit meant numbers of people saved, or maybe I should say, brought into the church (the building kind). But the New Testament talks about the fruit of the Spirit and the fruit of righteousness.

In the beginning we were created in the image of God and that image was tarnished by sin. Jesus came to restore us into the perfect image we were created to be in. We are to be transformed from glory to glory into the image of Christ. (I’m practically quoting Scripture here, but I’m not labeling the references. I’m assuming my readers recognize the verses.)

If we have in us the fruit of righteousness and the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control and have them in increasing measure, then we have proven ourselves disciples of Christ.

How does one bear much fruit?

John 15:5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

This verse tells us that the one who “bears much fruit” is the one who abides in Jesus.

So what does it mean to abide in Christ?

John 15:10 “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.”

To keep the commandments is to abide in God’s love.

I feel like a broken record, saying obey! obey! but it’s repeated constantly in Scripture! I remember when the Lord first showed me that obedience is required for salvation. I went through the Bible making notes of everywhere it talked about it. One day I said to my husband, “Every other verse in the Bible says this!”

Speaking of which, the Lord revealed this to me in a book. One I wrote. He led me to sit at the computer and spoke chapter titles to me. Then I just started writing on the topics. The book came to the logical conclusion that obedience is required for salvation. I wrote it in a week (pretty good for a homeschool mom with a toddler). I then spent the next month adding the Scriptures. I added a link to the book in the sidebar. I haven’t read it recently, but there it is. It’s called, Sin Is Bad.

I’ve also added a blurb about my latest book, The King Will Make a Way. It’s a very different type of book, a novel. It’s an end-times tale. It’s main themes are living by faith, dying to self and living wholly for the King.

Set Apart

March 8, 2010October 2, 2020 ~ Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool

“Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” Revelation 7:3

Who is protected? Who is sealed and set apart?

Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD will hear when I call to him. Psalm 4:3

“Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.” From Ezekiel 9:4

***

Who are God’s people? Who are the ones God has set apart? Marked? Sealed? You could say those with the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 1 says we are marked with the seal of the Spirit. And what’s the mark of the Holy Spirit in someone’s life? Holiness.

Those belonging to God are godly, holy. They prove their holiness in word and deed, like those groaning over the sin of their city.

Does sin make you groan? Or is it something you gossip and laugh about? If you don’t hate sin, you need to consider that there is a lack of the Holy Spirit’s work in your life. God hates sin, and if His life is present in you, you will hate sin too.

Are you holy and set apart or are you in danger?

Nailing Down Their Idol

February 23, 2010October 2, 2020 ~ Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool

Isaiah 41:7 The craftsman encourages the goldsmith, and he who smooths with the hammer spurs on him who strikes the anvil. He says of the welding, “It is good.” He nails down the idol so it will not topple.

Do you see the irony in this verse? They are encouraging each other saying “it is good,” essentially playing God (remember Him proclaiming “It is good”?), and all the while they can see with their eyes that it’s not that good. I mean, it has to be nailed down otherwise it will topple over.

How often is this scenario played out today? Not long ago I came across someone recommending a blog article about the earthquake in Port-Au-Prince. The author of the article said that we could know God wasn’t behind the earthquake because God is love and because we know not everything that happens is His will since sin happens.

A round of encouragement went up. “It is good,” said the peanut gallery.

What idol were they nailing down? Their fake God who loves everyone so much He would never do anything that would hurt or kill someone. This is the same God who loves people too much to send them to hell. A God who loves couldn’t send someone to hell to suffer!

What is the obvious flaw in the idol that they ignore, like the nail holding down the golden image? The God of the Bible often killed people. You can’t get very far into the Bible before God wipes out the entire population save 8 people. It’s extremely plain that God was behind the flood. Of course, they would say that’s just poetry, not to be taken literally. What about the death and destruction God tells us is still to come in the book in the Revelation? Not literal? So…how about the earth swallowing Korah whole along with all his family and possessions (Num. 16)? Again, it was clear that it was God doing it. It was a punishment for sin. Speaking of which, the Bible says that death is the result of sin. “For the wages of sin is death.”

God is completely just in taking the life of any sinner. It’s His grace that puts up with us long enough to seek Him and come to Him. It’s His love that displays itself in His mercy towards us in that He offers forgiveness so that we can repent and be filled with the Holy Spirit and be freed from sin and death.

Let’s stop repeating platitudes and start quoting Scripture. Read the Bible for yourself and if something goes against what you’ve been taught, perk up! Don’t dismiss it. Ask God to show you the truth. Believe the word of God. Believe what the Bible says. And show it by acting on it, by obeying it.

Faith and Obedience, Fear and Disbelief

February 14, 2010October 2, 2020 ~ Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool

I have written recently about faith that ends in rest in God’s promises. And I have written recently about obeying the word of the Lord. Here’s a story from Jeremiah where the remnant of Israel doesn’t have faith but are fearful. Their fear leads to disbelief when Jeremiah tells them the word of the Lord. Because of their fear, they don’t believe the word, and the evidence of their disbelief is their disobedience to the word.

*****

Jeremiah 42:11-16

Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you now fear. Do not be afraid of him, declares the LORD, for I am with you and will save you and deliver you from his hands. I will show you compassion so that he will have compassion on you and restore you to your land.’

“However, if you say, ‘We will not stay in this land,’ and so disobey the LORD your God, and if you say, ‘No, we will go and live in Egypt, where we will not see war or hear the trumpet or be hungry for bread,’ then hear the word of the LORD, O remnant of Judah. This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you are determined to go to Egypt and you do go to settle there, then the sword you fear will overtake you there, and the famine you dread will follow you into Egypt, and there you will die.

*****

They didn’t believe the word of the Lord coming from Jeremiah. His words that the Lord will deliver them agrees with the Scriptures. But they didn’t believe the word. They didn’t want to believe the word because they didn’t want to obey it.

This is a frequently used method for justifying disobedience, sin. If we say the command isn’t true, then we feel we don’t have to obey it. But, of course, it’s not up to us to decide what’s true and what’s not. God’s word is always true. If you want to believe what the Bible says about salvation, then you have to take the whole of Scriptures.

In the story in Jeremiah 42 they didn’t want to believe and obey because they were afraid. They didn’t trust in the Lord to deliver them. They wanted to trust their flesh, what they could see with their eyes. It seemed safer to disobey.

And God’s response was to send on them all the things they were afraid of. I can actually think of three instances of missionaries who went back to America or went to another field because they perceived it to be safer. There was fear of the place where God had called them to minister. In each case someone died shortly after moving to the “safe” place.

The only safe place is abiding in Christ. If we walk by the Spirit, obeying the Spirit and not the flesh, then we have nothing to fear. The fear of the Lord is the only fear that should grip us and direct our steps.

I’m not saying there will be no hardships. We are promised persecutions if we live in righteousness, but we are also promised deliverance.

God tells us:

The Lord says, “I will save the one who loves me. I will keep him safe, because he trusts in me.” Psalm 91:14

And who is the one who loves God:

“He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me…” John 14:21

Remembering the Poor

February 11, 2010October 2, 2020 ~ Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool

But Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard left behind in the land of Judah some of the poor people, who owned nothing; and at that time he gave them vineyards and fields. Jeremiah 39:10

Here Judah is being overthrown by the Chaldeans, people are being killed or hauled off into captivity, but the poorest are not only left alone, they are given land, something they never had before. I love this example of God remembering the poor.

In the Levitical law we read one way of how God remembered the poor. The Jews were commanded, “When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God.” Leviticus 23:22

Although we are warned not to show partiality toward the poor (Lev. 19:15), we are also told not to discriminate against them (James 2:2-4). Here are some other things we are told.

Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Matthew 19:21

“Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor.” Acts 10:31

All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do. Galations 2:10

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind,” Luke 4:18

Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” Luke 14:12-14

To be a Christian is to remember the poor. To be like Jesus we must bring the gospel to the poor. He literally proclaimed the recovery of sight to the blind and he literally preached to the poor. We are told to give to the poor and to invite them in.

Jesus also tells us we will always have the poor with us and can do good any time we wish. It is wonderful to give your money to the poor, especially to bless those of the household of faith. And it’s wonderful to participate in sharing the gospel with the poor. But consider when the last time was you invited the poor in? Did you have a homeless person at your dinner table when you feasted on Thanksgiving or Christmas?

One way to to prepare for the worsening economy is to give to the poor. Treat them as you want to be treated. We are told that in giving to the poor we will be “providing purses” for ourselves that won’t ever be empty (Luke 12:33). But there are more ways to give to the poor. We can give them our time, our energy, our love–the love of Christ–the kind of love that’s not afraid to reach out and touch.