The power of the holy spirit

Augustus Toplady's hymn speaks of the "double cure".  That is, cleansing from both sin's guilt & power.  It is important that we grasp this wonderful truth of the gospel because we can face our "respectable" sins only when we know they are forgiven. 

We need to see the cleansing from sin's power in two stages.  The first is deliverance from the dominion or reigning power of sin that is decisive &complete for all believers.  The second is freedom from the remaining presence & activity of sin that is progressive & continues throughout our lives on earth.

We have died not only to sin's guilt but also to its reigning power in our lives.   This is accomplished at the time of our salvation when God delivers us from the domain of darkness & transfers us to the kingdom of His Son.

How can sin possibly reign if we have died to it?  Paul is referring to the continued presence & ceaseless acitivty of sin that, though it is "dethroned" as the reigning power over our lives, still seeks to exert a controlling influence in our daily walk. 

To walk by the Spirit is to live under the controlling influence of the Spirit & in dependence upon Him.

Practically speaking, we live under the controlling influence of the Spirit as we continually expose our minds to & seek to obey the Spirit's moral will for us as revealed in Scripture.  We live in dependence on Him through prayer as we continually cry out to Him for His power to enable us to obey His will.

We are responsible before God to obey His Word, to put to death the sins in our lives, both the so-called acceptable sins & the obviously not acceptable ones.  At the same time, we do not have the ability within ourselves to carry out this responsibility.  We are in fact totally dependent upon the enabling power of the Holy Spirit.  In this sense, we are both responsible & dependent.

We will never reach perfection in this life, but we will see progress--incremental progress.

All three members of the divine Trinity are involved in our spiritual transformation, but the Father & the Son work through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.  When I speak of the power of the Holy Spirit, I am speaking of the power of the Father, Son, & Holy Spirit that is communicated to us & worked out in us by the Holy Spirit.  

We need to believe that as we seek to deal with our subtle sins, we are not alone.  He is at work in us, & we will see progress as we walk by the Spirit. 

One way is conviction of sin.

Another way is to enable & empower us to deal with our sin. 

We can deal with our pride, our impatience, our critical & judgmental spirit as we depend on the Holy Spirit to empower & enable us.  Thus, we should never give up. 

Still another way in which the Holy Spirit works for our transformation is by bringing into our lives circumstances that are designed to cause us to grow spiritually.  Just as our physical muscles will not grow in strength without exercise, so our spiritual life will not grow apart from circumstances that challenge us.

God does not tempt us to sin, but He does bring or allow circumstances to come into our lives that give us opportunity to put to death the particular subtle sins that are characteristic of our individual lives. 

God is in control of every circumstance & every event of our lives, & He uses them, often in some mysterious way, to change us more into the likeness of Christ.

The Holy Spirit is at work in us through our circumstances to make us more like Christ.

The Holy Spirit works in us to convict us & make us aware of our subtle sins.  He then works in us to enable us to put to death those sins.  Then He works in us in ways of which we are not conscious.  And then He uses the circumstances of our lives to exercise us in the activity of dealing with our sins. 

We cannot simply lay this responsibility on God & sit back & watch Him work.

We are to pray that the Holy Spirit will enable us to see the hidden, subtle sins in our lives. 



These are excerpts & highlights from "Respectable Sins" by Jerry Bridges

Stepping outside our comfort zone

When I first became serious about transitioning to vegan eating from vegetarian eating I went looking for a cookbook.  I happen to love cookbooks & felt I could use some good & new ideas.  Most often I don't follow recipes in cookbooks exactly as they are written.  I often use them for a method, idea, & end up changing a lot of things & making it my own.  Occasionally I do follow them exactly as written though, especially when baking or if it's something I've never tried before. 

I can remember the day, I was at Mother's Market looking at the book rack.  I had picked out all the groceries needed & stopped at the book rack.  Lil J was being fussy & so I was trying to rush.  A lot of the books went on & on about WHY you should go vegan.  I didn't want or need that, I just wanted RECIPES.  In my rush I found one.  It's called "Viva Vegan" by Terry Hope Romero.  And as I flip through the pages I just see tons & tons of recipes.  Exactly what I'm looking for!!

When I got home & got all the groceries put away (I had also stopped at Costco that day, so I had A LOT to put away) I pulled out the cookbook.  It was only then that I realized it was a cookbook entirely devoted to latin foods.  How awesome is that???  Vegan latin food??  YUM!!  As I read the introduction I was thrilled to see that these recipes were about cooking REAL food, mostly from scratch, not requiring expensive processed foods.  Totally my style!! 

At some point I discovered that Terry Hope Romero had co-authored several other cookbooks with another gal.  Gradually over time I have acquired those books as well.  Their desert ones are ridiculously fabulous!!  I mean, honestly, there are a lot of cookbooks out there, but a lot of times, especially with healthy cuisines & ESPECIALLY with vegan foods, they just plain taste nasty.  I have always been loyal to cookbook authors & I am definitely loyal to these gals.  I know they won't steer me wrong. 

Of course in this day & age you can find these authors on Facebook & so I friended them & liked their pages.  A while back Terry Hope Romero was asking for volunteers to be recipe testers for an upcoming cookbook.  I volunteered but didn't hear anything & after a while I assumed she had enough.  Then sometime last month I received an email with all the details.  She says she is taking on way more testers than she ever has before, so I don't feel too flattered, LOL, but I am still thrilled at the opportunity.

So far I've tested 10 recipes.  I'm not sure what the title of the cookbook will be as of yet, or what exactly the theme is.  The recipes are of a wide variety of ethnicities.  I am allowed to discuss the project & can say what I'm making, etc, but I am not allowed to divulge the actual recipe. 

My family has been quite supportive, eating & enjoying most of the recipes.  It's usually my entree & their side dish.  A lot of the Asian recipes call for ingredients that I don't know where to find & I'm not familiar with.  So most of those are out.  But I am doing the Columbian ones & the middle eastern ones.  But this project has definitely taught me to step out of the box.  I am being forced out of my comfort zone in the kitchen.  And, surprisingly, I like it.  I don't think I've disliked a single recipe so far.  I mean, I know she's a great chef (is that the correct title??), but it doesn't mean that our tastes & food likes & dislikes are always gonna be the same.

But I'm now finding myself feeling more adventurous in the kitchen.  I've acquired a few new spices in the process.  I am thumbing through the cookbooks I already have by her.  But I also feel like right now I need to focus on the test recipes.  Once I'm done with this project then I will definitely make more from the cookbooks I have. 

Honestly I was a tad hesitant about taking on this project, but in the end, I am really really glad that I have.  I really feel like I needed to learn to be more adventurous in the kitchen.  I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm a good cook.  And I do make a wide variety of foods, but still there is a certain comfort zone within your kitchen, though it may be a large & wide one, that you just don't step out of.  I feel like I'm on a grand adventure & I don't want it to end.  :)

The remedy for sin

John Newton, who penned the famous hymn "Amazing Grace" wrote near the end of his life "my memory is nearly gone; but I remember two things: that I am a great sinner, & that Christ is a great Savior".

Both John Newton & the apostle Paul said they were great sinners, but with a great Savior.

Though the author of this book has not committed any of the big, scandalous sins, he admits he has gossiped, spoken critically of others, harbored resentment, become impatient, acted selfishly, failed to trust God in difficult issues of life, succumbed to materialism, & let his favorite football team become an idol.

That is all sin.

Both John Newton & the apostle Paul spoke of themselves as sinners in the present tense.

The growth process involves becoming more aware of & sensitive to the sinful expressions of the flesh still dwelling within.

Christ, in His work for us & in us, saces us not only from the penalty of sin, but also from its dominion or reigning power in our lives.

The gospel is only for sinners.

The first use of the gospel is to drive a dagger into our self-righteous heart.

The second use of the gospel is to acknowledge our sin. We feel guilty because we are guilty. We cannot begin to deal with a particular manifestation of sin until we first openly acknowledge its presence & activity in our lives. But in order to make such an admission, I first need the assurance that my selfishness is forgiven-that God no longer holds it against me. The gospel gives us that assurance.

The third use of the gospel is dealing with the guilt. It energizes & motivates me to deal with my sin. To "put it to death" (rom 8:13, col 3:5) The only sin that can be successfully fought against is forgiven sin. We must first deal with the guilt.


The fourth use of the gospel is grattitude. God is no longer my judge. He is now my Heavenly Father who loves me with a self-generated, infinite love, even in the face of my sin.

The fufth use of the gospel is to put sin to death. We are COMMANDED to put sin to death.

The sixth use of the gospel is to give ourselves a daily gospel lesson. This is important part of dealing with sin in our lives. Preach the gospel to yourself every day. We need to personalize it.

There is never a day in our lives when we are so good that we dont need the gospel.





These are excerpts from "Respectable Sins" by Jerry Bridges

The malignancy of sin

Sin is a spiritual & moral malignancy. Left unchecked, it can spread throughout our entire inner being & contaminare every area of our lives. It can also metastasize from us to other believers around us. None of us live on a spiritual or social island. Our attitudes, words, & actions, & oftentimes even our private unspoken thoughts, tend to have an effect on those around us.

If I comlain about the difficult circumstances of my life, I impugn the sovereignty & goodbess of God & tempt my listener to do the sane. In this way, my sin mestastasizes into the heart of another person.

Sin is a principle or moral force in our heart, our inner being. Our sinful actions, words, & thoughts are simply expressions of the principle of sin residing withon ys, even in those of us whose hearts have been renewed.

The way cancer operates is a good analogy of the way sin, especially so-called acceptable or refined sin, operates in our lives.
Sins such as impatience, pride, resentment, frustration, & self-pity. Seemingly small sind can lead to more serious ones.

When we sin, when we violate the law of God in any way, be it ever so small in our eyes, we rebel against rhe sovereign authority & transcendant majesty of God.

Sin is a despising of the law of God. To despise God's law is to despise Him. So its not only despising God's law but, at the same time, despising God Himself.

When we see our sin as grieving the Holy Spirit-that is, as grieving God-we are viewing God as our redeemer & Father. Our sin grieves our heavenly Father. Whether we are unknd to someone else or unforgiving when someone is unkind to us, we grieve the Father's heart.

We also presume on His grace when we sin. Sin, in its subtle deceitfulness, will suggest to us that our unkind words & resentful thoughts dont matter because God has forgiven them. Forgiveness, however,does not mean overlooking or tolerating our sin. God ALWAYS judges sin. Shall we presume on God's grace by tolerating in ourselves the very sin that nailed Christ to the cross?

God knows our every thought. Hehears our words before we even speak them & sees our every deed.

Whether it is large or small in our eyes, it is heinous in the sight of Gid. God forgives our sin because of the shed blood of Christ, but He diesnt tolerate it. Christ suffered because of our sind.



These are excerpts from "Respectable Sins" by Jerry Bridges

The disappearance of sin

The whole idea of sin has virtually disappeared from our culture.

The concept of "sin" has been accommodated to fit secular sensibilities.

Strong Biblical words for sin have been excised from our vocabulary. People no longer commit adultery; instead they have an affair. Corporate executives do not steal; they commit fraud.

We often indulge in what the author calls "respectable" or even "acceptable" sins without any sense of sin. We often gossip, harbor hurts, are selfish, have a critical spirit, are impatient, & even angry. God has not given us authority to establish values for different sins.

It is not just the breaking of a single command; it is a complete disregard for the law of God.

Of course there are many godly, humble people who are exceptions. But there is a vast multitude who are quite judgmental toward the grosser sins of society but who seem pridedully unaware of their own personal sins. A lot of us live somewhere in between.

But God has not forsaken us. For those who are true believers, God is still our heavenly Father, & He is at work among us to call us to repentence & renewal.



These are excerpts from "Respectable Sins" by Jerry Bridges

Facing up to the truth of our sin

In 2 Cor 1:1 we are referred to as "God's church", "holy people".

In 1 Cor 1:2 we are called "holy".

Of course we know that the Corinthian church (whom these letters were addressing) was quite carnal. One might refer to them as wordly or immature, but "saints"??

In Romans 1:7 we are "loved by God".

The greek word for saint is hagios. It refers not to one's character, but to a state of being. Its literal meaning is "one who is separated unto God". In this sense, every believer-even the most ordinary & the most immature-is a saint. A saint is simply someone who is sanctifies. Every true believer has been separated or set apart by God for God.

The Biblical meaning of saint is "someone whom Christ bought with His own blood on the cross & has separated unto Himself to be His own possession.

We dont become saints by our actions. We are made saints by the immediate supernatural action of the Holy Spirit alone who works this change deep within our inner being so that we do, in fact, become new creations in Christ.

If we are honest with ourselves, we know that nearly every waking hour, we sin in thought, word, or deed.

We should always keep in mind that we are saints called to live a life that is set apart for God.

Be in your behavior what you are in your state of being.

The Bible has a word for conduct unbecoming a saint. It is "sin".



These are excerpts from chapter 1 of "Respectable Sins" by Jerry Bridges.

Respectable Sins

In September a new women's Bible study session was starting up at my church. I decided to sign up. I feel like Ive been sort of stagnant in my spiritual walk for a little while feeling like Im standing still & not learning & growing like I desire to.

At the last church we fellowshipped at they REALLY REALLY (did I mention "really"?) emphasized being in God's Word DAILY & every single day. At first I thought it was a little exaggerated but as I pondered it more I could see a multitude of reasons why this was good to do. I definitely did my best & gave it mu all but I always ended up failing on days that I worked. I worked 12 hour shifts & had to get up at 5am & got home after 8 pm, barely had time to eat & was ready for bed. I was never able to be successful on days I worked. Now that Im a SAHM I am able to do it. Its challenging with a toddler but I cant even remember the last time I failed. Last Febryary I started the one yearBible reading plan. I have not missed a single day. I like the way its organized-a little OT, a little NT, a little psalms, & a little proverbs.

In all honesty I was a tad disappointed to see them using a book, rather than just the actual Bible itself. BUT I must say that this study is amazing, just what I needed. The title is "Respectable Sins", the author is Jerry Bridges. I highly recommend EVERY Christian to go through this study.

I hope to find time to post more on this topic.

Why can't moms just get along??

A friend of mine very recently posted a blog that really got me thinking about this topic.  It doesn't seem to matter what choices you make as a mother, there's gonna be mothers that want to criticize you.  I suppose this is true of a lot more things in life than just motherhood.  But somehow, at least to me, motherhood is different, set apart as it were.  Being a mom has totally awakened the inner "mother bear" in me that was forever in hibernation mode prior to having my son.  Most moms really think their decisions through & make what they feel is the absolute best choice for their child/children.  Every family & family situation is so different from each other that it's truly impossible for someone else to make those judgments & criticisms.  As a mother we bring to motherhood all of our past experiences & knowledge gained as well as trying to learn as we go the best we can.  I often hear people saying something about a choice a mother made & I stop to think "what if it was me they were talking about?"  I am far from perfect & have definitely made my share of mistakes in my life & I'm sure I have plenty more to make in the days I have left on earth.  But I definitely think things through before making a decision & I definitely try to make the best decision for my child.  And so whenever I hear someone making a critical comment about a mother I almost always throw in my 2 cents & say something along the lines of "I'm sure she's doing what she feels is best for her child" & that does usually end the negative conversation.

I know for me I am aware of being criticized for being a SAHM.  I am sure I have received other criticisms as a mother, but not to my face (& really, how is that right?  to be willing to say things behind someone's back, yet not to their face?  The more time goes on the more that issue deeply bothers me & I refuse to do it).  Anyways, I've heard plenty about me being a SAHM--that I wasted so much time & money on my college education, that financially we'd be doing better if I was working, the list goes on & on.  And it's really no one's business, it doesn't even affect anyone except my little family.  But hubby & I discussed it & we both felt it was the best for Lil J if I stay at home with him.

And I have a tremendous amount of respect for Dr. James Dobson & he stresses over & over that parents should do whatever it takes to have a child be able to stay at home with a parent at least until they are 2.  He says it has a huge impact on their future relationship with their parents as well as their overall development.

But of course not everyone is able to stay at home with the kids no matter what they do.  And there are even mothers who don't want to stay at home.  And there are even mothers who also work out of the home (talk about tough!!).  And I know plenty of families where one parent works day shift & the other works night shift & that way the child is never left with anyone other than it's parents.  There are so many options.

My heart always hurts for mothers who HAVE to work yet don't to.  I always try to comfort them by reminding them that at least they get a break & get to socialize with adults.  I mean, if I had to guess I would say the work at home moms have it the toughest.  But second to that would be the stay at home mom.  I LOVE being a stay at home mom but it is very challenging at times.  There is NEVER a true break.  And when sharing this with working moms I have even been criticized by other stay at home moms for saying such a thing.  Mind you, there's quite a trend nowadays to call yourself a stay at home mom yet have a maid & put your child in day care.  And then there's people who drop their child off with a relative or friend or day care for every little thing they need to do.  THAT would definitely make being a SAHM easier if you ask me.  But that also means you don't have any business judging or criticizing SAHMs that don't have maids & don't have sitters.

I, personally, have to drag my kid on every single errand.  And it is TOUGH, let me tell you.  He doesn't always behave & I have to work around napping schedules, etc.  Grocery shopping is the absolute worst.  I have to make 2-5 stops & I do them as fast as I can, & then when I get home I have to put it all away.  And the whole time I have to keep an eye on his attitude & prevent a total meltdown.  I usually leave the house at 9am & get home at 1 & am not done putting it all away until 3.  It is so exhausting!  I have to clean my whole house while keeping him entertained, I have to cook (I know lots of people eat out or eat take out or fast food, etc--but I actually cook, most of it from scratch mind you), & I have to try to get errands ran when needed.  I even drag my kid with me when I go to the doctor--does anyone know how hard that is????  The only time I actually got a sitter was for ultrasounds & MRIs that I had done.  So I would really like someone to spend a week in my shoes before they choose to criticize me.

Alright, so today's blog was a bit of a rant, I haven't done one of those in quite a while.

Unforgettable moments in potty training

Potty training is challenging at times. And no matter how frustrating an accident may be, I always remind myself (especially in the early days) that this is all foreign to Lil J & I cant expect him to learn it immediately & I cant get mad or punish him for an accident. And I also try hard to not embarrass him when he has an accident, as I can tell he is usually embarrassed about it, so I do my best to minimize the embarrassment factor him.

Lil J cant pull his pants & undies up & down well, so in the mornings, while I workout & shower, I leave him in just a shirt & he uses the potty on his own.

One day early on in potty training I came out of the shower & found poo poo on the living room floor. I could see that Lil J was extremely embarrassed about his accident. I gave him a kiss & told him next time try to make it to the potty & I cleaned it up. I first picked up each piece of poo poo with a baby wipe & then I cleaned the carpet. The whole time Lil J stood there, watching me, with his head hung down in shame. I felt really bad for him.

A few days later I came out of the shower & found on the living room floor a pile of baby wipes full if poo poo. Lil J had had an accident & had tried to clean it up for me. Oh what a moment-my heart just melted when I realized what had happened.

As touching as this was, after this incident I started focusing on teaching him to NEVER touch poo poo. (Especially since when hes in the yard he'll point at dog poop & yell "poo poo"!)

Its been a very long time now since hes had any accidents like that. But just last weekend (while my hubby was here even) I came out of the shower & Lil J came running to me. He grabbed me by the hand, pointing & saying "poo poo". He led me to the dining room. Hubby was sitting at the dining table, balancing the checkbook. I asked hubby if J had pooped, that he was telling me there was poo poo over here. Hubby insisted he hadnt when we both spotted a big poo poo log amongst Lil J's toys. We quickly cleaned it up & I thanked Lil J for telling me. And me & hubby laughed SO HARD. It was such a funny monent.

Ah the things you go thru once youre a parent!!

Reflections of being a new parent

I recall vividly when my son was born. I was so anxious about caring for him & knowing what to do & being a good mother.

I am the youngest in my family & was really never around children as I grew up. They were somewhat foreign to me. Later in adulthood a few friends had babies & young children & I always felt a little unsure around them. I certainly never did anything (like holding someone's baby) without them offering. And so I can so clearly remember the moment it dawned on me that my son was MINE. And the fact that I could hold him & kiss him without needing anyone's permission. That was quite a moment & I was all alone with my son when that monent happened. It will always be a very special memory for me.

Another special memory: when I asked my nurse if I could walk to the nursery & get my son. As the words "my son" came out of my mouth it was surprising & exciting at the same time.

Amd I recall in the early days when hubby would call him "son" I kept thinking he was referring to my stepson. I had received a lot of rejection from my stepkids & some of my inlaws in the past & somehow I had expected that rejection to be passed on to my own son & it was shocking to me that it wasnt, especially in those early days.

And I remember those early days were soooo tough. I couldnt get ANY sleep. Ive always been the type of person that can handle anything, but let me get a good night's sleep first. And I can skimp on sleep occasionally even, but in those early days it just goes on & on with no end in sight. Of course add to that the fact that my son had colic & it really made for a miserable time.

I remember I kept asking people "it gets better, right?" & no one ever gave me a "yes". Of course it did get better. Around the 4th month things started to settle down, the colic oassed & he even started to sometimes sleep thru the night.

I also found the fact that it was the first 3 months of parenting that I found toughest. 3 months has always been significant for me. I remember the first 3 months of my marriage were rough, it was a much bigger adjustment than I had expected. 3 months is always the length of time it takes for my body to fully respond to a particular workout. 3 months is the official full length of time your body needs to recover after childbirth. I know theres been other significant 3 month windows in my life, I just cant recall them at the moment. Ive also even seen a book about surviving the first 90 days of marriage. When I saw that I was excited to realize Im not the only one with the "3 month" windows in my life. :)

So to sum it all up: when a new parent asks you if its gonna get better, be sure to tell them YES. :)