Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011
a borrowed faith
The other night I had a dream about heaven than was very thought provoking..
I was outside and it was dark, and there was a red flash in the distance, it felt like everything was getting sucked up into this light. I knew that this meant that our time on earth was over and I was going to heaven. The person next to me was afraid of what was happening...
When I got there I had to look up my name and confirm my date of birth, but i realized that it wasnt my real date of birth but the date i accepted Christ as my savior...I was looking through the list as that suprised me and I saw people that I knew and saw babies that hadn't been born or died, their 'date of birth' was written in the book, meaning they were accepted into the kingdom of Christ....there were others around me that their 'date of birth' was much later than they had expected, because they thought that they were living for Christ for a long time but hadn't been until recently..that was a scarry thing for those that saw that because they realized that if they would have died during that time they wouldnt have been in heaven....
While I was there, I saw people that I used to know that all came up to me, people that I didnt expect to see there, they came up to me giving me hugs and in suprise I said "what are you doing here????" and they replied with their testamony...I realized that all these people I came into contact with there was some way which I was involved with leading them to the lord...It was so exciting to see all these people and there was hugging and suprise and amazement on how God worked it all out....
---
Been really thinking about this dream it was so cool to me...
the part I have been thinking about the most is how many people believe they have a relationship with Jesus, but aren't living for the Lord...I have been thinking about how its so easy to say "I have done all this..." but in reality if we step back and look how long has it really been since we have been pursuing God? At what point do we realize that we 'were' walking with the Lord, and now we are not...we did go to church, but now its been years...5,10..20....I did pursue God for many years, i've just gotten busy....We can't rely on the past we cant depend on where we were with God but we should evaluate where we ARE.
I think about how I was raised in a christian home and how that created such an amazing base for my life, but I couldnt handle the things of this world if it was based on the relationship I had with God back in highschool.. and we can't handle life based on other peoples relationship with God as well. Sometimes we quote others and talk about God, but really how are we renewing our relationship with God on a regular basis for ourselves. Someone can study the whole bible and even have it memorized but never have a relationship with the Lord. When it comes down to it, when we stand before God, it will be us...not your family, not your friends, just you...are you borrowing others thoughts of God? what has he been teaching you lately? If you can't think of a time, are you waiting for Him to come to you or are you going to go to Him? Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
I was outside and it was dark, and there was a red flash in the distance, it felt like everything was getting sucked up into this light. I knew that this meant that our time on earth was over and I was going to heaven. The person next to me was afraid of what was happening...
When I got there I had to look up my name and confirm my date of birth, but i realized that it wasnt my real date of birth but the date i accepted Christ as my savior...I was looking through the list as that suprised me and I saw people that I knew and saw babies that hadn't been born or died, their 'date of birth' was written in the book, meaning they were accepted into the kingdom of Christ....there were others around me that their 'date of birth' was much later than they had expected, because they thought that they were living for Christ for a long time but hadn't been until recently..that was a scarry thing for those that saw that because they realized that if they would have died during that time they wouldnt have been in heaven....
While I was there, I saw people that I used to know that all came up to me, people that I didnt expect to see there, they came up to me giving me hugs and in suprise I said "what are you doing here????" and they replied with their testamony...I realized that all these people I came into contact with there was some way which I was involved with leading them to the lord...It was so exciting to see all these people and there was hugging and suprise and amazement on how God worked it all out....
---
Been really thinking about this dream it was so cool to me...
the part I have been thinking about the most is how many people believe they have a relationship with Jesus, but aren't living for the Lord...I have been thinking about how its so easy to say "I have done all this..." but in reality if we step back and look how long has it really been since we have been pursuing God? At what point do we realize that we 'were' walking with the Lord, and now we are not...we did go to church, but now its been years...5,10..20....I did pursue God for many years, i've just gotten busy....We can't rely on the past we cant depend on where we were with God but we should evaluate where we ARE.
I think about how I was raised in a christian home and how that created such an amazing base for my life, but I couldnt handle the things of this world if it was based on the relationship I had with God back in highschool.. and we can't handle life based on other peoples relationship with God as well. Sometimes we quote others and talk about God, but really how are we renewing our relationship with God on a regular basis for ourselves. Someone can study the whole bible and even have it memorized but never have a relationship with the Lord. When it comes down to it, when we stand before God, it will be us...not your family, not your friends, just you...are you borrowing others thoughts of God? what has he been teaching you lately? If you can't think of a time, are you waiting for Him to come to you or are you going to go to Him? Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
how are you drawing near?
For a few years now I have been really thinking about the idea of drawing near to God. It says in james 4:8 "draw near to me and I will draw near to you..." I have thought for a long time about this verse and it has convicted me on what it means to have a relationship with the Lord. Another simiar verse is in John 15 where is talks about "remaining" or "abiding" in Christ.
So I was thinking what does this mean?
First of all how do others know if we are in a relationship with someone? We bear "fruits" of that relationship for example in marraige we wear a wedding ring, or hang pictures of them, talk to others about them..we dont feel like our relationship is right if we don't talk to that person for the whole day. We protect that person when others talk against them, we think about them, we can't wait to be with them,we consult them for advice, we trust them......Think about the fruits of a relationship, how do others know you are 'together'?
I asked myself first of all, would others know I am in a relationship with Christ based on my life? What are the outward fruits of my love for Christ? Is it with the same intensity of my relationship with my husband? Less or more? I keep thinking about that how can you depend on someone you are not in a relationship with? its like I wouldnt call up a person from middle school and expect them to be there for me, there is no relationship there. So many times we want to call upon the Lord to be apart of our lives when we ourselves are not persuing Him in our lives on a regular basis. We find ourselves calling on Him when we need something and then getting frustrated when He doesnt hear us. Relationships have to do with communication, good and bad, we don't have a good relationship with our spouse if we are keeping things from them and not being honest. Then same goes with our relationship with Jesus. The context of the 'drawing near' verses speaks of confessing sin in our lives, and persuing things of Christ not of this world.
John 15 talks about the Vine and the branches, my favorite passage of the Bible..
9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
__
oh this chapter is loaded with amazing ideas, but what are fruits of 'remaining' in christ?
Galations 22:19-22
19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.
We pray for these things, "lord help me to find joy in my day" "lord help me to practice self control"..but these are "FRUITS" of the spirits work in our lives, in John is said "apart from me you can do nothing" "No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me"
Growing up i always thought that these fruits were things that we should strive for as Christians but as i have read more I realize that this is a direct reflection of Christ in our lives "fruits of the spirit" not "fruits of Bethany"
Luke 6:43-45
__
in other translations it is "out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks".
Having trouble with something in your life? Taming your tounge,anger, finding joy, self control ect? What is in your heart? what is pouring out of your heart and overflowing onto others?
Jesus says
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
So I was thinking what does this mean?
First of all how do others know if we are in a relationship with someone? We bear "fruits" of that relationship for example in marraige we wear a wedding ring, or hang pictures of them, talk to others about them..we dont feel like our relationship is right if we don't talk to that person for the whole day. We protect that person when others talk against them, we think about them, we can't wait to be with them,we consult them for advice, we trust them......Think about the fruits of a relationship, how do others know you are 'together'?
I asked myself first of all, would others know I am in a relationship with Christ based on my life? What are the outward fruits of my love for Christ? Is it with the same intensity of my relationship with my husband? Less or more? I keep thinking about that how can you depend on someone you are not in a relationship with? its like I wouldnt call up a person from middle school and expect them to be there for me, there is no relationship there. So many times we want to call upon the Lord to be apart of our lives when we ourselves are not persuing Him in our lives on a regular basis. We find ourselves calling on Him when we need something and then getting frustrated when He doesnt hear us. Relationships have to do with communication, good and bad, we don't have a good relationship with our spouse if we are keeping things from them and not being honest. Then same goes with our relationship with Jesus. The context of the 'drawing near' verses speaks of confessing sin in our lives, and persuing things of Christ not of this world.
John 15 talks about the Vine and the branches, my favorite passage of the Bible..
New International Version (NIV)
John 15
The Vine and the Branches
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
__
oh this chapter is loaded with amazing ideas, but what are fruits of 'remaining' in christ?
Galations 22:19-22
19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.
We pray for these things, "lord help me to find joy in my day" "lord help me to practice self control"..but these are "FRUITS" of the spirits work in our lives, in John is said "apart from me you can do nothing" "No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me"
Growing up i always thought that these fruits were things that we should strive for as Christians but as i have read more I realize that this is a direct reflection of Christ in our lives "fruits of the spirit" not "fruits of Bethany"
Luke 6:43-45
A Tree and Its Fruit
43 “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44 Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. 45 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.__
in other translations it is "out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks".
Having trouble with something in your life? Taming your tounge,anger, finding joy, self control ect? What is in your heart? what is pouring out of your heart and overflowing onto others?
Jesus says
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
He loves you, He doesnt want you to carry this on your own, Abide in Him, Rest in Him persue Christ in your life and allow Him to pour out in your life!
ABIDE: dwell, stay,continue,endure, keep on, last, persevere, persist, remain, survive,accept, acknowledge, be big about, bear, endure, hang in, hang in there, hang tough, live with, put up with, receive, sit tight, stand, stand for, suffer, take, tolerate, withstand ,anticipate, expect, remain, rest, wait
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Blizzard is coming!!
Looks like we have a big blizzard on its way! I got to stay home one more day from work because of it! Ao I get one more day of snuggling Levi before maternity leave is over which is awesome!
I thought I would update some things before I go back to work and don't get to get on here too much!
Check out Levi's caringbridge website http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/bethanyandmikebracht
I just put the latest updates on there today! He is doing so great.
As I am going back to work I am going to have to be very organized with my time as I spend so much of it ant work, and I am thinking a lot about how I need to spend my free time. I want to make sure that my only time with Levi isn't just Dr. appointments but that we get to have fun time together too,and that my time with Mike isn't just talking about Levi... There is so much to balance each day, I think about my relationship with God and how important it is to start with that, how it is a daily investment along with your marriage,family and maintaining friendships, and career, and fitness, personal time, ministries ect. but people do it! I have been good about putting myself on a schedule in the past, but never done it to this extent! Wheew! I'm determined to do it, but I know I wont be able to do it well for a while! Props to all the women who have good balance in their lives. I really believe it comes from planning ahead and being organized. I am so glad to be blessed with such an amazing job that I love, I believe this is where God still wants me for the time being although being home with Levi sounds awesome. However it has been such a provision financially along with great insurance and a great creative outlet for me. I am trusting that if God is giving me this that he will help me with the rest!
I am already impressed on how little sleep I can run on without getting tired which i think is a miracle in itself!!
Anyways, change is good, it pushes us to go beyond our limits and takes us to new possibilities!
Check out Levi's caringbridge website http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/bethanyandmikebracht
I just put the latest updates on there today! He is doing so great.
As I am going back to work I am going to have to be very organized with my time as I spend so much of it ant work, and I am thinking a lot about how I need to spend my free time. I want to make sure that my only time with Levi isn't just Dr. appointments but that we get to have fun time together too,and that my time with Mike isn't just talking about Levi... There is so much to balance each day, I think about my relationship with God and how important it is to start with that, how it is a daily investment along with your marriage,family and maintaining friendships, and career, and fitness, personal time, ministries ect. but people do it! I have been good about putting myself on a schedule in the past, but never done it to this extent! Wheew! I'm determined to do it, but I know I wont be able to do it well for a while! Props to all the women who have good balance in their lives. I really believe it comes from planning ahead and being organized. I am so glad to be blessed with such an amazing job that I love, I believe this is where God still wants me for the time being although being home with Levi sounds awesome. However it has been such a provision financially along with great insurance and a great creative outlet for me. I am trusting that if God is giving me this that he will help me with the rest!
I am already impressed on how little sleep I can run on without getting tired which i think is a miracle in itself!!
Anyways, change is good, it pushes us to go beyond our limits and takes us to new possibilities!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
This is our little guy Levi, born November 30th 2010 with Spina Bifida. We have a blog at caring bridge to track his progress if you are interested. We appreciate your prayers and love for us! its what gets us through =)
My Friend Jen's post today
This was a big encouragement to me today. Sometimes people look at your life and wonder, "how do you do it?" and its just a great reminder that God never asks us to do things alone. "I can do all things through HIM who gives me strength" Phillipians 4:13
http://potterwonderfullife.blogspot.com/2011/01/more-than-i-can-bear.html
http://potterwonderfullife.blogspot.com/2011/01/more-than-i-can-bear.html
Dream last night
Mike and I have been praying about moving into a bigger house, and we have some land we would like to build, on but just trying to see if its affordable to begin that project yet.
But in my dream, I drove down our street to find that all the houses on our street were flooded, and ours was just stripped down to the studs! It was devestating! Until the insurance cut a check for $78,000 and told us to put it as a downpayment on our new house!! wooop wooop!! hahah, anyways. I thought it was funny, kinda hope it doesnt happen like that but hey, that would be a nice downpayment!
I also dreampt that mike made me coffee this morning, and that dream did come true!!
But in my dream, I drove down our street to find that all the houses on our street were flooded, and ours was just stripped down to the studs! It was devestating! Until the insurance cut a check for $78,000 and told us to put it as a downpayment on our new house!! wooop wooop!! hahah, anyways. I thought it was funny, kinda hope it doesnt happen like that but hey, that would be a nice downpayment!
I also dreampt that mike made me coffee this morning, and that dream did come true!!
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