"For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these."

So this weekend was my little nephew's baby dedication at church. It was a fun filled, whirlwind of a weekend. Saturday was a beautiful day with lots of cooking involved. We made my Mama Dot's coconut cake recipe for the lunch afterward and it was a success. I've never tasted a better coconut cake than her recipe, and it was almost as good as hers used to be. She was an awesome cook. Anyway, on Sunday it was me, my parents, Taylor's parents, and Taylor's sister and her family. Fun times. Now Will has become accustomed to "army crawling" but this weekend he took a few paces on his knees for the first time which was exciting! Here are a few pics!

 

Will was definitely the biggest baby up there. He's a big boy! >95th percentile big!

The coconut cake we made turned out just like my Mama Dot's. So delicious.

I pray that baby Will grow up close to the Lord, and that Amanda and Taylor will train him up in the way that he should go! What a fun weekend. :)

A crown of beauty instead of ashes

I mentioned that the theme of forgiveness, redemption, and freedom for the captives has become recurrent in my life lately. As I began this study Breaking Free, I don't think I ever realized how often Christians are held in captivity. In fact, as Beth Moore points out, in the Bible when it refers to captives it is almost always talking about Christians- people who have been set free and are now back in bondage. We've learned in Breaking Free that bondage is "anything that hinders the abundant and effective spirit-filled life that God has planned for us." Anything! Anything from addictions, to insecurity, to guilt or shame, idols, fear, anxiety, feeling not good enough, not smart enough, feeling like a failure...the list goes on and on. That is NOT the way God has planned for us to live. These thoughts are directly from Satan. He can't reverse our salvation, so he does everything in his power to render us completely ineffective as Christians. Guilt is a big one Satan uses to take us captive. God convicts in order to make us realize our sin, to turn from it, and to be free from it. For that reason, we should not dwell on our mistakes once they've been forgiven. If we find ourselves dwelling on the guilt of our past, it is not the way God calls us to live...it is bondage.

After God had brought the Israelites through so much, they started casting and worshiping idols, completely betraying Him. After a little correction and truth about idolatry, this is what He had to say to them:
 
 "I have swept away your offenses like a cloud,
   your sins like the morning mist.
Return to me, for I have redeemed you.”Isaiah 44:22

Return to me, I have redeemed you?? Anyone else in awe of the mercy God shows us on a daily basis?

Our main focus has been the simple fact that Jesus came to set us free from bondage. Gal 5:1 says, "it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."  This is implying that, indeed, Christians can fall back into a yoke of bondage. Two passages that we studied last week that I want to share are Isaiah 61 and Luke 4. I'd never read these two passages side by side before, but I'm so glad this study allowed me to do that because it's really cool I think. In Isaiah 61, it lists the ministries that God anointed His ambassador to fulfill: "bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners ... to comfort all who mourn ... to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair." In Luke 4, Jesus unrolls the scroll of Isaiah in the synagogue and reads these exact words from chapter 61. Then He says, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." (v.21) Amen!

That's just a little snippet of what I've been learning in this bible study. I've done quite a few bible studies. I've done 3 or 4 by Beth Moore, but this one I just crave. It's Tuesday and I've already completed 4 out of my 5 days of the workbook and we meet on Sundays! And if you know anything about Beth Moore, her homework is looong. Good but long. I can honestly say, I've never been like this. A lot of times I would wait until the last couple of days...the last minute really. I can't recommend this study enough. It will allow God to change your life if you let it!

"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:9