Author Archives: Tamar

Unknown's avatar

About Tamar

Tamar Knochel at your service! From sewing and crafting to words of encouragement when you need them most. I'm here for you. ❤️

The Stars

Posted on September 19, 2013 by Tamar


Isaiah 3:16-7:25

“In that day the Lord will take away the finery of the anklets, the headbands, and the crescents; the pendants, the bracelets, and the scarves; the headdresses, the armlets, the sashes, the perfume boxes, and the amulets; the signet rings and nose rings; the festal robes, the mantles, the cloaks, and the handbags; the mirrors, the linen garments, the turbans, and the veils.” Isaiah 3:18-23

OK, I have to admit that when I read this passage when I got to “handbags” I actually gasped! I mean, yeah, its one thing to take away all of a girl’s jewelry, but to take away her purse, now that’s just too far! At that point you might as well take away her shoes!

GASP!

For the longest time, my motto has been “reach for the stars, because even if you fall short you’ll still be among the stars”. Well, a few weeks ago I was having a rough day and feeling pretty low. And I prayed and told God that I was feeling like my toes were barely touching rock bottom. I was tired of dangling at the bottom of the rope feeling like things were never going to change. I asked Him to pick me up and put me on His shoulders so that I could touch the stars. I said, “Lord, I don’t want to just reach for them and feel like I’m never going to get there. I want to ACTUALLY TOUCH THEM!”

The next day as I was walking up to the building where I was about to have a very important meeting I was greeting with this:

I actually almost cried.

Last night we had a whopper of a storm. And during that storm the LORD came to me. And He took me up to the heavens and showed me the stars all lay out like a carpet before me. They were absolutely breathtaking in their beauty and splendor as they sparkled much brighter than little diamonds in the sky. But then He did something interesting, He then took the stars in the heavens and all their beauty and He rolled them up and squeezed them down and showed me how He put them all in woman.

But He wasn’t finished with her yet. Then He took the storm that was raging around me with violent fury and healing rain and He shrunk that down and put that inside woman too! And then He presented her to me, as if I had been Adam and showed me how beautifully women have been created; with the heavens in their hair and the healing fury of a thunderous storm in their bellies. That while these women can have their heads in the clouds they can simultaneously run entire states (or countries if given the chance). Women have the exquisite beauty of an infinite sky and yet simultaneously have a healing touch like rain soothing the parched earth. Hell may have no fury like a woman scorned, but it also doesn’t have the voice of angels with the power of lighting.

Woman is by far one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen, and yet all too often we rely so heavily on our outward adornment that our inward excellence has a hard time showing through. Last night God showed me the goddess that He created in woman and it had NOTHING to do with make up or jewelry or clothes or even handbags or shoes. To be a woman is to have stars in your heart and storms in your very being. We should be proud of that! Woman was the crowning jewel of all creation. Nothing in this entire universe can compare to the beauty of woman, all women. When we look up at the stars at night and just shake our heads at the infinite beauty of the heavens (and it is BEAUTIFUL UP THERE), its nothing compared to the beauty in here; within us. God showed me that last night.

Then after the fury of the storm had been unleashed He pointed out to me that I never had to reach for the stars, because they’ve always been inside me.

Years ago I read Isaiah 6:8-9 to God and said to Him “Here I am Lord, send me.” And He said “Go. Tell them I love them.” And ever since that moment I have done everything I can to tell the world how much Jesus loves them, because He does!

But lately, I’ve found myself stretched a little farther than I was comfortable with. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it is certainly something that starts to get your attention after awhile. And I had a moment at church on Sunday where God used my pastor to take me down from the stage, he took away my microphone and he prayed for me. Then God used him to talk some sense into me. My pastor took me by the shoulders and told me to look him in the eye, which isn’t easy because he’s like nine feet tall and I’m only five. And he said to me, “God says, ‘You’re trying too hard to please Me. I am already pleased with you.'” And through sobs that were trembling my body and choking my throat I managed to laugh and tell him, “Do you have any idea how many times God has sent people to tell me that?”

There is no sacrifice left. Nothing that we can do pleases God more than to simply love Him back and have a conversation with Him. He just wants us to know Him more than we already do. We don’t have to earn His approval because we’ve already got it through the blood of Christ! Thank You Jesus! We don’t have to DO anything to get God to like us because He already likes us just the way we are; broken and frail, human and as messy as a pig in mud. Christians love to pick up the Law and beat each other and ourselves with it. We’ve forgotten that Jesus didn’t come to abolish the Law He came to fulfill it! Do you know what that means?

The Law is perfect, in absolutely every single way. Humanity is imperfect in absolutely every single way. The entire purpose of the Law was to point out these imperfections and make us realize that we could never live up to the standard of being a god. God the Father, perfect in every way. Jesus the Son, perfect in every way. The Holy Spirit, perfect in every way. Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because they wanted to “be like God”. God sent down the Law to show us, “OK, you want to be gods, here are the rules.” And surprise surprise, we couldn’t follow them. Go figure, we were never made to! We were created to be imperfect beings that NEED a perfect God to shepherd them and take care of them. We were created to be His Beloved children; the recipients of His love for us, period!

Yet in that one small seemingly insignificant bite humanity threw that all away and in a bold-faced statement told God, “We don’t need Your help, we don’t want Your help, we can do it on our own.” But guess what, we couldn’t do it on our own. Never have and never will, because it’s not how we were created. We were created to NEED HIM. We were created to be His. We were created to receive His love for us for the rest of eternity. We don’t have to reach for His love for us because it’s already inside us through His Holy Spirit. We don’t have to strive for His approval because we’ve already got it through Jesus Christ!

Jesus came to fulfill the Law. The perfect Law was like an outline of who God is and what He does. And while none of us could fill it in, Jesus could. He came along with His rainbow full of radiant colors and He colored in between the lines of the Law and showed us how it’s done. But the best part was in His last moment on the cross, Jesus shouted in a loud voice, “It is finished”. It was in that moment that the outline of the Law had been completely filled in with the blood of Jesus, leaving no spaces left for us to fill in on our own.

Yet we still try through don’t we? We still try to leave our little marks all over the Law, putting ourselves into a higher position than others because we think we’ve managed to fill in the Law better than they have. Wrong! It doesn’t work that way. If you’ve fallen in one tiny bite-sized area of the Law, you failed in all of it.

There is no sacrifice left. The only thing there is left to do is to rest in the Grace that Jesus has offered up on your behalf. Rest in your humanity and the Truth that you weren’t made to be perfect, you were made to be HIS!

You are more beautiful than the most beautiful sunset or the crispest clear night. You are more powerful than a raging storm and more healing than the rain falling on the ground causing things grow. You are woman, the most precious crown jewel in the kingdom, because you’re His!

Categories: 365 Life, Isaiah, Jesus Loves YOU, Writing Through the Bible in a Year | 2 Comments

Use Me Lord!

Posted on September 18, 2013 by Tamar


Isaiah 1:1-3:15

“‘What to Me is the multitude of your sacrifices?’ says the LORD; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats.” Isaiah 1:11

Almost a week ago I sat here at my desk, typing away when I suddenly had to stop and pray. I don’t remember exactly what it was I prayed, I only remember that during that prayer I ended up saying over and over and over again, “There is no sacrifice left”. God was really trying to drive a point home to ME that day.

There is no sacrifice left.

There’s nothing I can do, there’s nothing I can say, there’s nothing that I can give up or take on that will ever pay back my debt of gratitude to Jesus for what He has done on my behalf.

Yet I still try.

Confession time! I have been running myself ragged trying to do anything and everything I can to show Jesus how much I love Him. I’ve been wracking my brain trying to be everything He’s made me to be and say everything He’s made me to say and do everything He’s made me to do, but I can’t. I’ve ended up filling my days to absolutely overflowing with *things* that appear great on the surface, but might not be the best things for me deep down. If anyone asks me to help out with this or with that, I’m more than happy to volunteer; anything so that I can feel useful.

Oh my goodness! I just wrote that out and a lightning bolt of memory just exploded in my head! I have SO been in this place before!!! Sigh…. Do you remember that? When I wrote about how the things that we do don’t define our usefulness! BAM! Reality just hit HARD!

Will I ever escape from this cycle of needing to feel needed and useful? My value doesn’t come from my productivity! It comes from who I am!

Lord Jesus, please rescue me from myself! I am stuck in this place of constantly needing to feel like I’m accomplishing Your will; like I’m DOING something. Help me to realize that I’M not doing anything, YOU ARE! Sure You’re using me, but that doesn’t mean I’M the one doing it! I know better than that, so why have I gotten stuck in this rut of thinking that I “have” to do this, or I “have” to do that? The only thing I “have” to do, is trust You to take care of me. The only thing I “have” to do, is BELIEVE and then CONFESS that faith through my words and actions. No more, no less.

Lord, I’m sorry that I have lost sight of how You direct my steps, even when I’m not paying attention. Just remembering where this very computer came from is proof enough that You are active in the lives of Your believers, even without them knowing. Using someone who doesn’t follow you that closely to provide the very vehicle that has brought me thus far, well, that’s just poetic in my opinion. J

If you can guide them to do the right thing, then how much MORE can You guide someone who is actually seeking Your will and guidance! Lord, thank You for reminding me that I don’t have to have it all together for You to use me in mighty ways. In fact, it seems like the less I have it all together the more mightily You use me. It’s like the bigger mess I am, the better and more useful I become.

Lord I thank You for using me in spite of me!!! Only You could take this mess of a girl and turn her into the masterpiece I am. Now, if only I could believe and remember that a little more consistently!!!!!

Oh I love You LORD!!!!

Thank You!!!

Categories: 365 Life, Isaiah, Writing Through the Bible in a Year | Leave a comment

In Christ Jesus

Posted on September 17, 2013 by Tamar


Hosea 9:1-14:9

“In You the orphan finds mercy.” Hosea 14:3

In Christ Jesus the homeless find HOME.

In Christ Jesus the barren find FRUIT.

In Christ Jesus the hopeless find HOPE.

In Christ Jesus the helpless find HELP.

In Christ Jesus the forlorn find LOVE.

In Christ Jesus the downhearted find
COMFORT.

In Christ Jesus the lost find THE WAY.

In Christ Jesus the forsaken find SALVATION.

In Christ Jesus the condemned find
RIGHTEOUSNESS.

In Christ Jesus the sinners find
FORGIVENESS.

In Christ Jesus the forgotten find
RECOGNITION.

In Christ Jesus the poor find ABUNDANCE.

In Christ Jesus the mourners find JOY.

In Christ Jesus the haughty find HUMILITY.

In Christ Jesus the hungry find DAILY BREAD.

In Christ Jesus the thirsty find STREAMS OF LIVING WATER.

In Christ Jesus the battle-weary find REST.

In Christ Jesus the persecuted find the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.

In Christ Jesus the reviled find REWARD.

In Christ Jesus the dead find LIFE.

In Christ Jesus the uprooted find
FERTILE SOIL.

In Christ Jesus the wounded find HEALING.

In Christ Jesus the broken find
RESTORATION.

In Christ Jesus the weeping find LAUGHTER.

In Christ Jesus the depressed find DANCING.

In Christ Jesus the outcasts find
FELLOWSHIP.

In Christ Jesus the rejected find EMBRACING.

In Christ Jesus the torn find MENDING.

In Christ Jesus the mute find SPEECH.

In Christ Jesus the lame find MOBILITY.

In Christ Jesus the sick find HEALTH.

In Christ Jesus the blind find VISION.

In Christ Jesus the hated find ADORATION.

In Christ Jesus the untouchables find
CONTACT.

In Christ Jesus the childless find FAMILY.

In Christ Jesus the frenzied find PATIENCE.

In Christ Jesus the worried find PEACE.

In Christ Jesus the fearful find LOVE.

In Christ Jesus the rude find KINDNESS.

In Christ Jesus the evil find GOODNESS.

In Christ Jesus the undependable find FAITHFULNESS.

In Christ Jesus the unbendable find
FLEXIBILITY.

In Christ Jesus the harsh find GENTLENESS.

In Christ Jesus the wild find CONTROL.

In Christ Jesus the insecure find SECURITY.

In Christ Jesus the chased find REFUGE.

In Christ Jesus the irritable find SOOTHING.

In Christ Jesus the weeping find SMILING.

In Christ Jesus the exhausted find
ENDURANCE.

In Christ Jesus the fallen find FLIGHT.

In Christ Jesus the downtrodden find
FREEDOM.

In Christ Jesus the wandering find DIRECTION.

In Christ Jesus the unloved find GRACE.

Categories: 365 Life, Hosea, Writing Through the Bible in a Year | Leave a comment

Fire!

Posted on September 16, 2013 by Tamar


Hosea 3:1-8:14

I think if I read the word “whore” one more time in today’s reading I was going to go scrub my eyes out with soap! YIKES ISRAEL!

There was no denying or second guessing how God felt about their actions! Yet at the beginning of the sixth chapter of Hosea the Israelites speak out their understanding of how God works, and this is where I think we should pay extra close attention today.

“Come, let us return to the LORD: for He has torn us, that He may heal us; He has struck us down, and He will bind us up. After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live before Him. Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD; His going out is sure as the dawn; He will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.” (6:1-3)

Why was it that the LORD allowed their enemies to defeat them?

“He has torn us, that He may heal us, He has struck us down,, and He will bind us up.”

Later on in chapter eight the LORD explains the purpose of His tactics: “I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour her strongholds.” (8:14) In this pronouncement, there is a physical meaning and a spiritual meaning. The physical meaning is obvious, there will be a physical fire in the cities that will destroy their physical strongholds, or the places where the enemy armies will target first because once those areas of the city are secured they will have control over the entire city. The same is true for the spiritual meaning. Let’s start with investigating the fire that will come.

Exodus 13:21-22 “And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.”

What was the fire? The presence of God. And what was it for? To give them light so that they may travel by night. And did His presence ever leave them? Nope. God was a pillar of fire by night in order to give them light so that they could travel by night. And He never left them alone forcing them to travel in the darkness. What a great God we serve!

In Deuteronomy 4:12&24 we read, “Then the LORD spoke to you out of the midst of the fire…. For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.”

Here we find that our God speaks through the fire that brings us light in our darkest moments. He is jealous for us; His love for us is a consuming fire!

And then in Acts chapter two we see the promised Holy Spirit come as “divided tongues as of fire” and “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (2:3-4)

It is after the cross that we finally see the fulfillment of so many promises spoken so long ago. Here in Acts at the moment of Pentecost we see the pillar of God’s all consuming fire coming and resting upon the heads of each believer and filling them with His presence, never to leave or forsake them EVER AGAIN! AND causing them to SPEAK! His Spirit gave them utterance, He gave them the ability to speak His word of Truth to the lost and broken the downhearted and depressed. His Spirit came to speak to them individually, straight to their hearts in their darkest hours, never to desert them and leave them stranded in the wilderness of the valley of the shadow of death. If that doesn’t give you hope today I don’t know what will! But wait, there’s MORE!

Strongholds! There’s a secret Truth buried in the story of Sharach, Meshach and Abednego; the all consuming fire of the Holy Spirit destroys strongholds! In Daniel chapter three we find our three heroes standing before the furnace of Nebuchadnezzar refusing to bow down to his idols.

“Then these men were bound in their cloaks, their tunics, their hats, and their other garments and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace. Because the king’s order was urgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning fiery furnace.

Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, ‘Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?’ They answered and said to the king, ‘True O king.’ He answered and said, ‘But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.’ Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, ‘Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!’ Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them. Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, ‘Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.’ Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.” (Daniel 3:21-30)

These brave men were unshakable in their faith that God would save them, one way or another, either from the fire altogether or through it to death and to Paradise. They held fast to their belief that their God is so good that no matter what happened to their bodies; He would redeem their lives in the end.

When they were thrown into the furnace, the fire was so hot that it consumed the men who threw them in! Consider this; in those hot situations of life where you feel like you’re in a pressure cooker because of something someone in your life said or did, picture yourself in the furnace of God’s all consuming fire. Those people who threw you in are being exposed to its flames as well. And the one who ordered you in, but perhaps didn’t throw you in himself; he is watching how you fare in that fire!

Your reaction to the flames could very well save the very people who threw you in in the first place! And here’s the beauty of the fire of God’s Holy Spirit, when we are in the fire of Christ, the things that were binding us before are being burned off. And because we have His fire inside us, we can walk back out of those hot situations unscathed from the flames. In Hebrews chapter twelve we read,

“At that time His voice shook the earth, but now He has promised, ‘Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.’ This phrase, ‘Yet once more,’ indicates the removal of things that are shaken -that is, things that have been made – in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.”

God uses the things that come against us in life to shake the things that have been made. He shakes the earth under our feet so that the idols we have placed on the shelves of our hearts come tumbling down to the ground leaving only the unshakable things – His Word and His Holy Spirit. Your world may be on fire today. Is it all around you or is it in you? Don’t allow the fires around you to frighten you, they are ONLY meant to burn off the cords that bind you. They are meant to destroy the strongholds in your life that keep you from trusting God alone for your salvation. They are NOT meant to harm you or to hinder you; they are intended for your good and for the saving of many lives. They are meant to shake down the shakable, and leave the unshakable; the Truth of God’s promise to NEVER leave you or forsake you. Allow His consuming fire to light the darkness that surrounds you and presses in on your consciousness. Hold the flaming Light of His word up to your situation today and tell the darkness to flee in Jesus’ name! You are in His fire and His fire is in you and that makes YOU unshakable!

Categories: 365 Life, Hosea, Writing Through the Bible in a Year | Leave a comment

Another Milestone

Posted on September 15, 2013 by Tamar


Hebrews 12:3-13:25 & Hosea 1:1-2:23

Well my friends, I have reached yet another milestone in this journey with you. It was at about this point in writing through the Bible in a year that I called it quits last year. It was August 24th and we were in Isaiah when I submitted the post, “The End”. I had had a dream about a surgery that was necessary in order to save my life. That surgery was to remove posting to the blog, from my life.

When I looked up “The End” to see what point I had received that message to hang up on the blog, I remembered that dream. I remembered the overall feel of the dream and how dark and dismal the atmosphere was in the dream. The hospital walls were yellow, but not the bright cheery kind of yellow the dark and dirty kind of yellow. The lights were yellow, the mood was depressing and the people in the dream were… well, I can’t even describe them.

Last night I had another dream, much like that first one. I was in a classroom that felt more like a cave than a classroom. The color in this dream was dark charcoal gray. The walls of the classroom were gray hewn out stone, curved like an underground cave. The atmosphere of the dream was dark and depressing. The teacher was cruel and taunted me constantly. But I was still desperate to please him, which I find interesting. He even made fun of me for measuring out 50mL of milk every day and for saving every single little bit of food I came in contact with. I refused to throw anything away.

Anyway, I bring all this up because last night before bed I was begging God to come and speak to me in my dreams and tell me what it is that He wants me to do. A job opportunity has presented itself. The income would make a HUGE difference in our finances, but so would the time. I am already feeling stretched past my time/stress limits and the addition of a part time job would force something I’m already holding out of my hands. And of course the blog was the first thing I thought of being wrenched from them.

I’ve given up on you before and it didn’t go well with me. When I picked the blog back up again and God encouraged me to start fresh from the beginning He made it abundantly clear that the blog is not something I am to ever let go of again. It’s too good for me and it’s too good for you. Yet, when things get hectic and life beacons with dollar signs and the potential of upgrading our life, well, setting down the things that don’t make me money looks awfully tempting.

So as I lay me down to sleep last evening, begging God to guide me in the way that I should go, then having this dream that ended with the teacher telling me that “it’s OK to throw away food”. I was beginning to believe that perhaps God really was leading me to let the blog go again. But when I got up to do my reading, I just kept thinking about that other dream and the last time I lay down the blog. The similarities became shocking when I finally pulled up “The End” to look at it again. Then it became apparent to me what God was saying. The dreams are one in the same. However, the message received from them is different because of their timing. The first dream I was to heed, because I needed to experience what would happen if I walked away from the blog. That way, I wouldn’t ever want to do it again. This dream was to beacon me back to that first dream and that first time when I stopped blogging and remind me of all the consequences that ensued from it. It also reminded me of the first week after I picked that measured milk back up again. I pray I never forget that week. I spent it flat on the floor in praise of the God who died for me. That first week back in God’s word daily, reading measured amounts of salvation were absolute bliss.

It was then that I begged God to help me read His word and write about it daily for the REST of my life. I didn’t ever want to put it down again. I had been away for far too long and had paid dearly for it too. I had dried out and become hard like a cheap kitchen sponge that hadn’t been used in a long time. My edges had become sharp; I was in desperate need of the Living Water that flows through my fingers to you.

Unfortunately, things aren’t that different right now. While I have been reading and blogging daily, it’s been out of duty instead of delight. I’ve placed you on the back burner and I apologize for that. You are all so near and dear to my heart that it has pained me to do that. But life happens and honestly we need the money.

This is where I need your help. Please pray for God to bless our finances in the way that only He can so that I may continue to preach His good news to you uninhibited. Time is one of the only things on this planet that we will never ever get back. Every moment I spend on you is more than precious to me! And I pray that the same is true for you as well. I pour my heart out onto this screen day in and day out and I pray that that means something to you personally.

Some of you I have met face to face and some of you are just a picture on the screen. But I know full well, that those pictures represent a living, breathing person who needs the Grace of God just like me. My friend, you are precious to me, because you are priceless to Him.

Categories: 365 Life, Hebrews, Hosea, Writing Through the Bible in a Year | Leave a comment

The Bottom of it All

Posted on September 14, 2013 by Tamar


Hebrews 9:1-12:2

I’m going to share with you today one of the most powerful pictures God has ever given me. It was last year when I had just finished reading Hebrews. There’s a reason it’s one of my all time favorite books!

Categories: 365 Life, Hebrews, Writing Through the Bible in a Year | 2 Comments

Repent from Dead Works

Posted on September 12, 2013 by Tamar


Hebrews 3:1-8:13

“For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness (for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.” Hebrews 7:18-19

Without a vision of Christ’s full sacrifice for you; you will perish. What is the full picture of what Jesus has done for you? What ALL has He paid for, for you? If we look at the tiny portion of today and today’s sins and think of Jesus paying for those we think, “Wow, Jesus thank You! I really appreciate You taking this junk out of my life…” And we really mean it. But that’s not the whole picture! That’s just today.

“If You, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O LORD, who could stand?” Psalm 130:3

“He who is forgiven little, loves little” (Luke 7:47) but blessed is he whose sins are forgiven, whose iniquities the LORD remembers no more. If we were to look at the sins we have or will commit today it would look like a single garbage bag full of today’s trash. And we would be grateful when it’s out of the trash can and in the dumpster outside so that we can throw more things away.

*

But when Jesus died on the cross, His blood didn’t just cover today’s sins.

Oh no!

It took away today’s garbage,

all of your yesterdays garbage,

AND all of your tomorrows garbage too!

In our entire lifetime we would fill a landfill with our sin-garbage, and Jesus’ death on the cross took that landfill full of your sins away from YOU.

*

ALL of it, before you were ever born.

So the real question is, are you living like you believe that? I promise you it’s the gospel truth; it’s the word of God. But are you “be-living” it?

To enter heaven your sin must be wiped away completely. There can be no spot or stain left. And while the blood of spotless goats and blameless bulls would atone for Israel’s sin, it would only last a year. (See Leviticus 16, the Day of Atonement.) BUT the blood of the spotless Lamb of the eternal God is an everlasting sacrifice for our sin (Hebrews 7:11-28, “Jesus holds His priesthood permanently, because He continues forever”).

THERE IS NO SACRIFICE LEFT. Period.

No amount of prayer, praise, good deeds, ceremonial washings, scripture memorization, self-sacrifice, self-condemnation, or self-judgment can take away your daily garbage. Because it’s ALREADY GONE! On the cross, Jesus summoned ALL your sin from you to Him like a heavenly Luke Skywalker summoning his light saber saver.

The only thing left for you to do is REALIZE YOUR SIN-GARBAGE IS GONE and then live like you truly believe that you HAVE BEEN freed from that garbage.

Believe it. Live it.

Be.live it. J

I tell you the TRUTH, whoever Jesus sets free from sin is completely free from sin!

Hallelujah! \o/

Categories: 365 Life, Hebrews, Writing Through the Bible in a Year | Leave a comment

Jesus has got it Under Control

Posted on September 11, 2013 by Tamar

image

Haggai 1:1-2:23 & Hebrews1:1-2:18

image

It doesn’t matter who you are.  It doesn’t matter what is going on. Jesus has it under control.

Categories: 365 Life, Haggai, Hebrews, Writing Through the Bible in a Year | Leave a comment

Decisions, Decisions…

Posted on September 10, 2013 by Tamar


Genesis 49:28-50:26 & Habakkuk 1:1-3:19

“The righteous shall live by his faith.” Habakkuk 2:4

Life is filled with decisions isn’t it? Big ones, small ones, life changing ones and some that you wouldn’t expect to change anything yet they do. What clothes to wear today? How to do my hair? Should I shower now or later? What to have for breakfast? To be, or not to be? We make a million decisions every day and each one has the potential to turn into a life changing decision.

My husband and I met in high school and were both in the band. Yup, I’m a band geek; I was in the Color Guard and loved every second of it. Anyway, this week our high school band director went home to be with Jesus. Her visitation is tonight and her funeral is tomorrow during the day. Band meant so very much to both of us as did she. So of course we want to go pay our respects. The only problem is, the services are over an hour away and we really don’t have the time or the money to go. A decision needs to be made, like ASAP. I’ve been praying about it and as I sat down to re-read the passages today and type this all up I had my Bible open and ready and breathed a prayer, to go or not to go. And when I opened my eyes they were immediately drawn to Genesis 50:7-8 “So Joseph went up to bury his father. With him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, as well as all the household of Joseph, his brothers, and his father’s household. Only their children their flocks and their herds were left in the land of Goshen.”

Now, some may say that’s an uncanny coincidence, but I don’t really believe in coincidences. If my God knows the number of hairs on my head and the number of steps I will take in my life (which He does), then that’s a God who’s pretty into the minute details of my life. And if He’s that into minute details, I’m fairly certain that when I’m praying and asking Him for decision making guidance and my eyes fall on a scripture that points in a definite direction for that decision, well, I think it’s pretty safe to say that it’s not a coincidence. It’s God.

And that leads me to today’s point. With all these decisions we’re making throughout every day, the fear of making a wrong one can become pretty overwhelming. I mean, we see the decision of what to have for breakfast as a minor decision, but it isn’t. If I decide to make myself an egg instead of having cereal, an egg is going to take longer to make. That decision will lead to me leaving the house later than I would have if I had chosen cereal. Running late might tempt me to speed in order to get to work on time. Passing a cop while speeding usually leads to a ticket and being even later for work. A little way down the road there’s a huge traffic back up, there’s been an accident. An accident that had I eaten cereal and left the house on time and not gotten pulled over I would have been in.

Do you see what I mean about small decisions perhaps not being quite as small as we think they are? One small decision CAN affect the big things that happen later in the day, week, and year.

And that’s the beauty of a personal relationship with Jesus. When He died on the cross His last moments were recorded in John 19:30 “When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished,’ and He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.”

In Acts chapter one, after Jesus has risen from the dead and is preparing to return to heaven He tells His Disciples, “you will receive power when the Holy spirit has come upon you,” (verse 8) And in the gospel of John chapter 16 Jesus tells them, “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come.”

Proverbs 24:6 says, “for by wise guidance you can wage your war, and in abundance of counselors there is victory.”

Now, I don’t know about you, but victory in my life sounds pretty good. And through the Holy Spirit of Jesus we can have victory in our lives in every decision we make.

In the Garden of Eden Adam and Eve made a pretty bad decision. And while they walked with God and talked with God, there was one thing they didn’t have; His constant guidance through the Holy Spirit. However, when we make the decision to choose Jesus, we can also ask His Holy Spirit to come into our lives and be our guidance counselor. And He will.

“If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” Luke 11:1`3

Have you made that decision to choose Jesus as your Lord and Savior? It’s a lot simpler than Satan would like to have you realize.

Romans 10:9-13 says, “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord (or the authority figure over you) and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, ‘Everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on Him. For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'”

You see, simple.

Step 1) Believe that Jesus is who He has said that He is; the Son of God who died for your sins completely erasing them from your account with God; then walking out of the prison of death, completely alive, effectively pronouncing the sentence having been served on your behalf. According to Romans 10:9-13 through belief, you are justified through the cross of Christ.

Step 2) Confess this belief out loud. You can whisper it, you can shout it from the mountaintops of Facebook, and it’s up to you. See, simple.

Many people believe that your salvation comes when you pray the sinner’s prayer, and I’m certainly not against that. In fact I think it’s a GREAT idea to start step 2 with a prayer to God confessing your belief in His forgiveness of your sins against Him. But I don’t believe that your salvation hinges on a prayer; at least not according to Romans 10:9-13. As fragile humans, it’s good for us to have a process or ceremony to help us create this milestone moment that we can remember vividly later in life. But as far as my experience goes, some of the biggest milestone moments in my relationship with Jesus have been the most ordinary moments of all. One in particular that comes to my mind first, was a moment that brought me straight to my knees as I was walking from the kitchen into the living room while I was eating a bowl of yogurt. J God has His ways of doing things and they are nothing like our ways. We love pomp and circumstance; He loves to catch us off guard. So if you made the choice to follow Jesus’ leadership in your life, while you were sitting in your recliner eating cereal don’t think that that moment doesn’t qualify as a salvation moment because it absolutely does! God meets us where we are, not the other way around! He come to us instead of requiring us to come to Him.

I mean that’s the entire point of the cross and Grace! We aren’t able to come to Him on our own. That’s why Jesus stepped down out of heaven to pave the way for us to get there. Before the cross the road had been broken and impassable. But Jesus came and made a way for us.

And the same is true in your life today. Absolutely positively nothing that you say or do can get you to heaven. No amount of good deeds or ceremonial prayers will get you to heaven; ONLY a belief in JESUS and then speaking that belief out loud. That is the heart of salvation. That is the heart of justification. That is the heart of being redeemed. Confess with your mouth that Jesus is YOUR Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead and you will be saved. Period.

It’s a simple decision with a profound effect! J

Categories: 365 Life, Genesis, Habakkuk, Writing Through the Bible in a Year | 1 Comment

Settled In

Posted on September 9, 2013 by Tamar


Genesis 46:28-49:27

“Then Joseph settled his father and his brothers and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. And Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father’s household with food, according to the number of their dependents.” Genesis 47:11-12.

“Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen. And they gained possessions in it, and were fruitful and multiplied greatly.” Genesis 47:27

I’ve been attending my church for the last five months, all the while dipping my toes into the ministries and different church functions just feeling my way around. Yesterday the church celebrated their third anniversary as a church. So, of course, we were in full-out celebration mode. During service each leader of the church stood up and gave a testimony of what God has done in their department of the church over the last year. As I sat and listened to each testimony of what God’s been doing in my friends’ lives a warm feeling filled my soul as I stared up at each now familiar face. I was home. And it was in that moment that the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said, “Sinking in” and coupled it with a picture of me sinking into a hot tub and laying my head back against the tub in total relaxation. It was glorious.

Then in this morning’s reading the word “settled” just kept jumping out to me each time I read it. And it hit me in much the same way that the phrase “sinking in” hit me. That right now I am settling into my own land of Goshen – Issachar church. (It doesn’t hurt that the pastor’s wife is one of my best friends.)

So in true Tamar style, as I sat down to write all this down I became intrigued by the name Goshen and decided to look up its meaning. I wasn’t disappointed! It is, of course, Egyptian in origin, but it means, to draw near.

Joseph, wanting his family to be near him, settled them in Goshen. Jesus wanting His family to be near Him settles us in the Holy Spirit. It is through the Holy Spirit of Christ that we are able to draw near (or come home) to God the Father, Love Himself. When we draw near to Him through the Holy Spirit, His love wraps around us like a warm blanket welcoming us into His heart, our true eternal home.

We are so amazingly blessed to be called Children of God! There is so much favor and blessing that comes along with that title, but above all else, the best benefit of being His child, is being in His presence! Praise be to God!

I pray that today you find your own Goshen, both a physical one and a spiritual one. I pray that you experience the love of Christ in a new and glorious way like never before! He is so good to us; I pray that your eyes be opened wide to see the everlasting goodness of our God in this the land of the living. It is impossible to see anything in the dark, yet you are a child of Light and have within you the ability to cast His light upon all of the world’s darkness and reveal the hidden things. YOU are a child of God. Have you accepted that calling and position of Grace? Have you made that decision to choose Jesus as your Lord and Savior?

Categories: 365 Life, Genesis, Writing Through the Bible in a Year | Leave a comment

Blog at WordPress.com.