The Majestic Ones

Psalm 16:2-3

"I said to the LORD, 'You are my Lord;
I have no good besides You.'
As for the saints who are in the earth,
They are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight."

That passage is interesting. Somehow, our delight is fully in God... YET "all" our delight is in our
brothers and sisters in Christ. What a beautiful dichotomy! There is a correlation between the two.
When the first is true - God is our ONLY good, then the second will ALSO be true - all our delight
will be in the saints.

I love the word that is used to describe the saints - "the MAJESTIC ones."

That is so true. When I'm with the fellowship at church (which is everyday) the conversation naturally and effortlessly flows toward Christ. They stir my affection for Him. They cause me to long to submit to my King. They show me my need to cling to Him as my only Righteousness.

My church family are truly the majestic ones. They are an indescribable gift from God.

Photo Credit: Jenny James

i don't have to LIKE...

Have you ever heard this:

"I have to love (insert person's name), but I don't have to like them."

Well that has always bothered me. How is that possible?
I'm not saying I love people perfectly, I'm just saying that the phrase doesn't make sense.
This sunday John MacArthur was reading through Romans (the weekly pre-sermon reading of the Word)
He happened to read this passage which reminded me of the above phrase:

Romans 12:10: "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves."

There are a couple of words/phrases that shoot down the "i don't have to like" statement.

1. "Be devoted" : Usually, when someone says "i love them, but i don't have to like them" it is usually accompanied with a statement about not having to be around them, or not having to be friends with them. Well "Be devoted" is a command that would make that idea impossible.

2. "brotherly love" : This idea is more than friendship. It is a strong family tie. This also knocks down "i don't have to be friends..."

3. "honor one another above yourselves" : This is pretty much self-explanatory. "above yourselves"... Honestly... this doesn't mean saying "well they don't like me either, so i'm loving them by not hanging out with them." No, what it means is that you are loving them and serving them in a self-sacrificing way that would cause a loving response.

Think about it... we were enemies of God. What did he do? Unleash a furious, righteous wrath on us? Nope, He unleashed a furious, righteous wrath on Christ because of His love... and yes, that means He LIKES us too.


(photo: my friend b.j., i like him)

self-denying community passion

I've been reading through the New Testament, and I'm in Acts right now. It's encouraging to see the focus of the people of the church:

ACTS 2:42-46
" And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,"

I am ridiculously thankful for Grace Community Church/Foundry/Foundations/Epoch/Core groups for being and providing a community that allows for this type of fellowship/love.

the house of God

Psalm 69:9

"zeal for your house consumes me,
and the insults of those who insult you fall on me."

During the week, I just long to be back in church. I long to see my church family. My heart aches.

farewell and welcome.

Our Talian brothers paul and richie have decided to part ways with the TALIA Blog. We will miss them on here as they have been an enrouagement to the rest of us with their scripture references and prayer requests. We will continue to pray for them as I know that they will continue to pray for us as well.

With the departure of two comes the arrival of two.
Jeremy Neiditch and Matt Shilling have joined the TALIA blog. These men have both recently finished school at
Baptist Bible College in Boston. So hopefully we can glean a little bit of the godly wisdom that exudes from them. TALIA welcomes them.





Hebrews 10:24

"And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,"

love.

Proverbs 17:17

"A friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for adversity."

This verse is so simple, yet so deep and rich. Honestly, it has hit home and rung true recently for me. Thank you, to you guys for

1. LOVING me. True love. Not just a casual affection, but a genuine godly love.
2. Loving me AT ALL TIMES. Not just when you run into me or happen to see me. But seeking me out and inquiring and praying. I definately need you.

So thank you.

I love you.

2007 Water ski trip

This years Water ski trip was a success. For once in my life I come back home content and happy about the worship and teaching that went on in the wilderness rather than the fun we had. Being surrounded by other christians who sincerely loved christ 24 hours a day was the most awesome thing that I've ever experienced. It was something that I had lacked since I stopped going to Friday morning prayer.

Worship was like nothing else. The songs. The band. The people. Everything was bent towards God's glory. The band provided such a awesome example of how we should worship Christ. They urged us not to sing if it wasn't sincere, that we should sing knowing what we were singing rather than just sing because everyone else was singing. The music was centered around God's attributes and the Gospel.

The teaching was deep but easy enough for us teens to understand. The first night we jumped straight in and Chris Muller taught us on God's sovereingty and the difference between being dead or alive in christ. After that, for the next couple of nights, Scott taught out of 1 thessalonians giving some elements that a true christian should possess.

being with The youth was another learning experience for me. I had never really met any other christians who were so devoted and with such love for our Lord. For about a week or two before camp, I had fallen in a spiritual slump. And I'm embarrassed to say, wasn't devoted as I should be. I pretty much just did whatever. Behaved wrongly. But being with these other students, with the other teachers, with our own church, was just so uplifting.

In only four days I learned so much on how to Love God. Even though I had been raised in the church, I felt like an unbeliever discoverung Christ and what its like to be in his family for the first time.

One thing we learned was that since God is sovereign, there are no accidents. I'm Glad that the Lord has opened my eyes to this. Everything that happens, happens for the Glory of God.

Please pray for me that I would continue to Love God the way that I have. That I would never lose sight of what Jesus has done and that I would just continue to Grow.

fellowship.

Psalm 133:1

1 Behold, how good and pleasant it is
when brothers dwell in unity!

Staying together and staying out trouble. Learning together and loving each other. Giving each other spanish names. Risking our lives on railroad tracks... yummm..... ool fun...

Friday Prayer

I love Friday morning prayer! I have been looking forward to it all week. I hope you all can make it.
God will do amazing things through our church, if we just ask him to. The bible says that the prayer of a righteous man is powerful.

unity.

1 Corinthians 1:10

"I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment."

I just want to let you guys know that I can't wait to be praying with you tomorrow morning!