Let NO man deceive you

This has weighed heavy on my heart and mind for a week now. I am by no means a Bible scholar, but when I have questions, I ask God to open my eyes and mind to the knowledge of the truth and He never fails to enlighten me. Studying the Bible isn’t hard, but it does require diligence and an earnest, seeking heart before the Lord for that knowledge and truth.

I’m appalled by what I see happening today. Sheep are being led astray by lies and untruths. It is disturbing to me that some are blinded to the devil’s tactics, but it doesn’t surprise me. It is time for us (me included!) to wake up. We cannot allow ourselves to be lulled to sleep while sitting on a church pew.

We are living in the last days, and everything that can be shaken will be shaken. I don’t want to be deceived. I want to know the truth, because it is the truth that makes me free (John 8:32). How can I know the truth? Through prayer, fasting, and studying the Word of God. That is the only way.

I want to share something with you today because what I heard said last week was not the truth. I’ve heard a lot of things for some time that have not been truth. I do not come to you with this is a haughty or prideful way. Let the Lord be the judge of my heart. I come to you humbly, wanting to encourage you to get in the Word of God. Read it and study it for yourself. Don’t take everything you hear for solid gold. The Bible says, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1).

Let no man deceive you

2 Thessalonians 2:3 (KJV): “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;”

Let’s take a look at this. “…for that day shall not come…” What day is Paul referring to here? He’s talking about the rapture of the church of God. So we know that one day, the Lord will return for His church.

BUT…

Paul goes on to say that day will not come, “except there come a falling away first…” What does he mean by a “falling away?” The original Greek word here is “ajpostasiva”, transliterated being “Apostasia.” The definition of apostasia is, “a falling away, defection, apostasy.” (Click on any of those words or the definition to read it for yourself. Don’t take my word for it.)

Let’s dig a little deeper. Webster defines “defection” as: conscious abandonment of allegiance or duty (as to a person, cause, or doctrine). Apostasy is defined as, “a total desertion of or departure from one’s religion, principles, party, cause, etc.”

Now let’s plug all this into what we’ve read in the scripture, based on what we’ve learned so far. Paul is admonishing that we do not be deceived by any means. He wants to remind us that God is returning for His church one day. We cannot grow slack or lazy or fall asleep, thinking it won’t be any time soon. We must keep ourselves prepared and ready, waiting for that day (Matthew 25).

Paul goes on to say that before the rapture of the church, there will, “…come a falling away first.” First a falling away. Then the rapture. What is the “falling away” then? Look at that scripture again. Re-read it again.

2 Thessalonians 2:3 (KJV): “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;”

Let’s consider now what we’ve learned about the apostasy, or the “falling away” that comes first. “Falling” here does not mean the rapture. Just the phrase itself seems to have a negative connotation. But let’s look at this, inserting what we learned from looking up the Greek original. Personally, I can understand better sometimes if I plug in definitions that I learn about specific words. It brings greater meaning.

[My insertion of definitions are in brackets (and parentheses) below.]

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day [the rapture of the church] shall not come, except there come a falling away first [a conscious (knowingly, willingly, voluntarily giving up everything you know to be true—principles, standards, holiness, everything) abandonment].”

“Falling away” means people will know the truth, but they will consciously and willingly give it all up and turn away from every principle, every truth, all knowledge they’ve given allegiance to. When this happens, “that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition [utter destruction (the destroyer of souls)]”.

The “falling away” here is not referring to the rapture. The falling away is refers to saints of God who are defecting from the faith they’ve always known and the God they’ve always believed in. This is why we cannot be deceived. We must hold fast to the Word of God. We must study and know the Word (2 Timothy 2:15). I pray for our eyes to be opened, that we will be ready, watching and waiting for that day when He splits that eastern sky and we are finally called away to be with Him forever.

3in30 update {October 2011}

I’ve sort of gone a little astray so far this month. I started out with a bang on my daily TO DO lists. But life happened and I got a bit sidetracked. So I’ll be working on prioritizing better in the coming days.

I woke up early this morning, so I used my quiet time to go ahead and prep for today. Nothing like beginning the day with a hot cup of coffee and list making. :)

October Goals {3in30}

After months of not setting any goals for myself, I’ve decided to give 3in30 a try again. Right, now I’m desperately feeling the need for some focus and simplicity and stability. I’ve been so consumed with school the last few months that everything else has sort of just been “making do.” I don’t like living like that.

With that being said, I’ve decided to use Tsh’s book One Bite at a Time to help me get back on track. Click here to visit Simple Mom.

This month’s focus: Organizing my mind.

1. Regular brain dumps. I’d like to do this daily, but for now, I’ll shoot for at least weekly. The basic idea is to put on paper what’s on my mind, to be more focused when it comes to taking action.
2. Create a daily to-do list. Again, this is something I used to do without fail on a daily basis, but I’ve let it go. I need my lists. So I’ll be making a greater effort this month to get back to my daily lists.
3. Carve out intentional down time. This is the one goal that will most likely be the toughest for me. But I know I need it. As I get closer to finishing college and becoming a teacher, I know I can’t keep putting myself last. I have to make time for me.

Failed. (again) Part 2

It’s really funny that I had that little moment of revelation. Funny, in a relieving sort of way. Because now that I’ve uncovered (I think) the source of my issues, maybe just maybe I’ll be able to do something about this.

And funny in a sad kind of way, because I understand now that I’ve been covering up that pain with food. And it’s only made me more miserable.

I’ve only slowly started sharing bits and pieces of my story lately. And it’s only because I believe my life and story has meaning and purpose, and God can use my pain, if I allow Him, to reach and minister similar needs of others hurting.

Maybe the reason why I’ve never been able to pinpoint this until now is because for years I’ve attempted to gloss over lots of issues. I never want anything I say or do to be hurtful to anyone. But in an attempt to protect everyone, I’ve battered myself.

Wow.

That is deep. Even for me. But so true.

I’ve always done what I thought was expected of me. Always tried to do the “right” thing. Always make excuses for those who did not have my best interest at heart. Always been the hero. Except to the one who needed a hero the most. Me.

Failure, meet Opportunity.

So now that I’m realizing what I’ve been doing all these years, and why this struggle with food has been so consuming and overwhelming at times, I’m thinking the star of opportunity is shining on me right now.

This could quite possibly be my fork in the road. I can’t learn something new, then not use that knowledge to be better…do better.

So now I think my responsibility is to take this and work it out. I know in my head that stuffing myself with junky food will never make me feel better about not feeling loved by the one I’ve wanted to accept me my whole life.

I can’t keep medicating (isn’t that a crazy-funny word in this context!) that hurting little girl inside me who feels rejected and unloved with gobs of food. It’s time for me to coax her out of hiding and nurture her with the love she needs.

{Side note to family or friends reading this who think you know me and are now thinking I’ve fallen off my rocker…I haven’t. Don’t feel the need to call me with well-meaning words. It’s all good. I’m good. }

Failed. (again)

After quite a few months (okay, who am I kidding, it’s been since Easter) I’m finally breaking down and admitting that I’ve failed. Yet again. Weight Watchers works for me. This, I know. But I haven’t worked Weight Watchers.

And so the vicious cycle begins.

In the last 2-3 months, I’ve gained 10+ pounds (yes, I know exactly how many that “plus” equals, but I’m not telling you {wink} ). Over the last couple of weeks I’ve just totally allowed myself to eat whatever and as much of anything I’ve wanted.

And that’s been a whole lotta bad stuff. Bad. (chocolate-covered doughnuts, iced oatmeal cookies, Crunch & Munch, Snickers blizzards…but who’s counting)

Cue sappy violinist…

The pain remains.

Every day (literally) for the last few weeks, I follow the same routine.

Wake up. Drink coffee. Have a talk with myself.

“Self, today’s a new day. You can do this. DO THIS.”

If only it were that simple. Or easy.

And then my sweet friend sent me a link to Can You Stay For Dinner. I read this. Then this. But this one was what yanked me in and stopped me in my tracks.

It was like a light switch flipped on. And I see.

I’ve always know that I’m an emotional eater. Always have been. I’ve always know I self-medicate with food. Always have. But I never have been able to drill down and figure out the why behind this issue.

The “WHY” is bigger than the what.

Maybe I’ve always known the why. Maybe I just didn’t want to acknowledge it. In fact, the more I sit here and contemplate this, the more I’m inclined to believe that’s precisely the reason why I never got it until now.

Because very much like her, I’ve been obese and fighting this fight with food for all these years because I’ve been in pain. I’ve been telling myself that I’ve moved past the pain. The pain is healed. Gone. Ta-da!

But it isn’t. And I didn’t put this 2 and 2 together until just today.

The pain is still there. Still very real. And the fact is, it will very likely always be there. Because it’s part of me. Part of who I am. Yes, in many ways, I have healed and moved on and grown. But in other ways, the pain was sort of mixed into the concrete and poured into my foundation. It’s there. It ain’t going anywhere any time soon.

So I have to learn to deal with it.

More on this later…

Pizza Pie {recipe}

For a quick, throw-together lunch today, I made this pizza pie. My kids love this and my husband did, too. Super easy!

Pizza Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 can reduced-fat crescent rolls
• 1/4 cup pizza sauce (or as much as you like)
• 1/2 shredded mozzarella cheese (or as much as you like)
• Optional: turkey pepperoni, beef, onions

Directions:

1. Roll out crescent rolls into 8” pie dish (or a small, oblong casserole). Press seams together with your fingers and shape into the base of your dish, pressing dough up the sides for a crust.
2. Spread pizza sauce.
3. Top with shredded cheese and other toppings.
4. Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and cheese is bubbly.

Enjoy!

I’m back

I never intended to cut loose and leave the crickets chirping here. After the first B90Days challenge I did at the beginning of this year, I was a little out of sorts and trying to sort through some things. So this blog got put on the back burner.

I’m realizing that I actually need this space more than I thought I did. I need a quiet spot to sort my thoughts and do some personal blogging.

So I’m back. Not sure how often I’ll write, but I’m here. :)