My family has a tradition of reading a chapter of the Bible every night. Unfortunately, we are not very consistent with this.:( We have been reading for the last six or eight years, but we have only just now gotten to Job. My parents threaten that I wont be able to get married until we finish Revelations.:)
But, I wanted to talk about one of the passages we have lately read.
               Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped. And he said: 
                         Naked I came from my mother's womb,
                         And naked shall I return there.
                         The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away;
                         Blessed be the name of the Lord.
              In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.
                                                                                            Job 1:20-22
This passage really stuck out to me. We so often go through trials much smaller than Job's and yet we have the tendency of blaming God for sending them. But Job lost everything, his home, his flocks, his children, and yet he still praised the Lord. He never once blamed God. Instead, it says he worshiped God! For the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. How often do we say this we a check comes in late, or we get sick, or someone says something that hurt us? This passage has really convicted me over how much I complain about what God is or isn't doing that I want. I am so much better off then Job was! Oh Lord, forgive me for not trusting in You! Let me be found praising the Lord when trials come my way. For the Lord is good. His mercy endures to all generations!
May the Lord God bless and keep you!

Wonderful Quotes

Today, I thought I would just share some of my favorite quotes and verses.

1) "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." - Jim Elliot

2) "When God calls a man, He bids him come and die." 

                -Dietrich Bonhoeffer

3) "This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no man than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. You are my friends if you do whatever I command you."  John 15:12-14

May the Lord bless and keep you!

                                                                                 - Allison McCurdy

One Hour #1

A good friend of mine decided to start a challenge on her blog. She calls it 'One Hour'. The idea is for you are to read the Bible one hour each day. It doesn't matter how much you read in that amount of time, just read for one hour a day. Unfortunately, this challenge was started almost two weeks ago, but I have been unable to participate until now. But I decided to take up the challenge today and begin reading through God's word. So here is my first post on what I've learned.
Today, I ended up reading through Genesis 1-10. These passages are about the beginning and institution of our world/universe. What really stuck out to me through it all is that over and over again God points out that "the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth" (Gen. 8: 21). This is devastating to humanity. "There is none righteous, not even one. There is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one." (Rom. 3:10-12) Because of our sin we will be eternally separated from God. There is no exception. I like to say that God is quarantined from sin. He cannot even have it near Him, and He especially cannot excuse it. Yet God from the very beginning had a plan of redemption for His people. "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise His heel." (Genesis 3:15) This passage speaks about how Christ will be killed on the cross, yet He will conquer sin and death and rise from the grave three days later. By doing so, He will provide a way for all who He call to be saved. He would take on our punishment and give us His righteousness. Isn't that amazing?!
This is what I learned by reading for one hour today. Will you take the challenge with me? Will you take the time you would normally use to read another book and read the Bible for one hour a day? If you do, comment on my blog and tell me what you've learned. I would love to hear your thoughts.
May the Lord bless and keep you!
                                                                                                                                    ~Allison McCurdy

Songs That Praise The Lord

Lately, some friends and I have been putting together a sort of praise team for our church. It's a lot of fun. If you know me, then you know that I absolutely LOVE music! I can't play any type of instrument, but I love to sing. So, I am really excited about this opportunity to praise the Lord with my friends.
It's also really nice, because we are practicing two amazing songs. The first is one of my favorite hymns, and I am sure that many of you are familiar with it, In Christ Alone. This song speaks so deeply about how we need Christ  more than anything else. It is truly 'In Christ Alone' that we find our hope and strength. Without him, there is no way that I could ever get through life.
The second song that we are practicing is a well-known praise song, You Are God Alone. I thought I would go ahead and share the lyrics to this one with you.
           You are not a God created by human hands.
           You are not a God dependent on any mortal man.
           You are not a God in need of anything we can give.
           By Your plan, that's just the way it is...
      
                        You are God alone, in the good times and bad
                        You were on Your throne, You were God alone.
                        And right now, in the good times and bad,
                        You are on Your throne, and You are God alone.
          
            You're the only God who's power none can contend.
            You're the only God who's name and praise will never end.
            You're the only God who's worthy of everything we can give.
            You are God, that's just the way it is...

   You're unchangeable. You're unshakable.
   You're unstoppable. That's what you are!
This song means a lot to me, because I have learned that in both the good times and the bad, God is still in control. He is still on His throne and He is still God alone. There is nothing that happens to you or me that does not fit into His perfect plan. We may not see the benefit of some of our trials right now. But He "works all things for the good of those who love" Him.
May the Lord bless you and keep you!
                                                                                                                                    ~Allison McCurdy